When veganism is the unhealthy choice
May 22nd, 2007 by Cliff Bostock in Food & LifeIn the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when there was utterly no treatment for the disease, people tried all kinds of remedies. One of them was the macrobiotic diet, comprised mainly of grains and vegetables.
The diet was disastrous for most. Since it is so low-calorie, it actually contributed to the wasting that is part of the disease. Most people I knew abandoned it at their doctors’ insistence.
The vegan diet, although less restrictive than macrobiotics, also poses problems. Two vegan parents were convicted of murder here recently when their infant son died after being fed mainly soy milk and apple juice.
The New York Times (subscription-only) published a column, “Death by Veganism,” Monday, May 21. Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why, explains the dangers of a vegan diet for babies and adults. She notes:
Indigenous cuisines offer clues about what humans, naturally omnivorous, need to survive, reproduce and grow: traditional vegetarian diets, as in India, invariably include dairy and eggs for complete protein, essential fats and vitamins. There are no vegan societies for a simple reason: a vegan diet is not adequate in the long run.
The fact remains, though, that humans prefer animal proteins and fats to cereals and tubers, because they contain all the essential amino acids needed for life in the right ratio. This is not true of plant proteins, which are inferior in quantity and quality — even soy.
A vegan diet may lack vitamin B12, found only in animal foods; usable vitamins A and D, found in meat, fish, eggs and butter; and necessary minerals like calcium and zinc. When babies are deprived of all these nutrients, they will suffer from retarded growth, rickets and nerve damage.
May 22nd, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Debating a vegan in college, I asked if she believed Darwin’s Theory of Evolution to be correct. She did….of course, rightly since it is fact that we do evolve. I then asked her what the two pointy teeth near the front of our mouths (the “vampire looking” ones) are called and what they are for……I then explained they were called canines and are there to grip meat so it can be ripped from a bone… then explained they came to be through decades of evolution ….becasue of survival of the fittest and all, the omnivore humans preaviled and dominated..
She was speechless….and weakened by the effort due to her insufficient intake of animal proteins and B12 HAHAHAHAHAHA
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I have been vegan for 13 years, for the most part, and I am healthier than most of the people i know. Why is that? Because burgers and cheese are not always the best decision. Neither are chips, candy or soda, which some vegans can also choose eat, but most elect not to because they are health-conscious. Health doesn’t mean diet alone, it means lifestyle, supplements, being accepting of others and their decisions (including dietary ones), and many other things. I think that in a day of mineral deprived soil, breath taking pollution, and water swimming with chemicals, everyone could stand to balance their diet with supplements, which would certainly aid the few vegans who feel that they are in need of specific vitamins, as well as anyone else who gives a damn about their bodies. It would be pointless to bring up the many health concerns that meat eaters face, and how many deaths are caused by animal consuming diets.
To add to your fun facts about culture: humans are the only species that consume dairy after infancy, as well as the only species that consistently relies on another species for milk. Plus, I think most people would go defend a dog that was just kicked by another person, don’t you? well, how is being vegan any different than that reaction? it’s called compassion.
To be honest, i think your tactic for coming up with a controversial subject to up your readership is trite, jaded, and quite frankly, lame. You want people to read this entry not because of your facts, not because of any type of fair representation of two sides, and certainly not because of your writing skills… but because of a cheap tactic that anyone can employ, and many many have before you. Better luck next time, buddy.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:55 pm
One of the issues with excerpting from an article as nuanced as the NYT piece on vegan eating is that it is impossible to illustrate the balance of the original piece, which was careful to state the benefits of careful veganism, which it illustrated by profiling a healthy vegan family.
[disclosure: former CL employee, current AAN employee, permanent food dork]
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Obviously, yes, I’m stressing what’s of concern in the context of a sensational local court case. The news tie-in, you know? Read the headline. It doesn’t say veganism is all bad, any more than saying a macrobiotic diet is of dubious value for people with AIDS means the diet is bad for everyone.
May 24th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Anyone can thrive on a vegan diet, but no one can survive on a starvation diet. Take a look at the letter from the nutritionist who testified in the trial of the parents of Crown Shakur.
“I [Amy Joy Lanou] am a nutritionist who testified as an expert witness for the prosecution in the criminal trial of the parents of Crown Shakur. As the lead prosecutor in this case told the jury, this poor infant was not killed by a vegan diet. He was starved to death by parents who did not give him breast milk, soy-based infant formula or enough food of any kind.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/opinion/l23vegan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin