Why Eating Vegan Might Not be a Gamechanger?

Going vegan is trendy these days. That’s thanks in no small part to the popularity of the Netflix documentary ‘The Gamechangers’, which featured a number of high profile athletes, including strength athletes, who had ‘gone green’, apparently with amazing results. Along with the rush to ditch the meat, however, have come some serious reservations from nutritionists and dietitians. In this article we take a look at some of those concerns and present 4 reasons why going vegan might not be a game-changer after all.

Vegan Diets are Low in Vitamin B12 & Iron
Vitamin B12 is essential for health and vitality. It affects our energy levels, our mood, our thinking and even our memory. When we are lacking in Vitamin B12, we will suffer from fatigue. Yet plant sources are largely deficient in B12. Those that are said to contain them, such as seaweed, fermented soy, and spirulina actually contain analogs of B12 known as cobamides. These actually block the absorption of B12.

It’s hardly surprising that studies consistently show a Vitamin B12 deficiency among vegans. To maintain healthy levels of B12, you simply must eat animal food sources. 

Getting iron from plant sources is another problem. Iron derived from plants is not as well absorbed as that from animal meats. This is another contributor to low energy levels among vegans.

Vegan Diets Provide Lesser Quality Proteins
The amino acids in proteins are the body’s building blocks. The nine amino acids that the human body cannot manufacture are called essential and must be derived from the diet. Very few plant sources provide all nine of them, unlike animal protein sources. Even with those few that do, the amino acids are not absorbed by the body in the same way as with animal proteins. To be able to absorb the essential amino acids, the body needs all of them, in the same amounts and at the same time. In plants, many of the essential amino acids are not loaded to the amounts required for efficient absorption by the body. 

The body of a vegan will compensate for the lower quality of amino acids entering the system by wasting less protein and recycling proteins. This makes the body work a lot harder. People who are actively trying to gain muscle mass or improve strength levels will, inevitably, be compromised by the lesser quality of proteins that are part and parcel of a vegan diet.

Vegan Diets Are Low in Vitamin K2
We all know that calcium is required for strong bones. But few people appreciate the importance of Vitamin K2. It transports the calcium to the bones. That means that, without sufficient quantities of this vitamin, all the calcium you consume will never make it to your bones. With nowhere to go, it will pile up in your arteries. 

You cannot get Vitamin K2 from plants, with the exception of a fermented soybean product called natto. Unfortunately, most people cannot stand the taste of it. To get a healthy dose of K2 you need to be eating such animal fat sources as egg yolks, milk and cheese. 

Vegan Diets Rely on Soy
Although vegan diet options have diversified in recent times, soy is still regarded as a key player. Yet, soy has been recognised as being problematic due to its phytoestrogen content. By mimicking estrogen, phytoestrogen causes a cascade of hormonal imbalances. Among other things this will escalate your estrogen levels dramatically. In one study infants who were fed on soy formula were seen to have estrogen levels that were between 13,000 and 22,000 times higher than those who were fed on cow’s milk formula.

Wrap Up
Jumping on the vegan trend may be the popular thing to do right now. However, facts don’t care about popularity. And the facts make it clear that humans were designed to eat a mixture of food types. Thing about reducing your meat intake, while still nourishing your body with the essentials it requires.