The Flaws on Following a Vegan Diet

Vegan to be or not to be

An estimated 32 million Europeans are Vegetarian and around 4 million Europeans are Vegans, which is typically considered to be a healthy choice. But is it really? There are certain drawbacks to strict veganism that need careful consideration.

Veganism has no Historical support for its Health claims. In this article, I would like to address the risks of jumping into veganism for its supposed health benefits alone.

Now, before I continue here, I want to stress the importance of personal differences. It’s too bold to say that any one diet is right or “best” for everyone.

When making a decision about which foods to eat, there are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration. As these factors all contribute to people’s confusion about diet, and about whether or not they should consume animal foods.

First of all, each individual has their own nutritional type, which determines what ratio of fats, carbohydrates and protein their body needs to nurture itself.

I believe that we all need some of each of these macro nutrients, but our bodies require different ratios (amounts) of each. This means that some people require large amounts of vegetables and very little animal protein. While others, if they assume this ratio would make disaster for their health.

By this, I am not saying that everyone needs to eat meat. And definitely no one should eat factory farmed meat, where the harm may outweigh the benefit for most. This is because of their well-documented problems, such as hormones and antibiotics. And not to mention their feed which is 100% GMO, and which are only worsened when the meat is cooked.

Ethical considerations:

Surveys show that ethical considerations are the primary reason people convert to vegetarianism or veganism. It is my clinical belief that virtually everyone benefits from some animal protein. It is clear that meat is not necessary for most carb types. But they would benefit from other animal proteins like raw organic dairy and eggs. These protein sources would not violate any ethical concerns about sacrificing animals for meats, for example.

There doesn’t appear to be a single cultural group in the history of the world who actually survived long-term on an exclusively plant-based diet. So from a health perspective, there’s very little historical support for the strict veganism idealized today. According to Mara Kahn, a journalist and author of “The Vegan Betrayal” book, there is a difference in Historical data between people being Vegetarian and Vegan:

“At this point, it’s really important that we distinguish between vegetarianism and veganism. Vegetarianism has a very long and honorable history. It goes back at least 2,500 years to Greece, and much further than that in the Indus Valley, India and that part of the world”.

It has proven itself to be a viable diet … [Yet even] in the Northern parts of India. Also the Kashmir regions, they eat meat because the climate is so different in the mountainous regions of North India.

Vegetarianism has a very long and noble history with verified health results. However, veganism … is a non-historical diet … Its health benefits are not verified.

There were scattered enclaves of religious people that lived cloistered lives who probably did follow a vegan diet … But these were very, very tiny populations, and we have no idea if they were healthy and how long they lived.”

How started the veganism?

So, from a historical perspective, veganism is a very recent development. It is interesting to dig out the roots of veganism, which go back to England, when in 1944, Donald Watson created the term “vegan.” Watson’s primary argument for veganism was ethics. At the age of 14, he witnessed the slaughter of a pig, which left him horrified, and he decided to stop eating meat right away. Despite the fact that Watson had no training in nutrition, he started advocating veganism and wanted the whole world to follow his cause. Veganism is based on ideology, not human physiology, or human evolution.

The confusion about being vegan is on the appearance of being healthy in the earlier stages of the diet. However, this fact is not surprising at all if we consider that many vegans have switched their diet from processed foods to a mostly raw plant-based diet. It is quite obvious that this change from junk food to live foods will for sure improve your health.

On the other hand, the absence of all animal-based foods will create its consequences, as certain nutrients cannot be obtained from the plant kingdom. Carnosine, carnitine, taurine, retinol, vitamin D3, conjugated linoleic acid and long-chained omega-3 fats are some of the examples. B12 deficiency is also very common among vegans.

The body takes up 5 to 6 years to consume the storage of Vitamin B12 in the liver. Which will by then be exhausted, and as a consequence some neurodegenerative diseases may come to surface. There are many documented cases of blindness from B12 deficiency, as well as other neurological disorders.

Excessively low protein can become a problem for vegans, especially if your diet is also low in healthy fats. Short of fats in the metabolism can lead to muscle wasting. I mean by it, that once the body has exhausted its sources of fat, it will start eating up muscle tissue and ultimately its own, if not enough protein source is coming in.

Low fat among vegans

In my view, is another problem, among vegans. When you eat a high-net carb diet (total carbs minus fiber), you’re essentially burning carbohydrates as your primary fuel. If you shift down to relatively low levels of net carbs, which is easy to do on a vegetarian diet since vegetables are so high in fiber. Consequently your body starts burning fat as its primary fuel. This means you need to increase the amount of healthy fats in your diet in order to satisfy your body’s fuel demands.

Sufficient dietary fat is also essential for maintaining healthy hormone levels, including your sex hormones. Raw veganism in particular is associated with amenorrhea (absence of the period in women). This is due to low calorie and fat intake, increasing the risk for infertility and osteoporosis.

Low fat is likely far more problematic than low protein. Because once you start burning fat to create ATP (energy to live), powerful protein-sparing processes start to take place. And allowing the body to live with around 6 to 8 % protein intake without risking muscle wasting.

Vegetarian diet typically allows some dairy and eggs, and back in the days, early Western vegetarians also ate fish, and these are all sources of essential fat.

Fish and seafood

Are important on diet because of its docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content. A 22-carbon omega-3 fat that is absolutely essential for our health, as it’s a structural component of all cell membranes.

Low DHA levels, is associated with poor health once it plays an important role in energy generation at the molecular level. We need DHA, and that can be only found in fatty fish and some seafood such as krill.

Popular belief say that we can obtain DHA from other sources, but we cannot obtain all the DHA we need from only plant sources. Plant-based omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid or ALA) has 18 carbons whereas marine-based omega-3s (DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA) have 22 and 20 respectively. The difference in the length of the carbon chain makes a significant difference in terms of functionality and bioavailability.

Functions of Omega3 fatty Acids:

ALA functions as a source of fuel (food), whereas EPA and DHA are structural elements. For example, around 90% of the omega-3 fat found in our brain tissue is DHA. Just to give an idea as how important it is for healthy neurological function to consume these animals derived fat.
The problem is that, although your body can convert some of the ALA found in plants to the DHA found in fish oils, the maximum conversion ratio is below 5% . Being the typical conversion rate from 1 to 3%, or even lower, and at this low conversion rates, there is no significant benefit. Vegan thinking that marine-sourced DHA can be replaced by plant-based ALA found in flaxseed, flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts and leafy greens is just not enough. Low DHA levels are also associated with Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

However though, water pollution is a concern, and most of the fish is contaminated with mercury. Also lead and other heavy metals due to their food chain and also fish from farm, which receive feeds full of heavy metals. Anchovies, sardines, wild Alaskan salmon, fish roe and krill are all good choices.  As long as they are wild caught from a non-polluted area, they are high in omega-3 while being low in mercury and other pollutants.

One of the reasons why vegetarians, at least those eating healthy fish, seem to keep healthy, is that a vegetarian diet allowing fish intake is lower in protein, in respect to the conventional meat-based diet. When we eat excessive protein, we stimulate powerful biochemical pathways that may trigger disease.

About diets

I am a vegetarian. I eat organic pastured eggs, and very small amounts of animal protein, mostly fish. Occasionally, I’ll have some organic grass-fed meat bone broth or free-range pastured chicken broth, to complete my needs for collagen and essential amino acids. But meats in general are not the main ingredient on my diet. I believe most people could benefit from lowering their meat consumption as well. However, I do not believe that meat in general should be banned from our diets. Animal foods do contain very valuable nutrients our body needs for optimal health.

Studies and reserch have examined a lot the Mediterranean Diet. It consists of mostly plants, limited fish, limited red meat, limited dairy and all coming from organic sources.
And these diet bring all nutrients our body needs, it is a complete diet, named of the best to follow. Also is validated by history of Mediterranean population, known for its longevity and health.
On the other hand, Vegan diet has not been validated by history.  There is no research done, no study done. The ones who advocate it until their body gets depleted, will eventually come back to a healthier diet.

Many people that I came to know, and who decide to become vegetarian for health reasons are often motivated by books like “The China Study” written by T. Colin Campbell. Unfortunately, there are a number of problems with the evidence proposed in Campbell’s work. Because can confound many people when making their decision about what to become or what diet to follow. From my understanding of the book, the China Study is not a study at all, but it is a comprehensive set of observations done in 8 years in rural China.

After all what to think?

The key to success on any diet is the balance between nutrients. A vegetarian diet is not healthy for everyone, as well as eating high amounts of meat is not healthy either.

Not every diet is suitable to YOU, and there is no perfect diet that suits everyone. Most of the confusion in this debate results from this reality. Vegetarian diets described by Campbell do work for large numbers of people. I would say about one third of the population would benefit from it. But another large share of the population would sabotage their health by following such diet.

Through my individual assessments and observational studies, I realized that there is a huge level of biochemical and genetic individuality. This essentially guarantees that there is no perfect food plan that will work for everyone. Each person must be treated as a whole individual into themselves – an individual metabolism.

Metabolic Nutritional Typing is what categorizes people into three different groups:

– Protein Types: High amounts of healthy fats and protein and lower amounts of vegetables and simple carbohydrates.

– Carb Types: High amounts of vegetables and lower amounts of protein and fat.

– Mixed Types: Both amounts of protein and carbohydrates on a same like proportion.

Some people believe that being a vegetarian or vegan was the healthiest option. Further down the line, these people couldn’t understand why they felt so sick. Also had so many health problems all at once and after they had quit their conventional diet. Once I have put these people into their optimal nutrition plan covering their metabolic type needs, the result was typically quite impressive. And health was restored as well as ideal weight.

The people who get most of the odds on a vegetarian diet are those who are naturally protein types. Consequently they are depriving their bodies of essential fuel, determined by their genetic and biochemical makeup.

However, the food choices we make are of essential importance of how our health will develop.
For example, if you are a protein type who thrives on red meat, you should know that the meat choices are important. Eating factory farmed, grain-feed meat will NOT improve your health. So, in order for meat to be its healthiest, it should be organic and grass-fed, and it should be cooked as little as possible.

Keep in mind that when it comes to eating raw like meat, the quality of the animal is of utmost importance in regard to parasites or other infections. Factory farmed animals are fed and housed poorly, then disease-causing bacteria is certainly an issue. But infections become far less likely if you are consuming meat from appropriately fed and raised animals. So, while there are still many variables involved, the majority of people (likely about 60 percent or so) will feel their best when they include some healthy sources of lightly cooked or raw animal protein in their diet.

What we need?

We need a little bit of everything. For example, certain animal-based foods such as raw milk products, raw eggs, and meat contain high concentrations of the precursor amino acids that your body uses to make glutathione. It is your body’s most powerful antioxidant. Not only that, but your body cannot function properly without sufficient amounts of protein (which will vary from person to person). Without high quality protein you cannot build new cells or maintain tissues proper growth.

If cholesterol and saturated fat are your major concern and enemy, let me try to explain that this misconception has been carefully debunked in more recent years. The truth is, many of the health problems attributed to fat and cholesterol are in fact caused by SUGAR. And not fat coming from animal sources.
When we eat sugar (net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates less fiber), sweets, bread, juices with artificial sugar in it), we force our pancreas to release insulin. Which makes sure that glucose is right stored in our body to be used as fuel. What happens is that once the sugar intake exceeds the capacity of insulin release, our body starts to store sugar in the adipose tissue in the form of LDL (low density Lipo-proteins). As a result Triglycerides go up and there is your high cholesterol formed.

It is of outmost importance to then “Listen to Your Body” and adjust your foods based on how you feel mentally and physically after consuming them. If, after a meal, you feel sluggish, tired, nauseous, or depressed, your meal was not ideal for your metabolic type. A continuous check of your food choices, until you find the right balance of fats, healthy carbs and protein, is necessary to reach optimal diet and health.

In conclusion,

if you want to know what diet is best for you, my recommendation is to let go any previously held convictions you might have about diet. Start listening to your body and start with tailor made metabolic typing nutrition.

If, for instance, your current diet allows you to function at the highest level of energy and fitness?

And you rarely feel hungry or crave sweets?

That is a fairly good sign that you are eating the right food for your nutritional type.

But if you are struggling with health challenges and have rigidly adopted to a new diet that is causing any of the symptoms above mentioned?

Then I recommend that you consult for your metabolic typing and that you find a diet that fit for you.

You can experiment for yourself and observe your reactions:

Both mental, physical and emotional.

But if instead you would like a way to approach this process followed by a nutritionist where you can record your results, see how your health performs?

Then I would encourage you to find out your metabolic type with me and start today to take control of your health!

by Adriana

Naturalize Yourself !