Health experts warn against TikTok’s viral ‘Lion Diet’ trend

A nutritionist has issued a warning following TikTok’s viral ‘Lion Diet’ trend that consists of eating just meat, salt and water.

The latest diet trend sweeping TikTok sees people challenging themselves to consume only meat, salt and water for 30 days in a bid to improve their health.

The ‘Lion Diet,’ has been deemed as a “healing elimination diet,” as it focuses on eliminating most ingredients to identify potential food sensitivities.

It was originally created by Mikhaila Peterson, a lifestyle blogger and podcast host who claims she was able to improve her health by following this diet.

Many followers of the restrictive diet have reported improvements in their energy levels, the alleviation of allergies and intolerances, and relief from issues like insomnia or headaches.

However, despite its popularity on social media, not everyone is convinced of its apparent health benefits.

TikTok’s viral ‘Lion Diet’ slammed by health experts

Claudia Le Feuvre, a nutritional therapist and eating psychology coach at Goldster, urged people to “skip out trying this TikTok trend.”

She explained that following this diet means missing out on vital nutrients which could lead to a deficiency in the long-term.

“The biggest risk is that if you’re only eating beef, you are missing out on other nutrients like healthy fats, fibre and all the vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables,” she explained. “In the long run, you could develop a significant nutrient deficiency.”

According to the nutritionist, long-term results and consequences from this are likely to include, “halitosis (bad breath), piles, high cholesterol, constipation, haemorrhoids and very low energy because they’re missing a lot of the fibre and good nutrients from carbohydrates.”

Claudia’s concerns were backed up by Healthline, who said, “In addition to being high in saturated fat, it’s unsustainable and likely to lead to nutritional deficiencies.”

It added that as well as “being potentially very unhealthy, the Lion Diet is difficult to follow and unsustainable in the long term.”