Man says extreme ‘lion diet’ cleared his depression and psoriasis covering 90% of body
A man who says psoriasis once covered around 90 percent of his body has credited an extreme meat-only diet with transforming his life.
Stephen Lashbrook, 50, from Pensacola, Florida, says he spent decades dealing with psoriasis, chronic pain, sleeplessness, and depression before changing what he ate.
His psoriasis was diagnosed when he was in his early 20s, and Lashbrook claims it eventually became so severe that most of his body was affected.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, he said: "I was probably 90% covered in psoriasis. My body was just one big, giant, itchy, flaky scab."
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Lashbrook said creams, steroids and other medications did not provide lasting relief, whilst doctors later recommended long-term injections to tackle the inflammation.
He eventually came across a TED Talk from Mikhaila Peterson, who has spoken publicly about following a meat-only elimination diet for her own health issues.
From there, Lashbrook began cutting out sugar, grains, fruit and vegetables before committing to the highly restrictive 'lion diet' on 1 January 2024.
Compared to the standard carnivore diet, which consists of eating only animal products (meat, seafood, butter, etc.), the lion diet focuses on just meat from ruminant animals such as cows, buffalo, lamb and goats — any hoofed herbivore mammal that has a three- or four-chambered stomach.
Lashbrook says he now eats an even narrower selection of foods, sticking to grass-fed ground beef and steak. He generally has one meal each day consisting of between 1.5 and two pounds of high-fat ground beef.
What’s more, he claims the change in his health happened rather quickly.
Within around a week, Lashbrook says his itching and suicidal thoughts stopped, whilst his skin began clearing, and his chronic pain eased within a month.
He said: "I haven't had one suicidal thought. I haven't had any depression. I haven't had any pain…All my skin issues cleared up."
Lashbrook added: "I feel like I'm reverse aging."
His experience has since become the basis for a much bigger project, with Lashbrook setting up a GoFundMe titled 'Help Build the World's First Carnivore Healing Retreat'.
The fundraiser has collected $9,225 (£6,800) from 95 donations towards an $800,000 (£590,000) target.
Lashbrook says the planned retreat would help people dealing with issues including psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, food addiction, trauma, and PTSD.
Plans listed on the fundraiser include personalised carnivore-based nutrition programmes, fitness plans, mindfulness workshops, equestrian therapy, art and music therapy, and one-to-one coaching.
Whilst the retreat was originally described as being based in the Southwest and Colorado Rockies, Lashbrook later posted an update saying he was 'safe and sound in Florida now' and would instead focus on finding a location there.
However, Lashbrook has also made clear that his own results do not mean the same approach will work for everyone.
That said, Lashbrook did make clear to Fox: "Everyone's different…Not everybody needs to be on a lion diet. ... I'm a very specific case."
He has also said he has not had follow-up blood work or visited a doctor since changing his diet.
Medical experts, like New York specialist Dr. Michael Aziz, have warned that one person's experience does not establish a carnivore diet as a treatment for psoriasis, depression or other chronic illnesses, with concerns also raised over its lack of fibre and potential long-term health risks.
Aziz added: “They can lead to problems like constipation. They can lead to kidney stones. They can lead to increased risks for heart attack and stroke.”
Ben Williams