Questions & Answers
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about the Proper Human Diet, the community, and getting the most out of real food. Search a topic or browse by category.
25 questions
The Proper Human Diet, or PHD, is the way of eating humans thrived on for most of our history: whole animal foods and natural fats, with very few carbohydrates. You build your plate around meat, eggs, and fish, add natural fats like butter and tallow, and keep total carbs low. Vegetables and dairy are optional. There is no calorie counting and no deprivation. You eat real food until you are satisfied.
Start with one meal. Build a plate around a fatty cut of meat, eggs, or fish, cook it in a natural fat like butter or tallow, and skip the bread, pasta, rice, sugar, and seed oils. Do that for your next meal too. You do not have to be perfect to get better. Download the free Proper Human Diet Guidebook for a simple plan you can follow from day one.
You can get the Proper Human Diet Guidebook for free on the guidebook page. Enter your email and we will send it straight to your inbox as a PDF. It walks you through what to eat, what to avoid, and how to start, all in plain English.
Center your plate on whole animal foods: beef, lamb, pork, chicken, eggs, and fatty fish and shellfish. Add natural fats like butter, tallow, ghee, and lard, or approved oils like olive, avocado, and coconut. Organ meats and bone broth are excellent. Low-carb vegetables and full-fat dairy are optional if you tolerate them. The simpler and less processed, the better.
Aim for under 20 grams of total carbs per day. Note that this is total carbs, not net carbs. Keeping carbs that low helps your body shift into a fat-burning state and is where most people see the biggest changes in their energy, weight, and metabolic health.
No. Vegetables and dairy are both optional on the Proper Human Diet. Many people do well including low-carb vegetables and full-fat dairy, and many people feel better with little or none. Eat them if you enjoy and tolerate them, and skip them if you do not. Your health does not depend on either one.
Avoid grains and anything made from them like bread, pasta, rice, and cereal. Avoid sugar and sweets. Avoid seed and vegetable oils such as canola, soybean, corn, and sunflower oil. Avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn, high-sugar fruit, sodas and juices, and ultra-processed packaged foods. Be careful with foods labeled keto-friendly, since many are highly processed with long ingredient lists.
Seed and vegetable oils like canola, soybean, corn, and sunflower oil are highly processed and a recent addition to the human diet. Dr. Berry recommends cooking with natural animal fats like butter and tallow, or with olive, avocado, and coconut oil instead. Swapping out seed oils is one of the simplest high-impact changes you can make.
Yes. By focusing on protein and natural fat and cutting out sugar, grains, and processed food, the Proper Human Diet helps steady your blood sugar and insulin so your body can burn its own fat for fuel. Most people find they feel full longer and stop fighting constant cravings, which makes losing weight feel far more natural.
People report steadier energy, fewer cravings, better sleep, clearer thinking, easier weight management, and improvements in markers of metabolic health. Many also notice non-scale victories like better mood, less joint pain, and clothes fitting better. Results vary from person to person, and your own doctor can help you track your progress.
Many people with type 2 diabetes have improved their blood sugar by lowering their carbohydrate intake. Because a low-carb diet can lower blood sugar quickly, this is also exactly why you must work with your own physician first. If you take medication for diabetes or blood pressure, your doses may need to be adjusted, and that decision belongs to your doctor. Never change your medication on your own.
When you first cut carbs, some people feel tired, headachy, or off for a few days as the body adjusts. This is often called the keto flu and is usually about losing water and minerals. Drinking enough water and getting enough salt, potassium, and magnesium usually helps a lot. It passes for most people within a week.
This is one of the most common questions, and it is a great one to bring to your own physician. Dr. Berry covers the science around fat, cholesterol, and heart health in detail in his book Lies My Doctor Told Me. The best approach is to work with a doctor who will look at your full picture and run the right labs rather than rely on outdated assumptions.
No. Everything here is for general education only and is not medical advice. Reading the site or the guidebook does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always talk to your own physician before changing your diet or your medication, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, take medication, or have a chronic condition. In an emergency, call 911.
The PHD Community lives on the Mighty Networks platform. You can join from the Community page on this site or in the PHD Community app for iPhone and Android. Members get recipes, live sessions with Dr. Berry, support from people on the same path, and more.
Yes. The PHD Community app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. It is the easiest way to stay connected to the community, follow along with content, and keep your momentum from your phone.
The community offers a Pro membership billed monthly or annually, with the annual option offering the best value. You can see current pricing and join from the Community page. There is also a large amount of free content from Dr. Berry on YouTube.
Visit the Find a Coach page to browse certified PHD Health Coaches. Each coach has a profile so you can find someone who fits your goals and reach out to them directly. A good coach can help you personalize the Proper Human Diet to your life.
If you want to help others with the Proper Human Diet, you can get certified through the PHD Health Coach Academy. You can learn more and apply on the academy site, which is linked from the Find a Coach and Community pages.
Lies My Doctor Told Me is Dr. Berry's bestselling book that exposes outdated and harmful medical advice many of us were given for decades about fat, cholesterol, salt, and whole grains, and lays out what the science actually says. It is a blunt, readable wake-up call that has changed how hundreds of thousands of people eat and live.
Along with Lies My Doctor Told Me, Dr. Berry has written Kicking Ass After 50, a guide to optimal health for men over fifty, and co-authored Common Sense Labs, a plain-English guide to understanding your own blood work. You can find them all on the Books page.
The Marketplace is a curated list of products Dr. Berry genuinely recommends and uses, from quality meats and snacks to electrolytes, supplements, and lab panels. Some links are affiliate links, which means Dr. Berry may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend things that fit the Proper Human Diet.
Orders of physical products typically process within one to three business days, and standard domestic shipping usually arrives within three to seven business days after that. You will get a tracking link by email once your order ships. See the Shipping Policy for full details.
Unused items in their original condition can be returned within 30 days. To start a return, email info@drberry.com with your order number. Digital products like the free guidebook are not returnable, and items bought from third-party retailers such as Amazon follow that retailer's policy. See the Return Policy for full details.
Use the Contact page and choose the reason for your message so it reaches the right person, or email info@drberry.com. Please note that Dr. Berry does not personally reply to messages, and the team cannot answer personal medical questions.