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.
asserted
he → say → life
Stephen Lashbrook of Pensacola told Fox News Digital that his depression began at just four years old.
asserted
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.
asserted
he → compound → psoriasis
“I was probably 90% covered in psoriasis
asserted
I → cover → psoriasis
,” Lashbrook said.
asserted
Lashbrook → say → ?
Creams, steroids, and other medications did not help, he said.
asserted
he → help → ?
Doctors recommended expensive, long-term injections to combat his inflammation, which left Lashbrook feeling hopeless and suicidal.
asserted
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.
asserted
who → come → issues
“It gave me a whole new lease on life,” he said.
asserted
he → give → life
Lashbrook said he initially cut sugar, grains, fruits and vegetables from his diet.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
pain → say → month
“I haven’t had one suicidal thought.
asserted
I → have → thought
I haven’t had any depression.
asserted
I → have → depression
I haven’t had any pain,” he said.
asserted
he → have → pain
“All my skin issues cleared up.”
asserted
issues → clear → ?
His current menu consists of only grass-fed ground beef and steak.
asserted
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.
asserted
he → say → fryer
“I feel like I’m reverse aging,” he said.
asserted
he → feel → aging
His reported improvements are based on personal experience.
asserted
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.
asserted
he → say → approach
“Everyone’s different,” he added.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
“Not everybody needs to be on a lion diet. …
asserted
everybody → need → diet
I’m a very specific case.”
asserted
I → ’m → ?
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.
uncertain
that → base → psoriasis
“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.
asserted
he → judge → Digital
One of the main problems, Aziz added, is that carnivore-centered diets lack fiber.
asserted
diets → add → fiber
“They can lead to problems like constipation.
asserted
They → lead → constipation
They can lead to kidney stones.
asserted
They → lead → stones
They can lead to increased risks for heart attack and stroke,” he said.
asserted
he → lead → attack
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.
asserted
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.
uncertain
effects → acknowledge → diet
Lashbrook will share his story this week at Carni-Con, a virtual convention centered around carnivore diets.
asserted
Lashbrook → share → diets
The event runs from Sept. 18–20 and features doctors, creators, and other diet advocates.
asserted
event → run → doctors
“The stories are what’s most important,” Lashbrook said.
asserted
Lashbrook → ’ → ?
“If people don’t hear that these healings are possible, they’re not going to know.”
asserted
they → hear → ?
The Aporia
