Vegan: A vegan is someone who, for various reasons, chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians choose not to use flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.
My view on veganism? It's fine for a short period of time, but used as a long-term diet or lifestyle change? I feel that this may leave your body depleted of key nutrients that only animal products can provide. Being vegan is a choice made for various reasons, and I respect that choice, but I don't agree with it being touted as a nutritious lifestyle or as an option for children. A vegan diet is a great way to cleanse your body, something that I encourage everyone to do a few times a year, but as a permanent diet it will only weaken your body in the long run.
I would image that starting a vegan diet people would experience a "honeymoon" phase. Where they feel great, energized, and maybe they even see that some of their prevalent health issues seem to disappear.
But over time this diet does not nourish the body. Yes, vegans increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables which are full of heathy vitamins and minerals, but over time they may actually become depleted of minerals and health issues may start to emerge. Fat soluble activators are needed to help with mineral absorption. Fat soluble activators are Vitamins A, D, E, K and can only be found in animal products. Vegans also consume a diet high in carbohydrates and very low in proteins, which can cause bone loss, or what I like to call the "skinny fat" body type. Vegans may be able to maintain a lighter weight, but they will have a harder time maintaining or building healthy muscle mass.
What are some other nutrients that may be lacking in a vegan diet?
- B12~ B12 is a vitamin that is mainly found in animal products like meat, dairy, and eggs. B12 deficiency can affect the nervous system. Vegans will need to make sure that they supplement with vitamin B12, or more specifically methylcobalamin.
- Vitamin D~ True you can get vitamin D from the sun, but how many of us get enough sunshine everyday without wearing sunscreen? Most of us spend our days inside at a desk, so getting vitamin D that way is not as common as it use to be. Oily fish is one of the best dietary sources of vitamin D. Vegans will have a difficult time finding dietary vitamin D, unless it is a food that has been fortified with the vitamin. Vitamin D is essential for bone development and rebuilding and immune support.
- Calcium~ Although there are several vegetable sources of calcium, dairy products are the most prominent source of calcium. Calcium, along with vitamin D are essential when it comes to maintaining bone health.
- Iron~ There are two different sources of iron; heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron is only found in animal products and is an easier form for the body to absorb. Vegans can still get iron, but it will be the non-heme version that is found in leafy green vegetables. Iron deficiency can cause an iron anemia, which can diminish energy and affect every system in the body.
Not convinced on the effects that veganism can have on your body? In that cause I have provided an article written regarding the struggles that a vegan family faced, Mark's expereince at a vegan camp, and a video of a personal encounter on a vegan diet.
"Lizzie should have been flourishing. Instead, her cheeks were pinched, she was small for her age, and although she had skinny arms and legs, her belly was big and swollen. When Lizzie smiled, Paige suddenly noticed her upper front teeth were pitted with holes."
"Now I’m not one to judge. Okay, I am, but I usually keep my mouth shut – except herein. I watched at every meal as overweight, unhealthy people piled their plates with at least two pounds of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, beans, desert cake, and a glass of fruit juice. Sometimes they went back for more. By my calculations these people were consuming 200 to 300 or more grams of (mostly simple) carbohydrates at each of three meals. There was no way these folks were going to lose fat on this trip. It was, in my view, a type 2 diabetes epidemic in-the-making."
Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP
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