Stephen Lashbrook, a 50-year-old man from Pensacola, Florida, claims that an extreme meat-only diet, inspired by influencer Mikhaila Peterson, cured his severe psoriasis and depression within months of starting it on January 1, 2024. He now eats only grass-fed beef and steak and reports significant improvements in both mental health and skin condition without medical supervision or follow-up tests. However, Dr. Michael Aziz warns that such diets can lead to long-term health issues like constipation, kidney stones, and increased risks of heart attack and stroke due to the lack of fiber and other essential nutrients.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A 50-year-old Florida man named Stephen Lashbrook claims that an extreme "lion diet," which involves eating only meat, has significantly improved his severe psoriasis and depression. Lashbrook, from Pensacola, suffered from chronic pain, sleeplessness, and psoriasis since childhood. Despite trying various medications including creams and steroids, he found little relief. Doctors had recommended expensive long-term injections to manage his inflammation, leaving him feeling hopeless and suicidal. After discovering a TED Talk by Mikhaila Peterson, who used a meat-only diet to address her own health issues, Lashbrook adopted an initial sugar-, grain-, fruit-, and vegetable-free diet before fully committing to the "lion diet" on January 1, 2024. He reported that this change gave him "a whole new lease on life." However, medical experts like Dr. Michael Aziz caution that while some may feel better from cutting out processed foods, there is no scientific evidence supporting the carnivore diet as a treatment for psoriasis or other chronic conditions.
Written for “Meat Only Diet Benefits” on 2026-09-17,
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A 50-year-old Florida man who says he spent decades battling severe psoriasis, pain, and depression credits an extreme “lion diet” with saving his life.
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he → say → life
Stephen Lashbrook of Pensacola told Fox News Digital that his depression began at just four years old.
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depression → tell → Digital
In his teens, it was compounded by chronic pain and sleeplessness; in his early 20s, he was diagnosed with psoriasis, an immune-mediated skin disease.
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he → compound → psoriasis
“I was probably 90% covered in psoriasis
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I → cover → psoriasis
,” Lashbrook said.
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Lashbrook → say → ?
Creams, steroids, and other medications did not help, he said.
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he → help → ?
Doctors recommended expensive, long-term injections to combat his inflammation, which left Lashbrook feeling hopeless and suicidal.
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which → recommend → Lashbrook
Then, he came across a TED Talk from Mikhaila Peterson, an influencer and the daughter of Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, who used a meat-only elimination diet to tackle her own health issues.
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who → come → issues
“It gave me a whole new lease on life,” he said.
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he → give → life
Lashbrook said he initially cut sugar, grains, fruits and vegetables from his diet.
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he → say → diet
On Jan. 1, 2024, he committed to the “lion diet,” a strict carnivore diet variation centered on ruminant animal meat — “your cow, your buffalo, your lamb, your goat,” he told Fox News Digital.
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he → commit → Digital
Within a week, Lashbrook said his itching and suicidal thoughts stopped and, within a month, his skin began to clear up, and his pain subsided.
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pain → say → month
“I haven’t had one suicidal thought.
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I haven’t had any depression.
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I → have → depression
I haven’t had any pain,” he said.
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he → have → pain
“All my skin issues cleared up.”
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issues → clear → ?
His current menu consists of only grass-fed ground beef and steak.
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menu → consist → beef
Lashbrook said he generally eats one meal per day — about 1.5 to 2 pounds of high-fat ground beef, usually cooked in an air fryer.
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“I feel like I’m reverse aging,” he said.
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he → feel → aging
His reported improvements are based on personal experience.
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improvements → report → experience
Lashbrook said he has not had follow-up blood work or visited a doctor since changing his diet, preferring to judge the approach by how he feels.
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“Everyone’s different,” he added.
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“Not everybody needs to be on a lion diet. …
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I’m a very specific case.”
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Dr. Michael Aziz, a New York City-based internist and regenerative medicine specialist, said that while some people may feel better after cutting sugar and ultra-processed foods, that does not establish the carnivore diet as a treatment for psoriasis or other chronic conditions.
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“Many people judge this diet by their success, by their weight loss, but they don’t look long-term at their lifespan, how it can be affected by those diets,” he told Fox News Digital.
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One of the main problems, Aziz added, is that carnivore-centered diets lack fiber.
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“They can lead to problems like constipation.
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They can lead to kidney stones.
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They can lead to increased risks for heart attack and stroke,” he said.
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Yet meat- and protein-forward diets have drawn recent attention online and in the mainstream, especially as people seek to cut out ultra-processed foods.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he follows a carnivore diet centered on meat and fermented foods, claiming it helped him lose weight and gain mental clarity.
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him → draw → clarity
Like Lashbrook, Kennedy has acknowledged that his experience may not be right for everyone, and medical experts have cautioned that long-term effects of the carnivore diet remain unclear.
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effects → acknowledge → diet
Lashbrook will share his story this week at Carni-Con, a virtual convention centered around carnivore diets.
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The event runs from Sept. 18–20 and features doctors, creators, and other diet advocates.
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“The stories are what’s most important,” Lashbrook said.
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“If people don’t hear that these healings are possible, they’re not going to know.”
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they → hear → ?
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