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WELLNESS
PALEO

• 
  

  VEGAN

  
  

  PEGAN
  If you’re a vegetable-craving meat eater,
  this diet could be a perfect fit for you
  Considering going vegan but know
  that you’ll crave your bacon or grilled
  chicken too much? This could be the
  diet for you. The Pegan way of eating
  is becoming so popular that Pinterest
  searches increased by 337 per cent
  between 2017 and 2018, and it is
  being hailed as the diet for 2019.
  WHAT IS IT?
  Imagine the lovechild of Paleo and
  veganism. What do you get? Pegan,
  a lifestyle coined by Dr Mark Hyman,
  director of the Cleveland Clinic’s
  Center for Functional Medicine. The
  premise is that by combining both the
  vegan and Paleo diets, and focusing on
  eating whole, unprocessed food, you’ll
  get the health benefits of both lifestyles.
  SO, WHAT CAN YOU EAT?
  Ideally, plant foods should make up
  75 per cent of your plate. Meat can
  make an appearance as a “topping”
  or a side, rather than a starring role.
  “It’s really simple,” Hyman explains.
  “Eat foods low in sugar and starch.
  Eat lots of plant foods. Consume
  foods that have good fat, like nuts,
  seeds and avocados.”
  And as long as you follow the diet
  properly, you can have two desserts
  and two alcoholic drinks a week.
  WHAT SHOULD YOU CUT OUT?
  Added sugars, processed foods, dairy,
  gluten, large amounts of animal
  protein, legumes and vegetable oils.
  SHOULD YOU GO PEGAN?
  “The basic premise of this diet has
  some good, healthy elements,” says
  Felicity Curtain, dietitian and a
  spokeswoman for the Dietitians
  Association of Australia. “With less
  than seven per cent of Australians
  eating enough greens, I can’t fault
  it for focusing on fruit and veg.”
  Curtain likes the concept of using
  meat as a “garnish”, rather than the
  focus on a meal. “Meat – especially
  red meat – is good for providing iron,
  which women in particular need,
  and also vitamin B12, which can be
  lacking in vegan diets,” she says.
  The main drawback Curtain sees
  is the restrictive nature of this – and
  any – diet. “It makes me wonder how
  enjoyable it can be over the long-term.
  By restricting grains and wholegrains,
  you’ll be missing out on fibre, which
  keeps us full and is important for gut
  health. Cutting out legumes and beans
  also means you’ll miss out on a good
  source of plant-based protein.”
  And while you can get your daily
  allowance of calcium from nuts and
  seeds rather than the banned dairy
  foods, Curtain says there’s no evidence
  that avoiding dairy benefits you,
  particularly if you’re not intolerant.
  Pegan is essentially a low-
  carbohydrate diet, which evidence
  shows to be effective in the short-term
  for weight loss, says Curtain, though
  PH long-term results are still inconclusive.
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