Here we separate the solid science from the hype around the health benefits of a vegan diet.
Gwyneth Paltrow, the celebrity health queen, is unsurprisingly vegan.
So’s Venus Williams.
Kale, acai, alkaline water, gluten-free, anything-we’re ready to believe.
They declare that theWorld Health Organization(WHO) said eating meat is as carcinogenic as smoking.
(It isn’t, and the WHO didn’t.)
Or that eating an egg a day contributes as much to cardiac disease as smoking five cigarettes a day.
(Totally overblown, learn more about eggs and heart disease.)
OK, but is veganism really the dietary be-all and end-all?
Look into the individual claims and you’re likely to come away confused.
But others, including one gigantic Chinese research project, suggest that eggs may reduce heart disease risk.
Science as a whole does a good job of figuring out the world.
Individual studies, however, are often wrong-as much as 40 percent of the time.
So what does a lot of science say about veganism?
Two topics deserving of their own articles, so we won’t get into them here.
Second, eating vegan doesn’t automatically mean you’re eatingwell.
Nutter Butters are vegan.
Not to mention unfrosted Pop Tarts.
And even a junk-free vegan diet raises health concerns.
Vegans face similar concerns for adequate intake of iron, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and vitamin B12.
That last one is especially tricky.
B12 is almost completely absent from plant-based foods.
And, unfortunately, symptoms might not start showing up until you’ve been deficient for years.
Must Read:How Vegans Can Get the Nutrients They Need
Is veganism the best diet?
Is going vegan, as many people claim today, the absolute best way to stay healthy?
Science’s current answer is far from definitive and isn’t particularly satisfying.
Yes,the vegan diet is good for you.
And you’re not likely to get a better answer than that anytime soon.
That’s all pretty good news.
More:Is Tofu Healthy?
Is it a vegan diet or something else?
Most dietary studies rely on observation.
It turns out that the vegans have better lab tests and less disease.
But did the veganism cause these effects?
That’s surprisingly hard to prove.
For example, vegans as a group have a lower BMI than typical Americans.
(That makes sense.
Just try and pack on the pounds on a well-planned vegan diet.)
High BMI contributes to heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
“And it would need to last a lifetime.
They would exclusively breastfeed and then their babies will pick up the baton and be the participants.
It’s never been done, it never will be done.”
And realistically, it doesn’t need to be.
But we do know that all of them seem to be spectacularly better than today’s average American diet.
But to get to your local seaweed purveyor you have to cross the most dangerous intersection in town.
Is there a net gain?
The Bottom Line
So what moves you?
Is it the possible reduction in disease risk?
Is it that you simply want toeat more vegetables-whichEatingWellwill always get behind?
Do you want to be more like Beyonce?
(We find our inspiration where we find it.)
Then you might want to go vegan.
But you’re not obeying a scientific imperative.
If you are making the switch, good luck.
Don’t let some hyper-carnivorous in-law lure you into an argument at you next family do.
(He’ll try.)
And take your B12.
