Listen to the Vegan.

Listen to the Vegan.

Plant based diets have quadrupled in recent years, surely you have not missed the celebrities, sports stars and social media influencers all commending this Vegan way of life. Thanks to Greta Thunberg the importance of the planet’s sustainability has heavily been placed upon everyone’s shoulders; Vegans will tell you that their diet choice has a significantly lower carbon footprint than a non-vegan diet and on top of that, claim that their diets come with a multitude of health benefits, such as being less likely to develop long term health conditions -high blood pressure and diabetes- meaning that they will live longer and stronger. It all sounds a bit good to be true doesn’t it?

Are vegans living longer with exceptional health? Does the science support this exceptional claim?

Traditionally people adopted vegan diets in most parts out of necessity rather than choice, people ate the diet that they could easily obtain, and often it was more difficult, and usually more expensive, to obtain animal products. So, when you start to look at the data that we have around vegan diets, particularly in these populations, it is easy to find examples where there is deficiency, rather than convincing evidence that it’s a superior diet for health.

Yet there is science that supports the potential benefits from a plant-based diet that we could all take heed from, such as eating more fruit and vegetables.

It’s no secret that as a nation our diets are appalling, copious amount of highly processed, high salt, high sugar and high fat are consumed daily. I’ve already had two fizzy drinks and three chocolate bars to make it through the school run- that’s by 9am! There is plenty evidence, that is well known about, that supports eating more fruit and vegetables has wonderful benefits for our bodies. One of the greatest examples eating more fruit and vegetables has for us in the link with reducing the risk of bowel cancer. Other supportive evidence tells us that if we ate more wholegrains, soy and nuts it would have protective factors for the heart. Avoiding meat and cheese can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. We can safely say there is evidence that supports that vegan diets can be healthy, but are they healthier?

The truth is that the diet does not come without risks, the main one being nutritional deficiencies, such as calcium, vitamin b12 and vitamin D. Its not an unfamiliar occurrence that a patient sits in front of me, and as I look at their latest blood test results, I see the B12 levels are well below the expected range, if I am lucky, there will also be the result of an “intrinsic factor” blood test to review, this will give me a clue to the cause of the deficiency. But it does not appear autoimmune, or due to any other condition. I flick through the electronic prescription on the computer in front of me- nope- not on any medication that might be causing it. “Are you following any plant-based diets?” I ask as a last resort. “yes nurse, I am vegan”. Mystery solved.

Going Vegan does not necessarily mean you will have a healthy diet. Instead, it requires a lot of extra time spent, carefully planning nutritional intake to ensure that the much-needed nutrients, such as protein and iron, are consumed at the right level. Unplanned vegan diets will result in the same risk of long-term health conditions as their meat-eating counterparts. Planning will need to include conscious effort to ensure enough vitamins are consumed. So ultimately, how healthy a vegan diet is will depend on the individual’s approach. Complicating the planning further, there has been almost an explosion of Vegan cafes and alternatives food choices propping up for Vegans to eat out, all cashing in on the rise in those choosing the plant-based diet. Unfortunately, many of these are just as high in sugar, salt, and fat as the non-vegan options. For example, some Vegan burgers contain more salt content than that of a meat burger, a high salt diet being a major risk factor for high blood pressure, leading to heart problems. The greatest issue is that many opt to a plant-based diet without sufficient understanding and knowledge of the nutritional implications and how to plan a safe diet.

Perhaps more worrying than poorly planned Vegan diets, is the research that points to this dietary decision being driven by the need for food restriction in some individuals, there is probably a vast amount of those with an eating disorder steered by veganism that wont even realise this is what it is. It’s important to be able to tell the difference between an eating disorder driven veganism to a true veganism.

Vegan ideology can feel persuasive but let’s not forget that people can die from diet beliefs. There is anecdotal data from clinicians treating those with anorexia nervosa, a serious mental health condition where the sufferer feels they need to keep their weight as low as possible, are wanting to follow a vegan diet. Interestingly, eating disorders are more common in adolescents and young adults, which is also where veganism is becoming most popular, research has linked veganism to eating disorders, but there is insufficient evidence to suggest that what starts out as veganism will develop into an eating disorder, and there is of course no suggestion that all vegans have some form of underlying eating disorder. Veganism is often not just a diet, but a moral baseline that extends beyond food, to clothing, cosmetics and even the type of loo roll they choose, so it may worth being cautious of those only interested in the restrictive eating part.

As it stands, vegans are still dying, meat eaters are still living well past the average life expectancy, Vegans still get diabetes and other various health conditions. Is there enough data that takes individuals following a well-planned vegan diet and compared it to a well-balanced diet that includes meat, for several people of the exact same age, sex, height, weight, same environment, non-smoker, non-drinker, exact same genetic material to give us a conclusive result that vegans are healthier? Absolutely not. That sounds almost impossible to achieve such data.

The best balance for us all would be to listen to the Vegans and eat more fruit and veg and less meat and dairy. To reap those benefits though does not need to be an everyday restriction, in fact just going one less day a week without meat – especially fatty red meats (Goodbye daily dose of lamb…sob..sob..) could provide benefits without the need for all the planning and risk associated with veganism. Look instead for leaner sources of protein by switching to more chicken and fish and avoid processed meats like they are drenched in Salmonella.

You can also have a positive impact on the environment by cutting back on meat, this will reduce carbon footprint without having to go entirely vegan – not to mention there are lots of other ways to protect the environment. Wasting less food would also influence how we can cut back on greenhouse gases, likely this alone would have a huge impact.

Perhaps the biggest lesson to be taken from the research is that we need to be listening to the Vegans who may be indicating they are trying to cover for an eating disorder. This is an upsetting side to veganism, which requires specialist input. Those with an existing eating disorder – I strongly advise you away from veganism.