Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40046365›Full record

ReviewCureus2025

Traditional Maasai Dietary Practices and Their Inapplicability to Modern Carnivore Diets: A Narrative Review.

David M Goldman, Thomas J Waterfall, Matthew Nagra

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

David M GoldmanResearch and Development, Metabite, New York, USA.
Thomas J WaterfallNutrition, Game Changers Institute, Laguna Niguel, USA.
Matthew NagraFamily Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CAN.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The traditional dietary practices of the Maasai people frequently are cited to support meat-based diets in industrialized populations, owing to the historically low prevalence of cardiovascular disease among this nomadic pastoralist group. However, such comparisons typically neglect the multifaceted interplay of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that underpin Maasai health outcomes. This narrative review critically examines the socio-ecological context of the Maasai, highlighting their unique genetic adaptations for cholesterol metabolism, high physical activity levels, intermittent fasting, calorie restriction, and high-altitude living. It also addresses the confounding effects of infectious diseases and a reduced life expectancy, which shape their cardiovascular risk profile. Significant differences in the dietary composition and context exist between the traditional Maasai diet and modern meat-based dietary patterns, rendering generalizations problematic. This review emphasizes the importance of population-specific factors and underscores the limitations of extrapolating health benefits attributed to the traditional Maasai diet to other populations who do not share these factors.

Indexed as

carnivore dietdiet and cardiovascular healthdietary generalizabilitymaasai dietmeat-based dietpastoralist nutrition

Identifiers

PMID40046365
PMCPMC11882341

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.