Below we answer various questions and concerns you may have regarding veganism and health.
This page will be updated frequently, so please come back later to see answers to more questions.
Last updated: September 24th, 2024
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If you have other questions about veganism, please also see the following pages:
Veganism & the Environment
Veganism & Ethics
Veganism – Way of Life
Responses to Anti-Vegan Criticisms
Replies to Anti-Vegan Memes
I don't think veganism is healthy because it lacks nutrients like omega-3, B12 and zinc.
According to the American Dietetic Association (the largest nutrition association in the world), a well-planned vegan diet is healthy and suitable for all stages of life, from children, pregnant women, to athletes, and has all the necessary nutrients.
https://www.andeal.org/vault/2440/web/JADA_VEG.pdf
You can easily get enough protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals including zinc, omega 3, calcium, iron etc. by eating plants alone. In fact, this is how animals that people eat get all their nutrients.
Plants also have compounds that animal foods don’t have, and are crucial for health, like fiber, vitamin C and polyphenols.
Due to very high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, plants have a protective effect on our health, even positively affecting our genes.
Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize for discovering that 500 genes can change in 3 months on a plant-based diet by turning off genes that cause breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, and others, and activating genes that act protectively and prevent diseases.
By eating animal products, we are putting into our body many unwanted compounds like saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, steroid hormones, antibiotics, IGF-1, and others, which are associated with an increased risk of today’s chronic diseases, like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disorders, and neuro degenerative diseases like Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
In order for a study to be relevant, it needs to include thousands of people, it needs to last for years, even decades, and it needs to show health benefits and an increased lifespan.
One of those studies is the China Study, the most comprehensive study of human nutrition ever conducted in history. It lasted for an incredible 28 years and was conducted on 6500 people. It also included 100 million people and 100 disease rates, so more extensive disease mortality data.
It showed that the more plants we eat, the healthier we are.
Dietary cholesterol and animal fats were shown to be one of the main causes of chronic diseases and shorter life span. These two substances are found only in animal foods. Plants don’t contain them. On the other hand, high levels of fiber that is found only in plant foods have been linked to lower blood cholesterol levels and lower rates of already mentioned diseases.
This was confirmed by the Ornish study in 2008. It showed that telomere activity increases (29-84%) after only 3 months on a plant-based diet. Telomeres are the main markers of longevity. This means that a plant-based diet can increase life expectancy. So, we can be healthier and live longer while feasting on delicious foods.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18799354/
https://pbnm.org/blog/wfpb-diet-the-fountain-of-youth/
Protein in vegan foods:
- legumes
- nuts
- mushrooms
- falafel
- soy
- seitan
- tempeh
- buckwheat
- quinoa
- sprouts
Iron in vegan foods:
- lentils
- spinach
- chickpeas
- oats
- black chocolate
- cacao powder
- cashews
Calcium in vegan foods:
- green vegetables
- soy
- beans
- nuts
- cereals
- herbal drinks
Omega 3 fats in vegan foods:
- linseed
- walnuts
- oats
- broccoli
- algae
Vitamin B12 in vegan foods:
- cereals
- herbal drinks
- nutritional yeast
Zinc in vegan foods:
- cereals
- legumes
B12 is produced only in animal products and vegans are deficient in B12.
B12 is an important compound for the health of our cells, the brain and central nervous system, as well as our overall immunity. Even though many believe that it comes from animals, it is actually produced by the bacteria in the soil. We used to get it from rainwater, spring water, and by eating veggies, herbs, and fruits from nature with a little bit of dirt on it. In today’s sanitized world drinking water is chlorinated, and fruits and veggies are disinfected thoroughly before reaching the store shelves. People are mostly separated from the natural world, and the best way to get it is from supplementation.
People believe that animal products are rich in vitamin B12, but that is only the case if animals spend time in nature and are getting it the same way as we would.
Today around 98% of all animal products come from factory farms where animals are not exposed to their natural environment. They have never seen the sun, walked on earth or breathed the fresh air. They are getting their B12 through supplementation as well. So eating animal products to get it is like taking recycled B12 with all the bad stuff we don’t want.
There is also a matter of how well do we absorb B12, because we only need a tiny amount, the very tip of our pinky nail. If our digestive system is compromised, we are not getting enough of it. By eating more plants which is beneficial for our gut, we increase our absorption.
How much do we need
There is vitamin B12 in fermented foods like sauerkraut, tempeh and miso, as well as nutritional yeast and fortified foods.
Supplementation is the easiest and safest way to make sure we have sufficient amounts of vitamin B12, for both vegans and non vegans.
For adults under age 65, it is recommended to take 2,000 mcg of B12 each week in the form of cyanocobalamin, or 50 mcg a day.
For those over 65, take 1,000 mcg of cyanocobalamin each day, as our ability to absorb B12 decreases.
Source:
https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/vitamin-b12/
What if you eat grass fed animal products?
In that case you would be getting your B12, but it still wouldn’t guarantee its adequate levels. One reason is because vitamin B12 from animal products is protein-bound and requires adequate amounts of gastric acid to be absorbed. So if there is some medical condition present, like autoimmunity, diabetes, scleroderma, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, other digestive issues, H. pylori infection, as well as long-term use of antacids, alcohol abuse and smoking, you would still be at risk of low levels of this crucial vitamin.
The B12 form in supplements and in B12-fortified foods is in crystalline form, which is much more easily absorbable, even in all mentioned cases.
Second reason is that by eating animal products, you have a one-in-two chance of dying prematurely from a heart attack or stroke, a one-in-seven chance of breast cancer or a one-in-six chance of prostate cancer. The same goes for obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, constipation, indigestion, and arthritis. So all in all, it’s easier to simply take B12 supplements or eat fortified vegan products like cereals, plant based milks, and nutritional yeast.
Who is at risk
When it comes to vitamin B12 deficiency, usually everyone points fingers at vegans, but it is actually fairly common in the general population, even among those that consume lots of animal products. Studies say that the leading cause is malabsorption.
As much as 40% of people in Latin American countries and 70% in East India have deficient or marginal status. 40% of patients in the U.S. have unexplained low vitamin B12 levels and 20% of those over the age of 60 have a marginal status.
Because of common symptoms like fatigue, weakness, lightheadedness, and loss of appetite, shortness of breath, and memory problems, many people don’t even know they are deficient. Given how prevalent it is in the general population, everyone should monitor their vitamin B12 status and take a supplement regardless of their diet.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15289425/
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/bc-guidelines/vitamin-b12
Heme iron, found in meat, is better than non-heme iron, found in plants.
Meat is considered a superior source of iron and there is general concern whether or not we can get enough of it on a plant based diet. So let’s see some facts.
There are two types of iron – heme iron that is found in meat (heme means blood), and non heme iron found mostly in plants.
Heme iron is considered more absorbable, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Our body doesn’t have a physiologic mechanism that eliminates excess iron from our system, except through the loss of blood, and having too much of it, called iron toxicity, is associated with numerous serious health conditions.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2516548/
Studies found that it may increase the risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer disease, also causing damage to the liver, pituitary gland, bone marrow, spleen, and the central nervous system.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/risk-associated-with-iron-supplements/
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-safety-of-heme-vs-non-heme-iron/
https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(22)00830-6/fulltext
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25439662/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm-I5CcccIw&t=1548s
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/strokeaha.112.679662
It may be surprising to know that iron overload is much more common than iron deficiency. In the Framingham heart study, only 3% of over 1,000 subjects were found to be iron deficient, while 13% had iron overload.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11237943/
Non heme iron from plants has the ability to adjust to the needs of our body. When iron stores are low, the absorption increases up to 20%, and when the storage of iron is adequate, the absorption lowers, thus protecting us from iron toxicity. That explains why non-heme iron from plants is not associated with increased risk of mentioned diseases.
https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/common-health-problems/anemia/
Plants are actually a great source of iron, the ‘good’ kind. So in your daily diet, you can include things like whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes like lentils, beans, split peas, and chickpeas, leafy greens, and dried fruits. Plants are also an excellent source of vitamin C which is needed for iron to be absorbed. Some of them are broccoli, tomatoes, citrus, avocados, red peppers, strawberries, guava, and more.
Examples of high iron and high vitamin C combinations include tofu with cooked broccoli, tacos with black beans and salsa, oatmeal and blueberries, lentils and sweet potatoes, black beans with bell peppers, watermelon and strawberries, cooked spinach with potatoes or dark chocolate and strawberries.
Animal protein is higher quality than plant protein.
A common misconception about protein is that the quality of plant protein is inferior because plants don’t contain all the essential amino acids. This is of course not true because each plant contains all essential amino acids in different proportions.
Although some plants have smaller amounts of certain amino acids, this is not a problem because our body breaks down protein into individual amino acids so that the proper protein can be built.
Study ‘Role of Ingested Amino Acids and Protein in the Promotion of Resistance Exercise–Induced Muscle Protein Anabolism’ from 2016 shows that in developing muscle and strength, the source of protein doesn’t matter as long as an adequate amount of amino acids is consumed.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4725426/
All proteins originally come from plants
In fact, all proteins consist of the same 20 amino acids, whether they are found in plants or animals. Plants use the same 20 amino acids as humans to build their own protein because the genetic code is universal.
There is nothing special or different about the amino acids in animal products. It is the same tryptophan, leucine, histidine, valine, etc. that we find in plants. In fact, all essential amino acids originally come from plants. This is where the animals we eat also get their protein.
Think about it, have you ever seen a bull, an elephant or a rhino eat meat? No, of course not. And these are one of the strongest animals on the planet.
Animals are actually just middlemen, and when we eat them, we get recycled protein, along with various components that we don’t want in our body.
If I eat animal products in moderation, I will be perfectly healthy. So I don't need to go vegan.
Indeed, eating fewer animal products will make you healthier.
But moderation should only be applied to good things. The things that are not good, such as animal products, cigarettes, drugs and others, the less we take the better, so the perfect choice is not to take at all.
Eating animal products, even in moderation, is proven to increase the risk of today’s chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune conditions, as well as depression, Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and alike.
Studies done on children’s autopsies and young soldiers from the 1950’s showed that first stages of atherosclerosis begin before the age of 10. So we know that there is no safe amount of something that is in general bad for us.
To continue to eat animal products throughout life after knowing this seems irresponsible to one’s health. If we cause suffering to animals at the same time, it seems even less logical to do so. After all, even with fewer animal products, there will still be many animals who will be abused.
We can still enjoy healthy and delicious plant foods and all the things we love to eat like burgers, pizzas, pancakes, ice cream, cheese etc without risking our health, and we are saving animals while doing so.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8335815/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20111646/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18516390/
https://www.ajconline.org/article/s0002-9149(98)00718-8/fulltext
I know many non-vegans who are perfectly healthy.
Indeed there may be many non-vegans who watch their diet and appear healthy. There are also many vegans who are healthy.
The point is to look at the general population and not specific cases.
Diseases that threaten humans, such as cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, etc. have all been linked to the consumption of animal products.
We can also find people who smoked until they were 90, but that does not mean that smoking is healthy.
If I eat vegan food, I feel hungry or weak after a while.
In order to feel your best, it is important to eat enough calories and a variety of plant foods, like veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and mushrooms.That way we are getting more than enough protein, high quality carbohydrates and healthy fats. Try combining iron-rich foods with carrots, onions, garlic, and other vitamin C-rich foods in order to increase iron absorption. Avoid processed foods as much as you can, because they lack important nutrients.
If you still feel hungry, you can increase your meal sizes, or add snacks in between your meals, like energy bars, a handful of nuts and dry fruits, homemade juices or rice cakes with banana slices and peanut butter.
You can find more snacks ideas here;
https://gatheringdreams.com/healthy-vegan-snacks/
https://vegnews.com/healthy-vegan-snack-ideas
If a person has been eating a diet heavy in animal foods for decades, the body can get lazy in making non essential amino acids, since it has been getting it from animal sources. It is similar to those who are using narcotic substances or are taking antidepressants for a while, and their bodies stop producing dopamine, so they need a bit of time for their bodies to go back in alignment. Animal products are also known to be addictive, so it’s normal to give yourself time. This could also be compared to people who stop smoking or drinking alcohol, and even though they made a positive change for their health, they might feel worse in the beginning as the body goes through a detoxification.
But the benefits will be worth it. Whole food plant based diet is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, reducing the risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It also increases telomeres, one of the major indicators for longevity.
There could also be a psychological effect playing a role, especially if you are still convinced that it is impossible to be healthy on a plant based diet. After all, most of us have been raised with the belief that we will die without meat, and we probably didn’t have examples in our environment showing us otherwise. So again, start slow, finding foods that you feel good after eating and exploring different recipes.
It is helpful to surround yourself with positive examples of vegans on social media, joining Facebook groups about food and health, and watching documentaries like Game changers – about elite athletes thriving on plants, or Forks over knives that is about health.
If you feel like you don’t want to go through this transition alone, a great thing to do is joining veganchallenge22, an international group that welcomes everyone, no matter where they are on their journey. For 22 days, you have dietitians, nutritionists and experienced mentors to guide you through the process. Lots of delicious recipes and health tips are shared, as well as how to prepare your favorite dish in a vegan version, where to find the best vegan products, etc. All of this is completely free.
Vegans are thin, skinny and look older.
This is a logical fallacy called hasty generalization, where one essentially jumps to a conclusion without sufficient evidence.
Weak or skinny is someone who does not eat enough.
Someone who has a lot of stress in life can look older.
You may have seen some vegans who are like this, but that doesn’t mean most are like this.
You can go to a vegan event or protest and you’ll see that there are people of all ages and body types.
There are millions of people worldwide who are underweight (around 600 millions), and even billions of them who are obese. 2.5 billion to be more exact.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20approximately%20390%20million,who%20were%20living%20with%20obesity
We know that around 98% of people are not vegan, meaning that they eat animal products. And yet no one is pointing fingers at them, blaming it on the omnivorous diet.
There is an epidemic of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes, as well as obesity.
Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death Worldwide. In the US alone, every 34 seconds someone dies of it. In Europe, 10 000 people die of heart disease every single day.
Cancer is the second cause of death, killing about 10 million people globally every year, and as a result of obesity around 4 million.
Sources:
https://newsroom.heart.org/news/more-than-half-of-u-s-adults-dont-know-heart-disease-is-leading-cause-of-death-despite-100-year-reign
https://ourworldindata.org/cancer#:~:text=About%20ten%20million%20people%20die,the%20largest%20health%20problems%20globally
https://www.forbes.com/health/weight-loss/obesity-statistics/
Various studies have shown that along with lack of physical activity, diet is one of the most important factors that can influence the development of these diseases. And they are so prevalent that we don’t even find it unusual.
Yet when a person decides to show compassion toward animals and eat a plant based diet, which is considered as one of the healthiest, all eyes are on them, blaming every little thing on veganism. Maybe it’s because the idea that we can’t live without meat is still very much present in people’s minds.
This is why it is good to educate ourselves and learn about health and diet, as well as the ethical and environmental issues. Because ignorance is no longer a bliss, especially if it causes suffering to others and chronic health conditions for us.
A well planned vegan diet is known to reduce and even prevent chronic diseases and prolong our life span. And it so happens that it is the best one for the environment and for the animals.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19562864/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18799354/
https://pbnm.org/blog/wfpb-diet-the-fountain-of-youth/
There are great documentaries that you can watch and get up to date with the recent findings.
One is the Game Changers that talks about elite athletes and plant based diet, as well as a sea of newest research on our health. Another one is forks over knives that focuses on diet and health, specifically heart disease and cancer. Cowspiracy and Seaspiracy show the impact of animal agriculture to our environment. Seaspiracy is available to watch on Netflix.
Vegan meat and dairy substitutes are full of salt, sugar, unhealthy oils, starch and trans-fatty acids, thus more unhealthy than animal products.
Store bought vegan dairy and meat products today come in many different forms and from a variety of brands. Some are better in quality, and some are worse. But they are all still healthier than animal products. And here is why.
Studies compared plant based burgers and those that come from animal bodies.They were looking at four of the worst components of the food supply – trans fats, saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol. The plant-based burgers were shown to be significantly healthier when it comes to trans fats and cholesterol, and a better choice when it comes to saturated fat.
Trans fats are a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. They are also associated with symptoms of depression, dementia and lower testosterone in men – even at just 1% of calories. Higher levels of trans fat in the blood is associated with up to a 50% higher risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Today the only major source of trans fats are from animal products, and the tolerable amount is zero, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Dietary cholesterol is another major issue. It has been shown to increase the risk of all chronic diseases, including 4 major killers – heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. It is only found in animal products, plants don’t contain it. So this is another big plus for vegan substitutes.
Sodium remains a problem throughout the sector, but it is an unfortunate part of nearly all other processed foods in the stores.
Processed meats – type A carcinogen
Even though many people avoid vegan meats fearing that they are unhealthy, something that people eat on a daily basis, like processed meats, have been declared by the World Health Organization as carcinogen type A, which means it causes cancer. Even though plant based processed foods are always a second choice compared to whole foods, they are still much safer for us to eat and enjoy.
Now let’s look at a few more things that are solely a part of animal products.
The horror hormone
Compared to meat, dairy and eggs, plant based substitutes have zero steroid hormones, antibiotics, adrenalin and a special one called adrenochrome, which is released at the moment of execution of the animal. Let’s call that hormone the terror and fear hormone, because it’s being produced at moments of the worst horrors someone can endure. Some studies have connected it with increased risk of schizophrenia. I guess eating someone’s stress ends up being destructive for us. You don’t have that in plant burgers.
Steroid hormones
There is also a link between cancer and dietary hormones in animal products, especially estrogen, which is a source of great concern among scientists. Natural estrogens are up to 100,000 times stronger than environmental sources, like estrogen-like compounds in pesticides. They are present in all animal products, no matter if they come from organic or standard farms, because we are talking about living breathing beings.
The highest concern is cow’s milk and dairy products that contain significant amounts of female sex hormones. They make up 60 to 80% of the estrogen we ingest through food.
IGF1- the growth hormone, and estrogens, along with the milk protein – casein, stimulate the growth of cancer cells and increase the risk of breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancer. Studies have shown that consuming one cup of milk a day increases the risk of breast and prostate cancer by as much as 50%.
Plant based milks, yogurt and cheeses have zero hormones, and also no puss, blood, feces and alike, which are all present in dairy products, as well as meat.
So knowing all this, I’m sure we would all agree that enjoying vegan versions of our favorite products is a positive thing overall.
We can also make delicious vegan substitutes at home from whole foods, which is more affordable and healthier. Here are some easy recipes you can try – https://veganismos.gr/en/vegan-recipes/
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31671655/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31336535/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27834316/
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-are-beyond-meat-and-the-impossible-burger-healthy/#transcript
https://drmatthewnagra.com/animal-vs-plant-based-meat-a-hearty-debate/
Soy is genetically modified.
It is true that the vast majority of soy worldwide is genetically modified. But what we need to understand is that almost 80% of the world’s soy is produced to feed the animals we raise for food, like meat, eggs and dairy products. In the US it’s even higher, more than 90%. And those GMO crops are being heavily sprayed with herbicide glyphosate, which makes things even worse.
https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/food_practice/sustainable_production/soy/
https://soygrowers.com/key-issues-initiatives/key-issues/other/animal-ag/
It’s also important to know that pesticides and herbicides like glyphosate, heavy metals like aluminum, mercury, lead and arsenic accumulate in the body of an animal during her/his lifetime, which makes the aforementioned toxins levels much higher in meat, dairy products and eggs. So moving away from animal products and eating more organic plants is a way to go.
Soy as a legume is an invaluable food source for humans. It has been used in ancient Eastern cultures for centuries, and for a good reason. From high levels of all amino acids, to being a rich source of vitamins and minerals (like calcium, selenium, phosphorus, copper, and magnesium), antioxidants and fiber, it is good to include it in your diet. Despite the desinformation, soy is known to have significant health benefits:
– it helps prevent certain types of cancer (breast, prostate, stomach)
– it improves the elasticity of blood vessels and helps prevent heart disease
– it lowers blood sugar levels and the risk of diabetes
– it improves bone health and brain functions
– it helps relieve symptoms of PMS and menopause
Soy contains isoflavones, phytoestrogens that have a protective effect on health. Although some people are frightened by the word estrogen, plant-based variants possess only 1/1000 the estrogenic activity of steroid hormones from animal foods such as eggs, dairy products, and meat. Dairy products, for example, contain up to 200 hormones and very high levels of steroid hormones such as estrogen. Statistics show that they can increase the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, and cause hormonal imbalance. Eating soy products at least once a week reduces the risk of developing cancer by as much as 50%.
https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/soy/
There are many organic producers of soy, if you want to avoid GMO products. Sojade is a top notch small, organic producer that has been growing soy for decades. They have excellent soy yogurts, creams, milks, kefir etc in health food stores world wide.
If you still don’t want to use soy, just skip it. But if you’re avoiding GMO products altogether, then it’s good to know that around 99% of all wheat, corn and sugarcane crops are also GMO. So you would have to apply this principle to all conventional bread, pastas, cookies, cakes, sugary sweets, soda drinks etc.
Other products that have been genetically modified are watermelons, bananas, peaches, eggplants and carrots, and for some reason they are not making headlines. Maybe because they are not posing a threat to the animal products industry, like soy does.
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-foods-looked-like-before-genetic-modification-2016-1
Why is there such bad publicity on soy
Soy is a product from which many substitutes for animal products are made and they surpass them in both ethical, ecological and nutritional value – soy mince replaces meat, soy milk and yogurt replace animal dairy.
So, no wonder that soy is the great “enemy” of the animal products industry. Just as animal products companies use propaganda with advertisements where the animals live happily on spacious and clean farms in order not to lose customers, so it also spreads bad rumors about soy.
If you still want to avoid soy for whatever reason, then by all means, you don’t have to buy it. Being vegan doesn’t mean you have to eat it. You can replace the animal products you were eating with other vegan foods.
You can use mushrooms, eggplants, lentils, chickpeas or beans instead of meat.
Instead of animal milk, you can use rice, almond, oat, bean, chestnut or cashew milk.
What’s wrong with eating honey for our health?
Let’s first see what honey is. It is bees’ specific food that contains all the nutrients they need, especially during winter. Bees collect and use flower nectar to make it. A single worker bee will produce a little more than one teaspoon of honey during her lifetime. It’s hard work that involves visiting millions of flowers.
A colony needs around 27 kilos of honey to make it through the cold months.
It is Their food and they don’t make ‘extra’, as many bee farmers want us to think.
There are many sweeteners that are made without killing bees, like rice syrup, molasses, sorghum, sucanat, barley malt, maple syrup, organic cane sugar, blackstrap molasses and dried fruit or fruit concentrates.
Is honey healthy for us?
By the words of Dr Aris Latham, “honey is not food for human consumption. Honey is breast milk for their babies. It’s actually a regurgitation. It’s bee vomit. They vomit pre-digestive food for their babies, not for us. it’s maybe sweet and sugary, but it’s not for us. It spikes our blood sugar.”
But everyone is saying how good it is!
It is true that honey contains many valuable antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. But in order to have benefits from it, we would have to eat large amounts. By taking a recommended amount of about 1 tablespoon of honey a day, you would get less than 1% of recommended daily allowance (RDA) per serving.
Maybe now you think you could simply eat more of it. But while that would give you more nutrients, let’s not forget that honey is still a sugar. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 3 tablespoons of sugar per day for men and no more than 2 tablespoons of sugar per day for women.
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/added-sugars
Maybe you want to add a bit of local honey to your daily cup of tea for better immunity. But studies on that show contradictory results, and more research is needed. One study on taking honey for allergies found that a person would have to eat a very high dose of 1 gram of honey per kilo of body weight and combine it with allergy medications in order to have a positive effect.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6074882/
As already mentioned, there are other honey alternatives that contain a plethora of nutrients and have beneficial effects on our health. We will mention just a few.
Blackstrap molasses is one of the most common sweeteners. It has a rich taste and offers a number of health benefits.
It is naturally rich in antioxidants, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin B6. Only 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses provides 8% of the daily value for calcium and 10% of magnesium, as well as an impressive 20% of the daily value of iron.
It may relieve constipation, help treat anemia, and support bone and hair health. Studies also suggest that this sugar cane extract can increase the defense against bacterial and viral infections, enhance immune reactions and possess hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5110661/#ref5
Pure maple syrup has a sweet, distinctive flavor that is often compared to caramel, toffee and vanilla. Besides being delicious, maple syrup has impressive nutrition. It contains zinc and manganese in fairly high amounts, in addition to magnesium, potassium, calcium and vitamin B2. The medical journal Pharmaceutical Biology revealed that pure maple syrup contains up to 24 different antioxidants that increase our immunity and prevent the effects of free radicals.
Compared to honey, maple syrup has lower-calorie count, and is helpful in preventing certain diseases like arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and heart disease.
Whenever possible, select darker, grade B maple syrup as it contains more beneficial antioxidants than the lighter one.
https://www.jandonline.org/article/S0002-8223(08)01891-9/abstract?cc=y%3D
Date syrup is a natural sweetener made from one ingredient – dates. This thick, dark goodness has a complex flavor and natural sweetness that’s less sugary than honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup. It also has one of the lowest glycemic indexes among all sweetener options.
It is rich in minerals – it contains more potassium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium than maple syrup and honey.
You can also make it at home. Here is a simple recipe that anyone can do!
https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/date-syrup/
Stevia has been used as a sweetener and as a herbal medicine by the indigenous peoples of Central and South America for thousands of years. It is very sweet, 30 -100 times sweeter than regular sugar, but it doesn’t affect the blood glucose levels. Because of that it is safe to use even by those suffering from Diabetes 2 and dealing with obesity.
Stevia was traditionally used as a tonic for heart problems, high blood pressure, digestive issues, to regulate blood sugar and nourish the liver. Today many scientific studies confirm these positive effects. It even prevents cavities because it doesn’t contain fermentable carbohydrates.
You can use it as a powder and as an extract.
I had read something about vegan parents who did not feed their children properly and they died. Raising your child vegan is unhealthy and brainwashing.
We are the first to condemn such cases, because they obviously do not represent either veganism or common sense.
When a vegan couple – from the numerous couples that are in the world – do not feed their child properly, then it will be all over the news channels (which are funded by animal product ads).
But what about the tens of thousands of parents who are not vegan and do not properly raise or even give up or kill their children?
According to the American Association of Dietitians, a vegan diet is healthy and suitable for all stages of life, from children, pregnant women, to athletes.
So, those parents were not wrong in recommending a vegan diet for the child, but they were wrong in the way they implemented it.
You may think that an omnivore diet is perfectly healthy and when you see children who are overweight or with diseases, you blame the parents for not implementing a proper diet and you don’t blame the omnivore diet for being unhealthy.
In the same way, we vegans know that the vegan diet is perfectly healthy, but some parents simply did not apply it correctly.
The infant didn’t die from the vegan diet, it died from starvation.
Every parent is expected and obliged to make some moral decisions on behalf of their children and prevent them from doing something wrong, often without explaining why something is wrong, since the child is too young to understand.
Thus vegan parents, thinking about their children, but also the animals, make some decisions for them, until they grow up and draw some conclusions for themselves and hopefully, they will later thank their parents for not letting them finance the abuse of animals, just for the sake of an unnecessary taste.
Innocence is a main characteristic of children. If children saw what animals go through, would they be okay with eating them later?
Raising children to show compassion to animals is not brainwashing, it’s soul cleansing.
What do studies say on diet and kids?
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that an appropriately planned vegan diet is healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits. It is appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence.
Further to this, a 2019 study conducted in Germany that compared the diets of 430 vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous children concluded that ‘vegetarian and vegan diets provide the same amount of energy and macronutrients, leading to a normal growth in comparison to omnivorous children.’
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27886704/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31013738/
Even though it is normalized that kids eat a standard diet with animal products, that isn’t necessarily a measurement of how healthy it is.
A growing body of evidence shows that diet containing animal products has been linked to increased incidences of allergies, asthma, eczema, acne, childhood diabetes, as well as obesity, cancer and autoimmune conditions. Childhood obesity and diabetes have risen dramatically. Over recent decades, the number of children diagnosed as being overweight has increased by more than 100%.
Being overweight as a child or a teenager has long term consequences – it doubles the risk of a heart attack, stroke, cancer, and arthritis.
And that’s not all. Studies on children’s autopsies found that fatty streaks—the first stage of atherosclerosis—were found in nearly all children by the age 10. This turns into plaque in their 20’s and 30’s, resulting in a ‘sudden’ heart disease in their 40’s.
Because of all these trends, the current generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.
https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/children/
Even the chair of the nutrition department at Loma Linda University published a paper suggesting not eating meat at all might be an effective strategy for better health.
Eating more plants in childhood is beneficial for long term health.
On the other hand, eating diets high in plant foods is shown to reduce the prevalence of allergies, asthma, skin issues, diabetes and it keeps BMI on an optimal level, meaning kids having healthy weight and reducing the risk of aforementioned diseases.
Eating more plants has also shown to increase IQ levels. In a 1980 study by Tufts University, ‘the IQ of vegetarian children’ was found to be about 16 points above average. And their “mental age” was a year ahead of the rest of their classmates. You can only imagine how much more advanced kids are on plants alone.
With all this being said, we could easily conclude that feeding children animal products may be considered as an abuse, since we are setting them up for a lifetime of increased rates of health conditions.
There are many ex-vegans (eg Miley Cyrus, Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie etc) who stopped veganism because they felt weak and could not get the necessary nutrients.
Some people have made veganism synonymous with fasting and don’t really care about our ethical attitude towards animals, which is the true meaning of veganism. In such cases, we do not believe that these people are considered vegan, but that they just tried a vegan diet for a while, perhaps because they had heard about the positive effects it has on our health.
Some ex-vegans may have had health problems beforehand, but neglected them while they were vegan.
In such cases, while it’s always best to seek the help of an expert (as you would even if you weren’t vegan), they decided to take their health into their own hands and eat whatever they wanted.
In cases like Angelina Jolie’s for example, her health problems were because of her anorexia. When you eat almost nothing, it’s obvious you will have a problem.
That is not veganism’s fault.
Some may not have been eating properly. Eating too little or too much, due to other factors, such as stress. They may not have made the right combination of foods (e.g. eating the same, plain foods every day) and/or eating unhealthy foods (junk food).
That is not veganism’s fault.
Some ex-vegans give up veganism because they “had nothing to eat”. But if you explore the vegan cuisine (which unfortunately many people don’t), you will see that there are infinite flavors which if you try and you will see that the vegan diet is anything but boring.
You can very easily find vegan recipe blogs on Google or find a vegan recipe for a dish you want. You can e.g. search for “vegan pizza”, “vegan moussaka”, “vegan pastitsio”, “vegan gyros” etc.
Sometimes it can be a psychological issue, maybe stress from society’s pressure or some skeptical part of their mind telling them that they should eat animal products again because they had read many animal product propaganda articles and maybe they wanted to believe them and justify them. Some claim that they felt much better the exact moment that they ate animal products again. That is not scientifically supported. Instead, this is a psychological phenomenon called “placebo effect”. In this phenomenon people feel that their health is improving after receiving a treatment, but that treatment was fake or non-existent. This is because they already had the belief (and will) that this fake treatment would work and so their brain produced a subjective perception of a healing effect.
Especially for those who didn’t care about animals and put their luxury above any logic and morality, who want everything and are not happy with anything, they might have wanted to “break out” and commit this “sin” to get away a burden off them and feel better, such as there are “cheat days” for overweight people who are on a diet but occasionally go back to eating lots of sweets, or people who are trying to quit smoking but still smoke once in a while, or alcoholics who, while trying to quit drinking, continue to drink a in the meantime, or as couples do who cheat on their partners to feel like “free spirits”, while they have taken sacred marriage vows under God’s eyes.
Like the above, meat eating is an addictive drug. Just because there are people who succumbed to their desires, that doesn’t mean those desires are healthy or morally justified.
In such cases we suggest joining vegan groups, making friends with vegans and sharing information so you don’t feel alone on this journey.
In many cases people who give up veganism, will of course say it was for health reasons and thus play the victim in order to get people to sympathize and support them, thus diverting attention from the real victims, who are the animals.
But if those people really cared about animals, they would have seen a nutritionist to find a way to stay vegan.
Over time it is natural for the demands of our bodies to change. We go through diseases, the climate changes, women can get pregnant, we exercise, we grow old. Thus, a diet plan that we followed in one phase of our life may not cover us in another phase.
So just as a non-vegan would change some foods in their diet, a vegan can do the same.
Just because someone is an omnivore, does not mean that they eat healthily and that they definitely get all the necessary nutrients. How come there are so many nutritionists who have jobs and there are nutritional supplement companies who have money to put ads on the Metro? They certainly don’t make their profits off of some vegans.
Also, what about all those ex-meat eaters who felt better after going vegan?
From the above it seems that there is a hypocritical treatment of veganism, because:
- when some vegans say they have a health problem, people immediately jump to the conclusion that veganism is unhealthy, but
- when tens of thousands of non-vegans have a health problem and suffer/die from diseases, then people conclude that they didn’t take care of their health – but why not say the same about the vegan? That the vegan might also have neglected his/her health because of laziness?
This is called “double standards”.
I've found research online that debunks everything vegans say.
There can be many studies on the internet, from different time periods, funded by industries with different interests, with different samples of people (smaller or larger), that lasted for different periods of time, which can prove anything. That is, some surveys are more reliable and others less reliable.
Since there are many vegans (including athletes) who have proven that a vegan diet can work for everyone, if we consider the benefits of a vegan diet in protecting the environment and animals, then it is definitely worth a try.
When we search on google to find information about health and diet, it is also good to know this little known, but important fact. In 2019 Google was bought by a pharmaceutical company and became one as well. Since then, they have been censoring information on natural health among other things, deleting some pages, and making others invisible.
https://thefedupdemocrat.home.blog/2019/07/07/google-is-now-a-pharmaceutical-company/
And that’s not all they are censoring. They have been accused and sued for swaying results in politics, for monopolizing digital advertising technologies and more.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/11/04/goog-n04.htm
Next to Big Pharma, meat and dairy industries are one of the biggest in the world and it is not surprising that when you type in google search ‘is meat healthy’, you will get numerous results on its health benefits. Most of those articles and studies have been funded by the meat and dairy industry themselves.
https://nutritionfacts.org/blog/the-dairy-industrys-misleading-study-designs/
https://ffacoalition.org/articles/meat-money-how-the-meat-and-dairy-industry-fund-scientific-research
On top of that, social media gurus like carnivoremd and other meat eating enthusiasts and influencers are misrepresenting data, relying on a single study and often without a quantitative synthesis of the presented evidence, or showing only parts of the relevant studies, thus misleading people who want to eat healthy and make positive changes in their lives.
On the other hand, physicians like Dr Mathew Nagra and Dr Michael Greger go deep into studies databases, looking at meta analysis, peer reviewed research studies and cohort studies, making sure that no lie and false claim goes undebunked. They rely on the totality of evidence – something everyone should do when making health research or giving advice on social media.
And no worries. Since it’s hard to get to proven, unbiased science based information, we will share several health web sites from renowned doctors giving relevant, uncensored information and independent studies on health and diet.
Dr Greger
https://nutritionfacts.org/
Dr Mcdougall
https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/
Dr Fuhrman
https://www.drfuhrman.com/position-papers
Dr Neal Barnard
https://www.pcrm.org/
Dr Milton Mills
https://drmiltonmillsplantbasednation.com/
Dr Campbell
https://nutritionstudies.org/whole-food-plant-based-diet-guide/
Dr Zach Bush
https://zachbushmd.com/knowledge-base/
Dr Caldwell Esselstyn
https://www.dresselstyn.com/site/
Dr Garth Davis
https://proteinaholic.com/
Dr. Will Bulsiewicz
https://www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/fiber-fueled-cookbook-will-bulsiewicz-md/
https://theproof.com/building-a-healthy-gut-with-dr-will-bulsiewicz/
Dr. Michael Klaper
https://www.doctorklaper.com/
If you are still in doubt and don’t know who to trust, remember that some studies may lie, but our physiology, biology and anatomy do not. According to all our characteristics, we are 100% herbivores. If you want to learn more about it, you can check out a lecture from Dr Milton Mills called ‘Are we designed to eat meat?’ He has been dealing with this topic for decades and goes in depth on the compared anatomy between carnivores, omnivores and herbivores.
You can do your own experiment with the vegan diet and draw your own conclusions.
We are at your disposal to help you with whatever you may need.