Introducing The Hippest Diet Of Them All: The Pegan (Paleo-Vegan) Diet

Nowadays, gluten-free and animal product-free restaurants and shops are popping up everywhere you look. It's true that the paleo diet (which restricts the intake of grains and processed foods) and the vegan diet (which bans the consumption of any animal products) are two of the most popular niche diets out there. But what about a diet that combines the best elements of both? Introducing the "pegan diet": a part-vegan, part-paleo diet.

If you're thinking "How on earth could these two diets have anything to do with each other?" you wouldn't be wrong.After all, paleo followers are big on meat consumption, while vegans, obviously, are not. But the pegan diet takes a slightly more relaxed approach to the restrictions of both diets: Participants eat sustainable meat but avoid dairy, and they restrict (but do not completely shun) grains. They also avoid sugars and processed foods like the plague.

The concept was largely patented by Dr. Mark Hyman, nutrition advocate and Internet personality.

"This way of eating makes the most sense for our health and the health of our planet," Hyman says in a blog post on the topic.  "It is sustainable and kinder to animals."