Lucía Martínez Argüelles is a well-known clinical nutritionist and science communicator specializing in the vegetarian and vegan food sector. In 2016 she released her pinnacle work, vegetarians with sciencewhich has become a real best seller even translated into Chinese. Throughout these years he has also published, together with Ediciones Paidós, other outstanding works such as Conscientious Vegetarians: A Survival Manual in 2018 and What do I feed him? together with the dietitian-nutritionist and food technologist Aitor Sanchez.
Nevertheless, science has continued to advance over the years. And with it, new studies and scientific evidence regarding the vegetarian and vegan diet have emerged. In this way, in 2022 a renewed version of the original work of the author of the blog has been published tell me what you eat under the title Vegetarians with more science. This book by Lucía Martínez includes more than 50% of totally unpublished and renewed content that will give you great arguments to refute the brother-in-law on duty who continues to think that plant-based diets are poor in protein, iron, calcium, vitamin D or other nutrients.
The vegetarian diet is still surrounded by myths
This is how Lucia herself explained it in a recent interview for the The Eating Podcast: “I have been answering the same questions for 12 years. Why do people become vegetarian? And what about proteins? So we can’t eat meat anymore? I’m fed up.” However, this uneasiness has not prevented Lucía deal masterfully all these questions and many others in his new book. Work that, by the way, takes the colors out of all the outdated and outdated arguments that have traditionally been used to debunk the validity of vegetable diets.
The eight chapters contained in Vegetarians with more science They make us delve into some of the most widespread myths about 100% plant-based diets. Myths that, to tell the truth, continue to be dogmas for many people despite science telling us otherwise. Today there are no compelling reasons to doubt that a vegetarian diet is perfectly compatible with health. Of course, as long as it is well planned. But exactly the same as with an omnivorous diet. Feeding yourself based on chorizos and steaks does not exactly guarantee maximum healthiness.
Vitamin B12 supplementation in vegetarians
Another critical point in vegetarian diets is the famous vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 It is a micronutrient that our body needs to ingest in a mandatory way, since the human being is not capable of synthesizing it by itself. In this way, vitamin B12 is usually ingested through foods of animal origin such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. Nonetheless its origin is not animal, but that vitamin B12 is obtained from certain bacteria located in the soil that animals consume through the grass. In the current context of livestock, it is usually supplemented by animal feed.
But what about people who don’t eat these foods? Well, they must get vitamin B12 through another route: supplementation. Currently, the intake of vitamin B12 as cyanocobalamin in a single weekly intake or megadoses of 2000 micrograms is postulated as the best option for vegan people, and also vegetarians. Yes that’s how it is. Non-vegetarian people should also supplement even if they consume foods such as dairy and eggs. The amounts of vitamin B12 that these foods provide are minimal and incompatible with a healthy and varied diet that includes other groups of healthy foods such as legumes, whole grains, nuts, vegetables, fruit or vegetables.
Food | Amount of vitamin B12 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Boiled egg (50g) | 0.6 micrograms | |||
Semi-skimmed milk (100 g) | 0.4 micrograms | |||
Plain yogurt (125g) | 0.37 micrograms | |||
Soft cheese (100 g) | 1.4 micrograms | |||
Cured cheese (100 g) | 1.5 micrograms |
Source: BEDCA, collected in Vegetarians with more science.
“We see that it would be necessary to consume more than six eggs to comply with the updated EFSA recommendations. It’s quite unfeasible, don’t you think?” explains Lucía. Regarding milk, she also comments the following: “We would need about four and a half glasses to reach the EFSA recommendations. The recommendations of the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) since 2015 for vitamin B12 are 4 micrograms per day for those over fifteen years of age, 4.5 micrograms in the case of pregnant women and 5 micrograms in the case of lactating mothers”.
In this way, for years it has also been recommended that ovolactovegetarians, ovovegetarians or lactovegetarians supplement with vitamin B12 frequently. It is the most sensible thing to prevent deficits and possible future problems. On the other hand, if you’re wondering what the heck all these recently discussed tongue-tied words mean, you’ll find the answer below.
What does flexitarian mean?
We shouldn’t have too many complications to understand, throwing a bit of grammar, which implies being an “ovo-lacto-vegetarian”, “ovo-vegetarian” or “lacto-vegetarian” person. Indeed, it means respectively that they are acceptable in the diet: dairy and eggs, only eggs or only milk, in that order.
On the other hand, there is a term that irritates and outrages Lucía Martínez in equal parts. It is the “flexitarian” concept. In the strictest sense of the word, a flexitarian person is one who follows all the patterns of the previously mentioned vegetable diets, but who also consumes meat or fish sporadically. Something that, for the specialist, means absolutely nothing.
“It’s a term that doesn’t really say anything. We can consider flexitarians people who eat meat a couple of times a week, and also people who eat meat once a year at Christmas or on their birthday. When this term is used in scientific studies or papers It is very necessary for researchers to make this clear to us, and it is not always entirely clear. It can be confusing, and is sometimes a posturing term. It serves to feel better about yourself, and to continue eating what comes out of your nose but looking good, ”says Martínez. Finally, the dietician-nutritionist attacks with a forceful message for people adhering to this food system: “Stop being lukewarm. Stop being halfway. There are moral positions in which you cannot be ‘a little’. Do things right and switch to a 100% plant-based diet”.
In addition to the more nutritional aspects, Lucía Martínez also delves into other issues related to nutrition that surround plant-based diets. Animal abuse or sustainability These are aspects about which the book speaks openly. In this sense, the work stirs our deepest thoughts about these controversial issues in a brilliant way. And, above all, with scientific arguments that appeal to common sense. It is impossible that it does not make you think, even if you are a regular animal eater. I guarantee you that Vegetarians with more science Will not leave you indifferent. From here we highly recommend reading it. It is a literary fantasy.
Vegetarians with more science: Guide to a healthy 100% plant-based diet
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