In this week’s podcast, we discuss the nutritional deficiencies of the vegan diet. We broke this podcast up into two parts. Part one will focus on Vitamins and Minerals that are lacking in the Vegan Diet, which is due from both low amounts in allowed foods and poor bioavailability. They include:
- Vitamin B-12
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin K2
- Vitamin D3
- Mineral Iron
- Mineral Zinc
Honorable Mention to the Five C’s
These nutrients are also lacking in a vegan diet:
- Cholesterol
- Carnitine
- Carnosine
- Creatine
- Choline
Show Notes
Topic of The Podcast
Nutritional Deficiency of Vegan Diet
What is a vegan diet? Is it the same as a vegetarian diet?
Difference Between Vegan and Vegetarian
Vegan diets eliminate all animal meats and animal by products
Some vegetarian diets, on the other hand, allow for some animal food consumption. So, for example, milk and eggs are allowed on some versions of a vegetarian diet
The supposed rational behind this, is that milk and egg productions don’t hurt the animal
People Say They Feel Better On A Vegan Diet
Why do they feel better initially?
Standard American Diet, SAD for short, is trash. The typical switch to a Vegan diet cuts out a lot of processed foods normally consumed in the SAD. Now buying organic and eating less sugar helps one to start to feel better. However, when vitamin and mineral deficiency kick in, one starts to feel bad again
No one is arguing that organic kale and pinto beans are worse for you than fast food or candy bars. Of course, those are healthier options, but the narrative that these foods are healthier than animal-based products is simply false
The Real Issue With Vegan Diet is Malnutrition
Malnutrition is defined as: lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.
- Vegan Diets are lacking certain vitamin, minerals, fats and complete proteins
- Anti nutrients in vegan foods prevent adequate mineral uptake, resulting in deficiencies
Heres a list of some of the nutrients lacking in a vegan diet
Vitamins and Minerals
You aren’t what you eat, You’re what you absorb
Vitamin B-12
The big vitamin that gets brought up a lot when discussing a vegan diet is B-12.
Most people will say that you can only get B-12 from animal sourced food. That’s technically not true. However, you can only get adequate amounts of B-12 from animal sourced foods.
This is because B-12 is found in mushrooms. However, you would have to eat over 4 pounds of mushrooms a day to reach your Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). And thats being generous with the available data.
One serving size (100g) provides no more than 5% of the RDA for B-12
The RDA for B-12 is 2.4mcg/day.
1 pound is ~450g
So you would have to eat 20 servings to reach your RDA. Thats 2000g of mushrooms.
2000g equals 4.4lbs
In comparison, to get your total RDA for B-12, you have to eat 3oz of beef! That’s it!
Vegans and vegetarians are 12-15 times as likely to be deficient in vitamin B12 than omnivores. The reason for this occurrence is because the richest sources of B12 are organ meats, sardines, wild salmon, mackerel, or meats – all foods restricted on vegan or vegetarian diets.
This Vitamin B deficiency is correlated to an increase in blood homocysteine levels, which are elevated in vegetarians compared to omnivores, but the highest among vegans. Elevated homocysteine is linked to heart disease. Homocysteine is a product of methionine metabolism and the vitamin cofactors; B-6, B-9 and B-12 are all needed to fully metabolize methionine and reduce blood homocysteine levels.
Mineral Iron
The type of iron in animal foods is called “heme iron,” while plants contain non-heme iron. Non-heme iron isn’t absorbed by the body well. So even if you consume lots of iron as a vegan, you may still end up being iron-deficient due to the poor absorbability of the type of iron consumed.
“An increased prevalence of Fe deficiency was reported in macrobiotic vegetarians who consume brown rice, which is rich in phytates, as their staple food”
RDA for Iron is 10-18mg
Beef 2.6mg of heme iron per 100g serving (3 1/2oz) ~12mg per lb
Phytates don’t bind to heme-iron but do bind to non-heme iron
Mineral Zinc
Zinc is an essential trace element
You need zinc for hormone functioning and reproductive fitness, cardiovascular health, optimal insulin functioning to prevent diabetes, and mental well-being and performance.
Zinc deficiency is responsible for retarded mental and physical development and delayed puberty.
Direct Quote from study, “The diet may not necessarily be low in zinc, but its bio-availability plays a major role in its absorption”
Zinc deficiency was first reported among adolescents in the 1960’s in Egypt and Iran; these countries had a high intake of unleavened bread. This is bread that doesn’t use yeast, like flat breads, tortillas and roti.
These breads are high in phytates which bind to the zinc making it inaccessible to the body. The yeast can break down some of the phytates making more of the Zinc bioavailable.
Zinc deficiency is high in areas with high grain and low animal food consumption
Dietary Fiber also tends to bind to Zinc, making it inaccessible. Vegans and vegetarians tend to have higher fiber intake which can contribute to Zinc deficiency.
Great source of Zinc is meat
RDA is 15mg
In beef, you get 6mg/100g which is 40% of the RDA
1lb of red meat would be 27mg
Vitamin K
Vitamin K2 (MK-4) is very important for bone health, as it ensures calcium is deposited in the right places. Without sufficient vitamin K2, the body is more prone to deposit calcium in the arteries, instead of the bones where it belongs.
You can get K1 from plants, usually great leafy vegetables and animal products. But again, K1 isn’t absorbed nearly as well as K2 is.
You can find K2 in fermented soy products like natto
But other than that, K2 is found exclusively in animal products, like butter, egg yolks, and lard.
Vitamin D3
Plants contain Vitamin D2 which our body converts into D3. D3 can only be found exclusively in animal products. Good source is egg yolks, fatty fish and dairy products.
D3 is more easily converted into the biologically active form, 25(OH)D, that has been shown in studies to help with bone health and regulating where calcium goes and how much.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A. Real vitamin A, Retinol, not beta-carotene. Body converts beta-carotene into retinol as it’s absorbed by the small intestine.
However, this can vary greatly from person to person. Some people won’t be able to convert beta-carotene in adequate levels to provide their body with enough vitamin A.
“An increased intake of dark-green vegetables did not improve vitamin A status in vitamin A-deficient women in Indonesia”
The Five C’s
Choline (found in plants just at a low dose), Carnosine, Creatine, Carnitine and Cholesterol
Cholesterol is essential for life. Without cholesterol, the body could not function.