the diets Vegans became popular over time and more than a diet, it became a Lifestyle for many people. They reject the consumption of foods of animal origin and instead choose to eat only plant-based. This idea arises from ethical and moral issues, such as animal welfare, etc., but what repercussions does having a vegetarian diet have on your health?
According to recent studies, it is estimated that the population of vegetarians and vegans is growing in western countries. In India, 35% of the population follow a diet vegetarian Due to cultural and religious traditions, in the United Kingdom and the United States it is estimated that 3% of the population is vegetarian, while in Germany it would reach 1.6%.
According to Jesús Román, president of the Spanish Society of Dietetics and Food Sciences, he talked about the reality of being a vegan. “It is a complicated diet that if you decide to adopt it, you have to do it with sufficient knowledge”, indicated the specialist. Also, when doing this eating plan associated with negative health effects, such as deterioration of bone health.
Vegetarian practice may jeopardize adequate levels of intake of macronutrients such as proteinomega-3 fatty acids, micronutrients such as iron, zinc, iodine and vitamins such as vitamin D and vitamin B12.
What is being vegan?
A person is defined as a vegan radically excludes the consumption of meat, including poultry or marine species, or products that contain it; which is based on: beans, cereals, seeds, fruits, vegetables, oils of vegetable origin, water and proteins of vegetable origin, such as: wheat, tofu and tempeh. Some people try to replace flavors in common preparations in order to match the flavor of meat.
Now, veganism is not just about in a change of how to eat, if they are not habits that permanently excludes meat from meals, but also the use and consumption of all products that are of animal origin in which there is a production process involved for any purpose, not just food. The elimination of one or several types of food, can suppose the restriction of some nutrient essential for the organism.
What is the difference between the vegan and vegetarian diet?
Many people believe that the vegan and vegetarian diet are the same, but with different terms, but these lifestyles are similar, but have a slight difference. in the vegan, radically excludes the consumption of meat and products of animal origin, both in the elaboration of products or as raw material for the preparation of a dish. On the other hand, with the vegetarian one it does not necessarily exclude the elaborations and/or products of animal origin.
A recent study carried out by the University of Oxford showed that people who do not eat any type of meat, vegans or vegetarians, have a 43% increased risk of fractures in any part of the body (total fractures) and an increased risk of site-specific fractures of the hips, legs and vertebrae, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.
What are the risks of following a vegan diet?
A team of researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Bristol, UK, analyzed data from nearly 55,000 people in the EPIC-Oxford study between 1993 and 2001, of whom 1,982 were vegan. Participants were followed up continuously for an average of 18 years, until 2016, to detect the occurrence of fractures.
During the time of the study, there were 3,941 total fractures, including 566 arm, 889 wrist, 945 hip, 366 leg, 520 ankle, and 467 fractures at other major sites, defined as the clavicle, ribs, and vertebrae. They deduced that a vegan diet weakens the bone system, making it more fragile or vulnerable to fractures.
In another study, it was also found that this type of diet can generate repercussions in health such as anemia or alterations of the nervous system that can endanger the life of the person. The rest of the nutrients, except in specific cases, can be covered with a healthy diet.
“Anyone at any stage of life can be vegan without any health risk and covering the total daily energy and nutrient requirements”, specified Andrea Calderón, dietitian-nutritionist, scientific secretary of the Spanish Society of Dietetics and Food Sciences (SEDCA). However, in this diet it is essential to always supplement with vitamin B12, since it is not found in any plant food.
The specialist Clara Joaquim, from the Nutrition group of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN), that to avoid health complications, a food plan must be well structured: “A poorly planned and non-supplemented vegan diet can be dangerous at all stages of life, although obviously in stages of growth and development and in those elderly or sick people it carries more risks”he commented.