What's All This Buzz About Vegan Diets
What’s all this buzz about vegan diets?
In my last blog I wrote about the ketogenic diet so I thought it only fair to talk about vegan and vegetarian diets next. Vegan diets include fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains and exclude meat, dairy, eggs and any other ingredients that are from animals. Some vegans are stricter than others and some allow occasional fish or shellfish. Vegetarians commonly allow eggs and dairy products.
Is eating this way healthy? It depends! Some vegans eat a lot of processed food, like cereals and breads as well as packaged food as long as it is not from animals. This is obviously not as healthy as a vegan who eats a whole food, plant based diet with minimal processed food. Even when you choose a whole foods, plant based diet, it can be difficult to get adequate B12 and omega 3 fats that are primarily from animal sources. There are omega 3 supplements that are from algae which can be a non animal sourced alternative.
Vegan Humor: What did the lettuce say to the celery? Are you stalking me?
Personal experience:
I have not personally ever tried a strictly vegan or vegetarian diet, so I cannot share my own experience. However I have several friends who are on vegan/vegetarian diets for many years and have maintained good health and vitality.
There is an interesting study from Stanford that looked at 2 groups of eaters. One group was on a low fat diet and one on a low carb diet. It was published in JAMA Feb 20, 2018 with the lead scientist being Christopher Gardner, PhD. Both groups were encouraged to eat whole foods and make healthy choices. The results showed that there was no apparent association between genotype patterns, or baseline insulin levels on the likelihood of succeeding on either diet. In other words, both diets were successful independent of the genotype or insulin levels that they predicted might influence the outcome. The conclusion is that there is no one best diet for everyone! We all have an individual response to food and it is best to know your own body and know what works for you. I know that I do better with a lower carb diet because I am susceptible to elevated blood sugar when I eat too many carbs, even when they are whole food carbs. You might be able to eat a higher carb diet but don’t do well with increased fat in your diet. It just depends.
The universal recommendations though are to eat less sugar, less refined flour and processed food and more vegetables!
Resources:
There are many vegan/vegetarian authors available, and I am sharing those I am familiar with:
Joel Fuhrman, MD “Eat To Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained weight Loss” (plus his other books)
Neal Barnard, MD “ The Vegan Starter Kit: Everything You Need to Know About Plant Based Eating”
Caldwell Esselstyn, MD “ Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health”