As I have written before there are many theories about what
makes a proper human diet. And, what
makes it more confusing is that you can always find a study to support each
theory. One of the main arguments is
whether or not humans should eat meat.
From my personal experience and that of my clients I believe that we
should. Yet at the same time I believe
that a vegan or vegetarian or plant based diet can be very good for someone for
a particular period of time. It can be
healing.
But, here are some key questions. What is the plant based diet being compared
to? What did the person eat before? Is the diet in and of itself healthy and providing
all the nutrients or is it just cleaning up what was there? The answer could be yes, no, or maybe. Will this same diet provide long term
health? What is the significance of the
age the diet is started?
When we discuss animal product the most important question
is the source. It is a healthy animal
raised in a healthy manner? Or, is it a
factory farmed animal raised in confinement on hormones, antibiotics, and food
that it would not eat in nature? All of
this makes a huge difference.
From my own personal experience I was a vegetarian for five
years before studying nutrition. Yes, on
that diet I certainly became healthier.
I got my weight down from over 180 pounds to 150. However, I still suffered from seasonal
asthma and needed an inhaler; I had virgin teeth that cracked; I could not get my weight below 150; I had
high triglycerides levels; and less than optimal cholesterol levels . Once I started
to consume animal products from healthy sources my weight got down to 140, I
don’t have the seasonal asthma, and my triglycerides and cholesterol are in
healthy ranges.
At the end of the day diet is a personal choice. My personal belief and from my studies and
experience I believe that we need food that has animal origin. Some of this will be explained below. Also, there are many definitions of
“vegetarian” and what that specific person will or will not eat. This is beyond the scope of this
article. The purpose of this article is informational
and to explain possible nutrient deficiencies that may occur in some
vegetarians from not eating sufficient animal product.
As we begin to explore these specific nutrients you will
notice one underlying theme. Vitamins
come in many forms. I’ll explain using
theoretical Vitamin X. While we may call
it Vitamin X (and the government allows it to be labeled as Vitamin X), this
Vitamin X has different chemistry in animals and plants. Since we are an animal, the animal form is
more bioavailable to us. The plant form
needs to be converted in our body into the animal form. Often times that process is not very
efficient and that is where potential deficiencies can begin.
Also, I will not detail the functions of the various
nutrients in this article. I will
provide links to other articles for that information.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is also known as Beta-carotene. But, it gets
confusing because they are not the same substance! Vitamin A (more
specifically called Retinol) is found only in animal products, such as butter,
egg yolks, liver, organ meats and shellfish. Beta-carotene is found in
plant food, such as carrots, red bell peppers, sweet potatoes, winter squash,
and leafy greens (collard greens, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, turnip
greens). For the animal product to be a good source of Vitamin A, the
animal needs to be eating green foods, such as cows eating green grass.
When we consume Beta-carotene from plants (or vitamin
supplements) our body has to convert it into Vitamin A. And guess what -
we aren't that efficient in doing that. A variety of conversion ratios
have been found based on different populations and experiments. The bottom line is that some people convert
better than others. In fact, it may be
nearly impossible to eat the amount of vegetables required to actually get what
we need on daily basis.
It has also been found that large doses of beta-carotene
supplements have led to increases in cancer mortality and total mortality in
human trials. It was found that these
massive doses increased oxidative stress and stimulated the production of
enzymes that degraded true vitamin A. This caused a cellular vitamin A deficiency
and the resulting cancer.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D – the “vitamin du jour” as I like to say. It certainly is in the news almost every day
and it even has its very own “council” (The Vitamin D Council). I don’t think any other vitamin has achieved
that status! Let me cut through the
clutter for you – Vitamin D is very important and most of us don’t get enough
of it – meat eaters and vegetarians!
When we discuss Vitamin D we need to understand there are
two main forms. Humans and animals
synthesize vitamin D3 in their skin from exposure to the Sun. Vitamin D2 is found in some plant
foods, especially mushrooms that have been exposed to ultraviolet light. Studies
have shown that Vitamin D2 may be five to ten times less effective
at supporting long-term nutritional status.
In addition, Vitamin D is “fat soluble.” That means you need fat for it to be properly
utilized by the body. Many vegetarian
diets are low in fat diet. This may
impact their ability to effectively utilize the Vitamin D.
Where do we get Vitamin D?
The number one source is the Sun.
It is also found in eggs, fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines, tuna,
and trout), liver, and milk products.
Vitamin K2
Vitamin K also comes in two forms: K1 and K2.
Vitamin K1 is found in green plants, while vitamin K2 is
found in animal fats and fermented foods. One of these fermented foods is
natto, a soy food commonly consumed in Japan, but not elsewhere. Therefore, the vegetarian not eating natto
may be at risk for a deficiency of Vitamin K2.
Vitamin K - easy to remember - K is for "clotting",
well there is actually lots more to it! Vitamin K1 is known
for activating blood clotting. Vitamin K2
is used for all of vitamin K’s other functions, primarily bone mineralization.
Therefore, these two K vitamins are not
interchangeable.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 may be one of the most important of
all the B vitamins, particularly because only true bioavailable B12
comes from animal sources. There is no such thing as "vegan" or
"vegetarian" B12 as far as your body goes. Most
supplements supply cyanocobalamin and call it B12. In this chemical each molecule of B12
is attached to a molecule of cyanide. Since vitamin B12 detoxifies
cyanide by binding it and causing its excretion in the urine, this form has
poor bioavailability in most people.
Vitamin B12 needs along with it what is known as
"intrinsic factor" which comes from animals. Fortunately B12
(as other B vitamins) will store in the body, but over time you can become
deficient. In fact, a good friend of mine, after years of being a
vegetarian has reintroduced more animal product into her diet after seeing a
live blood analysis showing a lack of B12 and a move towards anemia.
B12 is available from animal products such as
fish (halibut, salmon, scallops, shrimp, and snapper are best sources), lamb,
beef, organ meats, and yogurt. It is important for the blood, digestive,
hepatic, and nervous systems.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 occurs in three forms: pyridoxine,
pyridoxamine and pyridoxal. Plant foods contain pyridoxine, while animal foods
contain pyridoxal and pyridoxamine. The human body requires pyridoxal for most
functions, pyridoxamine for a few others. Pyridoxine has no role in the human body
but can be converted into the other two forms in the liver using vitamin B2.
Therefore, the plant form of vitamin B6 in order
to be useful to the body depends upon the status of vitamin B2. Also, as you would likely expect vitamin B2
levels tend to be higher in animal foods so again the vegetarian is at risk
with their plant based diet. Another
issue with plant foods is that much of their B6 is bound up with
sugars that make it difficult or impossible to absorb. So we have both B2
and B6 risks.
Vegetarians should select plant foods that have the least
amount of their pyridoxine bound up in sugar complexes. Bananas are an
excellent source because the sugar-bound form is low, their total content is
comparable to many meats, and they are typically eaten raw. Most plant foods
are relatively poor sources, however, and B6 intake would be much
higher on a mixed diet including muscle meats, seafood and organ meats.
The best plant sources are bananas, mushrooms, nutritional
yeast, and wheat germ. The best animal
sources are fish (cod, halibut, snapper, salmon, and tuna), lean beef, organ
meats, and poultry.
Zinc
Zinc is present in both animal and plant foods. As is the theme of this article it all comes
down to its bioavailability once in the human body. While zinc is present in grains, legumes,
fruits and vegetables, it is found in much lower concentrations compared to
animal foods. In addition, zinc absorption in the body is inhibited by plant
compounds such as phytate, oxalate, polyphenols and fiber, and enhanced by
compounds present in meat. It is possible for a well planned vegetarian diet to
escape zinc deficiency, it is difficult to maintain a truly healthy zinc status
without eating animal foods.
Zinc we are often told is good for the immune system.
True, but apparently viruses like it too! What does that mean?
Taking that zinc lozenge may not always be the best idea if it is a virus you
are fighting.
Animal sources of zinc are Cheddar cheese, lamb, lean beef and pork, liver,
milk, poultry, seafood (crabs, oysters,
shrimp), and yogurt. Plant sources of
zinc are almonds, beets, carrots, cashews, green peas, mushrooms, peanuts,
pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, spinach, wheat germ, and whole grains.
Essential Fatty Acids
The essential fatty acids are better known as the “omega”
family, featuring the 3’s, 6’s, and 9’s.
These are polyunsaturated fats and whenever we hear the word “essential”
in nutrition it means that we must eat these nutrients, as our body does not
manufacture them. We need all the
essential fatty acids. The issue here
again is balance. Omega 6’s are
considered “pro-inflammatory” while Omega 3’s are “anti-inflammatory.” And you guessed it – the vegetarian diet is
more prone to Omega 6’s.
Our body was
designed to consume the Omega 3’s and 6’s in relatively equal amounts (you’ll
see anywhere from 1:1 to 2:1 Omega 6’s to 3’s in the nutrition literature),
most Americans are in the 20:1 to 50:1 ratio.
Why? Omega 6’s are found heavily
in grains – the foods featured in many vegetarian diets. Omega 3’s are found in cold water wild fish,
something not too prevalent in most vegetarian diets. In fact, vegetarians have 30 percent lower
levels of EPA and DHA than omnivores, while vegans have over 50 percent lower
EPA and almost 60 percent lower DHA.
Plant sources of the essential fatty acids include: black
current seed oil, evening primrose oil, flaxseed, lecithin, linseed oil, sesame
seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, wheat germ, and winter squash. Animal sources include seafood (halibut,
salmon, scallops, shrimp, snapper, and tuna) and grass-fed beef.
There are a few things you should know about flax
seeds. First, beware of the marketing
hype! If the flax seed is whole your body can not break it down. We can only work with flax seed in the form
of meal or oil. If you buy flax seeds
grind them up in a coffee grinder and store them in the refrigerator. As a polyunsaturated fat they go rancid very
quickly, so only grind up a small amount.
The ground flax you get in the store likely has preservatives added to
keep it “fresh”, but the oils are likely already rancid.
Second, we are told that flax seed contain Omega 3’s. This is true.
However it is not DHA or EPA meaning the body has to convert it. And guess what – once again this is not a
very efficient process in the body.
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and
Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create
individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Mequon, WI. To
learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call
(262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
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