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Step 4: Eliminate Animal Foods

If you want permanent weight loss and disease prevention, cutting out animal foods is one of the most powerful changes you can make.

Decades of research, along with the real-world results of people who have adopted a starch-based diet, show that animal products promote obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

In contrast, a whole-food, plant-based diet leads to lean, disease-free longevity.

Many people assume that lean meats, dairy, and eggs are necessary for protein, calcium, or other nutrients. But the truth is that animal foods are not essential for health. In fact, they are harmful, not just for weight loss, but for overall well-being.

Here’s why eliminating animal foods is a key step in the Nasrawy Method.

 

Animal Foods Promote Weight Gain (Through Fat and Caloric Density)

Most animal foods are high in fat and calorie density, making them easy to overconsume.

  • Fat is stored directly as body fat. While excess carbohydrates are burned off or stored as glycogen, dietary fat is directly deposited into fat cells with little effort from the body.
  • Meat, dairy, and eggs contain high levels of fat. Even "lean" meats still contain significant fat and zero fiber, making them calorically dense and easy to overeat.
  • Cheese is one of the most fattening foods on the planet. It is 70% fat, with more calories per ounce than butter. It’s designed to be addictive, leading to overconsumption.

Many people believe that chicken and fish are "healthy proteins," but they are still loaded with fat compared to plant-based options.

Even "lean" chicken has double to triple the calorie density of potatoes, rice, or beans. Fish is even worse, especially fatty fish like salmon, which contains 40 to 50% of its calories from fat.

If your goal is weight loss, eliminating animal foods is crucial.

 

Animal Protein Increases the Risk of Chronic Disease

Beyond weight gain, animal foods contribute to major diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Heart Disease: The #1 Killer

  • Animal foods are the primary source of saturated fat and cholesterol, which clog arteries and raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
  • Populations that eat low-fat, plant-based diets (like rural Asians and Blue Zone cultures) have almost no heart disease, until they adopt a Western diet.
  • The Tarahumara people of Mexico live on a starch-based diet of corn and beans. Studies show they have near-zero rates of heart disease, with arteries as clean in old age as in childhood. When they switch to a Western diet, they develop heart disease like everyone else.

Diabetes: A Fat Problem, Not a Carbohydrate Problem

  • Contrary to popular belief, diabetes is caused by fat intake, not carbohydrate intake.
  • Animal fats interfere with insulin function, making it harder for the body to regulate blood sugar.
  • Many plant-based doctors have seen hundreds of patients reverse type 2 diabetes by adopting a starch-based diet with no animal foods. They stop needing insulin, lower blood sugar levels, and regain energy, something no high-protein, low-carb diet has ever been able to achieve sustainably.

Cancer: The Hidden Risk of Animal Protein

  • Animal foods, especially processed meats like bacon, sausage, and deli meats, have been classified as Group 1 carcinogens by the WHO. This means they are as cancer-causing as cigarettes.
  • High animal protein intake triggers the release of IGF-1, a hormone that promotes cancer cell growth.
  • Dairy is linked to hormone-driven cancers such as breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer because it contains estrogen-like growth factors.
  • Women face increased breast cancer risk due to dairy consumption.

Cutting out animal foods isn’t just about weight, it’s about preventing deadly diseases.

 

What About Protein? Do We Need Animal Foods for Muscle and Strength?

One of the biggest myths in nutrition is that we need animal protein to be strong and healthy.

  • Starches provide enough protein. The average person needs 5 to 10% of calories from protein, and whole plant foods already provide this naturally.
  • Excess protein is harmful. High-protein diets increase the risk of kidney disease, osteoporosis, and cancer.
  • Plant-based athletes thrive. Some of the world’s strongest athletes thrive on plant-based diets.

The strongest land animals (elephants, gorillas, and oxen) eat plants, not meat. Their strength comes from starches and greens, not animal protein. Humans are the same.

If you’re eating a balanced, whole-food, plant-based diet, you will get all the protein you need without excess fat, cholesterol, or disease risk.

 

The 5 to 10% Animal Food Rule (For Those Who Aren’t Ready to Go Fully Plant-Based)

If you’re struggling to eliminate animal foods completely, keeping them to a strict minimum (5 to 10% of your diet) can still significantly reduce disease risk.

  • 1.5 pounds of animal foods per week is the absolute maximum. Anything beyond this increases disease risk.
  • If you must eat animal products, choose lean, minimally processed options. But remember that all animal foods still promote weight gain and disease compared to a starch-based diet.

 

Eliminating Animal Foods is One of the Most Powerful Steps for Weight Loss and Health

Animal foods are the root cause of modern diseases, and eliminating them is the key to permanent weight loss and optimal health.

  • Animal products promote weight gain due to their high fat content and calorie density.
  • They contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer through cholesterol, saturated fat, and hormones.
  • All essential nutrients, including protein, can be obtained from whole plant foods.
  • Cutting out animal foods eliminates one of the biggest dietary sources of disease, allowing your body to heal.

The more you eliminate animal foods, the healthier you’ll be. If your goal is permanent weight loss and disease prevention, this step is non-negotiable.