Are Vegans Healthy?

You knew it was coming. The post that tries to convince you that we aren't dying of malnutrition.

You've either heard that we are going to die of a protein deficiency or we run the risk of depleting all our B-Vitamins & losing brain functioning. You also probably believed it, hey?(Sorry that was salty). Well maybe this post can ease your mind a bit and convince you that we aren't losing ours.

(In actual fact some of the latest research is saying that doctors should start recommending a plant-based diet to reduce the risk of diabetes, hypertension and obesity with it's related illnesses.)

We have recently covered nutrition in physiology and I thought this may be the best time put out a short breakdown of what we need to survive and how we (as grass-eaters) get all our goodies and escape the jaws of malnutrition - hardcore. (Also low-key going to use this as studying for nutrition physiology - I know, I'm smart).

So before I teach you a thing, let me give you a quick break-down on what we need as peoples to stay livin peoples. We need these basic things: Protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins & minerals (and water). These are the things that keep us going, keep our immune systems up, help us grow, allow our cells to metabolize and divide. This means if we lack any of these things we can face some serious consequences - and yes as vegans we do run a higher risk of being deficient in some of these things (oh my gosh, she just said that). You also run that risk if you have a diet that solely relies on red meat and some frozen veg, but we won't get into that now.

As Vegans there are 6 things everyone thinks we get none of (or very little of): Protein, Iron, Vitamin B12, Calcium, Vitamin D & Omega-3 fatty acids. I'm going to give you a quick breakdown on where we get these goodies from, I may even throw in a reference or two (this is super extra though & probably wont happen).

Just a disclaimer before: This is in no way a guide to how you should eat & what you should eat, I am not a dietitian. It does not apply to people who are sick or are pregnant.

Protein

"Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the human body and is used for a vast amount of functions." (D. Palframan. 2017; How do I say this? Vol 1). 

Friends! Please calm down about protein, protein is honestly not our biggest problem, contrary to popular belief protein is not only found in red meat & eggs - there is protein in ALMOST ALL grains, vegetables, legumes, seeds and nuts (this is our diet, we can't eat much else). This means you will rarely find someone with a protein deficiency, at least not on a balanced vegan diet.

Iron

Now this is something that vegans can potentially be deficient in if not thought about when planning meals. See, (I'm about to get smart) there are two types of iron we consume heme-iron and non-heme-iron; they both do the same thing which is help the production of red blood cells (which get oxygen to all the parts of your body - pretty important). The difference is that heme-iron is way more bio-available than non-heme, which means a higher percentage of what we consume is absorbed by the body - so we need to eat less of the stuff that contains the heme-iron to get a good amount of iron than the non-heme stuff. The problem is - you probably guessed it - vegans don't eat the heme-iron because it is only found in animal products like red meat. Yes, what a tragedy, but fear not mom - we can get iron from other things and they aren't corpses (bonus). Non-heme iron is found in dark leafy greens, beans, broccoli & raisins (to Davids disgust). Add some Vitamin C to your meal and it'll help you absorb that non-dead-animal iron even better, yaas. 

Calcium 

We need this guy to keep our bones strong and for muscle contractions. Lack of calcium is actually a problem already and many people should be supplementing (especially women) whether they are a vegan or not. Vegans can still get sufficient calcium without supplementing by eating dark leafy greens (you'll soon learn these are the MVP's of veganism) like brocolli or kale and any fortified soy milk or rice milk. This means you have to eat a lot of the stuff though, so for most people who don't think intentionally about eating enough calcium-rich food (me) - we need to supplement. I've got a calcium-fortified porridge that I eat in the morning just to be sure I get enough of the stuff. 

Vitamin D 

We need this for our bones to help absorb calcium - Luckily we make our own! 

I live in South Africa and the beach is where I'd prefer to be on ANY given occasion so this is not really an issue for me, seeing as we get vitamin D from the sun. For anyone who is worried about a deficiency in vitamin D - 10 minutes in the sun, 3-4 times a week will do just fine. If you live somewhere that this may not be an option, I've seen countless grain cereals, soy milks & rice milks fortified with vitamin D to get all the D you need. 

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3's are important for good brain & heart function. Vegans don't get a good amount of these without being intentional about fitting them in our meals. David and I get a good deal on chia seeds so we often use a good amount of those in smoothies - they're a good source of omega-3's. You can also get them from flaxseed (some flaxseed oil drizzled over a meal would do a word of good), some cooking oils, spinach & soybeans. As I said though, we need to be intentional about fitting them into our diets if we don't supplement. 

Vitamin B12

This vitamin is pretty damn important as it maintains healthy nerve cells (das our brain), the production of DNA & RNA and helps in the production of red blood cells. It is also the bane of our existence as vegans because it is indeed the hardest for us to incorporate into our diet. Vitamin B12 is found in animal products and is not found in enough abundance in plant-based foods to be sustainable. This is why David and I supplement our B12. Can I just add though -just for you mom- that it would take us a whole 2 years to actually become deficient in vitamin B12 because it has an extremely long half-life, so don't go telling every vegan they have a vitamin B deficiency now.

I think the biggest problem when it comes to malnutrition and veganism is that people who are deficient in certain things aren't intentional about the way that they eat. Needless to say, if you aren't intentional about feeding your body what it needs to survive & thrive you run the risk of deficiencies with ANY diet. As vegans we are sacrificing and compromising for the sake of the lives of animals and sustainable ways of living on our planet. I don't buy in to the idea that we are not meant to eat meat or animal products but that does not mean I will buy in to the agriculture industry as we know it. If being the change means we need to take an extra pill before breakfast every morning then I'm in.  

Before you go! We just want to let you know about a cool challenge this month by Vegilicious. Basically, it's just a challenge where you try go veeg for the month of October and see if it's something worth further exploring!

If you're keen, please check out their facebook page for more info:  https://www.facebook.com/vegiliciousCT/

Be blessed fren
Che
xxx