Where does this news come from?
The lion’s diet is a stricter form of very rich meat or The “carnivore” diet. This is low in plant foods and carbohydrates, but contains a lot Lots of protein. Videos are circulating on TikTok where users promote this meat diet.
In a review article, an American researcher described Benefits of the carnivore diet (1). For this, historical facts are often indicated:
- The traditional nomadic Mongolians and Inuit, among others, lived on a mainly carnivorous diet, without nutritional problems.
- One hundred years ago, Icelandic polar explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962) lived for a year on a carnivore diet without showing any vitamin deficiencies (2).
According to the scientist, a meat-eating diet contains all the ingredients your body needs, but sometimes in low concentrations. So you need more Pay attention to calcium and vitamin Cwhich is limited to a diet rich in meat.
The researcher determines that the carnivorous pattern No nutritional deficiency Cause, but that is Long-term effect is unknown He is.
Source
- (1) O’Hearn A.; Can a carnivore diet provide all the essential nutrients? Obesity Diabetes Opin Endocrinol Diabetes. 2020 Oct; 27 (5): 312-316.
- (2) Edward Tolstoy. Effect of a one-year meat-specific diet on the carbohydrate tolerance of two normal men. Journal of Biological Chemistry 1929; 83:3.
How do you explain this news?
A diet consisting mainly of meat is not alone Unacceptable from an environmental point of view. He. She It also completely deviates from a healthy eating pattern As indicated by the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living (3). However, the lion diet only lasts for 30 days: that’s too short to have a significant impact on your health.
The American researcher is not objective: she has written several books on the carnivore diet and is the founder of CarnivoryCon, an annual magazine The conference where meat is promoted (4).
The argument that the Inuit lived healthy with only meat on the menu is not valid. Recent research shows that The Inuit regularly eat seaweedwhich contains a lot of vitamin C, and fish bones It is rich in calcium (5). Additionally, many Inuit died in infancy.
Meat eaters and vegetarians regularly clash. Meat eaters encourage their eating habits, but vegetarians also contribute to this. Vegetarians sometimes try to suppress posts questioning the connection between meat and cancer because this message does not fit their ideology (6). In the meantime we can Mention that meat is possible, but you will get there Better not to overdo it.
conclusion
Eating meat only for thirty days, which is called the Lion Diet, is an extreme form of meat-eating behaviour. It is not a healthy diet, and it is bad for the environment. An occasional piece of meat is certainly fine, as long as you don’t overdo it.
