A Vegan Diet is Not Healthy

April 12, 2012

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.

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 . . . )

Here’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!

But 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

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UseYour
July 1, 2012 at 10:07 pm

Are you and your neo-fascist meat-eating friends completely nuts?

It’s a question….not an insult
1. Jen
  August 9, 2012 at 2:51 am
  
  Like!
2. Lisa
  October 9, 2012 at 1:10 pm
  
  To follow that up that thinly-veiled-insult-disguised as a question with “it’s a question…not an insult” makes one question if it is in fact you who are nuts.
  It’s like me saying: “Sonia, are you saying you agree with this baby-killing-leftist-moron, Paula?” Then following it up with “No offense, Paula”.
  Really?
Lori
July 6, 2012 at 2:12 pm

I have to wonder if you have any nutritional training to back up your statements because it doesn’t seem like anything more than an uneducated opinion. I see nothing wrong with eating meat from clean farms that humanely raise vegetarian fed animals without the use of hormones or antibiotics. However, your statements regarding a vegan diet being UNHEALTHY are incorrect. Any diet can be unhealthy if you do not have the knowledge to balance your nutritional needs.

Our bodies need only a small fraction of protien and fat and when you eat a balance of the proper nutrients, this can easily be gotten from plant sources. As for your B12 theory, yes this is usually obtained from meat but a mere 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast more than satisfies the requirements. Plant oils are easily accessible in any grocery store…EVOO is even carried in the convient mart at most gas stations. Not to mention the packets of nuts right there at the check out counter and you do not need as much as you think.

Perhaps you should do some research into the way meat, especially beef, leeches calcium and minerals from your bones during digestion. Vegtables don’t do that and leafy greens even give some back along with the iron that usually comes from meat sources. And how about the high protien diets of most americans that eventually cause a build up in your kidneys with the inevatable stones that painfully follow. Not to mention the cholesterol that is clogging up your arteries and hastening your path to arterial disease, heart attack and stroke…plants do not have cholesterol.

Dont disregard the vegan diet as “unhealthy” since it really isnt. The problems are with misinformation (such as your article) and a lack of knowledge on how to balance your dietary needs. Any diet can be both HEALTHY or UNHEALTHY depending on what you choose to put on your plate. My point is: make healthy choices, meat and veggie, know where your food came from and how much you truely need of what.
Dr. Archie
July 9, 2012 at 5:05 pm

Lori, what are your credentials? Opinion is not fact. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Joel Furman – all cite scientific studies, including this latest long-term one out of the UK, showing as fact, based on research studies, that vegans are the healthiest segment of the population. Next down are ovo-lacto vegetarians, then pescatarians, and at the very bottom of the health scale, omnivores who are routinely plagued by diseases of the Western world. These aren’t opinions – these are rigorous, detailed studies of clinical patients and widespread studies done by trained scientists and physicians. So let’s let the scientists talk, not opinionated but untrained bloggers, ok?

Here’s a handy link to a group of studies on the disease rate of vegans, vegetarians and omnivores: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/dxrates
1. Tired of Your Shit
  July 24, 2012 at 3:26 pm
  
  What are your credentials? What is the bias in your statement? I love seeing your science “fact” posted on a vegan website. Dr. Archie? Where is Jughead?
2. Jen
  August 9, 2012 at 2:52 am
  
  This is the truth!
3. Clint
  September 11, 2012 at 10:51 pm
  
  Dr. Archie,
  A doctor of any kind should understand that one can never state a fact came out of any scientific study. The most the researcher could claim is support for a hypothesis…….that’s freshman biology
4. Scott
  December 31, 2012 at 1:12 am
  
  With fundamental foods being consumed, well grown(appropriately organic/humane) clearly for most people omnivores, in good balance and moderation, are way healthier than ‘optimally’ applied veganism.
  We’re not speaking from opinion, we’re speaking from repeatable results to our body, – our bodies give indicators/response-indicators to what we consume, the balance with what we consume, and the quantities of what we consume, all those factors make a difference, whether positively or negatively. People, our bodies reveal. Get in tune. The ‘research’ is generally skewed and not fully relevantly true. Your body can direct you as to what’s right and wrong for your health, because your body gives indicators with/on your skin, your digestive system, your reproductive system, your tissues. You make your health, you make your body. You’re in control. Live to perform in life. You are a physical machine. Your machine indicates what’s good and what’s not.
  
  All the fundamental traditional foods, meat, full fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, seasonings, salt, alcohol, are all good for us, in balance and moderation. Alcohol is moreso an optimizer and cleaner of sorts, positively healthfully. Optimum consumption is variable per person, variable throughout ones life.
  
  Let your body direct, prudently. No rules, just right, no diet. Though omnivorism(which can be many ways) is the biological standard of humanity.
G
July 14, 2012 at 8:24 am

I am getting so much flack from vegans on this 101cookbooks blog because I disliked Alicia Silverstone’s vegan book, and I am so glad I found this article. I am actually really concerned about the health of her developing baby who really needs things like milk and cheese and eggs to get proper nutrients, we are all part of this world and everything is here to sustain us. And why is it that honey is so wrong? they call it “bee slavery” really? there are kids working for a dollar a day , you wanna have something to fight against, fight that ! not some bee bullshit!
1. Jen
  August 9, 2012 at 2:53 am
  
  Watch Earthlings, Forks over knives, read Skinny Bitch or any book by Gabriel Cousens, then you can come back and make an educated opinion.
Ungoli Ego
July 15, 2012 at 2:25 pm

Interesting how there is no input from the author of this article regarding strong, valid points that offer a good challenge to her point of view and “evidence.”
1. Lori Winter
  July 18, 2012 at 11:53 am
  
  It’s also interesting how some people like to leave passive aggressive comments on blog posts.
  To be completely honest, I’m just not interested in arguing with people who disagree with me. A conversation is great and we can agree to disagree, but it’s not worth my time or energy to fight a battle when it’s apparent that no one is going to ‘win.’
  1. Nino montoya
    January 23, 2013 at 11:29 pm
    
    Great article C:
Grace
July 23, 2012 at 2:33 am

I’ve been a vegetarian, not even vegan, once. I ate vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, even tofu and eggs, and avoided dairy and meat. It did not work. My hair started falling out, I lost muscle mass and a lot of weight and worst of all, my tooth showed signs of rotting.

When I started eating meat and dairy again, my condition improved and I’m now healthier than ever. You could say that I don’t care about saving the earth.. but I would think that if I become a full-fletched vegan, I’ll disappear before the earth does!
Joe
July 23, 2012 at 10:55 am

A tenner say Dr Archie has a doctorate in something completely unrelated to medicine, anthropology say or art history. You too could have a doctorate with 20k in student fees and an IQ of higher than 95.

On the subject of cherry picking evidence providing a link to an external website run by ‘vegan outreach’ is a good long mile from being objective. I would taker the same dim view of ‘evidence’ supplied by the meat marketing board on the same topic. It’s very easy to take 10 of the thousand or so studies on the subject that agree with you and ignore the others if you want to use research for propaganda purposes.

I never cease to be amused at the combination of hypercritical quasi-scientific analysis of anyone that disagrees with Veganism when counter-posed against the completely uncritical belief in the souls of animals. Got a lot of scientific evidence to support the existence of souls?

Excellent blog post Lori.
1. Tired of Your Shit
  July 24, 2012 at 3:35 pm
  
  Joe,
  
  Do you need to attack another group to prove that Dr. Archie is an A$$hole? I question his credentials myself but do you feel the need to go after other fields? I know people with doctorates in history who are far more intelligent then some MD’s I have met…and vice versa.
  1. Joe
    July 25, 2012 at 10:11 am
    
    Calmedo, I wasn’t attacking those groups, I have a history degree myself. It was a general commentary on people with unrelated qualifications passing themselves of as MDs not the establishment of a new world order based on what subjects everyone is qualified in.
Edward
July 23, 2012 at 7:08 pm

Your comments on B12 are factually incorrect. B12 is produced by bacteria.

“Neither plants nor animals are independently capable of constructing vitamin B12. Only bacteria and archaea have the enzymes required for its synthesis.”

A vegan obtains B12 from the same source as a meat eater, bacteria. We have learnt to produce B12 on an industrial scale, just as we have many other food items.

The assertion that a vegan diet lacks the fats required to absorb nutrients is an unsupportable one. There are many sources of vegetable fats, a fact which would become obvious even after the most cursory nutritional research.

All too often we humans search for those who agree with us rather than for the truth.
n. hoffelbrick
July 27, 2012 at 5:29 pm

I agree that people often search for those in agreement, rather than the truth. But what is the truth? Are we in fact meant to be began? Did we evolve that way? I think we should all consider balance, with life and with nature if we want to improve our lives. One last thing, have any of you ever raised a cow? What’s all this nonsense about grass fed? Why not say free grazed or to be more realistic. Cows love all kinds of edible plants and will eat all the choicest plants they can find first. Ever seen a cow go through a corn field? Because they sure will eat corn plants, cobs and all, or have you ever seen cows when they find a.patch of button mushrooms or white puffballs? They love them. Sure they like grass plenty, but watch what cattle naturally eat, an guess what you will see? Balance.
Vishal Sathyan
July 29, 2012 at 10:44 am

According to my memory, only 10% of vegans live over 70. The remaining 90% live just up to 40 or 50 and die of nutritious deficiency.
laila
August 1, 2012 at 9:21 am

hehe Vishal, how did your memory cook up such a statistic !
Vita
August 15, 2012 at 10:10 am

And many vegans think that is so eco lifestyle. Really? They buy exotic fruits, food, and food in plastic bags. I was one of them, I was a vegan, even raw vegan, but now I eat also animal products from pastured farms close by place where I live, and yes I feel respect to animals, because I can look after them, because they are domesticated animal, and you cannot just let go alone. And they can give you “something” which your body missed.
And if vegan is balance, healthy, so why mostly vegans are so angry and not respect another people?Even here . I feel more respect from people who eat meat, they respect me WHO ARE I AM ( I do not eat meat)than from vegan they think that are “better” than another, clean etc.But wha about mind, hearts? Where is love for all creatures, also humans?
Life is not about create “categories”, but live in respect, because we share this planet.
You are not better than me, and I am not better than you.

Love & Health
Kelli
August 15, 2012 at 9:48 pm

Thanks for the article. I am looking at changing my diet and recently have been reading up on veganism.

A yoga teacher I used to have once said, “My body works best with about 6 oz of animal protein per day.” I really respected that statement (a lot of people who frequented the studio were vegetarians).
Yulia
August 16, 2012 at 11:07 am

As a nutritionist, I see many people getting very sick following vegan diet. They all have GROSS protein dificiency as well as many vitamin and mineral dificiencies. They usually get better fairly fast when they add to their diet a good amount of grass-fed/free range meats, wild caught fish and animal fats so needed for normal neurotransmitters function. I can always tell a vegan apart from a meat eater just by looking at them (wasted looking body, foggy brain, slow paste and a complete denial about their (and their kids’) appearence and health). Unfortunately, kids suffer the worst from this food cult. I talked to a number of health practitioners (nutritionists, acupuncturists, NDs) and we all agree on one thing: raising a vegan child is a child abuse. Very sad situation. Many raw vegans get into a cult because once they take the most common food allergens out of their diet (gluten, dairy, eggs) they often feel much better right away. So they get hooked to the diet thinking that if they ear it long term they would be even healthier. Unfortunately, it is FAR from truth. Many have their immune system shutting down after just a few years on vegan diet. One does not have to be vegan to decite to figure out their food allergens and elluminate them from the diet. It is that simple: don’t eat foods you are intollerent of, eat good quality meats, fish, fruit, veggies and gluten free grains (if you do not have insulin resistance) and you will be in good shape.
1. Vita
  September 2, 2012 at 5:44 am
  
  Yulia,
  
  Can you give me contact to you?
  Thank you,
Lucette
August 26, 2012 at 1:52 am

Interesting article. I’m slowly starting to integrate meat into my diet after 10 years as a vegetarian (5 as a vegan). I suffered from anorexia for 15 years, and while in the hospital the nutritionists encouraged me and the other vegetarians to start eating meat again because it’s been shown that the brain will take up to two years longer to rebuild itself if you’re not eating red meat. It’s taken me two months since being released to come to the decision and the transition has been tough on the psyche, but overall I feel like a new person with so much more energy and a clearer, better-functioning mind.
your worst nightmare
September 2, 2012 at 9:19 am

obesity/over weight: go vegan
heart conditions: go vegan
help the environment (also your health): go vegan
1. Scott
  September 9, 2012 at 1:42 pm
  
  obesity/over weight: Don’t eat too much, exercise, well balanced diet, go omnivore
  heart condition: Don’t eat too much, exercise, well balanced diet, go omnivore
  help the environment: Don’t eat too much, exercise, well balanced diet, go omnivore
  
  It’s not as simple as ‘go vegan’. The results bare that out.
maria
September 2, 2012 at 9:45 am

this is called the definition of propaganda from your government, whether it is healthy or not, meat is good for the economy and the government doesn’t want you to stop consuming meat strictly for $$$ they could care less about your health!

WATCH THIS: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cce_1343318770
1. ben
  September 2, 2012 at 9:51 am
  
  maria your video is about the environment, not health. so this has nothing to do with health. but yes this is propaganda
Simmi
September 9, 2012 at 2:09 am

I am a 12 year old, and I am researching on vegan diets, whether its healthy or not, from reliable sources, if anyone can help me send a link about it, it would be really helpful. Also a vegan diet is good and so is a non-vegan diet, we all have our opinions and debating about it is a great way to make others here your voice, and so here’s mine, in my opinion, there are different types of vegans, some who completely devote themselves to end the causes of animal death, they don’t use any silk, wool, leather or anything like that, also some vegans stick to their vegan diets and no more. Eating non-vegetarian food doesn’t do any good to the planet but does good to the human body, eggs have a lot of nutrition but who said veggies don’t. What I believe is that Lori has thought this out, she is trying to have a balanced opinion and she is not the biased well not at the most, all in all I would like to thank you all for the wonderful comments and Lori thanks for the article, this has helped me a lot in my school research work.

—-
many thanks.
Simmi
September 9, 2012 at 2:11 am

(source of information gentleworld.org)
these guys had held a survey and heres a response. Sue: My asthma – which I thought would kill me by the time I was 40 – disappeared completely in just a few weeks. From the constant use of two kinds of inhaler and being threatened with steroid injections I went to wheeze-free and I haven’t needed meds for 17 years. I also stopped having colds. I get the occasional sniffle but never anything serious. I get what I call colds but they only last 24 or 48 hours and are nothing like the ones I used to get before I went vegan.
laura
September 9, 2012 at 5:20 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4hbV4RgzI8

bill clinton!
Shar
September 11, 2012 at 9:24 pm

Watch some vegan based documentaries please. Food that Kills (available on You Tube) might interest you the most as it is nutritionally based. Your first paragraph pretty much reads – I’m closed-minded and I’m going to run my mouth off. I would just like you watch and read modern vegan based books, documentaries and articles. That’s all, not even going to give you my opinion, just asking you to open your mind a fraction more than it is.
1. kris
  December 4, 2012 at 12:20 am
  
  The thing is- you can find all the research in the world supporting a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle and there will be just as much supporting the opposite. I know this- I’ve researched both sides. Both have an agenda. Veg=emotionally based- eco-concerned agenda- Meat/Dairy- Major industry interest.
  You need to look for the most unbiased, HEALTH based information you can find- for me that was Dr. Mercola and Weston A Price among others…Also, I recommend looking in to the faulty research behind the China Study.
Getting haelthier
September 12, 2012 at 2:39 am

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/
watch this clip about a plant based diet.
Catherine
September 16, 2012 at 5:16 pm

My primary issue with this post, ignoring all the inaccuracy of the information, is how you stated that eating meat isn’t cruel. I don’t understand how causing a living, sentient being to suffer isn’t cruel.
1. shooninjo
  September 17, 2012 at 12:09 pm
  
  stfu please…
2. Chris
  September 23, 2012 at 9:08 am
  
  If we were killing the animals for fun, then yes, it would be cruel. If we are killing them to eat them, it is merely natural. Do you think it is cruel for a lion to eat an antelope?
  
  I agree that the way in which most of the meat consumed in this country is produced is deplorable. It is done with no respect or appreciation for the animal as it makes its way from the feedlot to the slaughter house. However, it would be a mistake to believe that this is what all meat production is or must be.
  
  I personally choose to buy my meat from small, local farms who raise their livestock in a responsible and kind fashion. In fact, the farmer who raises the beef that I eat treats his animals better than some people treat their children.
SusinBC
September 20, 2012 at 7:34 am

Why does everyone get worked up about a Vegan diet? It’s just food… real food. Can’t imagine the person that thought it was a good idea to eat the milk of another species…but I won’t get started on that.
Why is it that no one was interested in my protien intake for 44 years, and for the last year, it’s the topic of discussion at most meals. If so unhealthy, how is it I’m able to train, injury/fatigue free for my first half marathon? How is it I FEEL better and my body isn’t sluggish and full of aches and pains all the time once I switched to a vegan diet? I’m a dietary vegan. I come from a family that has a small farm that sells meat locally…. that’s their choice. I’m not sure I’ve seen the numbers of people sick from Veganism as I do stuffing their faces full of processed, fatty animal products.
How I eat is simply my choice. I feel great… pretty sure that accounts for something.
Robert
September 22, 2012 at 1:01 am

Hello, I read this blog and a lot of the expected comments from both perspectives.

First off, I’m a meat eater but I’m strongly keen on becoming vegan.

The way I see it is that I don’t see why it is necessary in the 21st century to eat meat. Science is evolving rapidly and there are many resources and supplements, variety, and ease of access to a well-rounded vegan diet.

So what if a vegan eats things out of season, or takes pills to supplement B12 or iron, etc… Isn’t that worth not having to manufacture meat on a planetary scale.

It’s just lazy not to progress in alternative diets and energies. Why cling to old traditions of meat eating if there is a healthy and better solution, that sounds similar to religious dogma that refuses to evolve and embrace modernity.

Organic meats cost a lot more than that nasty unethical cage raised meat the majority of the west eats. I am in the army and am not a hippie, but the way a lot of our meat is “sustained” is disgusting. So yeah if money can be spent to progress the science of vegan diets then it should because the population is growing and there are not enough healthy organic-raised animals to feed us all.

Let’s not be afraid of change.
1. Lisa
  October 9, 2012 at 1:25 pm
  
  I think my biggest concern is that although we have had a lot of scientific and technological advancement, do we really want to rely on that for our livelihood? What if there is some interruption in supply (for whatever reason)? If there ever were an semi-apocolyptic event, what would happen to our species if we are not able to successfully live off of what the Earth provides us? Whether because we’ve trained our bodies to reject meat/produce or any other reason. Isn’t balance the key to the survival of our species? As a human I can live in the panhandle, the Arctic circle or the deserts of Africa and still live off what is provided for me in that environ. Can herbivores or Omnivores can do the same?
  1. Lisa
    October 12, 2012 at 11:56 am
    
    Ugh…I think I meant to say “can herbivores do the same?”