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Nobody ever seems to be especially neutral on the topic of vegan health. Most are convinced that a vegan diet is either completely dangerous or a magic bullet cure-all. The myths about vegan eating spring from both sides of the argument and are sometimes completely contradictory. Here are a few of the most common ones.
Myth: Vegans are at risk for iron deficiency.
Truth: Actually, vegans are less likely to get iron deficiency than lacto-ovo vegetarians. Vegans consume more iron and tend to replace milk (which contains no iron and also inhibits iron absorption) with iron-rich foods. Iron from plant foods is absorbed at a lower rate than from meat, but iron deficiency anemia is no more common among vegans than any other group.
Myth: Vegan diets are okay for adults, but not for children.
Truth: Studies show that vegan kids sometimes fall short on a few nutrients compared to omnivore children, but that they have better intakes of other nutrients. All types of diets for children require careful planning. Vegan diets can provide adequate nutrition for children at all stages.
Myth: Dairy foods cause osteoporosis because they are high in protein, so vegans—who don’t drink milk—have lower calcium needs than omnivores.
Truth: Two myths in one! Unfortunately, there isn’t a shred of evidence that dairy foods cause osteoporosis. And the idea that vegans need less calcium than omnivores because of differing protein intakes is debatable. The research on this one is all over the place, with lots of conflicting studies. For now, it’s wise and responsible for vegans to meet standard recommendations for calcium.
Myth: Since vegans don’t drink milk, they can’t get enough calcium without supplements.
Truth: There are a number of plant foods that are good sources of well-absorbed calcium. While vegans can get adequate calcium from natural sources, most don’t meet calcium needs without using fortified foods or supplements. And guess what? Neither do most omnivores.
Myth: Organically-grown plants provide vitamin B12.
Truth: There is no evidence that plants grown in organic soil can provide adequate B12 for vegans. Vegans need to include fortified foods or B12 supplements in their diet. There is absolutely no debate among this among responsible vegan nutritionists.
Myth: Vegans need to consume combinations of plant foods to meet protein needs.
Truth: This myth is definitely a golden oldie. It’s been around since at least the early 1970s—and even though it was refuted in the 1990s, most of the world hasn’t caught up. Sadly, this includes many health professionals and journalists. Here is what the American Dietetic Association along with all vegan nutrition experts say: When vegans get adequate calories and eat a variety of whole foods throughout the day, they get plenty of protein. Protein is not an issue for vegans.
Myth: Vegan diets cause eating disorders in teen girls.
Truth: Some teen girls who already have eating disorders choose vegan or vegetarian diet as a way to control intake. A vegan diet will not cause an eating disorder and is not a sign of an eating disorder.
Myth: Vegan diets are fattening because they are so high in carbohydrates.
Truth: Some vegans are fat and some are skinny. As a group, though, vegans tend to be slimmer than meat eaters. Whole plant foods are high in good carbs and rich in fiber and are good choices for weight control.
Myth: You will automatically lose weight on a vegan diet because it’s so low in fat.
Truth: Most vegan diets are not low in fat. Eating a low fat diet does not guarantee weight loss and eating a vegan diet does not guarantee weight loss. A vegan diet is a healthful way to lose weight, but you still have to use up more calories than you consume.
Myth: Our ancestors ate meat, so vegan diets aren’t natural.
Truth: Our ancestors gnawed raw meat off the bones of animals and scavenged for wild greens. Today’s omnivore diet is completely “unnatural,” because it includes foods like grains and dairy that played no part in the meals of early humans. Vegan diets support health and eliminate animal cruelty. That sounds better than “natural!”
Comments
Great info!
I agree, your Q & A article was very good! I would like to address one point though. You state there is no evidence to support that dairy products contribute to osteoporosis. You may want to look at Colin Campbell's The China Study, which addresses this. If I understand it correctly, animal protein is more acidic than plant protein. For digestion, the body requires a buffer to counter this higher ph level. The primary buffer is calcium, of which the skeletal structure is the source. The acidic environment leads to calcium leaching out of the bones, which rebalances and lowers the blood ph.
Of note, the vast majority of asians, and other cultures that consume low levels of animal protein, have very low levels of osteoporosis. This is true as well for diabetes, obesity, coronary disease and cancer. However, when members of these cultures move to the US and switch to our diet, they (and their offspring) soon are plagued with these deseases at the same rate as the rest of us.
re: dairy and osteoporosis
Protein is not the issue here. Dairy is an acid forming food, and robs calcium from the bones to neutralize it. Please read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, also, Alkalize or Die by Theodore Baroody. Also, vegans who eat enough greens get the calcium from plants, which is bioavailable, whereas the dairy calcium or supplements are not. The body needs the whole live plant matter to assimilate the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc.
I was typing and Steve was posting. You said it better. :)
Steve and Leslie, thanks so much for your comments. The relationship of animal protein to calcium loss from the bones is *far* more complex than most vegans realize. It's not true that Asians have less osteoporosis than westerners. They have fewer hip fractures--but this may be related to some signficant differences in the anatomy of the hip between Asians and Caucasians. In fact, when we look at bone density of the spine, it is similar between Asians and westerners.
The China Study is *one* study. There has been much research in this area and it doesn't all support the China Study. When we look at the whole body of research, it isn't clear at all that animal protein raises calcium requirements.
There is lots of mythology about vegan calcium needs and calcium sources on the internet and in books. I promote vegan diet for ethical reasons and I want vegans to be healthy!
Virginia, another wonderful column! Thanks for writing it and answering those questions that so many of us get as vegans. I track my protein, B12, folic acid, fiber, fat, carbs, and now having read your words I will add calcium. (I use SparkPeople for this).
The comment was:
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Myth: Our ancestors ate meat, so vegan diets aren’t natural.
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Your reply to that wasn't exactly the 'level' truth.
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The fact is that people make personal choices based upon what they 'think' is best for them, and I will suppose that many of them are largely correct about what they think.
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However, any honest evaluation of the matter will arrive at the conclusion that the human alimentary tract is highly adaptable to a wide range of diets, such as to allow survival on most anything edible for a sustained —but NOT indefinite— period of time.
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On the level plain of the truth though, the fact remains that humans have been —and will likely continue to be— omnivores.
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To force one's self to be that which one is not, is asking for trouble in the long run.
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What that amounts to is just this: The human body is not political.
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You are what you are. Live with it: Don't live in denial of the truth.
Humans are frugivore herbivores. Aren't you 't living in denial of the truth. If you're gonna be hypocritical, why not just say nothing.
Thanks, Virginia, for a wonderful, informative article! I look forward to reading more from you...
Peace,
Keith
Boca Raton Animal Rights Examiner
Highlander, I agree that humans have most likely always consumed some meat when they could get it. But I disagree that we evolved as omnivores. My point was that some of the things that most people take for granted as part of the human diet--dairy and grains--were not consumed by people until recently (around 10,000 years ago would be recent in terms of evolution!) So "natural" just doesn't cut it when it comes to deciding what is best to eat. The bottom line is that we don't need meat in our diet and its production is horribly inhumane. So there is no argument in its favor, and that includes the "what is our natural diet?" argument.
Thank you for this article. Very informative. Could you tell me how you know that we haven't consumed dairy and/or grains until recently. to quote you: "around 10,000 years ago". Where can I find information to back this up. If you could stear me to the right direction, I would be greatful. cheers.
Awesome info and very interesting comments too.
thanks for posting this very informative info
Diana, I don't have a handy reference for you about consumption of grains and dairy. It's actually more of a history question than a nutrition one. It's possible that some people ate some dairy and wild grains before 10,000 years ago, but these foods became a more usual part of the diet when people started to farm, which included domesticating animals. Historians say that happened around 10,000 years ago. And the evidence is that dairy was commonly consumed mostly in northern Europe and not very much in other parts of the world.
An excellent article Ginny, thank you. The Vegan Society takes a very similar stance on these issues, for balanced discussion please check their website.
Good post, but it would be even better with more details. For instance:
Vegans "tend to replace milk ... with iron-rich foods." For instance?
"Vegan kids sometimes fall short on a few nutrients compared to omnivore children, but that they have better intakes of other nutrients." In both cases, which nutrients?
"There are a number of plant foods that are good sources of well-absorbed calcium." As in?
I've been vegan so long that I've forgotten most of this info, though I think I'm eating well.
I think Vegan Outreach is correct when they say that debating about health is useless. People will always make arguments against it because they want to defend the status quo. Sometimes, their arguments are completely at odds with fact but they won't back down.
The ethical dilemma is indebatable, though. It's obvious that we don't NEED animal products to survive, and our methods of agriculture now are unnatural and cruel. So we should focus on raising awareness of that.
I'm not saying this wasn't a useful article; I'm just offering insight.
As far as health goes, I'm not bothered with reading every little study. When I went vegan, my skin was clearer, I had more energy, and I lost weight. And I had never been able to lose that weight before. I don't care what anybody else says. "Everyone has completely different dietary needs" seems pretty stupid to me, at least the thinking that some people can be herbivores and others can't. It's a weak excuse.
"Vegan diets .... eliminate animal cruelty"
Myth.
I absolutely abhor the inhumane methods used to brutalize, torture, and slaughter harmless, helpless animals that have never hurt us in any way. And those who belligerently defend their animal eating are just threatened because we are interfering with their status quo. I hate going to the grocery stores and seeing all these neatly packaged products...as a result of this horrible cruelty...being bought by all of the clueless idiots who don't care about how these "packages" made it to the market. Oh, it's not their fault, they think...YES it is because if you refused to participate, the meat and dairy industry would be a thing of the past. I only look forward to the karmic consequences these uncaring humans are going to face. That does give me some comfort. After all, why would the universe (for lack of a better word) allow this harming of living creatures?
absolutely abhor the inhumane methods used to brutalize, torture, and slaughter harmless, helpless animals that have never hurt us in any way. And those who belligerently defend their animal eating are just threatened because we are interfering with their status quo. I hate going to the grocery stores and seeing all these neatly packaged products...as a result of this horrible cruelty...being bought by all of the clueless idiots who don't care about how these "packages" made it to the market. Oh, it's not their fault, they think...YES it is because if you refused to participate, the meat and dairy industry would be a thing of the past. I only look forward to the karmic consequences these uncaring humans are going to face. That does give me some comfort. After all, why would the universe (for lack of a better word) allow this harming of living creatures?
If you want to get real technical, there is no specific "natural" diet. Different societies lived off of different resources, so each "natural" diet will vary. My personal opinion is the best diet is to eat vegan 90% of the time, and occaisonally eat fish, chicken, or other lean meats the other 10%. In other words, an omnivore diet that greatly leans to the vegetarian side.
Terrible article, that completely ignores the vast majority of new science on the matter of metabolism and digestion.
I know you veggies love feeling good about yourselves, but just do some research. Even NPR is starting to get it. I can't post links, so just google NPR and "Food For Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made Us Smarter"
.....with NO sciencific evidence. If you can't wake up, go back to sleep.
I've spent the entire morning trying to find credible science that supports a vegan diet. The fact is, it's just not there.
All the serious science points directly at a paleo-style diet, being the most healthy. Just look it up, and decide for yourselves.
By the way, paleo-diets encourage free-range, and pastured animal food. So, you can still "feel" good about what you're eating, knowing the animals weren't pent up in some slaughterhouse.
Good article.
But........
You say "The research on(calcium/milk) is all over the place, with lots of conflicting studies."
The reason for the conflicting studies is.......... Milk is THE MOST political (corrupt) food. Big money - big scam.
And I don't care for your labeling any nutritionist irresponsible that debates B12 presumptions. Where do elephants and gorillas get B12? Bacteria.....it's everywhere. Omin's get B12 deficiency too, so isn't it irresponsible not to recommend sup's for them
"No evidence" ----- Proof: Gorillas, monkeys, chimps, orangutans, bonobos, elephants, horses, Rhinos........"Fruitarian wins marathon" ..... Micheal Arnstien runs to and from work (150 miles a week). Dr. Graham, Harley Johnston, , Vegan Scott Jurek: Greatest Ultra-marathoner in history.
Long-term raw-vegans:
Paul Bragg. Died at 95 in a body-surfing accident.
Storm Talifero, below at 53 years old, raw vegan for 31 years http://www.thegardendiet.com/storm2.html
Juiceman. No animal products for 50 or 60 years. He's said he often eats fruitarian.
Jim Morris 72+ , I don't know how long he's been raw
Vegetarain athletes:
Snowboarder Hannah Teter who won Silver in 2010.
A number of professional
athletes and Olympic superstars have touted the benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.
Four-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl, powerlifting champion
Bill Mannetti, 1951 Mr. America ,
Stan Price, the world-record holder in bench press,
I had arthritis or osteoporosis in my knees for many years and also was getting osteopenia in my wrist from a severe fracture that was then years old.i became vegan three years ago and one year ago someone shook my hand for the first time i a long time and i screamed in agony.about a month ago i noticed that my knees no longer made the horrible sound of old bones when i squat and now people can squeeze hy hand as hard as they like and there is absolutely no pain.you say that dairy products do not cause osteoporosis? i beg to differ.veganism is the best diet for humans,and the benefits from humans eating a vegan diet extend to all other species and the entire planet.
Dairy most definitely does have a huge part in the cause for osteroporosis! A very good book, with lots of documents, Whitewash: The Disturbing Truth About Cow's Milk and Your Health
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