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Why You Should Think Twice about Removing Animal Products from Your Diet

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Reviewed by Christina Graham, MSN, APRN, AGPCNP-BC

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Vegetarian and vegan diets can’t offer the same nutrients as this grilled meat.
Are vegetarian and vegan diets healthy? If you’re not eating meat, you’re missing out on key nutrients animal products provide.

This is an update of an article I published in 2011. I affirm that animal products are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat and that vegetarians and vegans are at risk for multiple nutrient deficiencies. I have included up-to-date research and expanded the list of nutrients that are often lacking in vegetarian and vegan diets.

Maybe you have considered going vegetarian or vegan for the health benefits. Or maybe you know someone who feels strongly about it as an ethical choice, and you wonder if they can really follow the diet in a healthy way. I respect these reasons and appreciate anyone who thinks deeply about the social and spiritual impact of their food choices—even if my own exploration of these questions has led me to a different answer.

But many choose a vegetarian diet because they’re under the impression that it’s a healthier choice from a nutritional perspective. It is this last reason that I’d like to address in this article. For the last 50-plus years, we’ve been told that meat, eggs, and animal fats are bad for us and that we’ll live longer and enjoy superior health if we minimize or avoid them. This idea has been so thoroughly drilled into our heads that few people even question it anymore. In fact, if you asked the average person on the street whether a vegetarian or vegan diet is healthier than an omnivorous diet, they’d probably say yes. But is this really true?

If You Want Nutrient-Dense Foods, You Need to Eat Animal Products

Plant-based diets emphasize vegetables, which are quite nutrient dense, and fruits, which are somewhat nutrient dense. They also typically include large amounts of cereal grains (refined and unrefined) and legumes, both of which are low in bioavailable nutrients and high in anti-nutrients like phytate. Most importantly, vegetarian and vegan diets eschew organ meats, other meats, and fish and shellfish, which are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. (1)

Followers of vegetarian and vegan diets, beware: You could be missing out on B12, iron, calcium, and other key nutrients. Is it time to rethink your diet plan and add meat back to your plate? Find out. #nutrientdensefoods #paleocure.

Vegan diets, in particular, are almost completely devoid of certain nutrients that are crucial for physiological function. Deficiencies can take months or years to develop, and many are easily missed because they are not routinely tested for in primary care settings. Several studies have shown that both vegetarians and vegans are prone to deficiencies in:

  • Vitamin B12
  • Calcium
  • Iron
  • Zinc
  • Long-chain fatty acids EPA and DHA
  • Fat-soluble vitamins like A and D

Let’s take a closer look at each of these nutrients.

Vegetarian and Vegan Diets Don’t Provide Enough Vitamin B12

B12 deficiency is especially common in vegetarians and vegans. To properly evaluate B12 status, total serum vitamin B12 isn’t enough. A better marker for vitamin B12 is holotranscobalamin II, the biologically active fragment, which should be measured along with total homocysteine and methylmalonic acid. Low B12 is correlated with low holotranscobalamin II, while homocysteine and methylmalonic acid are usually increased in later stages of vitamin B12 deficiency. (2) The most recent studies using more sensitive techniques for detecting B12 deficiency have found that up to 77 percent of vegetarians and 92 percent of vegans are B12 deficient, compared to just 11 percent of omnivores. (3, 4, 5)

Vitamin B12 works together with folate in the synthesis of DNA and red blood cells. It’s also involved in the production of the myelin sheath around the nerves and the conduction of nerve impulses. B12 deficiency can cause numerous symptoms, including:

  • Fatigue
  • Lethargy
  • Weakness
  • Memory loss
  • Neurological and psychiatric problems
  • Anemia
  • And much more …

It’s a common myth among vegetarians and vegans that it’s possible to get B12 from plant sources like:

  • Seaweed
  • Fermented soy
  • Spirulina
  • Brewer’s yeast

These plant foods don’t contain B12. They contain B12 analogs, called cobamides, that block the intake of—and increase the need for—true B12. (6) Researchers have identified purple laver nori (seaweed) as a plant source of bioavailable B12; however, it could contain high levels of cadmium and arsenic. (7, 8, 9, 10) More studies are needed, but there is a potentially serious problem with relying on purple laver nori for adequate B12.

If You’re Vegan, You Might Be Missing out on Calcium

You know that calcium is important for bone health, but did you know it’s essential for muscle and nerve function and that it’s involved in blood clotting? On paper, calcium intake is similar in vegetarians and omnivores (probably because both eat dairy products). Vegans, however, are often deficient. (11, 12, 13)

Calcium bioavailability from plant foods is affected by their levels of oxalate and phytate, which are inhibitors of calcium absorption and thus decrease the amount of calcium the body can extract from plant foods. (10) So while leafy greens like spinach and kale have a relatively high calcium content, the calcium is not efficiently absorbed during digestion.

One study suggests that it would take 16 servings of spinach to get the same amount of absorbable calcium as an eight-ounce glass of milk. (14) That would be 33 cups of baby spinach or around five or six cups of cooked spinach. There are a few vegetables listed in this paper that have higher levels of bioavailable calcium, but it’s important to note that all of the vegetables tested required multiple servings to achieve the same amount of usable calcium as one single serving of milk, cheese, or yogurt.

This suggests that trying to meet your daily calcium needs from plant foods alone might not be a great strategy. For those who don’t tolerate dairy well, fish with edible bones like sardines are great sources of calcium on a Paleo diet.

You’re Also More Likely to Be Iron-Deficient on a Plant-Based Diet

Vegetarians and omnivores often have similar levels of serum iron, but levels of ferritin—the long-term storage form of iron—are lower in vegetarians than in omnivores. (15, 16) This is significant, because ferritin depletion is the first stage of iron deficiency.

Moreover, although vegetarians often have similar iron intakes to omnivores on paper, it is more common for vegetarians (and particularly vegans) to be iron deficient.

For example, this study of 75 vegan women in Germany found that 40 percent of them were iron deficient, despite average iron intakes that were above the recommended daily allowance. (17) Among Australian men, iron intake among vegetarians and vegans was 29 to 49 percent higher than omnivores, but their serum ferritin concentrations were barely half that of omnivores. (18) Despite similar iron intakes, another study published this year showed vegans and female vegetarians having low ferritin levels. (19)

Why would this be? As with calcium, the bioavailability of the iron in plant foods (nonheme iron) is much lower than in animal foods (heme iron). Plant-based forms of iron are also inhibited by other commonly consumed substances, such as:

This explains why vegetarian diets have been shown to reduce nonheme iron absorption by 70 percent and total iron absorption by 85 percent. (20, 21)

Red Meat, Fish, and Poultry Are Your Best Sources for Zinc

Zinc is important for the immune system, cell growth, and wound healing. You won’t usually see overt zinc deficiency in Western vegetarians, but their intake often falls below recommendations, probably because red meat, poultry, and fish are the best sources.

This is another case where bioavailability is important; many plant foods that contain zinc also contain phytate, which inhibits zinc absorption. Vegetarian diets tend to reduce zinc absorption by about 35 percent compared with an omnivorous diet. (22) Thus, even when the diet meets or exceeds the RDA for zinc, deficiency may still occur. (23) One study suggested that vegetarians may require up to 50 percent more zinc than omnivores for this reason. (24) A meta-analysis of 34 studies found that both zinc intakes and serum zinc concentrations were lower in vegetarians than non-vegetarians. (25)

You Might Be Missing out on the Benefits of Essential Fatty Acids

Plant foods do contain linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, omega-3), both of which are considered essential fatty acids. In this context, an essential fatty acid is one that can’t be synthesized by the body and must be obtained in the diet. However, an increasing body of research has highlighted the benefits of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. These fatty acids play a protective and therapeutic role in a wide range of diseases: (26, 27)

While it is possible for some ALA from plant foods to be converted into EPA and DHA, that conversion is poor in humans: between 5 and 10 percent for EPA and 2 and 5 percent for DHA. (28)

Although no official recommendation exists, the daily suggested intake of combined DHA and EPA is around 250 to 500 mg. In theory, this means vegans and vegetarians would need to consume between five and 12.5 grams of ALA per day to obtain 250 mg of DHA. In reality, vegetarians and vegans consume merely 0.97 g/day and 0.86 g/day of ALA, respectively, according to a study of over 14,000 Americans. (29)

Vegetarians have 30 percent lower levels of EPA and DHA than omnivores, while vegans have 50 percent lower EPA and nearly 60 percent lower DHA. (30, 31) Moreover, the conversion of ALA to DHA depends on zinc, iron, selenium, and pyridoxine—nutrients that vegetarians and vegans are less likely than omnivores to get enough of. (32, 33, 34, 35) Eating 12 to 16 ounces of cold-water fatty fish per week remains the best way to get adequate EPA and DHA. The fish will also provide bioavailable protein and selenium.

Vitamins A and D: What You’re Missing

Perhaps the biggest problem with vegetarian and vegan diets, however, is their near total lack of two fat-soluble vitamins: A and D.

Fat-soluble vitamins play numerous and critical roles in human health. Vitamin A promotes healthy immune function, fertility, eyesight, and skin. Vitamin D regulates calcium metabolism, regulates immune function, reduces inflammation, and protects against some forms of cancer.

These important fat-soluble vitamins are concentrated, and in some cases found almost exclusively, in animal foods like:

  • Seafood
  • Organ meats
  • Eggs
  • Dairy products

Some obscure species of mushrooms can provide large amounts of vitamin D, but these mushrooms are rarely consumed and often difficult to obtain. This explains why vitamin D levels are often low in vegetarians and even lower in vegans. (36, 37, 38, 39)

The idea that plant foods contain vitamin A is a common misconception. Plants contain beta-carotene, the precursor to active vitamin A (retinol). While beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in humans, the conversion is inefficient. (40, 41) For example, a single serving of liver per week would meet the RDA of 3,000 IU. To get the same amount from plant foods, you’d have to eat two cups of carrots, one cup of sweet potatoes, or two cups of kale every day.

Moreover, traditional cultures consumed up to 10 times the current RDA for vitamin A. It would be nearly impossible to get this amount of vitamin A from plant foods without juicing or taking supplements. And if supplements aren’t consumed with a fatty meal, the actual absorption will be low. (42)

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Vegans and Vegetarians, You Could Be Missing These Key Nutrients

If you don’t eat meat or other animal products, you could also be missing out on:

  • Choline
  • Creatine
  • Taurine
  • Methionine
  • Glycine
  • Selenium

Choline

Vegetarian and vegan diets, along with the Standard American Diet, pose risks of choline deficiency. (43) Choline is required for:

  • Healthy cell membrane function
  • Methylation
  • Cognitive development in children

It’s so important that the FDA recently set a daily recommended intake of 550 mg for men and 425 mg for women, which should increase to 450 mg during pregnancy and 550 mg during breastfeeding. Recent research suggests that only 8.5 percent of women meet the daily choline requirement. (44) With egg yolks and organ meats as the most potent sources of choline, it’s not surprising that even omnivores are not getting enough. This is another reason I encourage giving organ meat dishes another try.

Creatine

Creatine plasma and muscle levels are usually lower in vegetarians than in omnivores, as meat provides the richest source of creatine. (45) Creatine may play an important role in cognitive function. A randomized controlled trial found that six weeks of oral creatine supplementation significantly improved vegetarians’ performance on tests of fluid intelligence and working memory. The difference in scores between groups was enormous. (46)

Another study found that creatine supplementation in vegetarians improved memory, while having no effect on fluid intelligence or working memory in meat-eaters. (47) These results suggest that vegetarians’ baseline scores may have been impaired due to low creatine intake.

Taurine

Taurine has a central role as a neurotransmitter, promotes the development of the central nervous system, and upholds the structure of cell membranes. Although the body can synthesize small amounts of taurine, vegetarians and vegans often still have low plasma and urinary taurine levels because taurine is found primarily in animal products. (48, 49) Low plasma taurine in newborns is associated with lower scores on mental development and arithmetic tests at age seven, suggesting that dietary taurine aids in neural development. (50)

Methionine

Methionine is another amino acid that is restricted on a plant-based diet. Low methionine intake has been linked to longevity in scientific research. However, methionine is still an essential amino acid, and too little methionine may impair detoxification and reduce fertility. (51, 52) After being activated using ATP, methionine becomes the universal methyl donor.

On the flip side, too much methionine can also pose problems. After methyl donation, methionine becomes homocysteine and must be recycled back to methionine by B12, folate, or betaine (derived from choline). Because meat is high in methionine, diets heavy in muscle meats but low in connective tissues can result in increased homocysteine levels, a risk factor for CVD.

That said, studies have shown that vegetarians and vegans have significantly higher homocysteine levels on average than omnivores. (53) In one study, the average homocysteine level among vegetarians was 13.9 nmol/L and among vegans, 16.4 nmol/L, compared to 11.3 nmol/L for omnivores. (54) This puts most vegetarians and vegans in a range that carries significant risk of CVD. In fact, according to one study, the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia among vegetarians may actually be higher than that among non-vegetarians already diagnosed with heart disease. (55)

Glycine

Vegetarians and vegans don’t consume as much glycine as meat-eaters, as the richest sources are the “odd bits” of animal foods, like: (56)

  • Skin
  • Bones
  • Collagen
  • Gelatin

Glycine is one of the building blocks of collagen, found in our connective tissues. In addition to its structural role, glycine can also act as a neurotransmitter, plays a role in blood sugar regulation, and stimulates the production of glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant. (57, 58, 59, 60)

Some Paleo dieters can be susceptible to low glycine intake, too, if they are eating tons of muscle meat and ignoring the “nose-to-tail” philosophy. Glycine helps balance out methionine levels, in part by acting as a buffer for excess methyl groups. Low choline and glycine intake, common in vegetarians and vegans, can further contribute to high homocysteine levels and increased risk of CVD. Eating bone broth regularly can help balance glycine/methionine levels.

Selenium

While a few studies show no difference in selenium status among diet types, most research shows lower intake and/or levels in vegetarians and vegans compared to omnivores, including one study that measured glutathione peroxidase, a selenium-dependent enzyme and an excellent marker of active selenium status. (61, 62, 63, 64) Selenium has a role in immune function, supports thyroid hormone synthesis, and protects the thyroid from excess iodine damage. (65, 66) Selenium also helps prevent mercury toxicity. (67)

Selenium deficiency is also common in those with digestive health issues like Crohn’s disease or celiac disease. (68, 69) The best sources of selenium include:

  • Brazil nuts
  • Crimini mushrooms
  • Some sea foods
  • Chicken
  • Eggs
  • Lamb
  • Turkey
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Eating Animal Products Could Also Help Your Thyroid Health

Thyroid hormone synthesis requires iodine, a nutrient that can be lacking from omnivore and plant-based diets alike. Most iodine comes from the sea; the soil—and therefore vegetables grown in soil—usually contains very little. In a typical mixed diet, the highest sources of iodine are iodized salt and animal products like:

  • Dairy products
  • Eggs
  • Seafood

Vegetarians and vegans are at risk for low iodine intake. (70)

In the Boston area, urinary iodine levels in vegans were barely half that of vegetarians, and vegans were at high risk of iodine deficiency. (71) Several studies of Scandinavian populations confirm that vegans finished last in iodine intake and/or urinary iodine levels. (72, 73, 74) To make matters worse, isoflavones found in soy products, which are sometimes consumed in large quantities in vegan and vegetarian diets, may exacerbate iodine deficiency and hypothyroidism. (75)

But even those following a Paleo template can be at risk for iodine deficiency if they are not regularly consuming seafood. (76) Sea vegetables, especially kelp, are the highest sources of iodine ounce for ounce.

Your Kids Need Nutrient-Dense Foods to Thrive

Because of the prevailing idea in our culture that vegetarian and vegan diets are healthy, more and more children are being raised from birth (and even from conception!) on meat-free diets. Both the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and USDA have said that vegetarian and vegan diets are safe during pregnancy, but critical analyses by several researchers have questioned whether these recommendations are based on sufficient evidence. One review remarked that “the evidence on vegan–vegetarian diets in pregnancy is heterogeneous and scant,” suggesting that more research is needed to answer the question of whether they are, in fact, safe during pregnancy. (77)

Vegetarian and vegan diets for children carry significant risks of nutrient deficiencies that can have dire health consequences. (78, 79, 80)

Studies have shown that kids raised until age six on a vegan diet are still B12 deficient years after adding at least some animal products to their diet. One study found an association between B12 status and measures of intelligence and memory, with formerly vegan kids scoring lower than omnivorous kids. (81) Devastating case studies have reported B12 deficiency in young vegan children that have led to neurological damage and developmental delays. (82, 83)

Low nutrient intake extends beyond vitamin B12. Other case studies have attributed hypothyroidism in young children to a maternal and/or childhood vegan diet. (84, 85) Compared to omnivores, breast milk from vegan mothers had lower levels of DHA and EPA, which are vital for brain development, especially in the first year of life, when a baby’s brain literally doubles in size. (83) In short, just like adults, children on vegetarian and vegan diets often have lower intakes of iron, iodine, vitamin A, zinc, and more.

Childhood is the critical time for proper nutrition. Kids can be notoriously “picky eaters,” so we should be sure that each bite counts by providing the nutrients they need to thrive.

Your Best Choice for Optimal Nutrition Isn’t a Vegetarian or Vegan Diet, but a Paleo Template

With care and attention, I think it’s possible to meet most of your nutrient needs with a vegetarian diet that includes liberal amounts of pasture-raised, full-fat dairy and eggs, with one exception: EPA and DHA. These long-chain omega fats are found exclusively in marine algae and fish and shellfish, so the only way to get them on a vegetarian diet would be to take a microalgae supplement or bend the rules and take fish oil or cod liver oil as a supplement. (86) Still, while it may be possible to obtain adequate nutrition on a vegetarian diet, it is not optimal—as the research above indicates.

I don’t think it’s possible to meet nutrient needs on a vegan diet without supplements—and quite a few of them. Vegan diets are low in:

  • B12
  • Bioavailable iron and zinc
  • Choline
  • Vitamins A and D
  • Calcium
  • EPA and DHA
If you’re intent on following a vegan diet, make sure you’re supplementing.

It’s worth pointing out that there are genetic differences that affect the conversion of certain nutrient precursors (like beta-carotene and alpha-linolenic acid) into the active forms of those nutrients (like retinol and EPA and DHA, respectively), and these differences may affect how long someone will be able to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet before they develop nutrient deficiencies. This explains why some people seem to do well for years on these diets, while others develop problems very quickly.

Is It Time to Rethink Your Diet?

From an evolutionary perspective, is difficult to justify a diet with low levels of several nutrients critical to human function. While it may be possible to address these shortcomings through targeted supplementation (an issue that is still debated), it makes far more sense to meet your nutritional needs from food.

This is especially important for children, who are still developing and are even more sensitive to suboptimal intake of the nutrients discussed in this article. Like all parents, vegetarians and vegans want the best for their children. Unfortunately, many are not aware of the potential for nutrient deficiencies posed by their dietary choices.

I hope this article can serve as a resource for anyone on a plant-based diet, whether they choose to start eating meat (or animal products, in the case of vegans) again or not.

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1,873 Comments

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  1. you are definitely misinformed about the vegan diet. b12 is the ONLY vitamin i have to supplement, and all my other nutrient levels are fine. there is just as much calcium in a couple tablespoons of tahini or chia seeds as there is in milk, and there is iron in almost every food i eat – calorie for calorie, there’s more iron in beans than meat. AND beans have other nutrients such as fiber and phytochemicals that animal protein does not. also, it’s been proven time and time again that milk proteins are carcinogenic… if it were suddenly known that cigarettes provide 30% of your daily calcium, you wouldn’t become a smoker, right? milk isn’t any different. but hey, i guess all of these claims are just an excuse for people to eat high fat animal protein

        • Herbivore animals have different digestive systems than us, which is how they can absorb plant iron better than we can.

        • It is ridiculous to assume that herbivores have the same digestive tract as that of humans. Theirs is specially adapted to obtain nutrients from plants.

          • If you want to show that iron is not bio-available to humans, you would have to show the science reports to confirm this. Saying things out of thin air is not going to convince anyone.

  2. I am a former animal-rights oriented vegan (at least I thought of myself as vegan at the time) and I was embarrassingly self-righteous about it. Now that I know more about human nutrition, agriculture, and sustainability (I have a degree in crop and soil science) I feel that incorporating carefully chosen, locally-grown animal products is a far more rational and ethical choice for me. (In fact, just about all “veggie” organic agriculture is COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON CAFOs, so I actually don’t know that I’ve ever met an authentic vegan, but that’s a topic for another post). Anyway, I’m here to post today’s first challenge of the day:

    I will happily send $100 (via paypal) to the first poster who can provide a reasonable three-day meal plan for two children, ages 9 and 2.

    Here are the rules:

    1. It must be vegan.
    2. It must be based on whole, minimally processed foods.
    3. It must be soy and gluten free.
    4. It must meet children’s basic nutritional needs, including the U.S. RDA for vitamin, mineral, protein, and fatty acid requirements, without resorting to supplements. (However, for argument’s sake, lets make an exception for Vitamin B 12).
    5. The ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fats must be less than 4:1.

    I post this challenge in peace. I hope that it will be instructive for everyone, including me! I will prepare the meals for my children and post our experience/thoughts on Youtube. Thanks and good luck! 🙂

    • Simple.

      For breakfast, eat organic rolled or quick-cooking oatmeal with fresh or dried fruit.

      For lunch, use dried chickpeas soaked for at least 8 hours(or overnight) and boil for 10 mins, then drain and serve whole or mashed in a food processor. Add sea salt for iodine if required. Spinkle flaxseeds if more omega 3 is desired. Variation: add a little tumeric powder for smoked ham flavor.

      Serve fruits such as honey melon or kiwi for dessert.

      For a dinner, the 2 yr old can eat pureed green peas or pureed boiled carrots or pumpkin. The 9 yr old can also eat those or eat additional spiralized zuchini spaghetti served with avocado sauce with lemon juice or pureed tomato sauce with diced capsicum. Add fresh alfafa or pea sprouts.

      Repeat for all 3 days using different flavoring for all meals.

      • OMG—I’m hungry for eggs and meat just reading this. WHO can eat this and be satisfied. My blood sugar would be so screwed up with all the starchy carbs and no sustenance. Where is the healthy fat to help with neural development???? Try offering a healthy teenage boy boiled pumpkin with peas for dinner and see what happens…LOL!!

        • I know….this is just too ridiculous for words. Okay kids….we are having a big bowl of chickpeas with sprinkled flaxseeds for lunch……three days in a friggin row!!!!! But don’t worry……I’ll switch up the flavorings….turmeric Monday, oregano Tuesday, saffron Wednesday. Then we rinse and repeat.
          I have to go because I’m crying too hard to see the computer screen….

          • There is nothing wrong in having the same foods for 3 days in a row. Try mocking the African children who have maize everyday of the year. Are you that privileged to think that simplicity is an anomaly?

            • Actually, Sharon, my family and I were just discussing Timothy’s proposed meal plan last night. My 9 year old asked if I had sent Timothy the $100. I informed him that I absolutely DID NOT because it did not come close to meeting the requirements that I laid out in the challenge, particularly with regard to providing the RDA for various vitamins and minerals. Had his plan at least done that, I would have grudgingly sent him the cash despite the fact that it did in fact contain gluten and was FAR from reasonable.
              On your contention that I was “mocking” simple diets: I would actually PREFER to eat the same foods every day IF I considered it a healthy way of eating. However, at best it is not a good choice if one is after optimal health.
              Here is a link to a pubmed article on food allergies. You can find many others with similar information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23282480

              “Certain unique food allergens, such as buckwheat, chestnuts, CHICKPEAS (emphasis mine), bird’s nest, and royal jelly, which are consumed extensively by certain Asian populations have resulted in clinical food allergy of little importance in other populations……The high consumption of these foods…..may explain this phenomenon….”
              Anyway, Sharon, if you desire to look into this topic further, you will see that food sensitivities and allergies are most common when people consume the same foods day in and day out. In Israel, for example, people are more likely to develop sensitivities to sesame, in Spain to chick peas and lentils, etc. On a related note: I volunteer at a community center, and I met a woman yesterday whose daughter has life- threatening allergies to legumes and nuts. I for one am very happy that they are not strict vegans!

              • I am not sure that this study is helpful to your point of eating a variety of foods: dust mite and cockroach allergens.

                The high consumption of these foods and possibly coupled with cross-reactive tropomyosins from dominant inhalant dust mite and cockroach allergens in this region may explain this phenomenon. In contrast, the prevalence of peanut allergy is relatively low in this region. The reasons for this difference are not apparent. However, this may be a reflection of the general reduced propensity in this region to allergic diseases as seen with asthma.
                CONCLUSIONS:
                : Further research on food allergy in Asia is warranted because it offers unique opportunities to further our understanding on the influence of population and environment.

                • Hi on the Fence,

                  I’m responding to your other question here, because there is some glitch with the reply buttons. (Chris Kresser, We love you, but we need to be able to see who is responding to whom to have a coherent discussion!)
                  Anyway On the Fence, I didn’t just pose the challenge for my own family, but for illustration purposes. Certainly, I would prepare MORE vegan meals if the challenge were met, particularly in the summer time, when I have access to more fresh local produce at my farmer’s market and from my CSA. But I don’t believe that trekking in the majority of my food from around the world does the animal world any favors. (As I stated earlier, I don’t believe I have ever met a vegan who is able to follow a purely vegan diet, because organic food production is currently dependent on animal agriculture. So the present question really isn’t WHETHER we should have animal agriculture at all but how it should work. I have yet to hear a coherent plan for how to feed people veganically, i.e., without using the by-products of animal agriculture. Right now, the organic producers buy manure, blood, bone meal, etc. from CAFOs. A very small minority buy it from neighboring organic farms, but it is almost entirely animal centered at its core. In my opinion, the most humane option at present is to only purchase non-animal foods from small scale farms that raise their own livestock with deep care and respect.

              • If you are referring to the possible contamination of gluten found in oatmeal, then there is the gluten-free version. You can also include black or brown rice porridge for breakfast.

                The reason for food allergies can also originate from GMOs and pesticides, the study didn’t say what were the discovered causes of allergies from those foods.

                There is a study that found the delayed presence of gut microbes to be linked to food allergies and sensitivities.

                http://www.nature.com/…/v479/n7374_supp/full/479S5a.html

        • People who are spiritual like me can be satisfied on simple foods. If you want eggs, you can make it with chickpea and mashed tofu. If you want meat you can make seitan from gluten flour and oatmeal. You need to be more creative rather than dumpster dive constantly from the meat trash bin.

          • If I want eggs I will eat eggs. Try some in good yellow grass fed butter. You will not explode, you will simply feel better

          • Okay, well maybe when I feed my two year old his egg yolks tomorrow I’ll tell him that if he were only more “spiritual”, he wouldn’t need to get the RDA for pesky things like Selenium, Zinc, choline, calcium etc. in his diet.

            And if he gets REALLY evolved, maybe he’ll learn to start conversations by calling people “stupid” for having different opinions and/or biological needs.

          • If I want meat I will eat REAL GRASS FED/FINISHED BEEF

            If I want eggs I will eat REAL EGGS FROM FREE RANGE CHICKENS

          • Timothy Tang, I love that you call yourself spiritual but you entered this site and started calling everyone who eats meat “stupid”. Your spirituality has overwhelmed me and your compassionate attitude has enlightened me.

          • No, but I suspected from your meal plans for children, that you have never really fed any. I am a former vegan whos health was undermined by my erroneous beliefs.

              • My 9 year old found it ironic that your proposed meal plan suggested peanuts as a source of added Calcium. And that you thought sea salt was a good source of iodine. And that you proposed next to nothing with selenium or zinc. Maybe he’s just too “stupid” to fit in with the vegan set.

                • So you think your 9-year old knows sufficiently about nutrients. If that is the case, why don’t you ask him to come up with the 3 day meal plan himself? Ridiculous.

            • You’re saying that if someone can be wrong about child-related nutrition then it would mean that they never had children? You’re saying that having children would make parents knowledgeable about all things child-related? Another ridiculous statement.

              • There was no reply option on your other post, so I’m responding here instead:
                Yes, in answer to your question about my brilliant son, he probably already knows more about nutrition than 99% of the American population and the ONLY reason we didn’t come up with such a plan together is that we didn’t really see how it was possible to meet the nutritional demands of children by natural vegan foods alone. (And I didn’t even ask for locally grown and sustainable foods, which I probably should have). In their recommended vegan meal plans for kids, you’ll see that even the Physicians’ Committee For Responsible Medicine resorts to recommending Cheerios and Calcium-fortified orange juice and soymilk. The message should be clear: Without heavy supplementation, and reliance on Big Agriculture, it is not clear how a person who eats about 1000 calories a day (like my 2 year old) can possibly obtain the RDA for all essential nutrients. If they don’t think the RDA is really necessary, then the LEAST that they owe parents considering veganism for their child is to come out and admit it!

              • Sharon,

                There was no reply option on your other post, so I’m responding here instead:
                Yes, in answer to your question about my brilliant son, he probably already knows more about nutrition than 99% of the American population and the ONLY reason we didn’t come up with such a plan together is that we didn’t really see how it was possible to meet the nutritional demands of children by natural vegan foods alone. (And I didn’t even ask for locally grown and sustainable foods, which I probably should have). In their recommended vegan meal plans for kids, you’ll see that even the Physicians’ Committee For Responsible Medicine resorts to recommending Cheerios and Calcium-fortified orange juice and soymilk. The message should be clear: Without heavy supplementation, and reliance on Big Agriculture, it is not clear how a person who eats about 1000 calories a day (like my 2 year old) can possibly obtain the RDA for all essential nutrients. If they don’t think the RDA is really necessary, then the LEAST that they owe parents considering veganism for their child is to come out and admit it!

                • So Karin, it sounds like you have done all your research and found that is not possible to feed children on a vegan diet and are a childhood nutrition expert. So I am wondering why you raised this challenge. If it was possible to raise healthy children on a whole unprocessed vegan diet – would you do it? If not – challenge is not worth exploration.

                • Are you Karin or ‘Sharon’? It seems like you are going through an identity crisis. But anyway, thanks for the discussion, I need to read a magazine now.

          • The point is Timothy Tang that infants and children have very specific nutritional needs especially for neurological development that vegan foods canNOT supply! If an older teenager decides on their own to go vegan or vegetarian, that should be their choice but with a caveat that they could be missing out on very important nutrients that they won’t notice for a decade or two. If eating Vegan makes you feel good—-go for it. But as a person with no children and obviously no knowledge of the proper nutritional needs of growing children, I suggest you either do some research and base your suggestions on that or just accept that you could be wrong thinking YOUR diet is for everyone.

      • The PCRM website’s meal plan doesn’t provide certain key nutrients, doesn’t provide them in a whole foods form, and sneakily adds things like soymilk (which is synthetically fortified) to avoid addressing the deficiencies of these foods as they exist in their natural state. Try doing the math on calcium and zinc with the sample meals. Good luck finding Vitamin K2 in these meals. Not to mention cofactors that we are yet to discover! I didn’t see a sample plan provided by nutritionfacts.org, run by a guy who incidentally seems to be suffering from some sort of chronic wasting disease…..

        • I checked out that PCRM site again and noticed that the best it can do to provide kids with enough iron and zinc is to add food-like substances like Cheerios to the meal plan. Absolutely shameful. And I used to be a member. (By the way, do vegans really think that these industrially produced foods are manufactured and transported in a way that doesn’t involve the deaths of animals?)

          A family of 6 can feed itself quite well on a single dairy cow that is slaughtered at the end of a year. The manure that that cow survives can fertilize all of the supplementary foods that said family would need. One life taken.

          Let see an estimate for the number of lives taken in the manufacture and transport of the almond juice and Cheerios alone for the same family of six over the course of a year….Anyone?

        • Sorry, I was just trying to help apparently I didn’t. I was new to this site but now it appears to me that no new information or evidence-based info is being exchanged just tired same-old “arguments”.

          Somehow it seems strange to me that you tell the story of your choices but if someone else has a story you will are not open to hearing it-but instead “run by a guy who incidentally seems to be suffering from some sort of chronic wasting disease…..” : Dr. Greger’s work, health and story is quite amazing albeit different from yours.

          One last thing before I go…over my many years as a nurse, I have had the privilege of seeing human body from inside and outside; in pieces and as a whole – it can be resilient and survive but we as people are often blinded by an idea.

          Best of health to you and your family.

          • Hi there. Thank you for the wishes of health. I wish you the same.

            I guess I didn’t really perceive you as trying to help….considering that I was specifically asking for a three day meal plan based on WHOLE FOODS and not synthetic additives, one that was gluten and soy free and met all of a child’s nutritional requirements. You however chose to post not a plan but a link to meal options that included heavily processed foods with synthetic additives, made with wheat and refined oats and soy. I mean, did you REALLY think that I couldn’t have found THAT myself? And if you’re so opposed to collecting $100, couldn’t you have given it to a darn charity? We’re talking 3 days of nutritionally complete, natural vegan meals here….Is that really so hard?
            I fear that the answer is yes.

  3. So who did the research. The meat and diary industries? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being vegan. In fact I have never felt this healty. I even was able to turn around my diabetes. Hmmmm

  4. I just want to say that people who still think that meat is the only nutritious food is just plain stupid and backdated, and only want to believe so because they cannot move away from the addiction of strong flavors. There is a proper way to be vegan without facing the nutrient deficiencies. Stupid people can just remain in their stupid meat diet.

    • Ha ha ha! I don’t happen to eat meat, but I can tell you that a whole lot of paleo-style eaters would be more than happy to eat soy ice cream and boca burgers and bread slathered with Earth Balance if taste were such a priority!

      Bone broths and liver aren’t exactly addictive foods, lol. 🙂

      • Hmmm……then why does my mouth water when I think of butter fried liver and onions and salty bone broth with lots of fatty marrow???? Not every body can thrive on plant foods. I know mine didn’t and I am so much happier and healthier eating plenty of healthy fatty meats with my gobs of veggies and fruits. Taking out grains and legumes was the healthiest decision of my life.

        • I totally agree with you, KTB. My only point was that people aren’t ADDICTED to liver like they are to Doritos, for example. They might find it desirable, however, because they are in tune with what their body needs. The notion that people who eat meat are only doing it for the sake of their taste buds is just patently absurd.

          • If you have done your research properly, you would have known that vegans go back to eating meat because they crave salty foods and fats too perhaps, because they didn’t eat a balanced vegan diet and deprived themselves from much salt and fat.

            KTM even said he/she wants to eat salty foods, your 2-person team-up is like going backwards.

            • Or, if you do your research, you may find that it’s because they develop things like osteoporosis, gaping holes in their teeth, and neurological disorders.

              • That’s because they didn’t know how to eat right and suffer from deficiencies. In another words, they were stupid. If only vegans can suffer from osteoporosis then all the people in the world who suffers from osteoporosis must be vegans? Not true. They did not consume enough calcium, the foods they bought were grown on nutrient-deficient soils that is the norm nowadays, they did not take enough fats to carry the fat-soluble vitamins and they did not take enough B12.

    • Timothy Tang by “stupid people ” do you mean the 99.999+% of humanity that is not currently vegan? My God !! have we stupid humans been doing it all wrong for the last 21/2 million years?
      Does it make any sense to you as to why there are no reproducing vegan cultures? Why one has never been recorded? Veganism is an intellectual construct based on a defective view of nature. It often reflects an extreme bodily negative attitude. One has to ignore or over-ride the 911 calls ones body is sending. It is a form of slow self-righteous starvation.

        • That reminds me, Timothy….did you make the computer that you’re on? Because last I checked, commercially produced computers are far from vegan. You’re making this too easy. 🙂

          • The idea is to minimize suffering to animals as much as possible. If I wanted to minimize all possible suffering to animals I would have killed myself. Maybe that notorious vegan girl from Britain killed herself for such a reason too.

            And I choose to buy 2nd hand computers unlike most people who buy new ones.

            • “The idea is to minimize all possible suffering to animals as much as possible.”

              Are you implying that you would DIE if you gave up use of that computer?!? Or can you be honest and admit that you just really LIKE to use your computer?
              After all, it would have been POSSIBLE for you to just give up computers altogether, right? (As I did when I went vegan, giving up TV, film, cameras, etc.)

              And if your second-hand computer had been sold to another bloke while you stayed true to your vegan principles, THAT would have prevented a new computer from being sold.

            • Timothy Tang “Minimize the suffering” This is exactly the distorted view of nature and the natural world i was talking about. A quality is added to the natural world and its cycles that simply does not belong there, it is “compassion”. Every living form is happily devouring other living forms in order to maintain its very existence. The purpose of an herbivore is to feed a carnivore, and most die in a very natural way, being killed and eaten by a carnivore. The vegan excuse, minimizing animal suffering comes from a disassociation from nature, not from a closeness. You have avoided answering my question so I will answer it for you.There are no naturally occurring vegan cultures because in the long run it is inherently nutrient deficient and anti life. Veganism is often the expression of a bodily and vital negativity. Self deniai is reveled in and justified because it is for a “good cause” Animal rights !!. Veganism is itself a form of animal abuse, it is the abuse of the animals most intimate to us, our bodies. Many many animals are killed growing grains and vegetables. Are their deaths qualitatively better than the deaths of animals used directly for food?

              • Raising land animals up to 60 billion heads is not natural.

                “no naturally occurring vegan cultures”

                There are lots of monks in Asia who are vegan. The advancement of the B12 supplement and other minerals such as iodine also allows modern people to go vegan unlike precious generations.

                • I said reproducing vegan cultures,surviving over generations. The negative effects and nutrient deficiencies will manifest more and more over generations until there will be no reproduction. The only person I know that was raised vegan was one of my teachers, a Taoist monk, raised in a monastery because he was orphaned as a child. He said that he started eating animal food the day he left the monastery. He has had lifelong bone problems. You point to an extremely isolated, miniscule part of society as an example of the universalviabilityof a vegan diet and ridicule me and dismiss my arguments saying that most of the world does not eat this way?

                • A monastery is not a naturally occurring culture. It is based on intellectual and emotional constructs.No one naturally chooses to eat this way.

  7. You can expose mushrooms to sunlight for more vitamin D
    “Here is a simple experiment we did one summer afternoon in Kamilche Point, Wash. We compared several forms of organically-grown shiitake mushrooms, which had starting levels of 100 IU/100 grams. We compared the vitamin D levels of three sets of mushrooms, all from the same crop. The first was grown and dried indoors. The second set was dried outdoors in the sunlight with their gills facing down. The third set of mushrooms was dried outdoors in the sunlight with their gills facing upward for full sun exposure. The most vitamin D was found in shiitake dried with gills up that were exposed to sunlight for two days, six hours per day. The vitamin D levels in these mushrooms soared from 100 IU/100 grams to nearly 46,000 IU/100 grams (see chart). Their stems, though, produced very little vitamin D, only about 900 IU. Notably, vitamin D levels dropped on the third day, probably due to overexposure to UV. “

  9. My goodness! Such a large amount of dogmatic preaching and not enough listening by the varied range of pretentious vegetarians. We choose our own paths as dynamic and unique individuals. What works for some, and not coincidentally, what works for some family lines, does not work for all as evidenced by the ongoing cracking of the human genome code. There will always be outliers and exceptions and that is what precisely reinforces our uniqueness. Instead of hurling insults and creating the perception that this article promotes the consumption of CAFO meat, just read and digest the comments. Nobody in this forum has given a thumbs up to this inhumane practice and yet the vegetarian brigade repeatedly thumps that bible.
    We all choose our path and few can be argued as morally superior to another because, as an active member of any society, our presence and habits have far reaching implications on all creatures, sentient or otherwise. The individual may think more highly of their own beliefs but that is inherently biased. And, when you only surround yourself with like-minded people you tend to only strengthen the vigor of your heel position.

    • Lol, my thoughts pretty much, lots of soap box preaching, riding around on personal hobby horses, certainly some not prepared to accept that we all can have a valid opinion, and that everyone is different. There are some on here determined to shove their views down everyone else’s throats, not the best way to go about things.

      What a can of worms has been opened 🙂

      Thankyou to Chris, he has certainly been a great help to me, I have bought his book, but also appreciate all the free advice given by him and others

  10. Chris, I see many beliefs; myths (and culture) surfacing in this discussion and as an RN having worked in many settings with many people so I am not stranger to this. Therefore, I respect you for your gentle words in this post. However, many are sweeping statements and these could easily be said about animal/dairy eaters and to me don’t make a compelling argument for optimal health choices. Maybe you will do a follow up post on “Why You Should Think Twice About Animal and Dietary Diets”.

    For 1 instance:

    “Vegan diets, in particular, are almost completely devoid of certain nutrients that are crucial for physiological function.” I would challenge this as not factually backed by meta-analysis and research studies. I could easily agree that some “vegans” may not be eating a healthy balanced diet that could be devoid of some nutrients if prolonged – eating Oreos, coke, potato chips, licorice, etc. If one eats a whole foods, plant-based diet only one supplement B12 (due to our sanitation practices) may be necessary if not eating any B12 fortified foods.

    However, the exact same could be said for the majority eating the standard, processed meat, poultry, and dairy diet – just because people eat animal products doesn’t change the fact they too are devoid of many nutrients that a plants provide.

    And you actually advocate people to take certain supplements in a link in this post so not much difference on vegans taking for optimal health if needed.

    Also, I am puzzled that you would have cited a research paper (12) that addresses “nutrients of concern” but clearly states vegetarians are healthier with lower mortality rates: “As a result of these factors, vegetarians typically have lower body mass index, serum total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and blood pressure; reduced rates of death from ischemic heart disease; and decreased incidence of hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers than do non-vegetarians.”

    Lastly, and most curious – you opened by saying: “Some are compelled by the environmental impact of confinement animal feeding operations (CAFO). Others are guided by ethical concerns or religious reasons. I respect these reasons and appreciate anyone who thinks deeply about the social and spiritual impact of their food choices—even if my own exploration of these questions has led me to a different answer. “

    You didn’t address how your social, spiritual, ethical, environmental impacts, etc. exploration lead you to a “different answer” – only the same belief that eating animal products = is to eat optimally. Change has to happen at the personal level to impact a global system that is no longer sustainable, if for no other reason than we should be good ancestors or there will be no food:

    “In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation… even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine.” (Iroquois Law)

    • Maybe you missed it but Chris has repeatedly stated that some of the anti-meat conclusions in research papers (12) do not distinguish between eating highly processed meats such as hot dogs and pepperoni versus eating only grass-fed beef. Then there are also unaccounted-for confounders such as meat eaters more frequently engaging in unhealthy behaviors including smoking and alcohol consumption.

    • Speaking of the Iroquois, which my great-grandmother was:

      Meat was also a large part of the Iroquois diet, it provided them strength and allowed them to endure the harsh winters.The men were counted on to bring the tribe its meat.The men hunted a vast range of animals using bows and arrows to kill black bear, elk, deer, rabbits, and wolves. They trapped wild turkey, ducks and other birds. They also hunted turtles for their meat and shells. Like many indigenous groups the Iroquois did not waste any part of an animal. Often bones and other unwanted parts were made into tools, spoons, knives and other household items. Whatever the men brought back from the hunt was cooked by the women and shared among the whole village.

      • Oh yes, the Native peoples lived off the land and used all the tools they could to survive as did all our ancestors. Its just that the masses don’t live that way today. We need to keep evolving. Meat was used for most generations (and few populations today) when and where it could be found hunted down – which involved miles of walking and or running – for the masses we don’t hunt, run walk for miles, work to clean the meat and work to fashion tools. We drive to the store, hunt at the meat, fish, poultry counter. I am referencing populations not individuals – because we do have a very small number of people able to get true wild animals for food. I just don’t think we humans stopped evolving – no longer need wisdom teeth (jaw is getting smaller) the planet needs us to do so for generations coming – some thing has to change in how we are destroying our mother earth. PS: I don’t want to go back – I like modern conveniences, sutures, antibiotics, c-sections (rather that die in childbirth, etc.)

        • Modern conveniences and ancestral eating do not need to be in opposition. As a species we benefit from improvements to medicine but we do not benefit from so-called improvements in food, particularly industrial processing.

          As for our jaws getting smaller, evolution may or may not be in play. There are theories that diminishment due to improper nutrition may be a factor as well.

        • In the previous post, OnTheFence, one of the vegan flock mentioned an Iroquois quote to support her position. Well, I’m using the same quote to support mine as I am only 3 generations removed from my great grandmother, and so it appears the Iroquois way should be maintained for at least four more generations; it is a way of eating that is still relevant as the time elapse is not enough time to have evolved much as a species. So, eating plentiful meat (from the entire carcass) seems like something I am optimally designed for. And so are you, if you open your mind to it. Whether I kill my own cute-faced prey is irrelevant as I don’t find this immoral, certainly no more than a lion devouring a wilderbeast while it is still alive. Nor is it relevant that I’m at a computer now or that I live in a large city, etc. I eat for health; animal products are exquisitely nutritious and healthy.

  11. This is how I hear these conversations breaking down: On one side “I’m tired of hearing….” “I want a belly full of bacon.” On the other side the arguments are always about the whole, never about the individual. In other words people who eat vegan diets are expressing here they do so after considering the whole, or others – even if they went back to meat at some point. People who are defensive about meat, or say they just like it are usually defending their individual interest. Be all that as it may, the way we are living is not-sustainable. Let’s hope there’s still time to change course, but it will require the willingness to change, and not stubborn self-interest. Some people feel it’s already too late, but whatever people feel, we’re on the path…

    • Well you are wrong Erica…

      I HAVE considered the “whole” and am convinced (as I already stated in earlier comments) that the only sustainable way to feed the world and save the ecosystem which sustains us, is with small, local farms, including the rearing of livestock.

      • Hi FrankG, how are you working toward this end? Are you able to farm or buy only directly from farms? How will small local farms provide enough of the animal products to feed the masses? I don’t have answers – only that it appears the buy decreasing consumption (which is healthy) supple and demand will slowly cause a correction.

        • oops typos: only that it appears that by decreasing consumption (which is healthy) supply and demand will slowly cause a correction.

  12. I’d also like to bring up results of the curing effect of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes by many many people now who have adopted a whole foods plant based vegan diet. If we were supposed to eat meat, cheese, and eggs, then why are all these people curing our top killing diseases by removing these animal products completely from their diets. Also, the physiology of our own bodies dictates that we do best with minimal to no acidic foods, our physiological system is not made for processing acidic foods and prefers to be on the alkaline side 7.5 so this bring up the truth about all and every animal product that exists, they are all highly acidic! An acidic body gives cancer a place to thrive because an acidic body has more inflammation and decreased circulation. Cancer thrives where there is decreased circulation, and it was shown in 1907 that cancer dies in an alkaline environment. Another study that was done, in fact the largest and most long term study on human nutrition that took over fifty years to complete The China Study that no one has yet been able to debunk because they can not debunk that big of a study. It not only took many doctors and medical scientists but because of the amount of time and effort put into that study it was reviewed and the results were astounding. Dairy is one of the largest cancer promoters that exists today, even more so than tobacco.

    • China Study? *sigh*

      Frank already answered that one. Welcome to 4 years ago!

      Want a long term study? Try Framingham.

      Next you’ll learn that meat doesn’t cause cancer, saturated fat and dietary cholesterol don’t cause heart disease, heart healthy whole grains are anything but, that “vegetable oils” are one of the worst things we ever invented, and that sugar is a wee bit of a problem.

  13. No. Just no. I know that you’ve given up your morals to start eating meat again and this is your excuse, but no. Really try to come up with something better. Nutritionfacts.org is a great place to start. Good luck.

    • How dare you judge others by your own “moral” standards!?!

      I do not see eating meat as in any way amoral or immoral.

      Get off your high horse and if you want to see respect for all life you might try starting with your own species.

    • Do meat eaters troll veg*an websites the way you’re doing here? You’re here strictly to preach your own misguided agenda.

      Yet I never see the reverse happening.

      Either way, believe whatever you want but don’t wander into someone else’s playground and start dictating the rules.

      Or, as Eddie Murphy said, “it’s my house, and if you don’t like it……”

      • Actually, since i am on the fence I visit different sites/conversations and of course, then do my own research.
        Paleo/meat-eaters on numerous on the veg sites and most are not at all kind! Even here one of the “meat men” slammed all veg women – maybe they are “witchy” not due to food but they have to work with him – sorry as a woman I couldn’t resist that one.
        That is why this topic is not a battle of research – but from what i see and for me a battle of the heart. I am leaning a bit – the arguments on both sides are getting old. I think the amount of research and clinical outcomes on the mostly plants, rare meat or vegan side is greater and more convincing. Sustainability aspects = veggie. Animal CAFOs for those of us who don’t have farms or farmers near us = veg.

        Personal stories have too many variables – health vegans and healthy meat eaters – but then some % smokers live long healthy lives – so I look at decreasing risk.

  14. I was a vegetarian for over 20 (!) years so I speak from experience. While this diet suited me just fine for several years (a good clean out?) it was not healthy for me in the long haul. My thyroid was shot (too much soy?) and I was thin but low in muscle. During this period my first husband developed severe heart disease (he followed a low fat vegetarian diet) – needed 4 bypasses and heart valve replacement surgery. He survived only a year after surgery and was diagnosed with “failure to thrive”. I believe years of too little protein damage his heart ( a muscle) and left him without the resources to recover.
    I like to remind people who are on strict diets not to get too cocky about it. The diet you follow today may well NOT be the same one you follow years from now. You may find yourself “eating crow”. I used to teach macrobiotic cooking classes. I would NEVER thought I’d trade my tofu for a steak.

    • If you have thyroid issues it could meant you were deficient in iodine. There are fat-soluble vitamins that need fats to be transported within the body. Too much high GI carbs in one setting can lead to inflammation of the blood vessels and glycation, which both can leave to heart disease. Omega 3 fatty acids has been found to lessen heart disease. Olive oil has been found to damage the endothelium(blood vessels) that can worsen heart disease.

  15. Great article Chris! Thank you for sharing! After trying a vegan diet in college that left me feeling tired and sick I realized that it is NOT the way to go! I’m follow the Weston A Price/Paleo diet now today, in better health than ever before, as well as lean & muscular! 🙂

    • Hi Sylvia, as an RN MBA myself I am wondering what vegan diet you were eating in college that made you “jump” to Price? I had looked at several of the Price research articles and commentary – so many points are unscientific and find mythical – for instance: “…the diet of modern American women is so appalling, and their preparation for successful breastfeeding so lacking, that their breast milk provides no better nourishment for their infants than factory-made formula.”

      High protein diets will help short term for
      “lean” but can’t be healthfully sustained long term – just one paper with multiple research cited as example: http://www.pcrm.org/pdfs/health/High-Protein-Diets.pdf

  17. I have been on a vegetarian diet for the majority of 40 years. My annual blood work does not find me lacking in any of the nutritional elements discussed in your article. Like most people, I do take supplements….

    But the MOST important reason to be vegetarian/vegan is the cruelty of factory farming and the murder of cogent, sensitive animals.

    Other important reasons:
    …the enormous cost to our planet to raise animals for food. They eat more grain etc per pound than it would take to sustain hungry humans.
    …destruction of the rainforests to make room for cattle grazing.

    Our planet is in serious ecological difficulty, part of which can be offset with a vegetarian/vegan diet.

    Stop letting your taste buds dictate your conscience.

    • What about the fact that in the wild these “sensitive cogent” animals tend to eat each other, ripping bodies apart without regard to humaneness?

      And what about all that forest land being changed to more and more intensively farmed crop fields, causing run-off of fertilizers and pesticides as well as depletion of essential micronutrients and microorganisms from the soil?

      I’m tired of vegans and vegetarians assuming this holier than thou attitude.

      • Actually the rain forests are being ripped apart for growing more feed for cattle and for raising “grass fed” cow flesh. A larger amount of green house gasses are caused by cattle than all of the vehicles on the planet put together. The run off of feces creating massive acres of dead zones. The number one destroyer of our planet is animal agriculture.

        • It’s like someone opens a tap and out pours all the exact same vegetarian/vegan verbal diarrhea… dressed up as pseudoscience, or social, or moral commentary with the (probably sincere but hopelessly misinformed) devotees mindlessly repeating what they have read, or been told by other vega*tarians… without even pausing to question any of it, or bothering to read earlier comments where many of these points have already been addressed. What a monumental waste of everyone’s time.

  18. I like what Frank said and Erica too…even though they might seem somewhat contradictory.

    I’ve made the decision based on my own experiences, medical advice, etc. to eat some meat. But to really reduce the amount (s) I was eating previously. I didn’t feel good when I tried to be a vegetarian in the past and somehow I gained weight. I probably craved carbs. Now, I’m eating no grain, no sugar, no junk foods, small amounts of animal products, lots of vegetables…..just doing the best I can. I think that is all anyone can do. And I see my doctors regularly and have my vitamins tested and so forth.

    But I have seen those documentaries about animal cruelty. The things Erica mentioned. It is horrid.

    Even though I still eat some meat, I feel like the excessive consumption and demand for meat likely helped to cause such atrocious behaviors.mGreed, high demand, competition, lack of humane and appropriate regulations, etc.

    IF you can accept people see things differently and move forward….What can the general population do, both vegans and meat eaters, to help protest these in-humane behaviors in this industry? Is there any hope for change?

  20. You mention bacon as being a processed meat, in the same category as hot dogs. Just why is bacon bad, and is the same true for uncured bacon?

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