The good news is the pegan diet is nothing like the intense diet Gisele Bündchen is on (which has a no coffee rule that we’re definitely not cool with). The bad news is, like any diet, there are some restrictions. 

The first we heard about the pegan diet was through Dr Mark Hyman, America’s top functional medicine doctor and bestselling author who has been researching nutrition for 30 years and has treated over ten thousand people with food. He votes for being Pegan which made it sound good enough to look into.

A Pegan fridge. #foodwhatheheckshouldieat #foodthebook

A post shared by Mark Hyman, M.D. (@markhymanmd) on Mar 24, 2018 at 3:38pm PDT

What is the pegan diet?

The pegan diet is a hybrid of the vegan and paleo diets. It’s focuses on what you eat, not how much you eat. If you’re craving two cheeseburgers and a Mars ice cream right after having salad for lunch, something’s wrong. Dr Hyman says when you’re eating the good stuff, your body will be nourished,  have zero irrational cravings and you’ll also feel full all the time. Going pegan will help you lose weight, keep it off and reportedly it’s the healthiest thing you can do for your body, mind and soul.

Two weeks is all it takes to feel a difference, provided you do it right. Here are the rules:

The 11 musts of the pegan diet 

1. Eat your veggies

Half your plate should be covered with veggies; the darker the colour, the better. And no, french fries don’t count.  

2. Think of meat as a side dish

Your plate should be mostly veggies; think of meat as a side dish or condiment. Be creative and prepare four vegetable side dishes for instance: cauliflower rice, broccoli with garlic and ginger, steamed spinach and roasted cherry tomatoes with rosemary and olive oil, to make things more interesting.

3. Stay away from vegetable and nut oils

Don’t use sunflower, corn, canola or soybean oil at all. For high temperatures, avocado oil is your best option. You can find it at Lulu hypermarket or on Iherb.ae 

4. Avoid sugar like the plague 

This also means no flour and refined carbs (like white rice and bread). Think of sugar as a treat that you can indulge in sometimes. 

5. Easy on the fruit

Stick to low glycaemic fruits like cherries, grapefruits, berries and apples; stay away from too many bananas, pineapples and watermelon (high glycaemic fruits).

6. Avoid antibiotics, GMO foods and all the chemical nasties 

Our grocery stores are chock full of basic foods items that have been manipulated by the food industry and turned into “Frankenfoods.” It does this by removing naturally derived ingredients and adding in other bad stuff to make up for loss of taste, consistency, etc. For instance, a low-carb fake food might be higher in trans-fat, artificial sweeteners and excessive amounts of sugar alcohols. Fat-free food is surefire code for higher-sugar or artificial sweeteners. And gluten-free products are also often filled with a deadly fat, such as processed vegetable oils or hydrogenated oils and trans-fats. This is why you should avoid buying any food with more than five ingredients on the label, unless they are all things you recognize, such as tomatoes, water, basil, oregano, salt. This will help ensure that you are eating food, not food-like substances. Food is literally the most powerful medicine you have available to control your health and it all starts with taking out the junk, and putting in the good stuff.⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #foodthebook #markhyman #food #health #junkfood #lowfat #glutenfree #sugar #sugarfree

A post shared by Mark Hyman, M.D. (@markhymanmd) on Apr 1, 2018 at 10:26am PDT

You can’t imagine how much crap they put in food ingredients these days, including: pesticides, additives, preservatives, dyes and artificial sweeteners. We live by the rule: if you can’t say it don’t eat it.  

7. Healthy fats are your friend

Get your Omega-3 fatty acids through seeds, olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Sustainably raised meat, grass fed ghee or butter, coconut oil, butter, fish and eggs, are great sources as well.

8. Try going dairy free

If you feel sluggish and bloated right after having cheese or dairy chances are, you shouldn’t have it at all. It’s best to avoid or cut dairy back even if you don’t have any issues with it. You can have yoghurt, ghee, grass fed butter sometimes and even cheese if you’re missing your does of dairy. Dr Mark recommends only eating goat and sheep products that are organic and grass-fed.

9. The beans

There’s a spectrum of reactions to gluten – ranging from mild but still symptomatic to full-blown celiac disease. Even if you don’t have any symptoms, you can still get leaky gut from eating gluten. So even if you don’t feel any physical discomfort from eating gluten, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can eat it freely. I honestly think most people should stay away from gluten and here’s why: Gluten containing foods are starchy and sugary. Eating simple carbs can lead a host of issues like diabesity, cancer, infertility, gut dysfunction and more. Additionally, products containing gluten are often full of glyphosate which is extremely toxic to our bodies. This is why the tenth principle of the Pegan diet is: Avoid gluten. Modern wheat is not healthy. It has more starch, more gluten, is addictive and contains harmful preservatives. In my new book, "Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?," I discuss the pillars of the Pegan Diet that can keep you lean, healthy, and feeling vibrant for life. I’ll show you how to stock your kitchen with tons of beautiful produce and healthy ingredients that make sticking to this plan simple and effective!⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #markhyman #pegandiet #foodthebook #glutenfree #gluten

A post shared by Mark Hyman, M.D. (@markhymanmd) on Mar 7, 2018 at 2:25pm PST

Lentils are the best. Restrict yourself to one cup of beans a day to avoide tummy issues.

10. You should be gluten free

Avoiding gluten entirely, even if you aren’t allergic, is best. Dr Alessio Fasano at Harvard showed that gluten damages our gut even if we don’t have a gluten sensitivity issue.

11. Have little or no whole grains

You can have a small portion of low-grains like quinoa, black rice or buckwheat everyday; half a cup should suffice. Grains can increase your blood sugar, which is against the pegan rules. Dr Mark believes if you have digestion issues, a grain and bean-free diet maybe the cure. 

For more information on food and the pegan diet check out Dr.Mark Hymans Instagram @markhymanmd