Laurel of Leaves

getting back to my roots: my journey in true health and natural living

True Health

A Vegan Diet is Not Healthy

I’m mentally preparing myself for this one. Because it’s inevitable I’ll receive at least a few heated comments on this post. But that’s the cool thing – you can say whatever you’d like in your comment, the same way I can post whatever I’d like on my blog. So just keep that in mind if you don’t agree with what I have to say. And do try to be at least semi-courteous. You may or may not want to speak your thoughts to my face, but do remember that we are all people here, not just some nameless, faceless computer bots with gravatars.

So veganism. Generally defined as a diet and lifestyle which includes no animal products or animal by-products whatsoever. No meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.

Veganism Not Healthy in the Long Run

I want to make two main points here about why I believe a vegan diet is not a healthy one long term. I’m not here to debate the ethics or morality of eating animals. Full disclosure: I am an omnivore. I eat meat. And I don’t believe it is cruel to do so. But that’s because I also believe all animals should be raised in an environment conducive to their health and well-being, i.e. not CAFO operations or battery cages.

I don’t believe a vegan diet or lifestyle is ecologically sustainable, either. If you want to delve more into that, I highly recommend reading Folks, This Ain’t Normal by Polyface farmer Joel Salatin. Life changing book.

So point number one about a vegan diet:

If You Don’t Do it Right, Don’t Do it at All

Did you notice that cheese puffs or white bread aren’t animal products? Do you know some vegans or vegetarians who are more like carb-etarians or junk-ans? Just because you don’t eat red meat or cow’s milk doesn’t mean you are automatically healthier. (By the way, the vast majority of all those ‘scientific’ studies that say red meat causes cancer were done using CAFO beef. Of course animals kept in confinement standing knee deep in their own poop, and being pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, and being fed a completely abnormal diet of corn and candy wrappers will produce some nasty meat that can absolutely cause disease in your body. Same thing goes for pasteurized cow’s milk. But I digress . . . )

Winter Chop Salad with Apple, Pear, & PomegranateHere’s the deal – when done right, a vegan diet makes a fantastic detox diet in the short term. Scads of people have switched from a junk food diet of processed and fast food, replaced it with a vegan diet full of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and legumes and have seen their health improve drastically. All those foods are incredibly healthy superfoods! And the vast majority of people in the Western world would do well to abide by that sort of a diet for a few weeks or months.

But (and this brings me to my next point) a long-term vegan diet is not a wise way to go. Many people (like John Nicholson) find their health deteriorating at a rapid rate when following a vegan diet.

A Vegan Diet is Not Nourishing

This is so fascinating to me. Did you know that without plenty of healthy fats in your diet, you are not able to assimilate and absorb the nutrients in fruits and vegetables? This means you can eat kale and bell peppers until you are green in the face, but if you’re not consuming enough healthy saturated fat, it’s like you didn’t even need to bother.

And where do you find these healthy fats? Sure, you get them from coconut, avocado, almonds, and olive oil, but these sources are not always in season, not always convenient to purchase in your area, and are not always present in your diet in a high enough quantity on a given day to meet your body’s requirements to function properly. After all, 60% of your brain and nervous system are made of fat. We need fat for proper brain function, nerve signal transmission, and hormone balance!

Lovely CowsBut butter from grass-fed, pastured cows is rich in saturated fats, vitamin A, buytric acid, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA – a powerful cancer fighter), and lauric acid. Grass-fed, pastured beef itself is also rich in these same nutrients, as well as being a fantastic source of protein, amino acids, and vitamin B12 – which vegans must take as a supplement (a required nutrient our bodies don’t create – we must get it from animal sources).

Omnivores Healthier Than Vegetarians in Indigenous Cultures

I read an awesome anecdote about my main man Weston A. Price over on The Healthy Home Economist’s blog (she wrote a great article about how 75% of vegetarians return to eating meat). The study Price documented is very telling about how a vegetarian or vegan diet is unsuited for humans. Here she is in her words:

Dr. Price traveled the world in the 1920′s and 1930′s visiting 14 isolated cultures in the process.  During this adventure which he documented in great detail with amazing pictures in his masterpiece Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Dr. Price concluded that while the diets of these natives varied widely, nutrient dense animal foods high in the fat soluble vitamins A, D, and K (also known as Activator X) were the common denominator.  Consumption of these animal foods were revered in these communities as they bestowed vibrant health, ease of fertility, healthy children, and high resistance to chronic and infectious disease.

This discovery was a disappointment to Dr. Price who had expected to find the vegetarian cultures to be the healthiest cultures of all. But, the vegetarian cultures he examined displayed more degeneration than the omnivore cultures which surprised him given that these vegetarian cultures did indeed have superior health than the Americans of his day.

A sad commentary on the state of health in the Western world with our plastic, packaged, chemical-filled foods, but a true insight into the path to optimal health – it includes animal foods! 

If you are looking for quality sources of sustainably raised beef & dairy, check your local farmer’s market (find one near you on the Local Harvest website) or have it shipped to your door from Beyond Organic

I also want to highlight an absolutely beautiful, almost poetic look at this topic from Kristen of Food Renegade. Her post, Why I’m Not a Vegan, spoke volumes to me about this issue. I think you’ll find it well worth reading.

What has been your experience with a vegan or vegetarian diet? 

This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday, Sunday School

  1. Brenda

    May 22, 2014 at 9:28 am

    I’m interested to know how how the author thinks it is “easier” to get non-cafo meat than to get almonds & peanut butter, since they are so hard to find out of season. It’s definitely NOT less expensive! And how saturated fat is “better” than fat from nuts, flax etc.? She must have a wealth of resources at her disposable or live on a farm so she can eat the happy cows, chicken, eggs, etc.
    If anything, Lori’s gave me a good laugh!
    My dad and brother both chimed in to me at a holiday party a few years ago…the government would never let us eat meat if they had been fed chemicals, etc. that were bad for us.
    I guess we all believe what we want/need to.

  2. Pepper Culpepper

    May 30, 2014 at 8:54 am

    Lori,
    First let me say, great website! Love the Laurel of Leaves thing and I love the look and feel of your blog as well.
    I have a blog called Primal Zen, and I would be so honored if you would allow me to reprint/reblog this post.
    Thanks for your time,
    Pepper Culpepper

  3. Jonny Coelho

    May 30, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    Eat nuts and seeds; look up vegan bodybuilders; exercise does not require supplements; Vitamin B_12 turns your gray brain matter into white brain matter, which makes you feel more intense pains in your nervous system, while a vegan diet turns white matter into gray matter, and pain will literally microevolve away from your life (so in other words… Vitamin B_12 is not a “vitamin” at all); eco-veganism for the win; and chill out, haters

    Jonny

  4. chuck delmonico

    June 10, 2014 at 6:16 pm

    I’ve always found vegans to be hypocritical, the ones I have known are so sympathetic towards animals , and “something with a face” its not right to kill an animal so we can eat,,,however, every vegan ive known is a far left liberal which will defend a womans right to an abortion all day long,,,,but damn,,,,don’t eat a steak! essentially, its ok to suck a baby into a sink, but don’t drink a glass of milk, because its a discomfort to a cow ??????

    the last debate I got into with a vegan, she was smoking a cigarette outside , and giving me crap about eating a burger
    ?????????????

  5. Amiton

    June 17, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    I believe that vegan ism CAN be healthy and whether it is or isn’t I will nit change because it is plain out wrong to eat animals look at yourselves thanking each other and cheering each other on by supporting a completion much worse than the holacaust!

  6. Jason

    June 19, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    Im sorry but i cant see adam or eve milking a cow.

  7. shaktimaan

    June 24, 2014 at 1:38 am

    This is the horse-sh*# that human carnivores and omnivores are going to use to convince vegans and vegetarians to start eating meat products? Oh well….tough luck !! Maybe its time to hunt these meat-eating predatory people, keep them in cages to save the rest of humanity and the ecosystem in general….

  8. Marta

    June 25, 2014 at 4:29 am

    HI!

    I also have my doubts about the long-term sustainability of a completely vegan diet, healthwise, but…
    If the fats found in olive oil, some nuts, coconut, etc, are enough (i.e. if we don’t need animal fats as long as we eat those), I find them almost unavoidably omnipresent in my daily diet (as I am from Spain and my husband is Indian, we cook absolutely everything in olive oil and very very often with coconut milk…with a few nuts on top!).
    It is clear enough that a few years ago, when there wasn’t that much variety in the groceries you could get (limited by the area, season, etc), even a vegetarian diet wouldn’t have been a healthy option for most, but now, having access to absolutely everything (even seaweed!)?

    1. Cat

      November 29, 2014 at 5:41 pm

      This is what I can’t stand about vegans…This post.

  9. Hannes

    July 7, 2014 at 7:14 am

    I agree with you. a balance in everything. I live in South Africa where people are big meat eaters and even they are over weight. it is not a case of being vegan or meat eater. it is about how balanced your diet is. do you get the nutrition you need out of what you eat and do you follow a good exercise plan. with a balanced diet goes a good exercise plan.

  10. Edie

    July 10, 2014 at 6:12 am

    I personally believe that meat and dairy are not necessities for us. I always found it rather strange that we drink milk from other animals form most of life wile other animals just drink it as infants for nourishment. Animals have been around long before being able to cook and sanitize meat. We also are incapable of catching killing and eating animals without the use of man-made weapons and other various items. I have been vegan for almost half of my life and Doctors always tell me I am in wonderful condition and I feel great all the time. I know if you can lifestyle isn’t for everyone but I think it can be rather great if you eat all the right foods and are willing to make the commitment. :)

  11. Louise

    July 10, 2014 at 10:05 am

    Is this a joke?

    You claim that being vegan is not healthy in the long run. Your first argument is that vegans do not get enough saturated fat. You then go on to list a bunch of vegan foods that has a bunch of saturated fat in it. When has coconut oil ever not been in season? When has it ever been hard to find olive oil at the supermarket? You’re downright contradicting yourself – you say that the reason vegans lack saturated fat is because they don’t eat animal products, then that they don’t get enough because they don’t eat enough of the right vegan foods.

    Lots of meat eaters lack essential nutrients and fats in their diets. So do lots of vegetarians and vegans. It’s about eating smart.

    Another thing that I found interesting was that you said that these vegan foods with saturated fats in them are not “convenient” to find/buy. First of all, this is just not true. Almost all foods contain tiny or large amounts of saturated fats – and nuts, chocolate and dried coconut really is not that hard to come by. Secondly, I do not believe that “it is just not convenient for me” is a valid argument against being a compassionate human being.

    Secondly, you say that meat is a good source of vitamin b12 and that vegans need to take this as a supplement. I’m going to quote you now: “vitamin B12 – which vegans must take as a supplement (a required nutrient our bodies don’t create – we must get it from animal sources).”
    Do you even know what vitamin b12 is? A quick google search will let you know that this vitamin is naturally produced in our mouths and in our stomachs. Other than that, it is also found in dirt. Why do you think animal product have b12 in them? They produce it, like humans – and there’s traces of dirt on the food they eat. There is really no need for vegans to take b12 as a supplement – the human body naturally produces it. If that’s not enough for you, you can eat some unwashed organic vegetables every once in a while.

    And as for the article you’re quoting: where to you think nutrients come from? Why do you think there is calcium in milk? Do you think that cows are capable of producing elements from the periodic table out of nothing? The nutrients are in the food they eat. They get the calcium from plants. They get the protein from plants. You know what vegans eat? Plants. What a coincidence. What a crazy suggestion, that you can just eat all these things from their original source – instead of supporting a cruel, merciless industry by having them passed through a living, feeling, thinking being’s body before they’re good enough for you to eat.

  12. Dr Steven Hopping

    July 10, 2014 at 7:19 pm

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    one. A must read article!

  13. Senntina

    July 12, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    Love your blog.

    Hi

    My name is SennTina and I can’t wait to read everything that is posted.

  14. cath

    July 14, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    yahda, yahda, yahda….another person who wants to justify their indifference to animals. Been veggie/vvegan for 35 years now….i am not dying, my hair, nails, brains, body and emotions are in tact (except for the fact that i have to live with people around me that think it is quite acceptable, to breed, raise and slaughter animals in the most brutal and horrendous conditions). I eat reasonably well, but don’t dwell on it because i know that most of the world’s population and many in the first world still don’t eat as well as i do, either through ignorance, laziness, social situations. Since becoming vegetarian and then vegan about 17 years later….i have been in good health…just once in hospital for dehydration and a spell with a terrible flu virus…pretty good for a 63 year old, i’d say….meantime many of my meat-eating friends are overweight, huff and puff when they walk, in & out of Dr’s offices, hospitals and testing labs….so give me a break – I’m a long time vegan and i’m not dead yet!

  15. Laura Eyring

    July 20, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    All I can say is, if you want a body like this woman, you should watch! The diet she follows is definitely healthy. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=625528730848850

  16. Math

    July 21, 2014 at 10:49 pm

    Oh god, how did I get here ? What is this ? Oh, yeah. It’s one more article with no research, no fact, no science… Guess I’m back in the 70’s.

    Well, I won’t argue, as many people have already done it. Just do some researches before speaking about veganism. For example, check the scientist view of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

    Hate when people who know nothing about a subject are the first to talk about it… Learn.

  17. Aaron

    August 7, 2014 at 8:55 am

    Eating meat is a natural part of life on this planet. Humans have evolved on an omnivorous diet. We are omnivores. I tried a vegetarian diet for 9 years, and I returned to eating meat because it had negative effects on my health. I was tired and lethargic, I started losing hair at 21 years of age, and had a harder time concentrating or quick thinking. Now I eat meat again and not only do I feel healthier, even my wife noticed I am not as tired and lethargic as I was when I was a vegetarian. I also knew two girls who were vegetarian and became anemic. I read that about 96 percent of vegans are B12 deficient, while only 5 percent of omnivores are B12 deficient. Females need more iron than men do, and red meat is the best known source for iron. I understand the view point vegetarians have, but from my personal experience, it is not healthy in the long term. Most issues that result from the lack of nutrients won’t become very evident until after a few years. People who eat meat are not evil or lesser people. Lowering the amount of meat you eat is healthy, but cutting it out completely for the rest of you life is not. Anything taken to the extreme can be bad.

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  21. Eating Tips » What Is A Healthy Vegetarian Breakfast

    August 13, 2014 at 9:07 am

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  22. Quinn

    August 18, 2014 at 1:30 pm

    I’ve been reading through all of these comments for the last few days and although I am on the, for lack of a better word or words, ‘vegan side’, those who are defending the consumption of meat do make good points and some really do put forward convincing arguments. However I really don’t understand why people are pointing out that Hitler etc. were or were not vegetarians? Seriously who cares, what does their lifestyle choice have to do with whether or not a vegan life style is sustainable or healthy or not? And this B12 debate? Have you ever heard of spirulina? A teaspoon or two a day provides you with all the B12 you need so I don’t see why people are still claiming the only options are meat or some laboratory bull shit. I’m going to be honest, I do have a problem with people eating meat, but not entirely. What I don’t like about it we’ve all heard a million times, the inhumane conditions and slaughtering of the animals. Sure, our ancestors and those before us did kill livestock for food, that’s great, but they weren’t doing it on or even relatively close to the scale of farming done today! That’s my issue! I understand that most people are never going to give up meat and I get that but I don’t understand why it cannot be done more humanly, and of course
    it’s never going to be humane because let’s be real, when has taking a life ever been considered humane? But if you’re not empathetic enough to stop eating it for good then how are you so heartless that you won’t even consider taking the extra step to look into where your meat is coming from or think about the unnecessary fear and pain the animal went through to make it to your plate? What bothers me is the fact that because humans are the most evolved species on the planet, we believe we are superior to all other creatures and that we ‘own’ these animals and that we have the authority to decide when their life comes to an end just to fill our stomachs with what could be easily provided by thousands of other healthy sources! Rather than living amongst the rest of the worlds organisms we stomp all over them.
    Imagine having your child taken from you immediately at birth, never to return. But hey at least you don’t find out that your baby boy is going to be killed in a matter of weeks right? At least your daughter will grow up to be just like her Mum!! Imagine you’re just born and everyone’s excited! Until they find out you’re a boy… you’re no use to them so into the grinder you go! Imagine living at the bottom of an outhouse, the catch is the rest of your town’s living in there with you!!!!!! Don’t worry though you’ll be fed and you’ll fatten right up until your legs can’t support your body anymore and you get trampled by your brothers and sisters! Kids eh? Imagine if you were forced to get a tattoo, this one’s different though, you don’t need to be afraid of needles, I hope you aren’t scared of red-hot metal though! Imagine getting your ears pierced against your will, it has it’s perks though you’ll never forget a new friends name cause it says it right on there!! Nice!!!!!! So done with this argument ahahahahhahahahaha do whatever you want and we’ll see how beautiful the earth is in a few decades

  23. Quinn S.

    August 18, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    Every human is lactose intolerant to some extent because after infancy we lack the enzyme necessary to break down milk products. No other animals continue drinking milk after infancy so why are we any different? I hate it when people refer to humans just as humans and not animals, because we are and we have quite a bit in common with the rest of the world’s mammals! I also find it weird that we’re drinking another animal’s milk? Imagine drinking the milk of a giraffe or a whale, weird right? As for meat, I do see the history and it does make sense that the human species evolved to become what we are today because we began consuming meat, but now that we’re here and we have the knowledge and resources to sustain a cruelty-free vegan diet, why don’t we?

  24. MOna

    August 21, 2014 at 11:54 am

    Come on give us a challenge! That was your whole argument is healthy fats and of course the ranting about meat in its best form….? Search avacado…it is easier to digest and of course contains only healthy fats….how about nuts? again healthy fats…please give me something challenging and stop pretending to be some kind of expert based on one fear u have.

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