Finding reliable sources of information about vegan nutrition

June 18, 12:10 PMSeattle Vegan ExaminerVirginia Messina, MPH, RD

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I’m working on a third edition right now of a textbook on vegetarian nutrition. When my co-authors and I wrote the first edition in 1996, we looked at well over 1,000 research articles that related in some way to vegan or vegetarian diet. We’ll be looking at many more this time around.

Wading through that material is an overwhelming task and it reminds me once again of how complex and confusing the vegan nutrition story is.

Sticking to the facts when we talk about vegan diet matters. If our argument isn’t built on a strong and reliable foundation, we give people the opportunity to dismiss us or show that we don’t know what we’re talking about. And when bad information causes vegans to adopt risky nutrition behaviors, we give the opposition more ammunition for their “vegan diets are unhealthy” argument.

But how to recognize what’s true and what’s not about vegan nutrition? It’s not that easy. For starters, though, be suspicious of any sources of information that do the following:

• Promote outdated ideas about vegan nutrition. How can you tell? A good starting point is to look for vegan advocates who are saying the exact same thing about diet that they were saying ten or twenty years ago! In my career as a vegan dietitian I have promoted very low fat diets and have said that vegans have lower calcium needs than omnivores. I also used to say that vegetarians needed to combine proteins to meet protein needs. At one time or another, all of those things seemed true based on available evidence. Newer research has persuaded me to tweak my recommendations. And that is true of every other responsible vegan expert I know.

• Make recommendations based exclusively on one person’s research or experience. Every piece of research contributes to what we know about vegan diet. But no single study is the final word on any aspect of nutrition.

• Scorn the idea of supplements and fortified foods. Vegans need vitamin B12 supplements or vitamin B12-fortified foods. Anyone who tries to argue that fact away is not a reliable source of information. The need for other supplements—calcium, omega-3 fats, vitamin D—is much more controversial, but reliable experts will at least present these as issues that need some consideration.

• Say you need to give up certain groups of plant foods in order to be healthy. Making whole, unprocessed foods the center of your diet is a good bet for good health. But any plant foods—including chocolate, tofu, and olive oil—can play a role in healthful vegan diets.

• Make promises they can’t keep. Some people see their skin clear up and pounds drop off when they go vegan. But that’s not true for everyone. Promises that a vegan diet will cure all your health problems and prevent any future diseases are unfair and unreliable.

• Promote vegan diet as the only healthful way to eat. Vegan diets are far better than the way most Americans eat. But we just don’t have the data to show that they are the only healthful diet. We already have an unassailable message—that a vegan diet is the only responsible and ethical way to eat. There is no need to embellish that with statements that can’t be supported.

Tomorrow I’ll post my favorite websites—places where you can always find reliable information. Stay tuned!