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Pegan is a diet inspired by two of the most popular paleo and vegan diets. This diet promotes optimal health by reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugar. However, some components of this diet are still controversial. Here’s a look at everything you need to know about the pegan diet, including its potential benefits and downsides. At the same time, the pegan diet plan will also help people have a more scientific diet.

What is the pegan diet plan?

The pegan diet is a combination of two popular diets today, paleo and vegan. The governing principles for paleo diet and vegan diet are to be based on the notion that the right, whole foods must be chosen, rich in nutrients. At the same time, those foods must be selected to help the body reduce inflammation, balance blood sugar levels, and ensure optimal health.

This diet mainly focuses on vegetables and fruits. But it’s not only completely edible, but still allows people to eat small to moderate amounts of meat and possibly some fish, nuts, seeds, and some legumes and according to the following ratio:

75% of your diet is plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
25% of your diet is from animal sources such as meats, poultry, eggs and fish.
Limit processed foods, do not eat dairy products and gluten.

One thing to keep in mind about this diet is that it’s not advisable for dieters to eat too much sugar, oils, and processed grains. However, for eating a small amount, it is still physically acceptable. Compared to many other diets offered today, the pegan diet is not short-term. But it must have enduring perseverance and can be maintained indefinitely.

Thus, when determining to follow this diet, it is necessary to follow its own evaluation criteria and it is necessary to have the perseverance to implement it sustainably in the long run.

See: How to Lose Weight With Phentermine Diet Plan?

Foods you should eat

The pegan diet is mostly about choosing whole foods, or processed foods in small quantities and preferably unprocessed before putting them on the plate.

Eat a lot of plants

The group of plants that become the main foods for this diet is vegetables and fruits. According to research, these foods should make up 75% of your total intake for each meal.

When choosing fruits and vegetables, it is also necessary to pay attention to which ones with low glycemic content will be more effective. For example, berries and non-starchy vegetables can be used to minimize the body’s response to blood sugar.

For those who are likely already in healthy blood sugar control. They will then be given small amounts of starchy vegetables and sugary fruits.

plant based foods — Choose plant-based foods

See: Easy 7 Day Smoothie Weight Loss Diet Plan Free

Choose protein of clear origin

Each person’s body can’t completely cut out protein, so the pegan diet needs to choose plant foods, but still need to have a sufficient amount of protein from animal sources to load into the body.

Then follow a diet that includes 75% of foods from vegetables and fruits, and the remaining protein of animal origin should only make up less than 25%. With this diet, there is a special thing that people have to eat less meat, but compared to other vegan diets, the amount of meat is still more.

When following the pegan diet, experts also recommend not eating conventionally raised meat or eggs. It is possible to use sources of beef, pork, poultry and whole eggs that are raised completely from nature by eating grass. Low-mercury fish such as sardines and wild salmon are highly recommended.

Limit processed fats

The body needs fat to maintain a steady state, so it cannot get rid of them. So people should eat foods that contain healthy fats. Some examples you can refer to are:

Nuts, excluding peanuts
Raw seeds
Avocado and olives
Unrefined carbohydrates fruit or coconut oil
Foods that contain omega-3s, especially those made from fish or algae, are low in mercury.
Grass-fed meats

limit processed fats — Limit processed fats for a healthy body

Some whole grains and beans

In fact, in healthy diets it is not recommended to eat grains and legumes. This is because the ingredients in them affect blood sugar levels. You can still eat some gluten-free grains and legumes, but make sure your intake of grains and beans isn’t too high.

Some grains that people can choose when following the Pegan diet are: Black rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet, teff, oats
Legumes: Lentils, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans

However, nutritionists still recommend that you should not eat these foods if you have problems related to type 2 diabetes.

eat grains and beans — Some grains and beans can still be eaten, but should be eaten sparingly

Summary, you can eat these food on your pegan diet plan:

Low-starch and low-glycemic vegetables like broccoli, carrots, peas, and tomatoes.
All fruits, especially cherries, strawberries, pears and apples, which are low-glycemic.
Eggs.
Avocado, olive oil.
Nuts and seeds, except peanuts.
Sustainably caught fish, especially salmon, sardines, anchovies.
Dairy substitutes with no/less sugar like unsweetened nut milk or coconut milk.
Organic, grass-fed, sustainably raised meats.
Gluten-free grains like quinoa, brown rice, oats, amaranth,…

See: What You Need to Know About the Thrive Diet Plan?

Foods you should avoid

Compared to paleo or vegan diets, the pegan diet is more flexible because people can still eat a wide variety of foods from time to time. However, there are also many foods that are not recommended. Because the composition of those foods are not healthy, affecting the weight loss process. Eat healthy, body-friendly foods while on the pegan diet instead of the following:

Dairy products are not recommended: Cow’s milk, yogurt, ice cream and cheese are not recommended. If you want to drink milk, you can choose sheep’s milk or goat’s milk, but in small quantities.
Bread and most grains like pasta, baked goods, cereals, granola, barley, oats, wheat and beer.
Gluten-free cereals: This type of cereal should also not be eaten in large quantities. If you want to eat, you can occasionally use small amounts of gluten-free whole grains.
Legumes: Beans have the ability to increase blood sugar so should be limited. You can use low-starch beans like lentils in the menu of the pegan diet plan.
Sugar: Sugar is the ingredient to stay away from when on a pegan diet, whether refined sugar or not.
Refined oils: Refined oils such as canola, soybean, sunflower, and corn oils must be avoided when refined.
Food additives: Limit the use of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and other additives like packaged crackers, snacks,…
Foods treated with pesticides

Should read: 20 Best Low Calorie High Volume Meals That’ll Fill You Up

These foods all have an impact on human blood sugar, causing serious inflammation in the body, so they should be avoided. That’s how you better protect your body.

Here are many foods to avoid while on the pegan diet, including dairy

Some other rules of the Pegan diet plan

Eat 1/2 cup of starchy vegetables a day like potatoes or winter squash. Also eat fruits with less sugar like berries and kiwis. Besides, every day should only eat less than 1 cup of beans.
With gluten-free whole grains such as: plain rice, black rice, quinoa, amaranth, you can still eat but eat less than ½ cup per meal.
Limit your intake of sugar as much as possible, but sometimes you can also use sugar in the form of syrup or honey.
You can also eat organic cow’s milk products like buttermilk or kefir milk every few days, if you feel they are safe and don’t cause discomfort. People can also use sheep milk and goat milk products.
Do not choose processed foods, choose whole foods is best.
In the Paleo diet, alcohol is often prohibited, so it should not be used on the pegan diet.

Also see: Low Histamine Diet Plan: Which Foods Should I Avoid?

Surely these will make everyone feel extremely confused. While both the Paleo and Vegan diets require careful food selection, many foods are restricted. But the Pegan diet is not like that, but it is also judged that Pegan is more like Paleo than vegan. This is a clean diet and still provides enough nutrients to nourish the body.

Benefits of Pegan diet plan

The pegan diet is really effective to help people’s health improve more and more if followed correctly according to the given Pegan diet plan diet.
The best part about this diet is always focusing on eating fruits and vegetables that help the body to be cleansed.
In terms of providing nutrients, it can be said that fruits and vegetables are always foods that provide a variety of good substances for the body. The composition of fruits and vegetables is full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and plant compounds. These ingredients have been shown to help people prevent disease and reduce both oxidative stress and inflammation.
This diet minimizes healthy, unsaturated fats from fish, nuts, and seeds. Besides, it also limits other types of unhealthy plants that can have a negative impact on human heart health.
What’s more, using a diet based on whole foods and low in processed foods has an impact on improving the overall quality of an individual’s diet.

In short, the nutrients this diet provides can greatly help prevent disease, promote heart health, and reduce inflammation.

Should read: The sirtfood diet plan helps regulate inflammation

Drawbacks of Pegan diet plan

Besides the benefits offered, the pegan diet will also have some limitations that people need to know before starting.

Unnecessary restrictions

Although compared to a vegan or vegan diet, the pegan diet allows for more flexibility. But there are also limitations, many of which suggest unnecessarily limiting very healthy foods. For example, they think that beans, whole grains and dairy should not be eaten in any way.

When it came to the pegan diet, proponents of the diet would argue that legumes, whole grains, and dairy should be eliminated because they cause increased inflammation and high blood sugar.

That’s true for people who are allergic to gluten, and dairy can cause inflammation. Besides, for some people who have difficulty controlling blood sugar, consuming starchy foods such as grains or legumes will also cause symptoms. Then it is necessary to cut back or completely eliminate those foods. However, if you’re healthy and don’t have a specific allergy or intolerance, there’s no need to avoid them altogether.

According to research, arbitrarily eliminating many food groups can cause nutritional deficiencies if they are not replaced carefully. So to have a healthy Pegan diet, you should learn about the nutritional composition for the body. Or you can also get help from a nutritionist.

See: The Must-Know Food to Eat on GERD Diet Plan Menu

Lack of accessibility

In theory, a diet of organic fruits, vegetables, and grass-fed meats is perfect, but for many people it just isn’t. The person doing it will need some time to prepare the cooking and come up with specific plans. Many people are even concerned that these meals will be extremely expensive to choose from.

Another drawback is that when you have to use commonly processed foods like cooking oil, then eating out can be difficult. It will also lead to being isolated from society, unable to integrate into people’s daily lives.

12 fundamental principles of pegan diet plan

Should

Eat as many vegetables as you can
Increase consumption of nuts and seeds
Use meat as a side dish
Make healthy fats your priority
Just consume whole grains
Add beans in pegan diet
Increase consumption of dairy-free products (I have listed in Dairy free diet plan)
Eat sustainably sourced eggs

Shouldn’t

Do not eat too much fruit
Eat high mercury fish
Avoid sugar
Avoid all foods with additives and preservatives

7-Day sample menu for Pegan diet plan

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Vegetable omelet with a simple green salad topped with olive oil.	Kale salad made with chickpeas, strawberries, and avocado.	Grilled salmon with roasted carrots, steamed broccoli and lemon vinegar dressing.
Tuesday	Sweet potato toast with sliced avocado, pumpkin seeds, and lemon vinegar.	A bento with hard-boiled eggs, sliced turkey, raw veggies, fermented pickles, and raspberries.	Stir-fried vegetables with cashews, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and black beans.
Wednesday	Green smoothie with apples, kale, almond butter, and hemp seeds.	Leftover fried vegetables	Grilled shrimp and vegetarian cake with black rice paella
Thursday	Coconut and chia pudding with walnuts and fresh blueberries.	Salad with avocado, cucumber, grilled chicken and apple cider vinegar.	Roasted beetroot salad with pumpkin seeds, Brussels sprouts, and sliced almonds.
Friday	Fried eggs, kimchi and braised vegetables.	Lentil and vegetable stew with a side of sliced cantaloupe.	Salad with radish, jicama, guacamole and grass-fed beef.
Saturday	Overnight oats with cashew milk, chia seeds, walnuts and berries	Lentil casserole	Pork tenderloin with steamed vegetables, greens and quinoa
Sunday	Vegetarian omelet with simple green salad	Thai roll salad with cashew cream sauce and orange slices	Pork tenderloin

See: How To Prep a Week of Vegetarian Mediterranean Diet?

Dieting but still ensuring nutrition is something that everyone wants. The pegan diet plan has provided you with the best quality meals to have a desired body. Besides, the above article also has very honest shares for people to better understand the Pegan diet. Hopefully through that people will have more useful knowledge to get the desired results when starting the diet.

Don’t forget to find out more Diet plans and Recipes on Kerriannjennings.com

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