Is the vegan diet healthy and sustainable? Are their risks to consider before embarking on such a drastic dietary change? Learn all about what I consider the vegan diet dangers and the ramifications of the diet on your whole body.
Definition: vegan diets exclude all animal products including meat, eggs, seafood, dairy products, and honey.
1) Historically, there are no wide-spread cultures that have thrived by subsisting off of animal-free diets.
Gleaning dietary wisdom from those who have come before you is one of the best ways to learn about health. Ancestral eating habits contain wisdom more powerful than scientific studies, as they show what eating practices have sustained us as a population up to this point.
Check out this book to learn more about Dr. Weston Price, a dentist who traveled the world to study the dietary behaviors and consequences of various dietary practices. Dr. Price made the ground-breaking discovery about the link between a diet low in animal foods (thus low in fat-soluble vitamins) and tooth decay.
2) People often turn to vegan diets because they have trouble digesting meat and dairy products and have other issues like fatigue, inflammation, acne, bloating, and weight gain.
Intolerance to certain foods does not mean there is a problem with that particular food group per se, but it does indicate imbalances present within the body. These imbalances can cause weaker digestive function (such as slowed metabolism and sluggish thyroid function). Some people tend to gravitate toward a vegan diet because the included foods are "easier" to digest due to poor digestive juices. Eliminating these "problematic foods" completely and permanently only avoids the problem. Instead, it's best to focus on getting to the root of the issue, which is working to re-balance the body (including addressing any nutritional deficiencies) to regain tolerance of a wide variety of foods.
3) The best diets are those with the greatest variety of nutrients and without dietary limitations.
Blacklisting certain food groups interferes with your body's communication system. This causes you to ignore your body's cravings by placing certain types of food off-limits. According to Dr. Ray Peat, “Any craving is a good starting point, because we have several biological mechanisms for correcting specific nutritional deficiencies.”
After working with hundreds of clients, I've noticed that ill-health often begins the minute you start ignoring your body in favor of some dietary dogma that makes your ignore your inner voice.
One of the reason I suspect that so many of my clients do poorly on a vegan diet boils down to genetics and methylation status. You see, undermethylators make up approximately 22% of the population and tend to be deficient in methionine (an amino acid or building block of protein) and SAM-E, so getting enough protein for them is essential for balancing their methylation status (as can be determined by a whole blood histamine test). On the other side of the fence, overmethylators (about 8% of the population) could benefit from a diet lower in animal protein.
If you're looking to improve your health, listening to your body over dietary dogma of any kind is absolutely essential, as is getting any testing that may help you along in that process.
4) Vegan diets tend to be low in high-quality protein (and low protein diets can increase toxicity).
Did you know that there is a big difference in the protein quality of animals vs. plants?
According to Dr. Ray Peat, PhD, “One thing that happens in the vegetable diet, heavily based on [the] cabbage family, or beans, lentils and nuts, these proteins, in quality, rank about 15 times lower than the highest quality protein. And so even though a person might think they’re eating nothing but protein rich foods, beans, and nuts, their quality is so low that their liver simply can’t respond to the thyroid."
To counterbalance this, processed plant proteins (protein powders and meat substitutes) are commonplace; further contributing to nutritional deficiencies. According to this recent study, vegans and vegetarians also have lower sperm count and mobility.
Liver detoxification takes a big hit when you don't get enough high quality protein too. Phase 2 liver detoxification is driven by amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Long-term vegan diets tend to impair liver detoxification pathways leading to toxicity. According to Dr. Ray Peat, “Protein deficiency itself contributes to the harm done by toxins, since the liver’s ability to detoxify them depends on adequate nutrition, especially good protein.”
5) Plant foods don't contain real Vitamin A, only the precursors that require conversion.
Real vitamin A, called retinol is only found in animal foods. Plant foods contain vitamin A precursors, such as beta-carotene that requires conversion into real vitamin A by the liver and intestines if conditions are right.
However, some gene mutations can decrease ones ability to make this conversion by up to 90%! Aside from genetic mutations that can impact ones ability to get real vitamin A from plant foods like carrots and sweet potatoes, there are also non-genetic factors such as poor gut health, low thyroid function (will slow the conversion of beta carotene to vitamin A), liver disease, and nutritional deficiencies that can greatly reduce your body's ability to make this conversion.
As a little reminder, vitamin A is important for thyroid function, hormone production, fertility, a healthy immune system, eye health, and fighting fatigue, but also subject to toxicity making vitamin A supplements a big no-no.
6) Plant-based diets can decrease digestive juices.
Animal protein stimulates the production of HCL (hydrochloric acid) in your stomach to break down proteins. Proper digestion begins with strong stomach acid production that sets the stage for the pH driven digestive process. Without regular and healthy stimulation of digestive juices, your digestion weakens and fewer nutrients are able to be absorbed in your body.
7) Dietary dogma that if it's not working for you, you're doing it "wrong."
Immersion in any dietary paradigm can be very powerful, and the vegan community is no exception. It's common to hear when someone is not feeling well on a vegan diet, that they are "doing it wrong." A 10 year vegan blogger shares her story and experience:
I remember over the years when people would go vegan and then stop because they didn't feel well on it, I used to think to myself, “Well, they’re simply not doing it right.” Some people complained of lack of libido, lack of iron, lack of energy, etc. I now realize, quite humbled, that many of those problems may have been valid, even if they were doing a vegan diet “right.” Perhaps it took longer for the vegan diet to take a toll on my health than others. More likely I just couldn't admit it to myself because my beliefs were so strong, constantly reaffirmed by my full-time immersion in the understandably self-reinforcing vegan culture. -Kristen of Kristen's Raw
8) Because of the body's ability to adapt to any type of fuel for survival, it often takes time to see the negative impact.
Due to the body's incredible ability to adapt, the decline of health due to a vegan diet is often slow and gradual. This can make it very difficult to detect. At first, you may not notice the lack of fat soluble nutrients you're getting (particularly retinol and K2) and that a protein deficiency is hurting your health.
Because your body will first exhaust your "nutritional bank account," it may be many months or years until nutrient deficiencies cause impaired detoxification, thyroid issues, and/or hormonal imbalance.
9) Vegan dieters often favor soy products.
Since protein is scarce when you avoid animal products, soy products like edamame, tofu, soy protein powder, and tempeh are often dietary staples. The reality is that soy protein is very difficult to digest, thyroid suppressive and estrogenic due to phytoestrogens. It also contains high levels of phytic acid that cause less assimilation of nutrients, as well as contain trypsin inhibitors that can interfere with digestion.
10) Vegan diets can be heavy in nut consumption.
In an effort to increase dietary protein and calories, nuts are often adopted to form a more significant part of the diet. But there are major downfalls to heavy nut consumption. Nuts are very hard to break down, especially for those with low stomach acid. They are also very high in polyunsaturated fats, contain enzyme inhibitors, and include phytic acid that blocks the absorption of minerals.
Want to find out if a vegan diet is making you accumulate nutritional debt?
Take the quiz below to find out!
What's been your experience with a vegan diet? Please share your thoughts!
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Further reading:
The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith
Kristen's story by Kristen's Raw
References:
Orzylowska, E.M. et al. Decreased sperm concentration and motility in a subpopulation of vegetarian males at a designated blue zone geographic region. Fertility and Sterility , Volume 102 , Issue 3 , e273. http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282%2814%2901556-8/fulltext
Ray Peat Interview with Gary Null. 1996. Retrieved on May 15, 2013. http://eastwesthealing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/NPRraypeatinterview1996.mp3
Weston Price Foundation. Soy Alert. Retrieved on September 16, 2013 from http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert
Two common single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding beta-carotene 15,15'-monoxygenase alter beta-carotene metabolism in female volunteers. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19103647
Loss-of-Function Mutation in Carotenoid 15,15′-Monooxygenase Identified in a Patient with Hypercarotenemia and Hypovitaminosis A1–3 http://jn.nutrition.org/content/137/11/2346.long
Laidlaw SA, Shultz TD, Cecchino JT, Kopple JD. Plasma and urine taurine levels in vegans. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988 Apr;47(4):660-3.
jc
I just love when someone who isn't vegan writes about it, NOT! I've been vegan for 25 years and consider it one of the best decisions of my life (my doctor agrees). Here's a video to help everyone understand why so many people are making this life affirming choice and why the number of vegans has doubled in the US in less than 3 years.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKr4HZ7ukSE
Melissa
I agree with jc. The real danger are posts like these that perpetuate the myth that veganism itself is a danger. True, anyone can eat a "crappy" vegan diet with the wide availability of the latest versions of vegan "junk food", but in the wise words of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, our current society is sicker than ever before--diabetes, obesity, heart disease--all of which are diseases of excess. Our society has become excessively sick by eating their processed (and omnivorous) diets. If you watch the documentaries "Forks Over Knives" or "Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead", you will see plant-based eating has the potential to heal the body.
william
like all diets.. making an educated decision is the important thing. Which is exactly what this article points out. Going into a vegan diet without educating yourself on the right diet is dangerous. At no point does that mean you can't do it, it simply points out the reasons why some people do suffer from making the choice. That's called education, that's how you make good decisions.
JSL
Well put friend..
Md
Lol, and I guess you have no simple knowledge about veganism
Sylvie
I do think that the most important thing about diets is to take the time to know ourselves. Vegan is ok for people who's metabolism agrees with it. Mine does not, at all!
There is no universal healthy way of eating, but there is one for each person and it's important to find the right one for us.
Some say that eating meat can't be good but for me not eating it equals big hormonal problems. I consulted a doctor in naturopathy and after several tests he told me that the worst thing for me would be a vegeterian diet.
I would love to be vegeterian but it does not agree with me.
The problem is not to eat this way or that way, it is to eat in a way that does not agree with us.
Some people find the way right way for them and then think that everybody should eat the same way. Can we respect the fact that everybody is different?
Crystal
Thank you for the person above me for saying what I've been wanting to tell people for the longest time!
The whole "Omnivorous isn't healthy" bull isn't true, by the way. If our bodies were truly designed to not eat meat, we'd all be sick after a burger or steak tips, and we wouldn't have canines, either, which, mind you, are for the purpose of tearing away at meat. Most of us don't get sick from that unless we have an allergy to it, which is when our body recognizes something originally healthy for us (or at least not negatively affecting) as a threat to our system. For example, I'm allergic to aloe, which is supposed to help with sunburns, but instead I burn worse using it.
But point of the matter, the fact is it depends on the person in what's best for them, not what's right or wrong. Why can't we stop this pointless "I'm right and you're wrong" child war and just get along?
Joe Mitchell
No, not everyone is different. That’s like suggesting everybody cow Ian different. They can all live of far grass just like we can all live off plants. We are primates after all...
fiano
I agree with you slyvie...normally vegan people tend to forget they have come from the society of non-vegan..when non-vegan had respected their choice of living...why vegan forced other they should live on their choice of living...respect everyone of their choices..
Caroln Holmes
I could if your diet didn't require killing innocent animals , destroying the environment and feeding food grains to animals to be used as food when we could be supporting five times the amount of people on this planet than we do now if the grains were fed to people instead of animals. For all you people who say it's unhealthy for you, you probably haven't really reached it enough. Look at the Jain culture in India. They've never eaten meat in their 6000 year history and are the most successful people in India both financially and by their health standards. I'm done with killing and cruelty. What humans do is often just an excuse for continuing to satisfy their baser instincts. And yes, I agree you have to find the diet that is appropriate for you. This holds true even when you're vegan. Keep looking.
D
I am really sorry to read you feel you cannot go vegan due to your Drs advice. I am so sorry you have been given such ridiculous advice to be very honest with you and because they are a Doctor, you believe. Doctors are not trained in nutrition sufficiently and they get hardly any proper training and what they do get is more biochemistry based. They will therefore not advocate for it because they SIMPLY DON'T KNOW. And if they don't know they cannot help people like yourself navigate issues like yours. Sadly, you need to educate yourself on all the plethora of reasons why people have terrible gut microbiomes that are completely and utterly out of whack for years and years on a standard western omnivore diet. Yet it's never questioned!!!!!! People still find reasons to blame plants as a a no go area to sort their health out once and for all and with stupid articles like this (I wonder which industry paid her to write this I might add) fuelling anxiety and fear. There are PLENTY of vegans who have been vegan for 25 plus years and plenty of vegans who have been vegan from birth and they are indeed alive and well. You need to listen to your body and unfortunately do your own research and go to a nutritionist or Doctor who DOES understand whole food plant based eating and what to do about it and certainly get you tested on any microbes that are unfaourable in your gut. The Book Fibre Fuelled by Dr B is a great starting point, nutritionfacts.org and Dr's like John McDougall (been teaching for more than 40 years for goodness sake) and Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr Colin T Campbell, Dr Michael Klaper, Dr Brooke Goldner, Dr Milton Mills, Dr Garth Davis, Dr Pam Popper, Dr Lisle, Dr Goldhammer, Dr Kim Williams, Dr Gemma Newton, shall I go on and on......! The nutritionist Simon Hill too on you tube
This nutritionist is spreading fear because she is mostly likely being paid to do so.
Catherine
Nope — not getting paid 😉
Tatum
I would just like to point out that too many people are focussing on whether or not people are doing the vegan diet "right." The fact of the matter is that there is no right or wrong way to do any diet. The study of Nutrition itself is bordering on pseudoscience because even medicine is not an exact science. This is in the sense that the predictability of how an individual is going to react to anything is never going to be certain. There are millions of variables between individuals, seen or unseen, that inhibit certainty beyond a "best guess."
Personally, I could never sustain a vegan diet. I like meat, eggs, and dairy products too much. I have eaten as a vegetarian for a couple of months to lose weight, and it worked. I lost weight, as muscle mass, even though I was lifting weights and working out. I felt sluggish, tired, and weak. My body chemistry changed, and I even began to smell different. (Neither good nor bad, just different).
The main point is that, you should try multiple different diets or eat the foods that you enjoy. Experiment with yourself and find what works for you to feel your best. Just stop pushing your lifestyle onto others, because it's only your opinion. You're untitled to it, and to voice it, but it's just that... an opinion. You don't even know if you're right, you just feel that way.
Just do what makes you happy and feel great!
Malcolm
I think the vegan diet is dangerous because there is no evidence to back vegan claims.
Vegansareoften malnourished and look protein defecent.
Vegetarian is different that can be healthy. The atkins diet is debateable.
We seem to eat allot of meat for a specis that should not be eating and we have been for millions of years thus disproving vegan claims.
Malcolm
I dispute the idea tht the vegan diet is safe.
We animals programed to survive. At all costs.
Deny a man food for a day he will steal for it
Deny a man food for a week he wil kill for it.
He may even resort to cannabilism.
How many vegansvwill starve rather than eat meat
Ren
I think for the most unbiased results guys it does not need to be written by a vegan. Because sure...a vegan is gonna push a vegan diet. The best articles I’ve read are from a scientific and genetic standpoint. And they say very similar to the above article. I think a vegan diet has some great things about it. But it also has some flaws. It isn’t perfect. No diet is honestly. You have to have supplements to make up for the lack of certain nutrients. With a vegan diet. You can do everything with a well balanced diet that includes meat as you can vegan . You can be healthy, lose weight, and improve all the same things. The only thing you can’t do is save a animal life. Genetics prove that our human bodies are designed to feed on a balance including meat. Science also shows that. Humans are and for ever and ever have been hunter/gatherers. That’s science. That’s genetics. We aren’t horses, deer, etc. If being vegan is your thing then by all means it’s your right and I believe it can be made to work and get by on. Only in a modern world though. For that diet to work the vegan foods have to be readily available at the store for purchase. Supplemental vitamins readily available. Then and only then can it work. Which is why it’s relatively new. A human in nature couldn’t forage enough hours per day to meet the bodies needs. The human body wouldn’t pull the proper amount of nutrients from that diet, and it would be a short amount of time before you diet. Can’t deny science and human genetics. That’s your proof.
a vegan
What this whole article is saying is that the vegan diet "may" have this, or "may" lack this. Literally any diet can be done incorrectly. For instance, I could write an article how an omnivorous diet is unhealthy because they "may" only eat bacon cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets. You say that vegan diets are bad because they lack some nutrients----ever heard of supplementing? I supplement nutrients that the vegan diet could need assistance of, and so do all of my vegan friends. As for B12 and Iron, a study was done that proved that meat eaters are just as defficient, in some cases, more deficient than vegans observed in the same study. What's that tell you? The vegan diet IS the most healthiest diet on earth if it is done correctly. We get protein from sources without unhealthy saturated fats and cholesterol. We support the animals and try give them a voice. We are thriving in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. My blood tests can prove this. I don't understand trying to promote an innocent thing as something harmful? We are saving animals, saving the planet, and saving ourselves. Of people can just accept that, it wouldn't be an issue. Its time for us to break away from societal norms and find an ethical, healthy balance.
90%er
I was vegan for 2 years until my health problems began to stack up. . I believe Veganism is a great concept and for some individuals it may work. Just like my 40 year old friend who eats McDonald's everyday and doesn't work out and has rippling muscles our genetics set us apart as individuals. I introduced bone broth from ethically ( yes one shot to the head is ethical ) hunted elk meat and I immediately saw a change in my health . I currently choose to eat a 90% plant based diet that includes no factory farmed products, dairy or even fish and I've never felt better. I want to start a forward thinking trend called 90% . It is realistic and it covers all concerns on both side of the fence.
Marcy
I agree with you 100%... I also had to add some animal protein to my diet because of health issues and I chose Bison because they are killed with one shot to the head. I eat two small portions a week. 90%vegan is a good choice for many who can’t go al the way, but how do we get people to try it? The problem is factory farming and people thinking they need meat every day and multiple times a day. Most people can’t be bothered with thinking about what happens to those animals on factory farms. It’s very frustrating.
delta
i Think your real problem is your peobably American. Your portions and attitudes toward food are Mind Blowing. You bastardise everything good
Catherine
Hi JC,
This post actually comes out of personal experience, experiences of clients, and research. I value opposing viewpoints, and appreciate you joining the conversation.
Thanks for reading,
Catherine
Was
Hi Catherine,
You should look up Jeff Novick and dr Fuhrman these guys really know all about nutrition I'm not saying you don't in fact you are probably an extremely intelligent women which is why I'm asking you to seek these two out.
Vijay
This is how things work when someone sponsors a research with pre-written conclusion, Cant help !!
radikalVegan
Research? From Weston Price? They are situated so deep in the pockets of the meat industry nothing that comes from them can be trusted as a credible source of information.
Carmen
Exactly!
Carmen
I have been vegan for four years and i feel great! Some of the poorest countries have been vegan by necessity and have next to no health problems. Go ahead and order up a triple bi pass, as for me, please pass the beans...
theodor Bjørk
Veganism is a horrible way of living, if you want to die go ahead and become vegan
Conchita
Carmen and Theodor you both clearly have a lack of nutrients going to your brains because you are just spouting of nonsense. Your VEGAN HATE agenda is so transparent it's laughable. Carmen just because you say you were vegan doesn't mean we're going to believe you for the mere fact that vegan is not just a diet it's life choices in everything you do therefore you've let the cat out of the bag yourself and as for the diet part WE KNOW you're lying. The only people who will believe you are those who also hate vegans and WANT to believe you and those who can't be arsed to investigate. DR. MICHAEL GREGER, DR. NEAL BARNARD, DR. GARTH DAVIS, DR. KIM WILLIAMS, DR. JOEL KAHN, DR. JOEL FUHRMAN, DR. ESSELSTYN, DR. THOMAS CAMPBELL, DR. MELANIE JOY, DR. DEAN ORNISH, DR. JOHN MCDOUGALL, DR. MICHAEL KLAPER oh my goodness the SCIENCE IS ENDLESS. Now you can continue to lie and deceive or you can admit the truth and do some good for once in your lives.
Nickolas
Lol protein is scarce??
Lauren
Nickolas, I know 😀 That one cracked me up too. Also the part about soy being bad for you, Catherine, obviously havent cracked open a science review or the hundreds of studies that have been done since the smear campaign on soy by the (heavily funded by farming industries) Weston A Price Foundation. Come on, its been yeaaaaars. Should this be up to date 'journalism'. Soy is too acidic also? LOLZ what exactly do you think guzzling milk does to your bodys ph balance, at least do your research dude before coming at Vegans
jay
I did vegan by the book and as a diabetic . Quickly found my self weak a with a mental fog as well anemic which was found out after a blood test . My doctor is a 43 year vegetarian . And not for a vegan diet at all . During her pregnancy she ate fish . After she had her son no more meat . Its amazing some people can't handle science showing there books are wrong . Get over it .
Nadia
If you did your research then you would know that if the vegan lifestyle is done right then an individual would have high amounts of energy, enough protein, and enough nutrients. If you have experience with individuals who are vegan and are happy with it then I will assume it's because they don't know how to do the vegan lifestyle. It is not a diet. Please read the "China Study" by Colin Campbell.
Best,
Nadia S.
Nadia
*are not happy with it
Robert
Right On! Nadia!
Sylvie
True for some people and not for others. There is NO universal diet. We have different metabolisms with different needs.
Nobody has THE truth. That's the anoying part of vegans, always thinking that you are right and everybody else is wrong....
Joy
I have to say, I have tried to be fully vegan many, many times. I want it. For both ethical and health purposes, you won't find anyone who wants this more than me. Each time, I get a mental fog that envelopes me at some point. The longer I go without any animal products, the worse it becomes. Forgetfulness, lack of concentration, poor recall, and just a general feeling of confusion and fogginess. I am religious with my supplements (and they are very good quality, including the plant-based liquid iron), I take in plenty of calories, I eat lots of plant protein. And still, inevitably the fog comes within a week or two, and just continues to worsen until I eat a piece of meat. Even adding eggs (good eggs - I used to have my own hens) has proven not to be enough for me. I don't eat dairy regardless, so that's not been an issue. I wish people would take these concerns a bit more seriously instead of just assuming that "we must be doing something wrong," or that we don't want it bad enough, or any of the other reasons I have seen in print. I look on in awe at all of the long-term, beautiful, healthy, vegan bodybuilders and think, "I can absolutely do this, if they can," and begin anew - only to have to revert again. I don't know the answer, but I can tell you from my own experience that everyone's body has different requirements for what it needs to get by.
Clay
Follow what's right for you.. Veganism is a moral based diet centered around the concept of purity. it's not a science based diet and does not honor our biology..That's why the number one response from vegans is "you're not doing it right" when someone's health starts falling apart.. The number two answer is '"you're morally weak and are just trying to justify eating animals again".
Both of these are not science or fact based arguments. They are arguments founded on moral purity to an ideology. And that's a terrible way to make decisions about something so important as your health.
Robin M Walla
Joy, I think you do the best you can for yourself and what your heart tells you. Good for you with doing your best. Every bit counts for our actions towards a healthy planet, safe animals and healthy (kind) people. God bless.
Josh
Yeah, even though the China study has been totally debunked by actual peer reviewed science.
Joe Mitchell
The china study wasn't debunked, it was the largest study ever conducted.
lydia
China study has been debunked.
Lisa
Hello,
I read your article and opened the site with anger, as I am a vegan. As I read through, had to admit, some of those are valid points for many people, but of course, not everybody is the same. For me I get sick when I eat animal products and a much bigger reason to go vegan is actually also the suffering of animals and the environment pollution by farming cows etc. But this is actually not what I was gonna write.
I wanted to ask your professional opinion on this: You say that humans always ate meat (which is obviously correct, as we used to hunt), BUT still our main source of nutrition came from berries, insects and all those small things easy to catch. SO my question is now, how does your argument that we are evolutionary meant to consume meat, work, after including the fact that we are the only species who needs tools to hunt their meat and also doesn't like to meat raw meat, which is what carnivores in the animal kingdom do. Most people get upset when thinking about eating the meat raw, of course there are many who would, but generally, this does not seem very natural to me. But I am honestly interested and open-minded on your opinion.
Sarah
Many people eat meat raw, assuming get you are not.limiting it to specific meats. Indigneous peoples of the Arctic Circle come to mind as well as historical Japanese societies. Look up seal hunting in the arctic. They did- and some still do- kill the seal and eat the liver immediately to keep their body temperatures high enough to continue the hunt. Seal is not eaten cooked in these cultures to this day. They simply sit around the bowl with meat and eat.
In addition, of course people used tools after they were invented, but I am sure prehistoric people ran down and caught small animals prior to the invention of tools.
Robert
Hi Catherine,
Just FYI Weston A Price concluded that a diet high in animal fat and fat soluble vitamins was ideal.
You should probably know what you are referencing.
sassycat
Where's the lie? A diet high in animal fat IS ideal. Just not factory farmed animal fats overly processed and then grilled in vegetable oil at a fast food place. I'm not really sure what is mentally taxing about this. But then maybe you're a vegan.
Tiffany
I agree, I also must say that protien is protien no matter what kind it is. Before you write something like this article you need to get your facts straight. There are a lot of reasons people are vegan and your assumptions are not correct. Do more research before you push your assumptions and beliefs in others faces.
Catherine
Hi Tiffany,
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "protein is protein?" Also, what "assumptions" do you disagree with?
Each source of protein contains a different array of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. It takes getting proteins from a variety of sources to give the body the mix it needs to function, heal, repair, and detoxify optimally.
Thanks for reading!
Catherine
jana
As far as I know the body builds protein from amino acids which it gets directly from plants or from protein (animals and plants) by breaking down the protein into amino acids and building it's own protein again. As vegans we deliver plenty of amino acids to the body unless we eat junkfood. And we save the body some of the hassle with breaking down and rebuilding the protein. But in any way there is no such a thing as protein deficiency unless someone is starving.
Joane
Hi Catherine,
I totaly agree with what you say here: "Each source of protein contains a different array of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. It takes getting proteins from a variety of sources to give the body the mix it needs to function, heal, repair, and detoxify optimally."
But this is totaly feasible on a plant based diet. Any diet require to put together different foods in order to be healthy and so does a vegan diet.
Joane
Lisa Mair
Amino acids are amino acids no matter what the source. If you eat a plant based diet you can easily get all the essential amino acids without the harmful substances that come in meat. Vegan is better for your body, the planet, and those sentient beings being tortured in the name of food.
sanjaw
I like your post a lot really. What people are not aware of is that our body can survive on only one type of food. But that doesn't mean it's all we need.
I live in a country that have whole grains as the main food. But diseases like flu can kill them. They have a very low immune system.
Thanks for the post it was helpful
Athlete
Every whole plant food contains every essential amino acid.
Bryce
Yes!
Em
I agree with you too. Also if it's true that vegan diets are deficient...then why eat 'diet deficient' animals? Bc all the farm animals like vegans too. Especially the baby cows that are denied their mothers milk.
Mary
Bananas contain all 8 of the amino acids that the body is not capable of making on it's own. That is why vegan who know better rely heavily on bananas. There are some vegans who eat 30 banana a day so they can compete in entrance sports. I personally eat out 5 bananas a day. They are also very low on the glycemic index if eaten when ripe. Going vegan is not "dangerous" at all if the proper research is done. The word "danger" in this article is just silly.
Amanda
And yet as a vegan, you're trying to convince me that it is envrinomentally better for someone to consume upward of 30 bananas in a single day compared to eating a high qualty meat source for my protein source?? Who the heck has TIME to down THIRTY bananas??? How in the world does someone not stretch out their stomach from eating so much quantity of food? My family can purchase a 1/2 side of beef and eat on it for an entire year. How many banana trees would have to be harvested to feed an appetite of 30 freakin bananas per day??
Somename
Thanks, Amanda, that's exactly what I have been thinking all along! I had no idea vegans compensate in QUANTITY - I can't eat more than 1 banana a day, and yes, blending allows you to eat more, but I can't finish a full shake if there is more than one banana in it, or it takes me half a day to drink it.
Carlos
Its funny how all this co-called doctors and journalists are so worried of the DANGEROUS of all the effects veganism can bring...but I challenge the writer to write an article of how Dangerous is eating dead animals...
Im pretty sure there would be far more consecuences than going Vegan. Basically cause going Vegan means you may lack a certain nutrient here and there but you are not putting anything in your body that cause it to malfunction.
The writer makes it seem as if people in the ASD dont have to take any supplement to balance and compensate their diet...I see non veganpeople everyday asked to take calcium,magnesium,vitamins omega...statins..should I go on?
So you are trying to tell me Vegan is Dangerous cause we may have to supplement vitamin B12? PLEASE...
The only truth is fish and meat are dead animals full of toxins hormones heavy metals and cholesterol that are difficult to digest and cause a lot of health problems short term and long term. While fruit and beggies are fresh easily digestible nutrients at zero health cost...yes ZERO. Hospitals dont have anybody there for eating many spinachs,or dates or bananas
Its just undisputable. Th worst thing is all this propaganda works! I was argueing with my mother today cause she said that 4 banans a day was too much. and of course she fried a turkey breat in oil and wanted me to eat it..Its sad that mothers want just the best for their children but they have been fed all this garbage for decades about milk and Protein...we are all clogged,with erectyl disfunction under 30 years old and people with cancer at 40.And still this people dont want us to eat fiber vitamins minerals and antioxidants. They want us to clog our arteries and depend on pills forever poisining our body...Im out..this is disgusting.
And all the people writing here about going vegan and not working for them...have you heard of what a transition diet is?? Do you really expect going from eating in Macdonalds to only fruit and veggies and you think all the garbage in your intestines dried for years is not going to come to your blood stream and make you feel miserable? You either do it gradually or have the balls to stick throgh it til you are clean of all that. Trust me that bananas and spinachs are not giving you headache and making you feel tired.
And those who say they feel tired...I just cant believe it.The only reason for that is you rely on rice potato oats and soy, instead of fruits and green leaf vegetables....Please do your homework before saying veganism does not work for you.if it works for everybody and it doesnt work for you maybe you are doing something wrong. we all have a tongue a stomach and colon. The only difference is some people have it clogged,an some people eat starchy carbs and to much legumes....Im out. I just know Im not going back...I have energy I dont fall asleep my skin looks awesome my mood is perfect...my erections are back...and a b12 suplemment costs 5 dollars...do you really want to tell me this is a DANGEROUS diet?...
vegan
Hemp seed has all the aminos as meat and it is more digestible
vegan2
Well said
Kev
I agree, becoming a vegan was the best decision i ever made in my life. I've never felt so alive!
Riza
It is an ethical choice not a nutritional one. Sure it is better tan food out a box but it is a third world diet. It is NOT recommended by any major group like the FDA. Further, no culture has survived eating it.If you choose to recommend it rather than from bias alarm people so they do it right. It requires massive amounts of eating and shakes and questionable powders. I love the diet as I love vegetables but to be clear the primary purpose is Ethical and most who use food NUTRITIONALLY need to take very wise precautions to be sure they get a healthy body. Most vegans are healthy for other activities. Like drinking less.
Margarita
I'm sorry?
"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including fowl) or seafood, or products containing those foods. This article reviews the current data related to key nutrients for vegetarians including protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12. A vegetarian diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, supplements or fortified foods can provide useful amounts of important nutrients. An evidence- based review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals. The variability of dietary practices among vegetarians makes individual assessment of dietary adequacy essential. In addition to assessing dietary adequacy, food and nutrition professionals can also play key roles in educating vegetarians about sources of specific nutrients, food purchase and preparation, and dietary modifications to meet their needs."
Conchita
Very well said Margarita. There is only one problem here and that is that people don't like to be told when they are wrong, people are too selfish to think of other live beings before themselves, therefore ignorance and denial are their only escape!
Linda
I am vegan and will remain so as it is cruel and unjust to eat animals that want to live
Danny Gonzalez
YEAH this is BS!!!! Why do the people that have NEVER TRIED THIS have an opinion?!! It's not only good for us but for the world we live on
Sylvie
Like you said it was the best decision for you... I've been vegan myself for 2 years and paid the price. Passed a series of test with a doctor in naturopathy and he told me that the worst thing I could do was being a vegan....
Not everybody is the same and our job as humans is to get to know ourselves and do what's the best for us.
For some of you, vegan has become a religion and a very radical one...
Bob
Ok u liberal
Maree
Well said. Since becoming vegan 4 years ago I have never been healthy. Evan my suggish thyroid has returned to perfect health
Tam
I think the whole article totally misses the point that most vegans are vegan for moral reasons and would therefore happily take the health hits necessary to have a clean conscience regarding animal welfare! There are many ways to be perfectly healthy in s vegan diet.
Donnybrook
Fact:children raised on.vegan diets are 100 times more.likely to suffer a stroke than children raised by intelligent people.LOOK IT UP !
Sally
Me too. I'm a 10 year vegan and student Dietitian with an undergraduate degree in Science (Nutrition). At 37 I look 27 (I'm told). People like this are starting to get defensive because; a) they see how healthful a plant based diet is, b) how easy it has become to eat this way, c) their belief system and source of income are threatened by the science-backed plant based revolution that is happening now all over the world, and finally d) they want to continue their current eating habits. We are a massive threat to them and they are right to be scared 🙂
Kayla
And? I
'm 27, people mistake me for looking like a 14-16 year old. I've even had doctor appointments where my mother is handed my paperwork instead of myself, because they assume I'm an underage teenager.
And I am not vegan.
Tracy
Well, if you truly are a dietitian and have a degree in nutrition you should have read the studies that talked about the serious deficiencies and long term health effects that can often happen with a vegan diet. You CANNOT get true Vitamin A from a vegan diet, they are often deficient in B12, D, K, Iron, zinc, omega-3s (which only have 1 non-animal source), calcium and protein.
If you did not read these studies and the studies that show the negative health effects such as the large study done on Chinese women that showed they had significant problems with osteoporosis and hip fracture than non-vegans then you should have read them as part of your education. If they did not suggest these two you, I would certainly inquire as to how thorough your school was.
snogg
About as relevant as the China Study but much worse because they were probably all funded by the Weston A Price Foundation which has a special interest in you eating animal products.
Haslie
What has happen to you has has happen to most vegans. They have been deficient in nutrients so long that is has affected their ability to know what it is doing to their bodies until it is too late. A friend of my have been a vegan most of his 60 years and he is an old sick dying man. Have affected every manor organ in his body. Underweight , loss his teeth,, skin is dead and no muscle tone. In the hospital now having his dead gall bladder removed and parts of his liver is dead due to nutrients.Not possible to get all the nutrients from a vegan diet. Cannot get all the nutrients your brain need and remember WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. I have constituting researching the best diet for humans. We are different from monkeys. Our digestive system is different. All protein is not the same. Veganism is a mental illness.
sassycat
This is the big problem with Veganism... it seems healthy at first (largely because you're removing a lot of UNHEALTHY things we aLL agree are unhealthy.) but then over time it starts to affect your health in extreme and bad ways. But one of the things it affects is your brain. Vegans become very RELIGIOUS about this. And they also can't process anger as well. (i.e. they can't manage it.) And also it hurts your ability to have proper cognitive processing and functioning so... you can present a vegan with all the facts in the world but if their brain has now deteriorated to the point they can't understand it (this issue COMBINED with cognitive bias) well, it's like talking to a brick wall. It's the same reason you can't teach a dementia patient many new things. The brain can't function well enough anymore and so the downward spiral continues.
It really is a cult, and like most cults only the very few and very mentally strong ever find their way out of it.
Isaac
"Overtime it starts to affect your health in horrible ways." Yes, it happens, to most vegans, but not to all of us. "But vegans say this all the time!" This health article says "However, eating no animal products can carry health risks if you don’t plan your diet properly." Notice the "if you don't plan your diet properly." https://www.livehealthily.com/vegetarian-vegan-health/will-a-vegan-diet-harm-or-help-your-health If you see there, it says that you can't get enough Iron if you don't eat nuts (which I eat a lot of). A lack of Iron causes Anemia. They say that you can get it from pulses, bread, fortified cereal, veggies, and nuts. Please read this. Plant-based foods contain a lot of fiber. I know that they say that it can't cure cancer, but they also say that it can prevent against some cancers.
"It affects the BRAIN!" Ok, what part about affects the brain? What nutritional deficiency affects the brain? Vitamin B12. Breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin B12. You don't have to kill an animal for that. You can also take a vitamin B12 suppliment. I know how you can be opposed to taking pills, but I have taken pills all the time, even when I ate meat and dairy. "They have anger issues." I do have anger issues and I did have anger issues, even when I ate meat and dairy. "It hurts your ability to have proper processing." All the time, I have trouble processing all the facts even when I ate meat and dairy. "It is a cult." No, it's not. Cults are religions based on particular people. It is a lifestyle of ethics. Only eating plants is not a cult. Most vegans go vegan for ethical reasons (not health) and because animals are sentient beings. It's not a cult to believe that animals are sentient beings. It's truth. It's not a cult to stop eating animals and to do something about it.
Isaac
"A friend of mine has been vegan for his 60 year span and he is old and sick and about to die. Every organ of his has been affected, he is underweight, his teeth are gone, his skin is dead, and there is no muscle tone. He is in the hospital now having to get his gallbladder and his liber out due to lack of nutrients." Oh, no! I am so sorry for him. Four years later, how it he doing? Is he still alive? What has he done? "You can't get all the nutrients you need from a vegan diet." He who you talked about earlier must be lacking a lot, maybe all of the nutrients, not a little. For what you said earlier, you could maybe mean lacking a little nutrients, not a lot. You can take supplements. https://familydoctor.org/vegan-diet-how-to-get-the-nutrients-you-need/#:~:text=Vegans%20can%20get%20protein%20from,to%20help%20maintain%20your%20metabolism. "All protein is not the same." Are you talking about in terms of amino acids? Yes, plant protein doesn't have all the amino acids, but they all lack different acids. https://integrisok.com/resources/on-your-health/2017/november/how-to-eat-complete-proteins-in-vegetarian-and-vegan-diets You can also eat a variety. "Veganism is a mental illness." Ok, here we go again with that. It's not a mental illness. It's just a lifestyle choice and an ideology. The ideology is that animals are not to be used because they have families and are sentient. That reasoning is an irrefutable fact. Are you telling me that having compassion is a mental illness? We just recognize that animals are sentient. We find it weird that dogs are to be loved and cows are to be eaten because they are both sentient. I really want all animals to be liberated and to be happy, but if there is no way I can stop contributing to animal abuse and be healthy, this world is basically hell. Also, what is the best diet for humans? Can you tell me?
Lee Bartholomew
I'd same some of this is true. Vegetarian is better. Vegan is to Vegetarian as Atkins is to the South Beach Diet. Two extremes. Neither good. (um Fertility. Better tell that to Natalie Portman with two kids both in her 30's. Her body doesn't know what the Germans are talking about. But no dairy thats bad. . Most Vegans need to be on vitamins as for nuts, I'm not Vegan but I love peanuts. And I have too much acid so meat spices aren't great....
Stacy
I was a vegan for 3 years and I quit because I suffered health issues which I ignored! Infertility, dry damaged hair that would not grow, grey hair, Candida overgrowth, constant yeast infections, brain fog, long menstruation, tooth decay. I Was healthy prior to being vegan. I believe everything in this article is true!
Gloria Hendrickson
I love and admire the Vegan lifestyle -lower risk of heart disease, exceptional health and vitality. No consumption of animal bi-products, hormones, steroid use in animal products.
Think of all the wonderful benefits of avoiding such things. Vegan diets I believe have got to be one of the healthiest diets in the world. 'History' isn't out future, though we can learn from it, we definitely move forward not backwards through 'historical' evidence. I've known Vegans who've lived a lot longer than meat eaters on average.
adm
I thought this article was very good. I just have 2 questions:
1- how are nuts high in PUFA's? I guess I figured nuts were unprocessed, but I'm probably wrong and would appreciate your educated clarification. 🙂
2- I've read that if you soak nuts and then dehydrate them at a low temperature, this helps to mostly absolve the phytate issue? Would be interested in hearing your educated view on that as well.
Maranda
Great article. Although I certainly applaud those who are coming to a vegan diet for ethical reasons, I think it is neither a healthy nor viable option for all the reasons you cited. We can love and respect animals while eating a biologically appropriate and healthy diet. Choosing humanely and sustainably farmed animal products is a much better health and environmental choice IMO.
I also think the reason some vegans think they feel so much better on a vegan diet is due to what they are eating, not what they are excluding. If you come to a vegan diet from a more typical SAD diet, of course you are getting more nutrients and more energy from better quality food. It's not specifically from a lack of animal products.
I was vegetarian and "flexitarian" for years, and vegan for a while and I think it did my health more damage than anything else. I would give anything to take back all those soy products.... wouldn't touch the stuff now!
Catherine
@Maranda I completely agree! And going vegan to is not the only way to avoid factory farming! Plenty of sustainable ways to eat animal products.
"I also think the reason some vegans think they feel so much better on a vegan diet is due to what they are eating, not what they are excluding. If you come to a vegan diet from a more typical SAD diet, of course you are getting more nutrients and more energy from better quality food. It’s not specifically from a lack of animal products."
GREAT POINT!
Thanks for reading and sharing!
Catherine
soopajx
"avoiding factory farming" does not equate to "ethical reasons"
sustainable doesnt equate to ethical either.
tell me how one can avoid the horrors of forcible impregnation, suffering caused by animals kept in captivity, living feeling beings being treated as commodity just to be killed for their insides to be eaten along with all the other horrors that go with the animal exploitation industry while supporting it?
im no nutritionist... but i havent put dead things in my mouth since i had the sense to know that mess is indeed... dead things... since i was a small child.
i am 41 now and have had little to no health issues (other than catching a cold here and there) and i am FAR from the most health conscious person to begin with.
thats me...
i also know many vegans and find it hard to believe there are so many health concerns as a result of not putting dead bodies in one;s mouth.
as far as "VEGAN DIET DANGER #2: PEOPLE OFTEN COME TO VEGAN DIETS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TROUBLE DIGESTING MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTS (FATIGUE, INFLAMMATION, ACNE, BLOATING, WEIGHT GAIN, AND OTHER SYMPTOMS)." goes... i dont know one vegan who has come to being vegan due to any of this.
more along these reasons:
http://earthlings.com/
im seriously wondering what the real motivation was in putting an article such as this one out into the world...
Catherine
Hi Soorpajx,
Thanks for reading and joining the conversation, but I think we'll have to agree to disagree. My articles reflect my experience working with clients, and their very personal experiences with a vegan diet.
Abundantly,
Catherine
JCM
Maybe you need some more experience... Clearly we have no evidence of your work with your clients and quite frankly, embarking on a plant-based diet is a purging process of eliminating toxins from all of your vital organs (from having consumed meat).
Meat (eating something dead) pollutes the body. The elimination of dead waste is not always a comfortable process. Many who do in fact suffer from severe repercussions are neglecting that fact. This will be problematic for many and will take the body repairing the damages of having consumed substances not conducive to human health. Raw plant-based diets repair cellular distortion caused by eating toxic substances. The body is in need of PH balance and hormonal balance that is disrupted from consuming toxic substances.
Another key factor to eating a plant-based diet is ensuring that the products that you are eating are not laced with genetically-modified substances, preservatives, toxins, and unknowns. The meat industry is the biggest promoter of GM corn. Corn is the number one tampered with vegetable. Corn and corn by-products, corn syrup, etc. have contaminated every processed food in the market. In affect, corn is fed to animals as their primary source of food in an effort to "fatten them up". When we eat meat, it challenges the human body to digest GM products directly and indirectly causing a host of secondary illness that compromises the immune system. To eliminate meat from the diet and continue eating GM plant-based diet will inevitably result in perpetuating poor health.
Eating healthy means researching thoroughly all aspects of the food industry. Being a proactive consumer means questioning what you eat, despite the popular notions or symptomatic responses our bodies project. Neglecting to take into account vital information, information that is being obscured by major industries is detrimental to our health. Lack of transparency in processed foods and the meat industry is a disconcerting element you failed to address.
Boasting of an observation without credible evidence to support your findings leads the public to question your "experience" with more scrutiny. Certainly your statements reflect some analysis and deductions, but mostly they lead a reader to either blindly agree with you because of your credentials, or to question your loose assessment.
Organic non-GMO produce and bean, nuts, soy, etc. are in fact richer in protein and more compatible with our digestion, granted they have not been tampered with. Unfortunately our food system is corrupted. Big business exploits consumer trust by the marketing of poisonous substances as "safe". Your evidence that vegan lifestyle is inadequate is lacking thorough investigation of all aspects of our food industry. Consequently, your article is suggestive that a vegan diet is unhealthy. This lacks any true accuracy.
Just as we exploit animals, we exploit humans leading them with false information. Hopefully this was not your intention. Ultimately whatever your primary objective is for writing this article, the key points in your analysis lacks any hard evidence or proof, whereas the evidence that non-GMO vegan dietary practices are in fact eliminating cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and infertility is overwhelming. Good luck in your research. I hope you will have new experiences that will broaden your perspective.
Lori
Perhaps you need to get the new book by vegan fitness athlete Robert Cheeke. It's called Shred It. It just came out so only available during his promo tour or on his website http://www.veganbodybuilding.com Soon to be on Amazon etc.
Skeewee
Hello! I see your point, but the moment a plant is plucked from the ground, it begins to die. In order for humans to survive, other living things MUST die.
Darren
Skeewee. Plants don't feel pain, they don't have a nervous system.
Xan
So wait...it's fine if plants die, because they can't FEEL it? They are STILL, scientifically-speaking, LIVING THINGS. Living things still have to die to feed vegans. This psueudo-noble, holier-than-thou attitude is bollocks.
Riza
It is a third world diet with roots in ethics not nutrition. Questionable protein no evidence of any culture ever surviving on it. The real kicker is vegans do not live longer...add in less of them are male less smoke and less drink in excess and you would think it would skew way up on longevity. To me this lack of longevity given the OTHER GREAT things they do..oh like sleep more demonstrates it is not for health.
Donnybrook
I don't know whether to be mad about your ignorant comments or just feel really sorry for you.Your brain does not comprehend that animals are different from people ? Would you rather be a farm animal,well fed and cared for until your time comes to die,or a wild animal suffering hunger and disease and then be torn to shreds by other animals? You are really a SICK PUPPY!
Maria
@Cathetine Meat is not sustainable. For the love of God, watch Cowspiracy. And honesty - don't pull the grass-fed cuddled loved neighbourhood cow farm card. Would you think it was morally acceptable if someone complimented you daily, pretended to be your ally, only to find out he slits your throat as soon as you're fat enough? I'm sorry but soopajx is right. You just can't justify meat eating by pointing out ridiculous dangers of veganism that don't appear educated in the slightest.
marie
There is no "humane" meat. It's a myth to make people think it's ok. But the animal still was killed. If an animal died, there's nothing "humane" about it!
Also if you had problems being vegan it's probably that you just get the meat off your plate. You need to eat healthy and eat all the nutrients you need to be in health. I'M vegan since more than a year and I'm healthier. I'm careful in what I eat I check if I have enough of protein glucids vitamins calcium iron and the d'amour b12 vitamin. If I eat a lot of salads in summer I take b12 pills twice a week to be sure to have enough of it. In winter it's ok because I eat a lot of false meat which has b12 in it. And I eat it because it tastes GOOD.
trista
I actually have to disagree with your statement that there is no humane meat. I think you should rethink this. Because allowing an animal to livea good life before painlessly killing the animal is humane. I enjoy organic milk where the animals roam outside and live happily.
The thing is...humans are truly omnivores. We have always eaten meat and will always eat meat. Now days there is no need for an animal to suffer when we kill it...but there is a need forthe animal to die. And that is nature my friend... it is natural to have meat in your diet.
Another thing I think you should consider is tge fact we made tge cow what it is today. Without us you would not see the cow you see now. Do you see wild cows? No... and I honestly think they would fair well without our care. I like to think of the cow along the same lines as a ferret... there is only one type of wild ferret left...a different bread tgen you see in a pet shop... the ferrets you see in pet shoes can live without humans...they would quickly die. They have been too domesticated.
I must as you what are we to do with all the cows if we dont eat them? I never asked a vegan this before so I am very curious? We can set them free they need us, and them roaming the city streets would cause quite a problem. If we were to care for them then this would not help with the problem most vegans have with all that land for grains for the cows... we would still have that problem. I think just raising cows without getting anything in return not even milk would make a very unbalanced symbiotic relationship. Im just really unsure what all vegans think we should do with the cows.
I would like to say I think vegans avoiding factory farmed meat and stuff is great! The animals live a poor sad life and it is in my eyes animal abuse. However I think vegans and people who want to eat organic meat should really get together and think of ways to make sure animals reseave proper living conditions. Even little steps would help... like for example expanding their living space so they can at least move around!
I think vegans get so wrapped up in avoiding meat they seperate themselves from omnivores who also want better living conditions for animals as well. And really nothing is changing or being done about it... and I believe part of the problem is not working together.
I also find it weird how anytime a vegan switches back to being an omnivore because it didn't work for them...other vegans attack this person and say they never did it right! Even when the people claim they followed every rule! Why is it so hard to believe that the vegan diet doesnt work out for some people? Why must you attack them and claim they wernt doing it right? As if the vegan diet is a copy and past for every human on earth. Nothing and I mean nothing is copy and past for anyone. Even whithin the omnivore diet...how I eat might not work for others...as an example I can eat beef but a friend of mine will get sick from eating beef like I do so she eats chicken and fish.
We all accept that people learn differently... some people learn better by being more hands on...ect. how hard is it to accept that some people need different diets or they get sick.
If the vegan diet works for you then great. If it turns out not to work for someone else I think its poor character to shun them and call them a liar.
sonia
well said Trista.!
while becoming a vegan may suit some people,it is clearly not a diet everyone'S body can cope with..just like everything else in life, what works for some ,will not work for others.I know people who are vegans and vegetarians,and its the vegans who try to ram their beliefs into others.my son is living with a vegan woman who has called him selfish for eating meat.,he has compromised a lot for this woman and she turns round and says to him well if we dont have a meat free house I would not be ever living with you. And who has bought the fridge and EVERYTHING else for the place...HIM! now he's even frightened to put a pint of milk in the fridge,although she did agree to allowing dairy..And week by week he is getting thinner and thinner.!!
Megaman
You organic milk, you do know that these animals are deprived of medicine when they are ill to keep the organic status. And they are repeatedly raped, their young taken away , tortured and turned into veal then, for what ever reason when the cows are no longer able to produce this milk you enjoy , guess where they end up...
But according to the manufacturers they get to roam free in an idyllic field, apparently. the reality is, Its a FALLACY.. So enjoy every sip, because the cost to the innocent animals is tremendous.
I might be a possibility to eat meat by nature, but our minds have evolved into something that thinks, and can make decisions. If you know something is wrong, why do it? If you know it's wrong and you still do it, what does that make you?
Also the original writer of this article is totally biased, because these so called clients have provided a few personal accounts. Rubbish, one-sided post, probably the result of a backroom deal with one of these companies who thrive off animal flavored death. Don't be scare mongering with the protein nonsense either, take a look at Frank Medrano
Nici
Thank you.f
Camille
Try watching the documentary on netflix "Earthlings". And lets see if you still eat meat and drink dairy,
Sylvie
I would because I need animal proteins, That's the way my metabolism is built.
It's not always a question of principles....
Tony
I approve this message
David
There are microscopic animals that have faces, bodies, and legs. Everytime you eat something, you are killing millions upon millions of them.
You can't see them, but they exist. If it's wrong to eat shrimp, chicken, or scallops, it should be equally wrong to eat them.
If it's okay to eat them, than why is it wrong to eat eggs or mussels?
Dana
Microscopic animals?? Really???? They're not tiny animals. theyre organisms. Big difference. Youre just trying to make your point seem valid when in reality it makes you seem ignorant. I can guarantee you that no one is dumb enough to believe any of what you said, because it's false.
Amanda
Yes, but when you kill a plant, you cut off the food source for many of these tiny beings. THEY DIE! Who is the killer now?
Darren
Amanda. Plants don't have a nervous system.
sassycat
Marie,
We are animals. And many animals eat other animals. It is part of the cycle of life. It's part of nature. You've been separated from nature so long that you're making moral judgments on what is natural. Are lions immoral? They're carnivores? Given that humans are designed and evolved to eat meat (some groups of humans more than others), how is it any more inhumane and immoral for a human to eat their natural diet (which includes meat), than it is for a lion to. Or do you think Lions should be starved to death so they don't hurt the poor innocent gazelles?
Vegangirl
Maranda, blanket statements like yours are erroneous. and your statement that you can love and respect animals while also eating them is illogical and patently false. There is no such thing as humane slaughter. Veganism is NOT a diet, it is an ethical stance against the enslavement, exploitation and killing of other animals.
*************
Well, everything in life needs sacrifices, but you kill millions of teeny weeny itty bitty microscopic animals that vegans also kill all the time to eat. Exploitation? You call eating something exploitation?!!!!
Ethical omnivore
I agree! There's an ethical way to eat meat. What vegans annoy me most about is their total ignorance of where their food comes from and the environmental toll wheat, soy, and corn grown for human consumption has on wildlife and the planet. Cows would cease to exist without people eating them. Fields require animal manure OR petroleum for fertilizer. No cows, no manure! The vegetarian myth is a great resource and written by a former 20 year vegan. Lierre keith suffered permanent physical effects from her restrictive diet and wrote about it
Johann Budel
Humans are 100 percent herbivore our teeth are flat and blunt made for eating plants we sweat through our pores to cool ourselves we have carbohydrate digestive enzymes which means we should be eating tons of fruits and vegetables and genuine meat eaters like bears, coyotes, and tigers have short intestinal tracts to quickly push through decaying and rotten flesh and fats that's why it is impossible for any genuine meat eater to clog their arteries.what is the number killer of people who choose to eat meat dairy and eggs heart disease by clogged arteries and if you think their is such thing as humane slaughter you should ask yourself a question is their such thing as humane rape humane child molestation humane murder.
Amy
Humans are herbivores because of our teeth? Are you kidding me? If that's the case then explain why bears or even better, bats have sharp canine teeth? Bears are omnivores that eat a lot of vegetation and berries and the majority of bats eat fruit and nectar yet they have a sharp set of teeth on them. Shouldn't they be carnivores because they have sharp canine teeth?
Scarlet
Humans are omnivores.
Johann Budel
Humans are 100 percent herbivore our teeth are flat and blunt made for eating plants we sweat through our pores to cool ourselves we have carbohydrate digestive enzymes which means we should be eating tons of fruits and vegetables and genuine meat eaters like bears, coyotes, and tigers have short intestinal tracts to quickly push through decaying and rotten flesh and fats that's why it is impossible for any genuine meat eater to clog their arteries.what is the number killer of people who choose to eat meat dairy and eggs heart disease by clogged arteries and if you think their is such thing as humane slaughter you should ask yourself a question is their such thing as humane rape humane child molestation humane murder.
*************
Lol humans are omnivores. I've been eating meat and no problems
Kev
As a vegan i make sure to avoid corn and soy at all cost since it's one of the most genetically modified crops in the world.
Muriel
You've said it perfectly in my opinion! I'm transitioning to vegetarianism (not veganism) for purely ethical reasons, not at all health-related! And although I believe it is possible to be healthy on a plant-matter only diet, I think it's a lot more difficult! I don't understand why the ethics and ecological reasons (and again these aren't necessarily straight-forward either) aren't enough for Vegans? They only ridicule themselves by blurting out false information that only indicates a profound misunderstanding of scientific fact and biological data!
lauren
This is a great summary!! Wow....thanks so much for writing this, i've wanted something simple, concise and clear about the dangers of the vegan movement. I so appreciate your work here-- i'm sharing today with my readers!! Your info rocks!! Where did you go to school, was it with NTA? Im in school with NTA right now and loving it!!! Thanks again!
Catherine
Thanks Lauren for your kind words-- you're so sweet! So glad you found it helpful! I went to NTA as well.
Thanks for reading,
Catherine
Katharine
I can imagine that the year-round attempt to keep up a summertime diet would naturally cause trouble for the body. Have never tried just all veggies, nor just all meats.
However, I am curious to know more about this "NTA" you mention. Please go to email if you desire. Thanks.
anon
I'm a 25 year vegan, so far.
1. There are ways to be a HEALTHY vegan. You do have to know a LOT (!) about nutrition to accomplish this. I do fear that many, many people who adopt a vegan diet with BEST of intentions end up deficient or toxic because they eat processed foods that are vegan or live on beans/rice but very few vegetables, etc etc. There are many variations on this theme that can cause problems.....
2. I respect Kristen of Kristen's Raw very much and have read her blog for years.
3. There are other dangers that are not mentioned here, for a vegan or ANY diet. I have accumulated a toxic amount of oxalates in my joints and tissues. While building up it did not cause me pain. However, now I have joint and muscle pain while I go through a long-term detoxification process.
All the people touting this diet (esp the raw vegan diet of which I have been a part for many years) DO NOT MENTION and MAY NOT KNOW that many foods are extremely high in oxalic acid and that over time this can harm you.
Foods that are high, for example (they are all vegan foods, for most part): potatoes, all nightshades, all nuts especially almonds and seeds (note: these can be eaten only if sprouted), THIS INCLUDES CHIA SEEDS WHICH ARE VERY HIGH IN IT, most leafy greens are very high especially spinach and chard and rhubarb but also most others (Except bok choy and green cabbage which are low), many fruits especially many tropical ones (except honeydew which is fine), etc etc etc etc etc etc etc
I believed that the people I have studied and read for 25 years knew what they were talking about, and they did! However, unforeseen negative effects can happen from too restrictive of a diet, and I am paying the price of this.
I will say..... that I DEFINITELY still support vegan diets. And support non-cruelty toward animals etc.
However, people need to know the risks of what they are eating - whether this be eating meat, or dairy, or fruits vegetables seeds nuts grains etc etc etc
The problem is that the learning curve for doing it well ------ (no matter what your diet is) ----- is VERY LARGE!!!!!
Also, please let us try not to ever judge others' diets, or our own. There is so much harsh judgment regarding dietary choices....but we all have our own path to follow and we all make different choices. And we can learn from each others and our own successes and mistakes if we can share openly. 🙂
Thanks for your great article.
Vegangirl
Dude, it wasn't your plant-based diet that caused your joint pain, it is most likely the highly scientific process known as "getting older." Also, you might be prone to hereditary arthritis. Vegetables and other healthy foods improve movement and muscle function rather than inhibit them.
Ardith
Dear Vegan girl,
Anon's comments are perfectly polite and well thought out. You do not possess knowledge of their physiology and traits (or anyone else's for that matter) to make any blanket statement about their particular health situation. Plus, being impolite does not add credibility to your position.
I've followed this forum for a while and witnessed quite a lot of hostility from virtually all sides. I personally would prefer that no animal or other sentient being be killed for food or hurt in other ways. But I respect that a vegan, even vegetarian diet may not be possible for health reasons (aka, certain diseases can preclude them, as do some digestive system issues). I would also prefer that people, regardless of their stance on the topic, behave in a kind and respectful manner to one another.
Jean Stiel
thank you so much for this thoughtful reply. I just finished a Cultural Nutrition course and the harsh judgement of people that follow certain lifestyles against others, especially based on diet, is rampant. Its nearly a form of ethnocentrism. Then some call those that choose an omnivore diet as specism. (sp?)
The deep philosophical, cultural, personal, health related reasons people in this world choose a certain diet or lifestyle is so varied and actually humbling to discover. Personally, through my own reading on both sides of the issue, I do believe we evolved eating meat, it can be sustainable, it is organic, has health benefits,, and the mere fact that a vegan diet/lifestyle requires B12 supplementation to be beneficial is a clue that we aren't designed to survive on plant based diets alone.. (my opinion, based on my extensive reading) Not everyone will find killing animals for food to be unethical. Its not all black and white for people, i.e. "if you kill it, its wrong"
I respect any diet or lifestyle people choose.. We an look at reality and say that the world will not ever stop killing animalf for food. If you believe thats an ethical choice, that is your right. If you find its an unethical choice, then maybe energy is better spent on pushing for legislation that requires stricter standards in the meat industry. Because if you really look at the world and study about the different cultures and lifestyles and diets,, you may choose not to judge so harshly, enter into name calling, and instead inspire people to choose your lifestyle, educate others about the benefits of your lifestyle, calmly and intelligenly argue your points while respecting others experiences (because there are millions of unique experiences out there) and actually inviting articles such as the one here, because compassionate intellectuals whould welcome opinionis they would normally condemn.
And if you find your diet healthier and have scientific studies to back it up....just remember, that real Science welcomes opposing viewpoints and studies.
Lisa Mair
Jean I appreciate your thoughtful response too. However, I'd like to add, that the desire to eat meat regularly is negatively impacting the environment, contributing to global warming much more than all of our cars put together, is a huge factor in droughts, and may be the biggest contributing factor to world hunger. Just as we don't want big polluters freely ruining the Earth, and we try to do what we can to alleviate world hunger, we would really like carnivores to see beyond their own self centered desires and try to impact the world in a positive way. You don't even have to go vegetarian to make a difference - just limit your meat intake to once a week instead of once every meal - and you'll make a huge difference in the world. All of your nutritional needs would be met, and your health would even benefit.
Camille
The reason we need b12 is because b12 is a bacteria in the dirt, Since we wash our produce so much, the nutrient is hard to find in vegan foods. But since animals eat dirt and roll around in it, they contain b12. So that is a bad argument.
Me!
Wait. What? 'The reason we need b12' is because it is bacteria in the dirt'.. Did you really just say that as though it were a valid point. I am sure that the reason humans need b12 is not because it is bacteria in dirt.. I don't know the reason as I'm not a doctor, but that is absurd.. Also, because vegans wash their vegetables therefore washing away the 'dirt' they need supplements., that tells us nothing other than asserting the fact that you nonetheless recognize the fact that you need b12 and thus take it in supplement form when a non-vegan does not need to resort to supplements.
Tara Ernst
Animals contain B12 because they are given B12 supplements, so you can eat the meat with the supplement in it or just eat the supplement 🙂
Mariah
I would rather eat the meat, tastes much better than a pill!
Oxalate Research
http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/oxalate
anon
I'm a 25 year vegan also, so far. I've also been 75% raw for a long time.
There are other dangers that you have not listed so far.
In my belief, ANY diet can be dangerous -- if someone does not have a LARGE nutrition knowledge bank from which to make choices. It is my opinion that MOST of us are making grave dietary errors on a regular basis. So thanks for this article and any others that can share along the way.
It is very very important that we try not to judge others' dietary choices or our own. There is a lot of defensiveness and judgment that seems to fly around when this topic comes up. And it is sad because it is difficult enough as it is to figure out WHAT to eat. We really need as much openness and discussion as possible to avoid grave errors along the way as best possible.
I juiced and ate foods that are considered extremely healthy along the way. I've read every book by David Wolfe, Paavo Airola, Victoria Boutenko, Douglas Graham, Ann Wigmore, etc etc and many websites including Kristen's Raw for many years. And I listen to Gary Null's show each day and have read many of his books also.
I felt great for many years. However (!!!!!) I was accumulating a toxic amount of oxalate crystals in my tissues and joints and I had no idea that I was doing this. I was doing JUST what the vegan and raw vegan people were telling me to do - I was trying really hard to make healthy choices!
I now am undergoing a very extensive and long term detoxification process that is painful and unpleasant and still guesses in the dark. My diet is EXTREMELY restricted now due to this.
Oxalates are very high in many leafy greens, nuts, seeds, beans, and fruits and vegetables. WHY DIDNT ANYONE EVER WARN US ABOUT THIS????????????????????
So, yet again, a huge learning curve.
I'm not downing a vegan diet, because I love following it. For now however as I heal I am adding non-tortured (as well as I can find) yogurt and occasional fish and local eggs (the chickens are wild and run free through the woods).
I am doing this because my ability to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains etc is extremely impaired while I detoxify.
If you have any words about this issue I'd love to hear. THANKS for your article.
I support hearing all views! 🙂 And we all need help along this journey! 🙂
PS I also respect Gary Null's teachings very much! His daily radio show is extraordinary! Thanks again!
Gdaiva
It never crossed my mind to spend my time to read vegan websites and write comments.
Can somebody explain to me why vegans are reading this? The only reason i can think is that somewhere deep inside they have this little voice saying that something is wrong, they are in doubt and searching for solutions. Am i wrong?
Dove
YES!
Angie
Yes you are dead wrong.
This article is paid for by the meat and dairy industry. Totally bogus. Propaganda.
Catherine
Actually it's not. Why would the meat and dairy industry pay a nutritional therapist? They wouldn't.
Acacia
Vegans are concerned about the welfare of every creature on the planet and the planet itself. The opportunity to educate and share experiences is appreciated. That's why vegans read this and other blogs.
I know of very few vegans who come to the diet/philosophy for their own personal benefit. The vast majority have become aware of the level of torture and suffering animals suffer so a relatively small proportion of the population to eat meat. Factory farming is a nightmare but it's VERY successful at contributing to the sustainability of the planet.
It's a privilege to be able to live a life that doesn't involve killing others. A very attainable privilege. The health benefits I gain as a result are a secondary but fabulous bonus.
Muriel
You do realise that plants and mushrooms are also living organisms, right? As an animal, you CANNOT live without killing other life-forms, only chemio-autotrophs (chemical synthesisers) and photo-autototrophs (photo synthesisers such as your beloved vegetables) have the luxury of living their lives without taking it away from other organisms. That is a FACT. You are eating dead things just as much as a meat-eater: just own up to it.
Sarah
Right?? In addition, if someone wants to actually convince another person, anger and hostility isn't the way to do it. So, these comments are all pretty pointless.
Val
Yes! I'm doing research because my partner is concerned that a vegan diet is not the best and I'm trying to both prove that it is while also considering reasons that it might not be.
Katy
Gdaiva - yes, you are wrong. An enormous amount of vegans are activists, and they spend time engaged in a larger conversation about the vegan lifestyle. That's like saying that two political pundits with opposing viewpoints can't have a discussion about a particular issue.
Andrew
While I am new to the whole vegan way of living, I as most I know, have put a lot more thought into what I eat than the average person. My reason for changing was due to health problems. Consuming the Standard American Diet (SAD) led me to health problems, like High Cholesterol, High Blood-Pressure, and being diagnosed with early onset of Heart Disease at 37. By the time I was 40 I was on 27 different medications, and kept getting sicker. I was disabled when I was 44, because I was unable to work any jobs without needing to take 3-4 nitro tabs a day at work. For years, I was given Statin drugs to lower my cholesterol, and told to exercise more. Only when I did exercise, my heart raced uncontrollably and took sometimes 45 minutes to slow down. The statins didn't seem to help my cholesterol levels that much either, however, they did cause me to have terrible arthritis all over my body as their purpose was to shut down my own liver from producing cholesterol naturally. I felt like I was caught between a rock and a hard place, doing what the medical establishment had told me to do and yet getting worse and more debilitated each year. Finally I found out one key piece of information, that being, that the bad cholesterol which turns into the plaque in our arteries, comes exclusively from animals, not plants. All animals foods, including fish, eggs & milk, have this bad kind of cholesterol that your body cannot metabolize. When I found this out, I dramatically cut back on my consumption of all meats and eventually eliminated them from my diet altogether. Consequently, I have also eliminated most of my meds, especially my statins. Now my arthritis has started getting better too and my gout is all but gone. My heart arrhythmia and tachycardia are also decreasing. My last blood test showed very healthy cholesterol levels and my doctor was amazed that this was done simply by diet. I, like most Vegans that I know, eat a diet with a wide variety of fruits & vegetables, in all colors of the rainbow, and most of them raw, elevating my consumption if vital nutrients. Processed food is very limited in my diet. I have also lost over 40 pounds in the past year, gradually, and am keeping it off. My energy levels are higher than they have been in ten years. While it is true that there are different kinds of protein, as humans we do not need to consume nearly as much as the average American does. Fruits & vegetables are more balanced with all of the vital nutrients we need including proteins. This article for me is but a cautionary tale of what can happen when someone doesn't research what they are eating and follows a fad diet because it is the fashionable thing to do, not necessarily because it is healthier for them.
Barbara+Owen
I agree. I tried a vegan diet, but it didn't agree with me. Now I eat clean meat, eggs, some fish, grass fed butter and olive oil, and lots of organic produce, and I feel much better. I do minimize grains, and stay away from sugar. I'm almost 60, and I don't take any medication. A doctor tried to push stations on me because my total cholesterol was a little higher than 200, but my HDL was high and triglycerides low, so I'm not concerned about it. My blood pressure is 115/75, fasting glucose 85, and other readings good, and I don't smoke or drink alcohol or processed beverages. I think that we all need to try to eat clean, unprocessed food, get some exercise, try to find pleasure in daily living, and stay out of the medical/industrial complex as much as possible. Mmy particular food needs may not be exactly the same as yours. But if it works for me, and you need something different, that's OK, too. Mostly I just want everyone to have access to the clean, unprocessed food that works for them. How about this for a common goal, and enough of these food wars?
Acacia
I respect your choices, Barbara, for a "common" goal isn't possible when we're respecting choice. I don't believe meat is "clean" in any way because I don't wish to treat my body as a morgue for dead animals who were slaughtered for consumption. My opinion, no judgment on your choices. We may all wish to be healthy - that seems an easy goal to agree upon - but we have different ideas as to what constitutes health.
mary
"No judgement", hahahahahha...pathetic.
Cole
I'm just curious and I don't mean to be offensive but may I ask what your exercise level was when on the (SAD) and also may I ask how often in a weeks time would you visit a fast good chain or buy lunch or dinner rather than preparing it at home?
Tim Wilson
Yet another regurgitation of the weston price "foundation" propaganda, doing the dirty work for that nasty, community-killing, meat/dairy lobbyist group in it's efforts to scare/misinform consumers away from choosing veg and directly back toward increasing their consumption of animal parts & fluids, in order to help inflate the bottom line of it's constituents. In the meantime additional millions/billions of voiceless animal victims are being brutalized and murdered against their wills because of it. Please help stop this unthinkable, needless, profit-driven violence against the voiceless. Thank you.
mb
I have never commented on a comment before so bear with me, my thoughts come in strings ...
Agriculture also takes a heavy toll on the Earths ecosystem. Everything we eat has toxins in them. An all veggie diet is not what is going to save the planet. Animals eat other animals. We are animals. We are domesticated animals. If you are against cruelty to animals I beg you to think about this. The ONLY reason why you are here today is because our ancestors were able to sustain themselves on an animal diet, this allowed our species to thrive not just survive.
The only reason why animals are being consumed at such an alarming (and disgusting) rate is because there are just TOO MANY PEOPLE on the planet. If you want to get mad at something get mad at the people who think it's OK to have more than 2 children (because their kids are gonna be the best damn kids the world has seen). Get mad at the medical system that keeps dying people alive (interfering with natural selection). Get mad at the politicians who aren't shedding light on our population epidemic. Get mad that the people who said eating meat three times a day is normal. Get mad at the people who created the lopsided food guides, the corporations that have made massive profits by tricking the people!
In the end, when all is said and done, WE ARE an invasive species ...an omnivore (evolutionarily).
Natural selection. If you go out in the woods today and stay there for a year, what would you eat to sustain yourself? Humans have created our own reality...our own system. We have made options for ourselves, to our own detriment and most definitely to the detriment of other species on the planet.
Are you a frequent flyer?... more than once a year? Shop for clothes when your wardrobe is full? Wear makeup? Read magazines? Wear nail polish? Dye your hair? Wear synthetic materials? Consume electricity? Gasoline? It goes ON and ON the reasons we can judge each other. Why are people bickering about what we eat? It is our nourishment, it is what keeps us alive. The conflicting stories are nauseating and distracts us from more important problems. Can we all get our heads out of the sand and look at the bigger picture. Please!?
Eating responsibly.
Lauren
I must say that there are far more animals being raised for food than there are human beings in which case saying we have an over population issue is in-valid. Animal agriculture uses 55% of available fresh water while domestic use is only in use of 5%. Three are 7 billion humans & 70 billion animals in factories. They eat more produce currently than it would take to feed our world.
Darci
Thank you Lauren, this needed to be said. People are too brainwashed to accept the truth.
Lisa Mair
Just because we used to eat meat due to lack of other available food doesn't mean we should still eat meat in this time of plenty. Humans used to eat each other. Should we still do that? If we hunted one animal in the wild, that would be sad, but not the horror story that is now going on. The way we imprison, torture, rape and kill the animals is horrific and undignified and mind boggling. It is time for humans to evolve!!!
Tina Thew
as I understand it, humans used to, (and in some places still do), eat each other in parts of the world deficient in animal protein sources. kind of changes the spin on things doesn't it!
Conchita
What a ridiculous comment. Every single plant we eat contains more than enough protein and we need a lot less protein than you think. The protein argument has been debunked years ago. There is nothing that animals give us that we can't get from plants, not even B12, which is a bacteria and is also given to animals so that we can get it. Today, there is absolutely no excuse to eat meat or rob animals of their freedom for our greed, absolutely none.
Sarah
You are disgusting. Get mad at people for having children? Stay out of my uterus.
axel
word!
Cameron
All proteins are NOT created equal. As much as I would prefer to stay on a vegetarian diet that includes eggs and dairy, my body has other ideas. I gave it a good shot, and "did everything right" for 2+ years, but my body became progressively weaker and less healthy on an organic vegetarian diet, so I added back into "clean meats" in my diet.
Even now, I find that collagen / gelatin is a key factor in my body's overall health and strength. I take great lakes gelatin but neglected to reorder it for a couple of months. By the end of the second month, my tendons were achy and my body was craving tendon. Literally. Eating some Pho with extra tendon made a rapid improvement, and once I started on gelatin again, my tendons were able to recover from my physical activities. (Mainly splitting wood, cleaning up blowdowns on my land, cutting them up, etc)
It's great if a person's body can TRULY thrive on a vegan diet. I don't have one of those bodies.
For all of the militant vegans out there, here is a little clue-bomb: If you REALLY care for animal welfare, you need to meet the meat eaters in the middle, not hurl insults at them from the fringe.
Educate them on the horrors of cruel meat-generating practices. Encourage them to get meat from local farmers who treat their animals well and slaughter them humanely. Accept that you are NOT going to turn people into vegans, but you CAN end animal cruelty through education combined with a bit of understanding.
Dove
There is simply no such thing as humane meat.
So-called “humane farms” are not monitored, standards are'not enforced, and the farms don’t have to comply with any outside authority. Animals are still sent on a frightening journey to a terrifying experience at the slaughterhouse.
Mary
How many bananas a day were you eating? Bananas are great for the integrity of the skin. They provide manganese and all 8 of the amino acids that the body can't make on it's own. Eating vegan take serious research and tweaking. For example I had to stop worrying about protein all together. I used to obsess about getting protein, but there is actually no such thing as "protein deficiency" and our bodies are quite capable of making protein with a good plant based diet. The real issue many times is exercise. My right leg was paralyzed many years ago when I was eating a protein rich animal product diet and my muscles completely wasted away within only weeks do to lack of use. No amount of animal protein was going to stop that. If you exercise, lift and aerobics on a plant based diet your body makes what it needs as long as you provide it with enough quality plant based nutrition. I don't think eating a small amount of meat is unhealthy at all, but you can be just as healthy if not more on a plant based diet without contributing to the catastrophic suffering of intelligent feeling animals. If you really want to eat meat and can't get passed the brain washing that starts happening the moment you are born about what to eat, then go out and shoot your own animal that at least got to live some form of free life before it's death. All farming is rife with abuse. Commercial farming of course is responsible for unthinkable torture. If you really want to help i would say give up pig product then eggs, then diary. The conditions for the processing of these products creates the most torture. I personally have found it much easier being 100% vegan than being a mostly vegetarian.
Mary
I should really learn to edit before pressing send. Inevitably there are typos. Sorry. Please don't give up your diary, that meant to say dairy. And there are a number of other typos but I will refrain from listing them and have faith that my point is there even though my typing is not.
Dave
Have you ever seen a cow or pig 'humanely" slaughtered. It's a cutesy catchphrase, one that a lot of people want to believe.. And Whole Foods wants you to believe it, so they can sell more meat. But if you had a pet and someone said they were going to humanely kill it, what would your gut reaction be. The commandment is not "Thou shall not kill (unless you do it humanely).
missbabounette
I'm sorry but I don't quite understand the SAD (Standard American Diet)?
I live in France, so perhaps what the French eat and the American eat is very different?
Otherwise, I don't get how it can make you sick?
Personally, vegans do what you want. So long as vegans respect that I'll never ever be one, people are free to do what they want, whether it's good, bad, really good or really bad for them.
The thing that does bug me though with the vegan movement, is that many people say it's for the animals, yet these same people don't buy organic, don't eat seasonal fruits or vegetables, buy synthetic clothes (made out of petrol, coming from sweatshops way across the world)... I just don't get that paradox... Some vegans don't eat meat to "save" the animals, yet have no remorse trashing the planet, thus "killing" animals in the process... I just don't understand this...
Is it for the animals, or is this diet to be "clean"?
I know that being vegan and being green aren't the same things, but shouldn't a vegan who follows this diet to "save" animals from death (and horrible treatments) be at least a little bit green? Or am I just not understanding anything at all?
In any case, eat what you want so long as you're satisfied and enjoying it. If that isn't the case, then you're doing something wrong. Otherwise, it's your life, your choices, be happy.
salchemist
because you don’t know the science. there is a science, a very easy and simple science, behind WHY be vegan. animal consumption isn't just bad for humans, but even more so for the planet.. no offense, but you require proper education on the subject just as much as the person who wrote this article i’m afraid. Read “Food Choice and Sustainability” by Dr. Richard Oppenlander, read “The China Study”, look into Blue Zones, look into “Forks Over Knives. Look into “The Real Truth About Health.” Please educate yourself. you are causing more harm than good by keeping your head in the dark, mate.
Ethical omnivore
The China "study" wasn't actually a study, it's the name of the book. It's been thoroughly debunked, too! I fell for it then read the stats and it's all bullshit. But, you can't expect the average uneducated and brainwashed vegan to get that. Too invested in their false ethical stance to even read the science that complete debunks the China "study"
Marisa
Yes! Thank-you finally someone mentions this!
I have no problem with people becoming vegans, but when you go to the "animal welfare" issue, I think there are things left out. A lot of alternative products to leather, wool etc. contain plastic. Plastics and microfibers are poisoning and killing marine life. (There's a lot of information about this online) And unless a vegan eats 100% organic produce, they are supporting the use of pesticides which is killing bees and hurting every animal it comes into contact with. This goes for wearing non-organic cotton as well, which is a heavily sprayed crop. So if vegans can say they use only organic EVERYTHING then your diet is not 100% cruelty free.
New studies in epigenetics are finding that one diet does not fit all. I'm always happy when someone does well on a vegan diet - but not happy when they push that diet on everyone. I work in the health food industry and I've seen both sides. It works for some people, and not for others. Why do naturopaths take family history of serious illnesses into account? Its because we could have a genetic predisposition to it - more than someone else. Or why does one pharmaceutical work for one person, and not for the other? Why am I allergic to sagebrush and someone else isn't? Its because our genetics are different.
DAVID ROCHA
HI,
JUST RECENTLY TURNED VEGAN. MY BROTHER HAS BEEN A VEGETARIAN FOR OVER 10 YEARS NOW. CUTTING WITH DAIRY WAS EASY. JUST LOOK AT ALL MAMMALS AND U WILL UNDERSTAND 2 THINGS : 1 - ALL OTHER MAMMALS ONLY DRINK MOMMY'S MILK ; 2 - THEY ALL DRINK IT WHILE THEI'RE YOUNG. HONEY DIGESTS WELL BECAUSE BEES ALREADY DIGESTED IT FIRST. EGGS ARE CHICKEN MENSTRUATION. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH NATURAL ORGANIC FRUIT & VEGS. GO OUTSIDE, AND EVERY ANIMAL THAT U CAN HUNT WITH YOUR OWN HANDS IS YOURS. WE GOT OUR OWN HUMAN COAT. WE DO NOT DEPEND ON ANY ANIMAL TO SUBSIST. PEACE.
mb
The fruits and veggies you eat are a plant's ovule ... you are still eating reproductive parts.Maybe try root vegetables? Yes, I do think I'm funny 🙂
katrina
So glad for your information on being vegan.I have been a incomplete amino acid person for too long.Even with occasional grass fef beef, I still needed to add more protein and learned fron you about non/low.inflamation proteins.Saved my life.Thank you.Eggs, cheese, fish n chicken are and will ve part of my life forever.I raise n eat beef as well as garden veggies from my garden.
I am guessing most of the vegans writting in are younger than I am and haven't had any dietary digestion issues yet.They would di well to heed your words.People learn the hard way sometimes.
Andrea
My mom is 78 and has been raw vegan for 36 years. She used it to cure hyperthyroid, skin cancer and type 2 diabetes. No matter what your dietary issues, it can be accommodated with a cruelty free lifestyle (ie. No dead flesh)
Kev
This is awesome!
Darci
You could not be more wrong.
Jennifer
There is a lot of useful info in this article and some great links. And yet... Another vegan bashing article? Really? This is cheap and sensational blogging. I am a former vegan, but surely the way forward and to harmonise 'diet wars' which are plaguing the nutrition scene is to say what we are FOR; and what supports our health. Its a change of attitude. Eg 'Ten health benefits from broadening beyond plant based' off the top of my head. Please let us start as a community to be less polemical and more inclusive. Thank you for the conversation.
Molly
1.Not all vegans eat soy and grains.
2.I think it's more proactive to write about what you are for rather than against.
3. Vegans have more in mind than health. Ethical treatment of animals, the environment, spirituality...
4. Obviously people can thrive on any diet. It's about the quality of the products being consumed ... whole, fresh, seasonal, local, sustainable, organic ...
l
Darci
Thank you Molly for speaking up about what really matters, the animals <3
Patrice Anita
Sorry, but this is just a bunch of crap...who subsidized this article? The meat industry?
Andrea
When will the BS end?! A plant based diet is not any of these things, and you are spreading unbelievable bull. Please do more research and you will quickly find that a plant based diet is by FAR the healthiest diet for humans.
Destiny
I have to say I have been healthier as a vegetarian and currently moving to become a vegan. I have been a vegetarian for 22 years and other than a very slight deficiency in vitamin d (typical of Oregonians both meat eaters and plant eaters) and slight iron deficiency was always an issue even when I ate meat... I am healthy. My doctors agree with my diet. I am sharing this from my own personal experience. I have to ask how is it humane to end a life? What if humans were farmed and killed "humanely" for food would that be humane?... I don't understand how taking a healthy living beings life, who wants to live, just like you do is humane. But you will probably avoid the question as you did Soopajx
Yogi Greg
Vegan--Vegetarian Diets Work Well for about 15% of the population--as some of the posters here do who obviously fall into this category...However, it doesn't work well for the rest of us, over the long-haul.
Anemia is a problem if you don't each the right combinations of certain plants. Also, I have had many students in the YC who have gone in this direction---candidly, some of them after years of a VD look quite emaciated and have physio-issues...In other cases, people suffering form the wrong fat-heavy meat protein toxicity do well after getting off it for a while--Also, given the problems with American Wheat in the last 50 years to include the chemicals used on it and especially the GMO Soy beans with tons of glysphate in them, Many Vegans are eating the breads and soy products coming and going which, in addition to what the author said, these two issues I mentioned have serous health consequences for those who consume...even though partially offset by the power of the plants, WHICH AGAIN, if NOT ORGANIC, are now soaked in these neuro-toxins...
I have gone both ways and feel, look and function better with some animal protein in my diet.
salchemist
because you don’t know how to do it right. there is a science, a very easy and simple science, behind how to do it right. plants don’t want to be eaten anymore than animals? hmm, why do they have phytochemical elements that heals nearly all, if not all, diseases that are killing us due to eating animal source foods? you’ve got it confused. it’s the animals, who cry, scream, and suffer from a lifelong of rape, torture, and murder that don’t want to be eaten. no offense, but you require proper education on the subject just as much as the person who wrote this article i’m afraid. Read “Food Choice and Sustainability” by Dr. Richard Oppenlander, read “The China Study”, look into Blue Zones, look into “Forks Over Knives. Look into “The Real Truth About Health.” Please educate yourself. you are causing more harm than good by keeping your head in the dark, mate.
*************
I don't like the idea of animal torture either..... But humans are omnivores, it is absolutely normal to eat meat... Still, I don't like the idea of animal torture.
juju
Thanks for you comments. I was vegetarian for 13 years and vegan for 3. Eating organic and varied food. It did not work for me even with help from professionals. It is all about balance and conscious selection of products. Each individual is unique no need to criticize anyone but for me vegan diet was very bad.
Ferretgirl
There are some interesting studies showing that vegetarians and esp. vegans have changed brain function as well, particularly in the area controlling reason, due to lack of essential vitamins. The only meats or animal products we should be eating are local, free-range organic etc. these animal products are healthy, factory farmed GM fed animal products are not, and we should only have meat in modest amounts and include offal and broths which are very nutritious. Farming grain contributes to massive greenhouse gas emissions, loss of forests and the deaths of many, many animals, often slowly and painfully after being injured by farm machinery. Plants FEEL SEE HEAR MOVE COMMUNICATE and REMEMBER as well, what about cruelty to plants that are still alive when eaten?
Joane
Hi,
Most part of non-vegetarian people use this "argument"... they are worried about plants feelings.
Well, if you are honestly interrested in plants, this is a good reason to go vegetarian or vegan as well. Because, guess what? Most part of cultivated plants are used to feed ... animals to product meat ! And they eat a lot of plants !
Joane
Aisha
No I believe you have missed the point. Ferretgirl seemed to be stating that if you are very much pro-animal and claiming that meat eating is inhumane due to the pain caused to animals and the taking of a life, then the same is applicable to plants.. Yet you don't seem to care.
But you actually made an interesting point, that we should stop eating animals because they eat the plants.. It seems with that reasoning that we will be left with nothing to eat, are you advocating starvation? How far will your reasoning go..? Some vegans seem to assert that animals feel pain and plants do not, at the same time they harrow on about the fact that just killing something is bad, plants are also living, painless as it may seem to us to take their lives, we cannot deny that they nonetheless have loves to be taken and thus by eating them we kill them for our own sustenance.
This is not against vegans, everyone is free to make their own choices. This is about the line of reasoning and the need to make others feel inferior because their choice does not match our and ours is right, the need to be brash and in people's faces about the choices trying to demonstrate compassion and human actions by belittling and bullying fellow humans, my question is.. How can the hypocrisy be so blatantly overlooked.
Lisa Mair
I would really be interested in seeing your sources for that research.
Dove
Raising animals for food is extremely inefficient. For every pound of food that farmed animals are fed, only a fraction of the calories are returned in the form of edible flesh. The rest of those calories are burned away raising the animal to slaughter weight or contributing to feathers, bone, skin, blood, and other parts of the animal that are not eaten by humans. This is why animals raised for food have to eat as many as 13 pounds of grain to create just 1 pound of edible flesh. The prestigious Worldwatch Institute states, “[M]eat consumption is an inefficient use of grain—the grain is used more efficiently when consumed directly by humans. Continued growth in meat output is dependent on feeding grain to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat-eaters and the world’s poor.”
Dave
I like Dove's comment. I think it speaks volumes when Bill Gates and other tech billionaires are investing in vegan food companies like Beyond meat and Hampton Creek. THAT is the way to feed the world, not pumping several pounds of feed grain thru animals to get a pound of meat.The subsidies of soy and corn, used to feel livestock is on the order of $100 billion. If we took away these subsidies, some experts say a burger might cost around $10. But agribusiness has gotten their subsidies so far. and it will be increasingly obvious how wasteful livestock production is.
Mackenzie
Well, the fact that this lady calls veganism a diet is the first clue she had zero idea what she is talking about. This article is a load of crap.
Simone
have you ever heard of raw till 4, the starch solution, 80/10/10? All it takes is a little research to see how many people strive following these lifestyles. I barely eat nuts ever so stop saying all vegans eat is nuts it drives me NUTS. Also, protein is seriously overrated. There is protein in so many things and we do not need as much as everyone says we do. Think about how much meat people eat now vs say 100 years ago. The numbers have increased a lotttttt and it's completely unnecessary. Many vegans read these things and start fresking out about protein. Do more research.
stephanie oswald
I have been vegan for 10 months and was vegetarian 2 years leading up to becoming vegan. I had a slew of health problems growing up from chronic sinus problems, allergies and chronic constipation. Upon going vegetarian my digestion become totally normal, i wasn't eating very different just taking meat out of the equation and it was enough to cure my chronic constipation. Upon going vegan my acne that i have struggled with since age 15 (that was worsening in my 20's) completely cleared up in 3 weeks (face back and chest acne). I have had a tendency to become anemic all my life so i was already getting b12 shots regularly. Upon taking on a vegan diet (mind you i eat a healthy plant based vegan diet, not a highly processed, high soy vegan diet) my iron levels have actually been consistently in the normal range and i haven't suffered from anemia since (yet i am still conscious of it to avoid it but obviously meat iron wasn't being assimilated as effectively as plant based iron sources seem to be in my body). I have lost 10 pounds and a pant size as well upon going vegan which was just a side bonus. I have had my blood work done twice this year (most recent 2 weeks ago) and all my nutritional levels are in the very healthy range, my doctor was impressed and she was not at all concerned about my vegan diet she said it must be working well for me from what the blood work shows. I have never felt better then i do eating vegan and articles like this make me wonder "if vegan diets are unhealthy, then why am i in the best health of my life?"
Michaelb
Note where the source of references comes from. One person may have a problem so everyone is at risk? There is no such thing as high or low quality protein. More people have problems from too much protein than too little (which is almost impossible if you are eating enough calories)
Ginette
Before going vegetarian about 30 years ago I had bad PMS where my mood would swing from sobbing to anger and back again. It was horrible. That all cleared up when I cut out meat. I was vegetarian until last year when I went vegan. While I was still vegetarian and at work the health and safety man joked that I wasn't getting enough nutrients. I used to go to two diving clubs then and also swam 20 lengths a week at the local pool. A mile was 64 lengths. I decided to prove the H & S man wrong. The first week I swam a mile, the second week a mile and a half and the third week I swam 2 miles, that's 128 lengths. It took me 3 hours but I decided after that that I'd proved my point.
Since, going vegan my energy levels have increased and my awareness of how what we eat affects the animals, us and the planet has grown. Even if an animal was kept in 5 star accommodation with daily massages and room service he or she would still be killed long before his or natural life span was up. A dairy cow could live to be 20 or more. They are usually worn out after 5 years by being forcibly impregnated year after year and being made to produce much more milk than they naturally would to feed the calves that are dragged away from their mothers soon after they are born. All other animals kept for food are killed when they are still practically babies. Male calves are 'surplus' to the dairy industry and are either killed straight away or are kept in isolation in crates for veal. Humans drink the milk that the calves mothers produce. The veal calves are fed a substitute. Even if hens lived in the sunny lush green fields that you see in adverts - and by far the majority of them don't - they would still be killed when they were no longer profitable enough for the egg industry. Male chicks don't lay eggs so they are killed the day they're born by being minced alive or stuffed into rubbish bags to die of suffocation or starvation.
I am vegan for the animals. No animal deserves to go through what humans put them through just for a menu option. My husband and I are doing more and more things so that we have less impact on the environment. We are learning new ways to cause less harm to animals. Animals are used in so many ways that you would never think of if you hadn't looked into it. There is so much to learn but we shall get there.
Don't take this blog on face value. Do your own research. You don't have to be part of the cruelty and many people have found that going vegan is better for their health too. Whole families have found this to be true including happy, lively children.
Lisa Mair
Well said Ginette!
allfoods
The whole point of life on Earth is to learn about oneself. I LOVE all food. Nothing better than wild game with wild apricot chutney, potatoes in a raw milk cheese sauce, salad from wild greens and heirloom veggies, organic sulfite-free red wine and home made chocolate cake [ made with eggs butter and sugar] with a splash of raw heavy cream for dessert. YUM! Been eating this way for years and years and I don't put on weight and havent been to a doctor in 20+ years.
Lisa Mair
If you eat meat you should watch Earthlings so you know the impact of your dietary choices.
Greg
From the work of Lady Eve Balfour, I learnt that 85% of plants are carnivorous. Veganism is a 21st century man made diet. Plants don't want to be eaten anymore than animals, and are set up with defensive plant toxins. I think vegans mistake feeling healthy for high stress hormones. Veganism ruined my health for a few years. The problem is it can take many years for the damage of a vegan diet to manifest.
salchemist
because you don't know how to do it right. there is a science, a very easy and simple science, behind how to do it right. plants don't want to be eaten anymore than animals? hmm, why do they have phytochemical elements that heals nearly all, if not all, diseases that are killing us due to eating animal source foods? you've got it confused. it's the animals, who cry, scream, and suffer from a lifelong of rape, torture, and murder that don't want to be eaten. no offense, but you require proper education on the subject just as much as the person who wrote this article i'm afraid. Read "Food Choice and Sustainability" by Dr. Richard Oppenlander, read "The China Study", look into Blue Zones, look into "Forks Over Knives. Look into "The Real Truth About Health." Please educate yourself. you are causing more harm than good by keeping your head in the dark, mate.
Amy
My god. You are a combination of a broken record and an overzealous religious person.
Why can vegans not accept the fact that the vegan diet is not for everyone? Why do vegans insist on acting like tyrants who try to force their ideologies down people's throats yet god forbid anyone dare do the same to you?
Learn about nature and you'll see that it's both beautiful yet very violent and deadly. Do you think that a gazelle wants to be eaten by a lion? No creature whether it be a plant or animal wants to be killed but that's nature for you. Birth, preservation, and destruction. It's far from being all blissful and compassionate like many vegans try to make it out to be. Good and bad is a human concept. You won't find it anywhere else in nature.
I also noticed that you never commented on the fact that there are even plants that consume meat. Why is that?
Lisa Mair
The lion does not have a choice whether to inflict harm on another species, humans do. Unfortunately the majority of humanity has chosen to inflict lifelong harm on the animals we eat, while we imprison and torture them in CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations). Even if you're not the one running these hellish operations, if you buy meat, you are directly funding it.
At this point in the developed world, eating meat is a choice, not a necessity. We get way more protein than we need, and are healthier when we shift to more fiber and nutrient rich plant foods (reams of studies confirm this). You can choose to be part of the horror of "animal agriculture" or you can choose a kinder, gentler, healthier path - healthier for humans and the environment.
Vegans aren't trying to "force their ideologies" on anyone, they are trying to make the Earth a better place for all of its inhabitants. Did you ever see movies like Shindler's list, where Shindler saved humans from the concentration camps? Vegans are trying to save non-humans from concentration camps. ALL lives are valuable, all animals have feelings and intelligence. "The root of all evil is the idea that one life is more valuable than other." Please join us in stopping the death and destruction. Every time you eat, you are voting for the kind of world you want.
Amy
Here's the problem with what you say. While a human can make a choice to eat meat or not, it doesn't mean that the body agrees with it. I have heard stories from many ex-vegans who tried for many years to be vegan(and yes they did do everything properly. Accusing them of not doing so is getting very tired) and their body was not agreeing with their mind. The mind cannot override the biological body no matter how how much you want it to. If people could do that, you would see a lot of composite creatures about. People with wings so they could fly or merpeople.
The big problem people have with vegans is your holier-than-thou attitudes and hatred towards other humans. You are not better than anyone else. You would not want people forcing you in any way to eat meat so remember that the next time you get the urge to act like a tyrant and try to do what you don't want others to do to you and that's force your beliefs onto others.
Also, while both omnivores and vegetarians/vegans will agree that factory farms are disgusting, there are more omnivores out there that are doing far more to actually help animals while respecting humans and their beliefs all while NOT forcing their dogma onto others(something vegans rarely do) than there are vegans. Two examples are Betty White and Bob Barker.
As for your quote, the problem with vegans using that is that the vast majority of you put more value on the life of non humans than you do for humans not to mention the vegans who don't value the life of their pets that they force a vegan diet onto(cats, dogs, reptiles, and snakes for example). There is a very tiny miniscule amount of humans on this planet that have earned the right to use that quote and those people would be devoted yogis because they respect and value ALL life, not just the lives of specific species.
*************
A vegan diet isn't for everyone
Carlos
People like you are the ones that make myself call me A plant based diet folower not a VEGAN.Why? Because you guys are fanatic,almost like a cult,trying to convert everybody,thinking that you are right and the others are wrong..
I know theres independent adult responsible respectful vegans but first of all. There are 3 reasons on why becoming vegan. One is your own health or beauty care,second your concerns about the enviroment,and third anical cruelty...
Not every vegan wants to join other vegans,and wants to save the world and tries to convert his family and everybody he talks to...
You have to chillax.I became vegan mostly for health reasons,I want to live the longest and healthy and Ive never been a gluton so its not that difficult to me.I also care about the enviroment so if I dont contribute thats a plus but lets be honest most of us have been contirbuting to ruin this planet for years,in my case for 36 years..so Im not going to sleep better tonight and say that Im saving the world. I would have to be vegan for 36 years more. And even then Im not doing this to put myself a gold medal and sleep good at night. Chances are you have killed many pigs already too...So stop that save the world slogan,stop telling people what to do. We vegans are not better than non vegans we are simply individuals that at some point in time decide to stop eating animal protein and dairy for a big number or reasons,each its own.
people like you makes us look like a threat,manipulative and fanatic.
I respect meat eaters,I was one of them,I dont slam on their face they are destroying th eplanet. its up to them to decide if they want to support the animal agriculture or not,its not up to me to judge them.
If we respect more meat eaters they will also show respect in return,its the way it should be.
To all the nonvegans here...no ,not every vegan wants to change the world and convert you into veganism.Not every vegan thinks killing a pig is a crime that should take you to jail...
Colton Dupler
you are the most ignorant person i have ever seen on the internet. this is a horrible article. every single reason you listed here is full of shit and has no base or nothing to back it up other than what you're pulling out of your ass. did you wright this just to try and make yourself feel better about what a shitty person you are. god i really got a nice lagh out of the way you try and come up with some ignorant list to make money. how much did you get payed to wright this. i know you got payed off. you probly didnt even get much did you a small piece of shit like you doing the dirty work for the ""man" your the worst kind of person go jump off a brige
Yes No
Worst shit I've read. There is nothing wrong with being vegan. I am a "junk food vegan" (vegan burgers, deep fried stuff, pig bone free (gelatin free) lollies)... Just got my blood test results a few days ago..
Yeah, I eat unhealthy and should start eating more varied... But I wasn't lacking anything!!! Not even B12, calcium, any other shit they say you lack.
You meat eaters just need to justify your actings. "I MUST buy leather.... It's my blood type you know".... I MUST eat meat on every little snack, every single day to SURVIVE.....
You know it's not true. And the dairy industry and meat industry are so big... Why is it markeded as "manly" to eat meat? It's just a dead animal that had it's throat slit... Why is cow's milk so healthy and not girraffes milk?
Why are studies showing that cows milk gives osteoporosis and cancer ignored when published?
I don't drink milk, have cheese/butter/milkpowder/lactose powder and I am not lacking calcium. Why is that, do you think?????????????? Because there is calcium in other things.
I don't need to pay for someone to slice up another beings throat for me to be healthy...
But that's what you do when you "feel like" it... When you feel like cheese on your pizza, you pay for someone else to have their throat sliced.
If you're feeling sick and tired and weak as a vegan, you need more fat.... Poor that cold pressed olive oil all over that pizza, baby! (and add a little salt and you won't miss the cheese!)
You don't need animals fat which clogs your arteries.
Peace and love, guys..
Peace and love. And pizza.
salchemist
this is the most uneducated post i've read in a while. After #4 "VEGAN DIETS TEND TO BE LOW IN HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN" I just stopped reading and thought, if this article were human, why read further, when this article is an idiot. Please, who ever wrote this, please do us a favour, educate yourself, and stop posting quotes followed by uneducated little comments. seriously. i need a book to read after reading a part of this article lol
deanna
More than half of the world's adult population is lactose intolerant so the necessity of dairy in the adult diet is silly.
Your website is butter nutrition. One fact your readers should know. Pregnant cows are used for milk production regularly in the US. Harvard researchers found that high fat dairy products can have as much estrogen as a mini-hormone replacement pill.
Phytoestrogens, like those in soy, are weaker than human estrogen, but compete with the same receptors, so can lower estrogen in premenopausal women reducing risk of breast cancer. Okinawans without dairy and whole soy foods in diet know breast cancer exists but rarely have anyone they know actually have the disease.
Legumes are very high quality foods., not only are there phytates eliminated with traditional prep practices: soaking, rinsing and cooking thoroughly, but feed our gut biome, provide antioxidants and have been used for centuries to treat diabetics.
I do think low food chain fish can be valuable but the rest of the animal foods have not been shown to be very useful for health span and longevity in our era of abundant calories.
Lisa Mair
Great points Deanna.
coryn smith
I was a vegetarian for ten years. and so were a lot of my friends. We now have pot luck dinners and set around eating organic lamb and laugh how we all have changed. I am a naturopath and some of my clients are vegan and hormone issues seem to be coming up for them as well is insulin problems. and fatigue..great reminder about nut over use as well..I see this in the paleo world as well. .the body is amazing and will take time to show results of any type of a diet that is excluding a major food group. B12 deffecny is a good example of this.
Vicki
I very much enjoyed your article. We must also point out that everybody is different. What one person can consume another may not be able to. My body aches if I eat too many bell peppers and or onions. A friend of mine exists on meals buried in onions. We all have to reach for optimum health for our OWN unique body. Thank you again for the info!
ardith
Thank you for your article, Catherine. From the looks of other comments, your theme is contraversial. Yet for me, you have touched on some experiences I have had with attempting a vegan diet. I have a thyroid disfunction and have had to modify my diet many times. I recently made a vegan Indian recipe that called for 1/2 cup of ground raw cashews as part of the sauce. While it tasted wonderful, it totally wrecked my stomach. My system simply cannot take such a concentrated amount of nuts. I absolutely cannot have soy in my diet, again because of my thyroid issue. It's literally toxic to me.
Yet, the same can be said of red meat. I haven't had in decades. Plus, living near a beef processing facility while in Idaho made me cry until it was closed down. You could literally hear the terror in the cows' cries. Everything about that place was heart-wrenching. When I was a child, my grandfather took my sisters and me to a chicken processing plant in Texas. It was a nightmare.
Due to my thyroid disease and my husband's gout, we cannot eat dark greens like kale, legumes of any kind. There are other vegan diet mainstays we cannot include. And a raw diet is out of the question. I applaud those with the ability to live a healthy vegan lifestyle. I wish I could as well. Believe me, I have tried. I have single-handedly injured my digestive system in the pursuit of the "right" diet.
So, I have found the best balance as a virtual vegetarian. I am most happy with roasted vegetables and rice, I also like to make Asian and Indian dishes. Meatless Italian pasta recipes are also my friend. But I do eat cheese and the occasional egg or chicken thigh or fresh fish for protein. We use olive oil freely. I find adding probiotics to my diet, particularly in greek yogurt, help balance my digestive system. I am experimenting with a probiotic supplement. I have not yet been able to 100% remove poultry from my diet, although I truly wish I could, and continually seek alternatives.
With any diet, it is best to continually educate oneself and I appreciate Catherine's insights into the possible downsides of this or any other. At the end of the day, each individual must discover what works for them. The likelihood is that the food journey will take them in different directions over the course of their life.
My thanks again to Catherine and to all the commenters for their insights. Cheers, Ardith
Maria
Hi! Loved this post! I totally agree that a vegan diet isn't the solution, above all they limit and forbid entire food groups which may place it next to other dieting plans that we already know could be more harmful for our body. I think people should be more aware of the nutrients they are giving up to when adopting any diet. Thanks!! Keep it up!
Eunice
What about Hemp? NO ONE mentions that hemp seeds have the highest protein of all plants and three kinds of Omega fatty acids. There are plenty of edible plants, that are easily available especially in this developed world we live in,that complete the complex variety of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and compounds the human body needs to thrive. It's all about balance and self awareness in the individual. Something we are not taught nowadays. Superfoods: Cannabis, hemp, holy basil, goji berries, coconut oil, flax seeds,baobab,maca,moringa,spirulina,acai berry,wheatgrass,etc etc etc.
Zoe Halbert
Though I can agree that some of these points are concerns and that people differ in experiences on a vegan diet there are some things that just are not correct. If someone has a protein deficiency it is because they are malnourished and not getting enough food in general. There is no medical term for a protein deficiency specifically because even if you are living off fruit you can get enough protein. The fact that no culture in the past has thrived on a vegan diet doesn't mean that people cannot thrive on a vegan diet, many people do. SO that fact does not make it dangerous. Soy is not something that must be consumed constantly on a vegan diet as I mentioned protein isn't an issue and there are other great sources of protein like other legumes, nuts, seeds, leafy green vegetables, whole grains etc.
The biggest issue is that many of your points attack foods like nuts and soy and completely disregard the negative health consequences of animal products. Many studies show dairy is linked to prostate cancer and meat to heart disease. Not to mention products like cheese are addictive because of high amounts casomorphin in them. A craving for cheese doesn't mean you need to eat it. Since I went vegan I have not craved any animal products at all and my blood tests have shown up great. Not to mention I feel great. This is the only response I've seen in people going vegan but I do understand that there are a few people who struggle. I would like to hear from them more individually. I think your intentions are good though, and obviously you mean well overall and want to improve people's health.
lauren
what a load of horse sh*t. i'm not vegan anymore, but this article perpetuates so many terrible myths. UGH!
Andie
I see how a Vegan diet can be damaging. My friend has been on a vegan diet for only a month and she already looks like a walking corpse. Her skin is grey, her hair has lost all its shine, her cheeks are sunken and she is constantly tired and being worried about her is what brought me here. If a Vegan diet was healthy surely she would be .
Luci Fox
EATING PLANTS IS MURDER! Plants are alive and have feelings! We have to free the plants from the Oppressive death farms. Whenever I ride my bike past a farm field i think of the JEWS dying IN CAMPS! its the SAME THING! they just live inside a fence and get CUT DOWN by the HARVESTING DEATH MACHINES! I want to cut the fence and LIBERATE the poor plants, and let them roam free! THEY DESERVE TO LIVE ALONG SIDE US LIKE EQUALS! STOP THE PLANT OPPRESSION!
Bme
The vegans here seem to have a nasty attitude...hmm
Luci Foc
It must be all of the incomplete proteins we can't blame them
Sylvia
I used to eat fish, eggs, cheese and butter, then became vegan for compassionate reasons (for the animals.) Vegan for 3 years, no wonderful effects at first, just my normal physical self....three years later, suddenly while having a bath noticed I can see my thigh-bone! And the muscles that were firm are hanging loose. I was a slight build anyway but am beginning to look like an old lady. I get tired after 4 hours of being awake, and was always a work til dusk kind of person. I bought a block of cheese the other day and my body's response to eating half a block a once(!) was sheer joy. That was my bdy's response -not mine. I ate fish the other day and the same thing happened. Then I bought butter and was slathering butter on just about everything I could find.
I seriously feel my body is telling me something with those responses.
But of course I also feel bad because I don't want to be a part of hurting or exploiting animals..
axel
that was very honest from you. a difficult part of being vegan is that you ought to become your own nutritionist, you could eat french fries everyday and be a vegan as well!
Marcy
I know it’s difficult as a vegan. You really have to make very good dietary choices because the world we live in does not make it easy. They want us to eat meat, eggs and drink milk. Getting enough of the right kind of protein takes planning and effort. Beans and Rice everyday. Tofu a couple of times a week, A snack of nuts everyday. Borzoi and spinach should also be eaten every single day as well as at least two bananas. Without the constant assurance that you area getting these things your body will suffer. And it’s so easy to just grab some meat or dairy. I am having a hard time myself.
DA
Have to admit up front that I am no vegan or vegetarian, but I am a Whole Foods Market employee and so I get to meet what I call "militant vegans" every day...plus I have 3 friends/family members who are vegan and have been for years. What I have observed has convinced me that a strictly vegan diet is just plain unhealthy in the long run.
Why do I think this? Because all I have to do is observe the prematurely aged skin, whitened hair, withered muscles and blotchy red faced or gray looking complexions of these poor souls to realize this ain't any healthier than the all protein all the time paleo extreme. Though the paleo people look healthier, at least on the outside.
The healthiest, most gorgeous looking, high energy people I meet over and over again at work, eat MOSTLY veggies, fruit and grains with a LITTLE meat and dairy. AKA moderation. And by a little I mean a 3 oz portion of meat with dinner instead of 10 oz or a 2 oz serving of chicken with lunch instead of a giant breast. So I am grateful I can acquire the tiny portions of meat I need from my company who has set the highest standards for animal compassion in the industry, Just my opinion, but I don't think humankind needs to abandon meat eating so much as we need to cut way way way back on how much we eat of it.
It ain't scientific, and I've read all the big and popular books on these topics (vegan and low carb), and met a few of these popular authors and doctors in store, but something feels off, and my intuition about these things has always been good; I think time will show us the truth as it always does. More than anything, my eyes can see for themselves and I have yet to meet a single long term vegan who's body and energy level I can admire. They all just look sick. #TeamWFM
Helen
Thank you so much DA for your post, you make amazing points! this is what I have been trying to say to people, to tell them about a balanced diet! please share this post on your Facebook or Twitter, these words need to be heard.
Marcy
That is how I judge the vegan diet as well. I have not turned gray yet, my skin is better than most people I know and I am fit and have plenty of energy. Of course I am only 50, so maybe time will turn me into the white haired, sallow aged skin person you speak of. Only time will tell.
Jason Reagan
Nutritionfacts.org
The most concentrated unbiased nutrition info from peer studies in one place. Go have a look
Judith Farrell
my fiend has been a vegan for about a year, her hair is falling out, she is so skinny and you can see her bones, her skin is dry and with many wrinkles, She looks terrible. I think any form of an extreme diet is not healthy. She is also tired and lacks energy. My doctor says any extreme diet is dangerous. we were meant to eat everything in moderation and to work so our bodies will have all they need.
Marcy
Trust me, being vegan gives you thousands of options to eat and does not lead to any conditions. It is not an extreme diet. There are countless vegetables to chose from, countless fruits, countless grains, countless, nuts and seeds and thousands of combinations for recipes and all your nutrition can be covered. I have not ever heard a good argument for the eating of animals other than stuff people simple want to believe. If you want to keep eating animals and the products derived from their torture at least be honest with yourself.
If your friend is having problems, it's not a vegan diet, maybe she is eating only junk food. There is plenty of vegan junk food.. If you are eating a couple of cups of veggies, and couple of cups of fruits, a couple of cups of grain, some nuts and seeds you are getting more nutrition than most people in America.
Joe McDonald
Veganism is a personal lifestyle choice. Some take to it, others don't. It will be a very long time before the world goes Vegan, if that ever happens. No country has yet, for example, banned killing of animals for meat. Not even countries that have relatively progressive animal protection laws. What doesn't help is when a certain type of Vegan attacks anyone who wishes to help animals without becoming Vegan. Vegans and non-Vegans should work together to make the world a better place for animals. Any progress is better than no progress. I often think of Schindler as depicted in the movie. He couldn't stop the Holocaust, or even publicly oppose the Nazi regime, but he helped save many innocent lives and eased the plight of other victims who ended up being murdered by the regime. A purist might argue: He wasn't a real abolitionist...he was just a "welfarist" because he didn't campaign against the regime and call publicly for an end to the horrors of genocide. He didn't...but he did more than most other citizens of the Third Reich. Likewise there are many people who aren't lily white non users of animal products...but they do more than most human beings to ease the plight of animals on this planet. The world was never a perfect place. I wonder how species on other planets are faring?
Meat addicts
Meat is completely not necessary nutritionally, B12 comes from bacteria that almost everywhere in nature. Omega 3 is plentiful in linseeds, cannabis and beans, as well they are rich in protein. Meat addicts need to justify what they do not feel guilty.
Clay
Not DHA and EPA though, which is the most important omega 3. That's only in animal products and your brain cannot develop properly without it.. That;s why it's in mother's milk and all baby formulas.
A
You're wrong. We have DHA / EPA supplements that come from non-polluted algae. You can find several articles on the internet stating that they are the healthiest you can consume, as they aren't contaminated with heavy metals, like fish is.
Tom
I'm in complete agreement with this article and tired of self righteous vegans. The China Study has been debunked, I'm sure you can prove or disprove any points you wish with books. I also strongly believe in biochemical individuality, which basically means everyone is different and different people may do well on different diets.
If you want to be vegan, that's fine, just leave me and others alone. I was vegan for two and a half years in college and became very, very ill. I tried every variation: raw foods, macrobiotic, Ayurvedic, etc. I never felt good, I had terrible digestion, never slept well and had constant cravings. On a raw diet, I was so tired, I would come home from my day an spend the night laying in bed.
I finally met a nutritionist in L.A., who put me on an anti-Candida diet, which is high protein and low carb. I felt amazing after about two weeks. I don't follow that diet now, but I do eat some meat.
It does bother me that animals are sometimes incredibly mistreated for food. I have made several attempts since then to be vegan and always end up feeling terrible, even with guidance from nutritionists, etc.
I do agree that we can eat meat moderately to limited to improve the health of the planet, etc.
I love animals, but if it's between me and the animal, I'm going to choose myself. Unfortunately, life is not always kind and there are some cruelties involved in living. Even if you eat vegan, there are animal ingredients in other products you may be using. And if you wear clothes, at least some of them are probably made in sweatshops where humans are mistreated. Same for Iphones.
Catherine's article is right on.
Conchita
Her article is not right on as everything she mentions has been scientifically debunked as you put it. There are 20 other real professionals who prove this and can help you where you may have gone wrong in your personal diet.
I personally think that Dr Michael Greger and NDr Neil Barnard can amply help you achieve optimum health on a vegan diet.
If these unfounded points were true then these athletes are all liars not to mention your average joe who's been vegan over 40 years!
http://www.greatveganathletes.com/bodybuilders
Check out the amazing list of athletes at the bottom of the above link!
Ahmed Gouda
Do you really expect an objective article on plant based diet from a "Butter Nutrition" website 🙂
Tania
Are all the vegans A blood type? I see that a plant base diet is best for A types? I found that after not eating meat and then trying it, my skin the net day was yellow. How do you explain what happened there? We are all different, so would it not make sense that we all do well on different diets? when I cut out much sugar and carbs my blood sugars settled down, but once I stopped butter and eggs that came back. I could eat little with them added. Meat I don't think my body can handle.
You don't see monkeys eating a steak and they do well. Aren't we meant to be more like them?
Tom
I don't trust the blood type diet. I am a type A an do terribly on a vegan diet. I've had some people on the blood type diet forums say it's because one of my parents is a type O and there's all these variants, but sheesh, that is just making things way too complicated.
Conchita
Boloni! Contact any of these 21 Doctors, experts on nutrition and they will clear your mis-conceptions!
http://www.theveganjunction.com/top-20-plant-based-health-professionals-to-follow/
Lyn
I think the best part is when you reference the Vegetarian Myth which wasn't even written by an expert spreads misinformation and has been disproved many, many times. It might be time to grow up and take a look at what actual doctors who are educated in nutrition say about plant-based diets, like Dr. Michael Greger or Dr. Neal Barnard.
Conchita
Agreed!!!
Kate
I have been a vegan for 1 1/2, & my boyfriend has been a vegan for 1 year. My boyfriend has had ulcerative colitis, so we thought maybe a vegan diet could help him, since we heard other success stories of UC patients healing through veganism.
He is already a very skinny guy. He was ranging from 138-140 at 6'0" before he started veganism. He lost 10 pounds the first month from eating vegan & he hasn't been able to gain the weight back since. He even got down to 125 for a month, but he has been able to keep his weight at least 129-132 for most of the year. He is very ill, always tired, constant back pain, & weird rashes under his arms that appeared while being vegan.
I suffer from the vegan diet, as well. And trust me, we eat so clean & huge amounts of veggies & healthy grains every night. We never drink alcohol, & we hardly ever eat sugar or caffeine. But even with our clean, vegan diet & large portions, we are never satisfied. My boyfriend is losing too much weight, but I struggle to keep my weight down, which has been hard for my self esteem because I've always been naturally skinny.
I have had depression ever since high school, but this last year on a vegan diet has been the worst time for my depression in all my life. I was so depressed that I couldn't even work & was unemployed for 9 months. I am constantly tired on the vegan diet.
My hair used to be shiny, soft, thick, & long. My hairdressers were always so impressed & said other clients spent hundreds of dollars on treatments to get hair like mine. After eating vegan for 1 1/2 years, my hair is thinning, brittle, dry, & limp.
I am suffering from memory loss at only 23 years old. I have a hard time remembering words & I stutter a lot more. I never have enough energy & am barely handling my part time job now. But once I get home, I relax on the sofa for the rest of the day or lay in bed.
I used to run every day for an hour before I was vegan. Now, I can't even handle a short 20-30 minute walk.
I always feel naseous now. Eating vegan makes me feel sick, & no matter how healthy I eat, Supplements aren't cutting it. They help a little, but it's not the same as consuming the vitamins, minerals, & nutrients in their original form. My doctor even gave me a powerful B-Complex vitamin, which helps a little but I still feel empty, physically & emotionally.
I always feel lightheaded & it feels like my brain isn't getting enough blood circulation because it always aches. My liver also aches from time to time & this is something that has only come about after going vegan.
My skin is dull & aging. I'm getting premature wrinkles around my eyes. My nails are brittle & my hands are always dry, even though I drink 64-70 ounces of water everyday. And the worst thing has been the cavities. I used to have incredible teeth with hardly any cavities. In just the short time I have been vegan, I've developed at least 6 cavities that I know of, because you can actually see the huge holes. I've done some research & apparently it's very common for vegans to have terrible teeth.
Health begins with oral health. If my teeth are suffering this badly, I don't want to know what's happening to the rest of my body.
The vegan diet is killing me & my love. And don't anyone dare tell me I was doing it wrong. That sounds like something similar to the No True Scotsman fallacy. The vegan diet might work for some, but it has destroyed my health in the short time I've tried it & it's not anyone's right to tell me I didn't try hard enough or I didn't do it right.
I'm not a savior. I can't sacrifice my life for the lives of animals. I'm just another animal in the animal kingdom, who is also part of the food chain.
This week, my boyfriend & I are transitioning out of the vegan diet. We bought some grass fed pasture raised eggs & some Pacific sardines & Alaskan salmon. Later this week, I will be going to a health foods store where they sell local raw grass fed milk, butter, & cheese.
We are starting our healing journey on an organic pescetarian diet.
Tonight, I had a couple fried eggs with a few sprigs of parsley for the first time since going vegan. It was a beautiful, freeing experience & I realized how natural the aroma & process of making the eggs was for me. It felt right & true to me. The messages from your body are more important & true than any facts or philosophies.
I'm not going to bed hungry or ill or depressed tonight. I feel a renewed hope.
Tonight was the beginning of living & loving my life again.
Anonymous
For me it's ethical. I saw a video a few years ago broadcasting how they treat the pigs we get bacon from and the cows we get milk from, and it was completely disturbing. I don't know for a fact that all slaughterhouses treat their animals like they were treated in the video I watched, but the video WAS a compilation of many different videos from many different places, so quite a few mistreat their animals. I'd rather take supplements for certain kinds of vitamins and acids or whatever then having to imaging a pig being skinned (literally) alive whenever I eat meat.
BritBananas
Comments on controversial articles or blog posts are wonderful. The majority of you don't use correct spelling or grammar, and the ones who do just happen to spray your seeds of obscenities and ignorant "beliefs" all over the Internet.
I respect a well-written and thought out article, therefor I respect a well-written and thought out argument.
What I have to say on the topic of this particular piece:
A diet or personal ethical system are both based on your preference for the body and mind.
What works for you, is what works for you.
Personal experience? I've suffered from eating disorders since I was 13 years old. An absurd amount of people, including some very uneducated health professionals I've come in contact with, seem to think that an eating disorder is a choice. If it were, it would not have consumed half of my life. If it were a choice, I could easily make the same "choice" to start eating and maintain a healthy lifestyle from then on.
That's not an argument I'm attempting to make at the moment.
Back on track..
I am grateful to have FOOD as a part of my diet. I see multiple nutritionalists and attend an outpatient program. Almost all of my doctors have said that a vegetarian diet works for me.
Keep in mind that I have severely damaged my body, inside and out, since I was 13. I'm now 26 years old and am basically in the "repair shop". So really, any type of good, honest nutrition is going to boost me up as soon as I start.
And it really has.
It's been four months and I feel great.
I wouldn't push my diet on anyone, especially since I'm not the greatest example setter:
I wouldn't push the clothes I wear, the spiritual beliefs I follow, or ANYTHING I do for personal reasons onto anyone else.
Shaming someone, behaving radical, and prying into someone's diet are all indicators of a very poor attitude.
Eating is the most important thing you can do to stay alive. I know because I've come so close to death by not doing it many; many times!
Eat healthy, eat how you like to eat that good food, and don't let anyone stop you.
If anyone I knew ever went on a rant about how their diet is better than mine, I wouldn't want them to play any type of role in my life.
Do what's best for you 🙂
Catherine
Thanks for joining the conversation!
Are you still doing great on a vegetarian or vegan diet?
I notice clients can do okay short term on these diets, but most can't long-term.
Abundantly,
Catherine
Lori Carangelo
And then there's Emma Morano, the 117-year old woman in Italy who has eaten 3 eggs a day for 90 years, rarely ate fruits and vegies, gave up meat because someone told her it causes cancer, and these days has cut down to 2 eggs and a biscuit (and to some reporters she admits to enjoying her brandy).. Some attribute long life to "good genes," or to being surrounded by loved ones, and/or an, unpolluted environment.. My roommate has been a Vegan for years and has multiple medical ailments, including gall stones,, kidney stones, colitis, and a bleeding skin condition that his doctor attributes to "stress." One can eat the most "perfect" diet but unless the brain is at peace, it has a mind of its own. and can alter chemical activity with regard to how the body utilizes what it is fed.
Celena
My stance is that I believe everyone should have their own choice to engage in dieting and consuming the food they wish to eat ... period! As noted above every individual will benefit differently from varying diets based on how their own body digests and uses the nutrients they are given. I look at my grandmother, 98, couldn't live without her processed meat sticks, chocolate and a good beer, she grew up dutch making just about every meal in lard. Now, do I do that today, no, but I respect that her genetic makeup has allowed her to live a long and very healthy life with minimal issue. Many would not fair well on that diet. Our bodies are a complex system and each on is different, while core makeup is similar in nature my attempts at a well balanced and nutritionist led vegan diet have not fared well and resulted in my going back to a 'everything in moderation' approach and this works best, FOR ME. My challenge with this entire thread is that when people make a dietary change or life change for ethical or moral reasons the foundation is based in such passion resulting in what manifests as ignorance towards others. My suggestion, hold true to a life of value and be considerate of your fellow humans and their choice, because lets all be honest, each on of us has a choice. I appreciate and respect Vegans and have many friends that live this life style, I would not condemn them or try to convert them, but please, show me the same respect! If I chose to not approve of you lets say, its generally b/c you are a 'crappy' person not because of what you chose to consume.
JD
Out of most of the comments I've read on this thread, I definitely resonate with you the most.
Joe Mitchell
I wouldn’t show respect to a child molester anymore than I would someone that abuses animals. You’re asking vegans to respect your right to abuse animals. Incredibly dumb. How about you respect the animal’s right to live?
Tammy Milani
Someone sent me this article so that I could point by point go over it with her to help her understand what was true and what was not true. I am a health coach and have studied nutrition for a long time. Let me say I do not advocate eating a vegan diet for everyone, and no one should ever be shamed by the way they choose to eat and live their life. I believe bio-individuality is a very important aspect in advising my clients and I make sure they get the most unbiased cutting edge information that I have. But, I also think that a plant based diet can be the only thing that can heal certain chronic diseases. This article bothers me because several points noted here are just wrong and I feel misinformation can harmful. I'm sorry if this is offensive but I feel it is my duty to rebut information about diet when I feel it is wrong or lacking real information.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #1: HISTORICALLY, THERE ARE NO CULTURES THAT HAVE THRIVED BY SUBSISTING OFF OF ANIMAL-FREE DIETS.
First of all a vegan diet is actually better for your teeth because it is more alkaline in nature and second there is no mention of what cultures he studied and what they actually ate and drank or geographic region. We have evolved as a species and we no longer have to kill animals to survive. Depending on where you live hunting and gathering is no longer necessary. And, I would argue eating animals is not only not necessary but in many cases a determent to your health.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #2: PEOPLE OFTEN TURN TO VEGAN DIETS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TROUBLE DIGESTING MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTS AND HAVE OTHER ISSUES LIKE FATIGUE, INFLAMMATION, ACNE, BLOATING, AND WEIGHT GAIN.
Intolerance to foods is a very complex subject and one that merits it’s on article/book because science has no idea what is happening. There are hundreds of books with different views. Sure there can be an imbalance, that’s a given, but that by no means causes thyroid dysfunction . That is just outrageous. Of course intolerance is related to that particular food. Why, is the question. We live in a soup of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides,, radiation and pathogens. This gets stored in the fat of animals no matter how they are raised. Of course grass fed and free range are better choices but they still live on this planet and are breathing the same air. One of the reasons our digestive systems are malfunctioning is because our digestive system starts to see the food as a foreign invader. The communication between the gut, liver, pancreas starts to break down. The liver becomes congested because the toxic load is too much for it to clear so it just stores it instead of letting it back into the blood stream. This causes the symptoms related to intolerance and can lead to an all out allergy. The nerves in the gut become sensitive because each time they receive a protein they do not recognized it causes an alert which then causes an immune response. I could go on and on but this is not a class in the microbiome but you get my drift. Dairy is another book. I’ll just leave it to say, what other animal on the plant consumes another animal’s milk that was meant for their babies? Yea, none.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #3: THE BEST DIETS ARE THOSE WITH THE GREATEST VARIETY OF NUTRIENTS AND WITHOUT DIETARY LIMITATIONS
The greatest variety of nutrients comes from the fruits and vegetables!! Period!! Cravings don’t always point to deficiencies but more likely are signaling an imbalance or an addiction. For example craving cheese can be an addiction to the opioids in cheese. Yep, as casein breaks down in the stomach it produces the peptide casomorphin which is a opioid. It acts as a histamine release which is why so many people are allergic to dairy.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #4: VEGAN DIETS TEND TO BE LOW IN HIGH-QUALITY PROTEIN (AND LOW PROTEIN DIETS CAN INCREASE TOXICITY).
Good lord this Dr Peat must be bought and sold by the meat and dairy industry because none of this is true. It’s all exactly the opposite. The protein found in all plants not just beans, nuts and cabbages, which you have inexplicably chosen to isolate, are far more bio-available than proteins found in animals. The communication between the liver and the thyroid has nothing to do with consuming protein.
As a matter of fact the only way the liver can truly detoxify is by eliminated the fat from animal proteins and reducing all fat in general. Fatty liver is becoming more and more common these days for the reasons I suggest in claim #2. What the heck is Phase 2 liver detoxification?? No! Long term vegans that eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables, I am not referring to junk food vegans, have healthier livers because the liver depends on glucose not “good protein.”
The truth is in the mid 1900’s the meat and dairy industry got together and said let’s pay some scientist to do a study that suggests that large amounts of protein is vital to health and wellness so that they could increase sales forever. This why to this day, the meat and dairy industry is subsidized by the government.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #5 PLANT FOODS DON’T CONTAIN REAL VITAMIN A, ONLY THE PRECURSORS THAT REQUIRE CONVERSION
Vitamin A occurs naturally in both plant and animal tissues. Vitamin A from animal sources is fat-soluble. Too much animal derived vitamin A can build up in the body and become toxic. Vitamin A from the plant kingdom or “provitamin A” that is converted to usable retinoids are water soluble and therefore do not accumulated and become toxic to the body.
I have no idea what mutations you are referring to. If its methylation issues , that’s a folate problem and is far beyond just the scope of this conversion.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #6 PLANT-BASED DIETS CAN DECREASE DIGESTIVE JUICES
This is just plan wrong!!! First of all hydrochloric acid is not the only acid in the stomach that aids in digestion, but to suggest that if you don’t eat enough protein the digestive juice won’t be stimulated is just plan wrong and not based on science. Actually the body works better with a more alkaline PH. Animal foods are very acidic.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #7: DIETARY DOGMA THAT IF IT’S NOT WORKING FOR YOU, YOU’RE DOING IT “WRONG.”
Ummm this point is based on one persons experience.
The truth of the matter is that yes if you are only eating foods without much nutritional value your body will suffer regardless if you are a meat eater or vegan.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #8: BECAUSE OF THE BODY’S ABILITY TO ADAPT TO ANY TYPE OF FUEL (FOR SURVIVAL), IT OFTEN TAKES TIME TO SEE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THIS WAY OF EATING
Once again you cite something when the opposite is true. When ones diet is predominantly high quality fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and in some cases small amounts of wholesome grains their health becomes stronger and brighter. Studies show vegans and vegetarians live longer than meat eaters. Impaired detoxification, thyroid issues and hormonal imbalances are often fixed by following a vegan diet. The liver CANNOT detox when fed high fat, pesticide laden foods.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #9: VEGAN DIETERS OFTEN FAVOR SOY PRODUCTS.
Well I will have to say on this one you and I agree. Not on the assumption that if you are vegan, you of course eat soy, because I am vegan and I don’t eat soy, but on the fact that soy is just no longer good for you. It use to be before it became genetically modified. It’s been used for centuries in Asian cooking, but much like corn and wheat, genetic modification out weights any benefit it use to have. Sad but true.
VEGAN DIET DANGER #10: VEGAN DIETS CAN BE HEAVY IN NUT CONSUMPTION
First of all to assume something about a diet practice you must first understand the practice. Yes, a lot of vegans eat a fair about of nuts, which by the way are extremely healthy. Nuts are nutrient dense foods which are rich in high quality protein, fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and a host of phytochemicals. Studies have shown that nuts help lower cholesterol, are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and can help endothelial function, glucose homeostasis and visceral adiposity. Need I go on? The actual truth about the Mediterranean diet study once the data was really looked at closely was the sample that showed lower heart disease in the study was the sample that ate the most nuts.
Amy
I was a "perfect" vegan for 15 years. Cooked absolutely everything from scratch. Lots of attention to protein sources. Vitamin B12 supplementation, flax oil, etc.
My husband and I both developed a pale, sickly yellow cast to our skin in the last few years. Both of us developed tendon injuries that simply would not heal ( I later discovered in Naturopathic medical school the studies showing that inadequate protein leads to such issues). I developed bloating issues that worsened with every passing year. When I completed my 3rd year nutrition course, where we evaluated study after study after study, I could no longer deny it. I was killing both of us with my "healthy" diet.
The Veg*n echo chamber is real. My email inbox was full of "scientific research" on how vegans were healthier than everybody else. I'm afraid it was all lies.
We now eat mostly paleo and gluten free. SO SO SO much healthier. I'm glad everyday that I changed my eating habits before conceiving my two children. It's people feeding their kids this damaging diet that worries me the most.
Catherine
Hi Amy,
Thank you for joining the conversation and sharing your story. If you ever feel like sharing a longer version of your story with those who would benefit from reading it, please reach out to me.
So happy to hear you are feeling better.
Abundantly,
Catherine
John Doe
It truly saddens me when a drive for profit overshadows the truth. When we seek internet traffic on our websites, blogs, vlogs, and etc with no intention for the truth, as false information is nothing but poison for those who don't venture for confirmation beyond one source.
Conchita
Excellent reply to the intentional mis information given here, thank you!
Austin
I had the exact same experiences as Amy did! I was a vegetarian of some shade for about 2 years then vegan for two years after that and my health suffered in the end.
And to all the vegans out there that will try to insist I did something wrong; I. Tried. Everything. I did raw. Low carb. High carb. Smoothies. Lentils. Avocados. Quinoa. Gluten free. I ate no processed foods ever in all of these attempts. I supplemented correctly. All in the name of the animals and the environment like the rest of them.
My energy depleted, I lost most of my weight and muscle mass, had constant brain fog, couldn't focus, felt constantly hungry, had constant bloating and digestive issues, and my hair, teeth, and nails all diminished in their strength.
After finally coming to terms with myself, I researched traditional diets and cultures, changed back to a quality balanced omnivorous diet, and I have never felt healthier.
I think veganism is a beautiful, platonic ideal, that may even work for some people, but in the end is not healthy long term for most people. Humans whether we like it or not are omnivorous animals, and we need to simply learn to support better raised quality animal products and local food production if we truly care about the future of the planet and our collective health.
Joe Mitchell
"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including fowl) or seafood, or products containing those foods."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19562864/
Catherine
Hi Joe,
You're quoting articles about vegetarian diets, but the article is about vegan diets. There is a big difference between the two.
Abundantly,
Catherine
Joe Mitchell
Stop pushing your beliefs on innocent animals just because you enjoy the taste of them doesn't make your beliefs right. You are the only one actually forcing anything on anyone.
Rhiannon Macbeth
The Native Americans would kill animals and give thanks to them, worshiping their spirit for the life they let them continue to live. They would appreciate and use all parts of the animal and make sure nothing went to waste. Everything from their fur to bones were vitally needed in daily life.
I believe we need to accept that we are killers and not have such shame over it. Humans are selfish beings. We evolved because we did whatever we could to survive over other creatures. We are the dominators of the earth. With that dominance comes the power to kill and eat what we kill.
I think we have become much too disconnected with death as a culture as well. Death is a key part in the cycle of life. Our dead bodies go back into the earth and feed both plant and animal. Death makes life possible.
Joe Mitchell
SO native Americans are a moral compass for a civilized society? Just because they used all the body parts of animals doesn't make it better, if someone killed me for my body I wouldn't take comfort in knowing they used my entire body, if anything I would want to remain intact and have a proper burial. We are killers because people use fallacious appeals to tradition to justify exploitation of others.
sassycat
Rhiannon... beautifully stated. The modern world has made people soft, disconnected from the cycle of life and death and treating nature as something evil they can usurp. And Joe Mitchell sounds mentally ill... a perfect example of the destructive force of Veganism on brain health.
Joe Mitchell
The ones trying to justify animal exploitation are the ones suffering mental illness.
“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19562864/
Beekay
Got to agree with you about Joe Mitchell
Joe Mitchell
Of course you agree, you’re an idiot too and birds of a feather flock together….
Patrick R Burns
Like any lifestyle choice it needs to be researched and implemented correctly and at a pace suitable for the individual.
I read the points and they're very common and he general go tos for nonbelievers of veganism. The articles/research documents you have based your writing off of dont have a large enough sample siz however.
I'm a proud vegan who lifts weights and kicks life's a## everyday. Been doing it for years.
You may be a nutrionist but I know fat people who are nutritionist so let's not even think about whipping out credentials here.
I wouldn't be writing this if I didnt have confidence in those people who are currently vegan (like myself) who have properly educated themselves and implemented this lifestyle.
Last point being: "the science approach" that a lot of nonbelievers bring about. I think you'd be surprised to see where most of these anti vegan studies come from and who backs them in terms of monetary and PR support.
I don't even know why I'm posting this. Just frustrated watching all of my friends and family slowly die because they succumb to click bait like this.
Conchita
Nothing to add because you said it beautifully!
Nick
This article is total rubbish.
All points mentioned here are based on myth, not scientific at all.
You can be totally healthy on a vegan diet and many people have proved it.
It's much easier to be healthy on a vegan diet than on a meat-based diet.
We produce Vitamin D by spending time outside, humans never evolved as an indoor creature.
Vitamin A deficiency doesn't occur in vegans who live on a healthy whole plant-based diet. Where do you get this from?
Meat isn't a natural source of Vitamin B12. Animals don't produce it, microbes in soil and water do.. People in the old days could even get B12 by drinking water from streams and rivers and by eating veggies that they took fresh out of the ground but we live in a sanitized world today. So to say this makes a very bad argument to say that humans are naturally supposed to eat meat and that it's hard to be healthy on a vegan diet.
Same goes for all the other nutrients you claim are hard to get for vegans.
Conchita
I totally agree Nick. Can you imagine how many people will just take her word for it instead of researching. These kind of articles are why people are clueless about diet and there is so much cancer, heart disease and diabetes going around. If there were justice these kinds of people would be prosecuted for intentionally misleading people into an unhealthy lifestyle that will sooner or later kill them!
Chris
You didn't list any dangers at all. I don't care what one eats but at least we should work with actual facts, right?
There are populations that don't eat any animal products (many tribes) and they are healthy.
The second best source, next to beef liver, of Vitamin A is carrots. Think about it, many people don't eat anything else but meat and they have deficiencies all across the board. And beef liver is not healthy at all. So to get enough Vitamin A you'd have to eat lots of other stuff besides meat. I always exceed my Vitamin A needs by more than 600% on a vegan diet. When I ate meat I rarely reached the FDA approved minimum.
Many legit studies have linked animal protein to certain cancers. This especially applies to red meat and dairy products. The American Cancer Association warns of too much red meat and dairy consumption. If you have certain illnesses, Doctors, advice you to cut down on red meat and dairy products, Why is that?
You can get plenty of protein on a vegan diet. The bioavailability of plant protein is lower but that doesn't mean that your body won't be able to use them. You just have to eat a variety of plant based products such as legumes, nuts etc. throughout the day to meet your protein needs. I eat 100g of protein, 430g of carbs, and between 50 -80g of fat on a Vegan diet. I get more vitamins and minerals than ever before because I never ate vegetables. And that is the case for most meat eaters. They eat a piece of meat, rice, potatoes or fries, and drink a glass of Coke. According to your article, they should be super healthy because meat is all you need.
Answer me one question:
Can we eat meat raw without getting sick?
No, right? Why? If meat is so healthy and we are meant to eat it to survive, why did we have to find a way to make it safe for consumption? Carnivores don't have to do that. Not even omnivores.
The healthiest cultures around the world, that is, the cultures with the lowest cancer rates and in general western problems such as diabetes, are either vegetarian or RARELY eat meat. The cultures who solely eat animal protein have all kinds of issues.
Anyways, if you want to keep eating meat at least stick to the facts. Eating meat is carcinogenic and you should be aware of that.
Kayla
Funnily enough, there are cultures that consume raw meat in this day and age, and they do not suffer from it. Many cultures in the past have done the same thing. At least do some basic research before you claim to be factual.
Fábio Tavares
I have some questions, because i was investigate and i found a lot of studies saying, that in fact, a diet that includes meat (pork, beef, chicken, turkey...), eggs and milk are increase substantially the risk of having hearth problems, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases , even when you have a low consume of that aliments. And in the opposite, a vegan diet are associated in reducing and preventing that kind of problems. so, i am a little confuse. i was wondering where did you find the data that corroborate the information you give.
And just notice, I'm not vegan, this isn't some kind of propaganda. I'm just a young man, worry about my health and worry about who i can trust.
Erika
Vegan diet or Ketogenic diet excessive exogenic sugar is the main factor which makes both diets deadly long-term...
This idea about fat is wrong!
Why?
The reason people do not loose weight is because everyone's metabolism differs by degrees and factors and the problem is misunderstanding what is occurring physiochemically.
I am going to explain what is happening here to resolve the mystery! The number one reason people do not loose weight ("I am in ketosis but I am not loosing weight?") is NOT ENOUGH FAT or not enough protein OR TO MUCH PROTEIN (glucogenesis). You have to do some bench marking ( 3 or 4 oz. protein) with your physiochemistry by increasing or decreasing protein or ADDING MORE FAT (you need fat or your liver will do it for you in the form of cholesterol and you will not lose weight or see changes in body composition). Another reason could be a very alkaline (i.e. gerd, heart burn, acid reflux etc.) stomach (not acidic) as stomach acids decrease with age and prevent the breakdown of nutrients (especially food laced with preservatives, pesticides, non organic, genetically modified foods) and you may want to add hydrochloric acid pills with pepsin (always take right after eating protein and not without eating protein), amylase, lipase and bromelain to your regimen or ibid. 1 table spoon of organic apples cider vinegar and one table spoon of organic lemon juice to a glass of water once a day which usually does the trick and prevents gallstones and kidney stones (calcium oxalate) also besides many other benefits e.g. increasing human growth hormone during the delta phase of sleep which is the most important fat burning hormones known to science besides DHEA.
DO NOT TRY TO DECREASE FAT (stay away from exogenic sugar as much as practically possible) YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR METABOLISM EXOGENICALLY AND CAUSE PERMANENT ENDOGENIC DAMAGE AND IF YOU DECIDE TO GO BACK TO EATING AS YOU WERE BEFORE YOU MAY DOUBLE YOUR WEIGHT GAIN!
Ketosis is a way of life not a temporary fad diet!
Sarah
Add me to the list of people who tried veganism and it did not work. No, I did not eat junk food. Yes, I did it perfectly. Vegans won't hear that, though, because they don't want to.
I am in my early 30s and began to develop arthritis. My doctor was concerned and advised collagen supplements. At first, I resisted, but eventually I gave in and changed my lifestyle.
I cannot eat pork even if I am not vegan, so I began taking beef collagen. My body has responded beautifully. Even my wrinkles look better. (Yes, I got wrinkles on my 20s.)
Bit that doesn't fit the narrative that most vegans want to push. Honestly, I was such a her when I was a vegan, it doesn't surprise me to read these horrible comments. I seriously think the diet deficiencies make vegans mean and angry. I have never had a conversation about food with a vegan where they didn't end up screaming or calling names.
I now eat meat about once or twice a week. My husband hunts, so we often eat deer. It suits me to know it lived a natural life. We also keep chickens and we have their eggs. Once in awhile we butcher one, which is sad. We grow our own vegetables and preserve them. I have began to actually eat more grains, too. I have stopped eating as frequently. I used to eat pretty much continuously. I have energy, which is amazing. I would never go back.
Leman Nur Detchman
I was vegan for a year and a half. At the of end of the first year I developed a lot of acne all of a sudden. I did everything i could to stop it but nothing worked. I stopped eating bread / flour / sugar /any type of fat but nothing helped. I ate only veggies for 6 months and i lost a lot of weight but i started looking very UGLY. SO i bought a protein shake. Starting drinking protein shakes everyday and i saw a sudden change in my health. I started feeling good again. Went to the gym and built up muscles. I focused on protein but acne was still there. My period came back btw. (I had lost my period for 4 months) This past summer i went to Turkey to see my mom. She made steak for dinner not knowing that i was vegan i guess i never told her. I ate the stake and next morning my acne looked SO MUCH BETTER. I was like thats it. My body needs meat. It's been 2 months since i started eating normal again and my face has completely healed. Vegan diet is not for me.
Conchita
Oh my goodness that was hilarious. I have read some nonsense but this comment takes the prize. If you were vegan you would not have eaten that steak because vegan is not a diet it is everything you do in every aspect of your daily life not just what you eat. That aside, so you eat steak and violà the very next morning your acne was better, LOL, that is the funniest nonsense I have ever heard. For a start, it's animal products that cause the acne you're talking about, not plants. As for protein, if you were lacking in protein then it's very obvious you were eating rubbish and not real food. Just so you know, there is protein in ALL plant foods, ALL. It's impossible to be protein deficient on a plant based diet, absolutely impossible. Here's a link just to prove that Body Builders can get more than enough on a plant based diet https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/vegan-bodybuilders-instagram/slide/1. If the link doesn't work, just write in your Google search "Vegan Bodybuilders" and your eyes will pop out of your head. Thanks for making me laugh today!
Gandhar
This article makes no sense at all. All vegetables have some sort of protein, and that's coming from me a vegan wrestler. In all honesty, vegans have an advantage over meat- eaters when it comes to mental and physical effects of eating meat. There is no way that adopting a "healthy" meat- based diet is better than a healthy vegan diet. It just doesn't happen.
Katy
In all honesty, she was probably givendonations by the dairy and meat and egg industries to write this. Like most articles that are against a vegan diet
Tracy
You are wrong. First of all, EPA and DHA are INTEGRAL in healthy brain function and are only found in animal sources except 1. Why then do most vegans come back deficient in protein, calcium vitamins K, D, B12, Iron and Zinc?
A healthy meat based diet, which means clean, organic, grass-fed, wild caught meats, where meat is eaten only 2 to 3 times per week and in recommended amounts is healthier for people barring any allergy or digestive issue. Even with an allergy or digestive issue, those should be addressed and fixed, not just treated by avoiding meat. This diet can also be especially healthier for those who have problems digesting plant foods.
Even a non-clean meat diet is better for poor people who cannot afford to make sure they are receiving adequate nutrients from plant sources because getting proper nutrients from plant sources TAKES A LOT OF WORK and done properly they need to be monitored regularly by a healthcare professional that can do blood work, Poor people cannot often afford that.
Also, studies have shown that vegan women suffer higher instances of osteoporosis and hip fracture. How is that a physical advantage?
asdf
wow u vegans will regret the day you die earlier than all your non vegan counterparts because of increased chance of cancer. And that once day where scientists and deocters reveal that its actually bad for you in the log run.
Conchita
LOL 😂 how ridiculous 😂😂 I think you’ll die from your spelling first, too funny!!!
Katy
😂 people are insane man. Plant based is always the way to go
Conchita
Too right Katy! It's a shame that blogs like these mislead people. Even if written with the best of intentions (I'll keep my opinions to myself), why would they contact specialists like Dr Neal Barnard, Dr Garth or Dr Michael Greger? It just doesn't make sense. If I heard then, what I know now and was given those names among the hundreds of others, I would go out of my way to investigate and research before putting down as gospel my "ideas" or "experiences" as being the one and only truth. There are so many mistakes here that it's not even funny! PCRM.ORG or NUTRIONFACT.ORG are free and available to all, therefore there is no excuse to play with one's or other's health by accepting or sharing misinformation.
Katy
😂
Katy
Hi I was just wondering which companies or organizations sponsored you or donated for you to write this article
Catherine
Hi Katy,
No. This is based on my experience working and communicating with hundreds of women all over the world.
Abundantly,
Catherine
Charlotte Preskar
This is the most asinine article ever written. This writer apparently has not done her homework. Obviously this writer is writing for sponsors as it states on the top fine print of the article. Plus it’s on a website called BUTTERNUTRITION. FAKE NEWS propagated by the dairy companies.. Here’s a tip Miss Catherine the “Nutritionist”, before selling your soul to the devil ,how about unbiased evidence based practice. Look up The China Study in relation to plant based diet and Cancer rates, Or the lower incidence of cancer during world war 2 because the Nazi’s stole all the livestock. . YOure fear monger omg is killing people and you don’t deserve Ron be a nutritionist!!!!
Dr. CHARLOTTE PRESKAR
Lunagirl
This is obviously a highly emotional issue.
I'm not sure that the health of our bodies should be held ransom to our emotions and beliefs about life and death.
I think it's important to understand that our very concepts of life and death are cultural. The fear of death, and the focus on it being the end of life, is only one way of thinking. Traditional cultures hold a deep respect for the cycle of life, understanding that we walk on the bones of our ancestors and harvest food grown in the decomposed flesh of plants and creatures. They experience viscerally, on a daily basis, that new life literally grows in the shit and decay of the old.
Modern day humans are also deeply interconnected with life and death, but the interconnection is no longer felt, separated as it is with layer upon layer of an industrialised food industry. In fact, I believe veganism is only made possible because both our lives and our food have become so industrialised that we are now rudely, shockingly shut off from experiencing the savagery of the cycle of life. Many of us buy our fruit and veg from a shop, packed in plastic, and don't need to physically touch the soil in which it grows, smell the sun and rain as it falls on the plants and watch the insects it depends on. We don't need to toil over gardens and see how plants, too, love to feed on blood and bone fertiliser. Instead we buy our food wrapped and shiny, and get our fix of savagery and decomposition by watching zombie flicks.
Veganism is made possible by technology, and a culture gone soft through lack of exposure to the basic truth that all forms of life feed on each other on our incredible, complex, diverse, miraculous, cruel, loving, blessed, perpetually living and dying planet. Even we humans, apparently at the top of the food chain, are consumed by bacteria, or broken down into our basic elements through fire and returned to the earth to feed plant and animal life, including, of course, humankind.
Just like animals, we are divine beings with miraculous bodies that should be loved and respected. The process of eating, shitting, giving birth, dying and also killing for the sake of our essential health, does not need to be kept apart from loving and respecting animals. All of those essential acts of existence can be done in consciousness, love and gratitude, as has been practised for eons by many traditional cultures.
On a nutritional note, my husband is a naturopath and Chinese Medicine practitioner who has treated thousands of clients over the past 23 years. When he has a vegan client, he heaves a big sigh. Why? Because invariably they lack the nutritional resources - the 'bank account' - that enables them to easily heal. They are deficient not only in nutrients but in jing (life force). Before he can begin to treat their specific problem, he needs to work with them to build up their nutritional resources so their body actually has what it needs to heal.
Please note that he is all for a vegan diet as a short term cleanse, especially if someone has been eating a meat-heavy, acidic diet. However, in his experience, long-term veganism leads to deficiency. Our bodies are simply not designed to be vegan. We are not designed to eat a diet born of a privileged society, where for the first time in human history, the majority of its members no longer have to personally gather, grow, hunt or keep animals, or witness the savagery required to both survive and thrive.
Conchita
Absolute rubbish but I would it expect it coming from someone who supports fake Chinese medicine which has profound basis on superstition. That very same fake medicine that uses torture to get Bear Bile, or Tiger Bone Wine, or cooking and skinning cats and dogs alive because it keeps those who eat the tortured meat cool in summer. WHO SAYS we're not designed to be Vegan? Where is your proof? Oh that's right, you have none, because science has already proved that a vegan diet is EXACTLY what our digestive system is designed for. As for us lacking in nutritional resources... AGAIN, fallacy, hearsay, mumbo jumbo, nonsense. Thank God, that science not paid for by the meat, dairy and egg industries is now shedding light on all these lies. Thank God the American Heart Association is now starting to tell the truth. Thank God it's ILLEGAL to say eggs are "healthy"... I could go on and on, but I don't need to hear my own voice as much as you seem to!
sassycat
Lunagirl, this was beautifully stated. If you aren't a professional writer, you are wasting your talent. 🙂
Elizabeth Hempel
As an ex-vegan; one who was strictly anti-speciesism to the point that I wouldn't even squash a cockroach and would instead catch it in a microwave container and throw it outside (how many vegans can make that claim, I wonder?), I believe this to be a wonderfully informative, truthful and timely article.
I completely and wholeheartedly agree with what you are saying and am okay about admitting to having ditched my vegan halo of holier-than-thou-ism (no, this isn't a quip at other vegans, only myself).
Nature is an eco-system and like it or lump it, we all live off each other to some extent. Animals live on other animals. Humans even live on other humans! The issue I don't feel is that we shouldn't be eating animal products. I feel that our focus should shift to only taking what we need rather than living a life of luxury and excess.
Equilibrium must be maintained.
I am still staunching against industrial animal farming where animals are treated abhorrently to cut costs and to gain maximum dollars.
So instead of depriving myself of whole nutrients to the point where I probably would be dead in 10 or 15 years time, I chose to stop denying my nature and my ancestry as an omnivore.
Now I've added oysters and mussels (animals without a CNS and brain) and somewhat ethically farmed eggs back into my diet (I use the term 'somewhat' as what is ethical and what is not comes down to one's personal interpretation.
For example, the RSPCA in Australia supports de-beaking and I do not. I also don't like the idea of male chicks been killed, even if it is by euthanasia as opposed to being ground up into chicken nuggets. One fate seems to be more ethical than the other, but neither seem ideal to me.
I digress.
As a vegan of almost two years, my health indeed suffered. I won't say it's true for all vegans. I'm only sharing my experience.
I found myself bloated, bruising very easily and extremely moody, but I was in complete denial at the time.
In spite of what many vegans will tell you (I suspect many truly didn't know- I know that I didn't!) there are a lot of micronutrients that we do need that cannot be sourced from a simple and inexpensive vegan multi-vitamin. As a mother of three kids on the spectrum (and the only vegan in my family), I could no longer afford an ever-increasing list of vitamins and supplements and had decided that enough was enough and that my health and wellbeing mattered too.
Sure, some vegans will tell you that if you 'just eat right' you can source all of it from nature.
On a 5000-1000 calorie diet which includes every vegetable ever known to man from every continent on earth, I'm sure that this is true.
Again, some of us cannot afford that luxury.
My children needed a happy and healthy mother and I had ultimately been practicing speciesism against MYSELF.
I am part of the eco-system, and as long as pasture fed chickens are given a reasonable life, allowed to roam freely and not subject to a growing list of interventions, then I believe that taking the occasional egg is an acceptable trade for giving them sustenance, shelter, good healthy food and keeping them safe from other predators who would wipe them out in droves.
If we want nature to survive, and if we ourselves want to survive, my belief is that we need to not take more than what we need and we have to give back.
If veganism works for you, I say great. But please, stay in tune with yourself and don't berate others for trying their best in circumstances (and with hereditary factors) that may be very different to your own.
Peace <3
Sophia Morrison
Yikes.... There's a lot of falsehoods in this article. Disappointing.
Yury
I was vegan for 2 years. And I started showing negative health effects around 7-8 months in.
The thing is, I wouldn't blame my vegan diet for these health effects because I honestly thought it was the healthiest thing on Earth and there was no way these health issues I was seeing was attributable to my "perfectly healthy vegan diet".
The worst part is that doctors had no idea what was wrong with me. I'd get blood work done and they all said I looked perfectly healthy. Which made sense to me because I thought I was eating extremely healthy.
So I attributed my symptoms to nearing 30 I thought oh well, everyone's health starts to go down once they near 30, despite the diet, so I'll just have to resign myself to it.
What were my health issues? It started with slowly gaining about 15 pounds. It was very gradual and I'm also what I would call a skinny fat so I still looked slim and it honestly didn't show.
The second issue was major hormonal problems. I started getting adult acne on my face and chest. I didn't think this was due to my vegan diet at all because I had severe acne during my teenage years, so I thought it was genetic.
I also started getting irregular periods. However, I had started birth control and I had read that birth control causes irregular periods. So I thought my periods would normalize within a few months.
They didn't.
I was also constantly tired, sleepy, irritable, and I fell into a deep depression. I acquired severe anxiety. It was so bad my doctor prescribed me prozac and I started seeing a counselor. But my doctor said it was genetic and I believed him. I mean, "doctors know it all" right?
I started getting skin tags around my butt cheek area. I saw 3 different doctors to diagnose the issue. One said they were contagious bumps from sitting on a public toilet or public seat. Another said they couldn't be contagious because my partner hadn't gotten them so she said they were something else. Finally a 3rd doctor said they were skin tags and that we could just freeze them off. We did.
And they grew back a few weeks later, some bigger than before.
Finally, I received an ultrasound because I was still having irregular periods and one doctor recommended it. They found massive ovarian cysts.
One of the doctors said she wasn't overly concerned because most females had a few cysts, albeit not quite as many as mine, and that they would just have me come back every month to monitor them.
I thought the cysts were also genetic, which is what my doctor told me, because many of my female relatives also suffered from hormonal imbalances, fibroids, and similar ovarian related issues. So I followed my doctors orders and continued monitoring.
6 months down the line I still had cysts. Since my doctor was taking a wait and see approach and I was desperate for answers, I went to get my hormones tested and discovered I had high testosterone and low progesterone.
I diagnosed myself with PCOS because I had every single symptom. And my doctor couldn't tell me this!
This just goes to show how every single vegan can proclaim they have beautiful blood results and their doctors telling them they have perfect health when in reality they don't.
I was still in denial and didn't attribute absolutely any of my health issues to being Vegan because in my head it was the perfectly absolute healthiest way on the planet to eat. I thought my genetics were primarily to blame so I continued on eating "as healthily as possible".
What changed for me was when I decided to lose 5-10 pounds. Since my Vegan diet wasn't helping me lose that extra bit of fat, I decided to do some research online on how to lose weight quickly and came across the
Low carb high fat diet. Then I learned about keto.
To get my macros right, I decided to temporarily switch to a pescatarian diet and incorporated some eggs, cheese and fish into my diet to get more high quality fat. I chose only organic, grass fed, and wild sources.
Let me tell you, that was a complete game changer for me! I lost 10 pounds pretty quickly, and those 10 pounds have up to this date translated into 18 pounds. The best part is I was never really that hungry and my carb cravings, which were extreme on the vegan diet, completely went away.
Since I wasn't getting hardly any nutrient dense fatty sources being a Vegan, I was constantly hungry and had to eat every 2-3 hours, because otherwise I'd get hypoglycemic (which, when I was vegan, I just attributed to not eating enough, by the way, and NOT to my diet). My hypoglycemia went away and now I can last, very comfortably, 8 or more hours without food.
About 2 months into my LCHF lifestyle (I had already lost the weight but didn't want to stop because I just felt so GREAT!), I started seeing improvements to my health problems:
-My acne disappeared, despite not getting expensive facials or using expensive creams anymore (I had to stop getting them because money was scarce at the time).
-My periods normalized
-I had boundless amounts of energy and didn't get tired midday,
- Hair on my eyebrows started growing back,
- No more cramping during my periods,
- My NAILS started growing back stronger than ever,
-My depression, anxiety, and irritability completely went away and I got off prozac,
-My SKIN TAGS COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED (I was ecstatic about that!),
-My iron levels normalized (I had been borderline iron deficient my whole life but never thought much of it)
- I cured myself of PCOS
All this and I only wanted to lose 5-10 pounds. I started doing a little more research because I wanted to see if all my health problems disappearing was attributable to my new diet, and it was.
I started reading about insulin resistance, and how a large majority of the population has it and doesn't even realize it. I read studies showing that saturated fat and cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, how our bodies need them to survive, and how a guy named Ancel Keys pretty much made this up in the 1970s. And I learned that sugar is the main culprit of all modern chronic disease, not animal fats like we've all been led to believe (mostly due to Ancel Keys and Vegans worldwide).
I'm now a happy omnivore with absolutely no health issues. I wrote this story because I'm hoping this will shed some light on why some Vegans may think they're perfectly healthy because their doctors told them so, or because their blood results are "perfect", or because they are so deeply in denial that they attribute any single health issue they have or suspect they may have on genetics. That was me. I was in complete denial because I thought all my health issues were either somehow in my head or they were because of my genetics, and not because of the high carb, low fat, plant based diet devoid of animal foods that I was eating.
I think that down the road a lot of vegans start experiencing either hormonal or fertility problems that aren't discovered during routine checkups because doctors dont check for them. Doctors also dont test for insulin resistance, which I'm willing to bet the majority of Vegans have (a fasting insulin test wont test this).
I challenge all Vegans to go beyond their doctor's recommendations and do their own blood work to ensure they're healthy. Even though I know they won't. Most vegans are so stubborn (like I was) that they will live their whole lives in denial and continue to lie to the general public that they've checked all their health markers or they'll simply lie and say they have.
A vegan diet causes more health issues than not. We need animal fat and protein in our diets to be optimally healthy. Animal foods do not cause obesity and heart disease, carbs and insulin resistance does.
If my personal experience spoke to you or you went through a similar experience, please let me know! Would love to hear about it!
Jojo
Your article could be so much more compelling if you didn’t make false statements like, “Since protein is scarce when you avoid animal products,“ Good grief, at least be accurate. A simple Google search will tell you what plant foods have protein and how much. And it’s far from “scarce”. 🙄
Lasse
WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING SO MUCH? IT IS REALLY LOUD HERE.
jm
The simple message could be, if there are no sizeable, long lasting vegan societies on earth a. We, as a species could not have adapted to such a regime, and b. As there is nothing new in the world, what has happened to all those small communities that may, or may not have, existed.
I come from a family of very long lived people who, in my grandmother's words, "ate as much meat as they could lay their hands on".
The difference between my diet and their diet seems to be the quantity that I had when I was young outstripped what my parents/grandparents ate (not because they couldn't afford to eat more, people just didn't eat as much in their era).. even though I got access to more food than them, we never snacked; breakfast maybe, "dinner" (small portion), tea (the main meal, meat and "two" veg), and supper (cereal or even chips before bed, cooked in pork fat or dripping, never veg/diesel oil :)). No biscuits, pudding, or cakes unless home made, no processed food, no fizzy drinks (except orange juice with a small amount of bicarb).
Additionally, we never hardly sit down. People today spend most of their time sitting (often through no fault of their own),.
By my estimation, this is the kind of "regime" the human is adapted to and there's no use arguing about it - ruin your health to be ethical if you must, but don't ruin your children's health, and give the rest of us earache.
I suspect I won't live as long as my forebares because I have had a lot more processed food than they, but hey how, who knows, my frugality in adult life might help me out there!
That's another thing, they were all optimistic and fiesty
Robin Walla
Interesting list of advertisers on this website. Jimmy Dean, Velveeta, Hillshire Ham......makes you wonder....
Catherine
Sorry to disappoint, but no, I don't have contracts with any of those companies.
Ads are place automatically based on the user.
Abundantly,
Catherine
v leomant
you clearly have no idea on this subjedt nor proper current scientific data, it begs the question who is funding you. from a totally healthy (with proof) 62 year old vegan for 12 years and veggie since age 16. ps - write about something you know about
Conchita
I COMPLETELY AGREE with v leomat. One only needs to read the science from real professionals who have no personal interest in hiding the truth. Nutritionfacts.org founded by Dr. Michael Greger is an org that dedicates itself to reading, investigating all studies and reports and they beg to differ 100% with this article. PCRM.org founded by Dr. Neal Barnard which has over 12,000 doctors who also go through all the studies and investigations.... also beg to differ. Purposely misleading reading based on "opinion" and not scientific fact should be ilegal.
Inger Grape
There are the experts who look in the microscope in the lab, and there is the reality on the ground floor. I have read a LOT of diabetic people state that Dr. Barnard's vegan protocol absolutely didn't work for them and made their blood sugar much worse, vs. including meats. That makes sense when one considers that the nutrients that slow down blood sugar are: (1) protein, (2) fats, and (3) fiber. The two first are easily gotten from meats.
Most vegan protein is too unbalanced to eat in large amounts (nuts) or come with a truckload of carbs. Too many vegan staples are very inflammatory; the foods that are quite catastrophic to my intestines are: nuts, oats, whole wheat, and tofu. These are very common allergies.
I cannot tell you how many people have thanked me for pointing out the very common but not well known connection between whole wheat/oats and stomach distress. (No it's not the gluten I'm talking about -- for me and many others it's an intolerance to the fiber, which can be quite shard-like.)
Conchita
Dear Inger, with all due respect that is absolute nonsense, its just more hearsay and biased OPINION not based on facts. Dr Neal Barnard has years of proof of having reversed Diabetes so please leave the opinions that are not based on science at the door. As for your obvious lack of knowledge on "Vegan protein" whatever that means, you couldn't be further from the truth again. The fact that you think that vegans get their protein from most nuts and carbs means you literally don't know what you're talking about. ALL, I repeat ALL plants have protein. As for your made up idea of "unbalanced protein", what on earth are you on about? Then you go on about inflammation... again dear, you have no idea what you're talking about. Vegan food, meaning vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and cereals are in fact the OPPOSITE, they reduce inflammation that dairy and meat actually DO CAUSE. That's why vegan athletes have far superior recuperation after strenuous exercise. Perhaps you need to watch GAME CHANGERS on Netflix. As for the "many people" who have thanked you for pointing out made up information that is purely based on your personal opinion with no scientific studies to confirm your claims, I would recommend those people actually confer with a professional. I shan't continue as it's pointless to discuss science with people who just make nonsense up. Have a wonderful day, thank you.