Unpacking Vegan Diets: Should you go plant based❓🥦

By Julia Liber, Registered Dietitian

Ahh, The Vegan Diet. You feel like you hear about this diet wherever you go! Vegan recipes are flooding your Instagram feed . Every other day, another friend of yours decides to adopt a plant-based diet 🌿. With more and more delicious vegan foods being accessible at local restaurants, you can’t help but be tempted to try out this diet! 

Before deciding whether to become vegan, it is crucial to learn about the diet, including its pros, cons and whether this diet is feasible and appropriate for you.

What is The Vegan Diet

Firstly, let's cover some of the basic terminology. The key difference between vegetarian and vegan diets is that vegan diets exclude all animal products (including eggs 🥚 , dairy 🧀) while vegetarian diets only exclude meat 🥩, poultry 🍗 and fish 🐟 .

Reasons to try this diet

There are three main reasons why one may decide to go plant-based:

1)      Ethical reasons

Some are against the animal industry’s treatment of animals and consuming animals as food.

2)      Environmental reason ♻

As environmentalism is becoming increasingly popular, many are concerned about their carbon footprint. Many choose to avoid animal products due to their impact on the environment.

3)      Nutrition

Many believe that a vegan diet is nutritionally superior to an omnivore diet(Melina et al., 2016).

In this blog post, I will be evaluating the vegan diet from a nutritional perspective. Even if you choose to follow a vegan diet for environmental and ethical reasons, it is crucial to understand the nutritional implications of following this diet, to ensure that you are meeting your nutrient needs 🥑.

Benefits

Here are the main nutrition benefits of following a vegan diet:

It has the potential to reduce one’s risk of developing chronic diseases such as:

1)      Type 2 Diabetes

2)      High Blood Pressure

3)      Heart Disease

(Melina et al., 2016)

Does it actually work?

One of the proposed mechanisms of action has to do with the greater fibre content of plant-based foods ☘. Plant-based foods, especially whole foods are fibre-rich, in contrast to animal-based foods which naturally do not contain fibre. The cholesterol-lowering and balancing blood sugar effects can be attributed to the higher fibre intake from those following a vegan diet in contrast with those following a typical North American omnivore diet(Melina et al., 2016).

Additionally, whole foods plant-based diets are low in sodium 🧂 and high in potassium and magnesium. A diet which is low in sodium and higher in magnesium and potassium in contrast to the standard North American diet supports the lowering of blood pressure(Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, n.d.).

Disadvantages of the vegan diet

Before trying this diet, it is important to know that there are downsides to the diet, mainly the risk of nutritional deficiencies, especially Vitamin B12, Iron, Calcium among others(O’Keefe et al., 2022). Animal proteins are the sole food source which naturally contain Vitamin B12(Quick Nutrition Check for Vitamin B12 | HealthLink BC, n.d.) Vitamin B12 is essential for neurological function(NHS, 2023).

Iron is naturally present in both plant and animal-based foods, yet the iron present in animal foods(heme iron) is better absorbed compared to the iron present in plant-based foods(non-heme iron)( (Iron, 2024). The average North American relies on dairy products 🧀 to meet their calcium needs(Office of Dietary Supplements - Calcium, n.d.)  Upon removing dairy from your diet, there is a risk of not getting enough dietary calcium. This has the potential to negatively impact bone health(Melina et al., 2016).

Is it possible to work around the disadvantages?

Absolutely! For anybody interested or deciding to go vegan, I would highly recommend meeting with a Registered Dietitian who can help you plan your diet in a manner which can reduce your risk of developing nutritional deficiencies. A dietitian can educate you how to eat in a way that is optimal for meeting nutrient needs and optimal nutrient absorption, especially for the nutrients which are typically less consumed on a vegan diet.

 In some cases, a supplement would be recommended 💊. Before deciding to take a nutritional supplement, it is best to first discuss with your doctor or Registered Dietitian.

Can this diet help you lose weight?

There is some potential for weight loss(Melina et al., 2016), depending on how you’re following the diet. Yet if you’re following this diet solely for weight loss, I would not recommend following this diet. Following a diet solely for weight loss can be detrimental to one’s relationship with food. You can explore this topic by reading my blog post on weight loss diets(Top Four Reasons Why You Should Not Go on a Weight Loss Diet (libernutrition.com)).

Setbacks

The advantages of following a vegan diet mainly apply when it is a whole foods plant-based diet. Nowadays, many ultra-processed foods market themselves as plant-based. Many of these foods are plant-based, but plant-based does not equal balanced! To obtain the health benefits outlined above, choose more whole foods and reduce intake of ultra-processed foods 🍟.

When not to go this route

This diet is not appropriate for everybody. It is mainly contraindicated for those with intestinal disorders such as Crohn’s and Colitis(Macpherson, 2021), those with an active eating disorder(Schoen Clinic UK, 2024) among other chronic conditions.

Consult with your healthcare provider to find out if this diet is right for you.

Conclusion

There are a lot of health benefits from following a vegan diet. Yet there are also health benefits to following a vegetarian diet and a flexitarian diet, which has a lower risk of developing the nutritional deficiencies outlined above.

Overall, if you’re following this diet for ethical or environmental reasons, in order to obtain all of the health benefits and reduce your risk of developing nutritional deficiencies, consume a whole foods-based diet and consult with a Registered Dietitian who can build you a nutrition plan which is right for you.

If you’re following this diet for health reasons, there is no need to restrict all animal products. Rather, you can follow a flexitarian diet: a diet which is mainly plant-based, yet includes animal products in moderation.

The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only. They are not intended to treat, diagnose, or give specific medical advice. The information in this article is not intended as medical advice, medical nutrition therapy, or individualized nutrition. No content on this should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical or nutritional advice from your doctor or Registered Dietitian.

References:

Iron. (2024, May 9). The Nutrition Source. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/iron/#:~:text=Iron%20from%20food%20comes%20in,%2C%20legumes%2C%20and%20leafy%20greens.

Macpherson, C. (2021, January 25). Vegan diet and inflammatory bowel disease — Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine Clinic. Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine Clinic. https://nalmclinic.com/blog-1/2021/1/22/vegan-diet-and-inflammatory-bowel-disease#:~:text=Vegan%20junk%20and%20processed%20foods,protein%20like%20legumes%20cause%20symptoms.

Melina, V., Craig, W., & Levin, S. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(12), 1970–1980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025

NHS. (2023, April 4). Complications-Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia. nhs.uk. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency-anaemia/complications/#:~:text=Neurological%20changes,pins%20and%20needles

Office of Dietary Supplements - calcium. (n.d.). https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/

O’Keefe, J. H., O’Keefe, E. L., Lavie, C. J., & Cordain, L. (2022). Debunking the vegan myth: The case for a plant-forward omnivorous whole-foods diet. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 74, 2–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2022.08.001

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. (n.d.). High blood pressure. https://www.pcrm.org/health-topics/high-blood-pressure#:~:text=Why%3F%20Fruits%20and%20vegetables%20are,the%20blood%20easier%20to%20pump.

Quick Nutrition Check for Vitamin B12 | HealthLink BC. (n.d.). https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthy-eating-physical-activity/food-and-nutrition/nutrients/quick-nutrition-check-vitamin-b12

Schoen Clinic UK. (2024, July 3). Veganism and eating disorders. Schoen Clinic UK. https://www.schoen-clinic.co.uk/post/veganism-and-eating-disorders