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Nutrition authorities say that a properly planned vegan diet presents no significant nutritional problems. Supplementation is, however, highly recommended. [1]
There are several nutrients vegans should pay attention to. These include vitamin B12, iron and iodine: deficiencies in these are more likely following a vegan diet, and deficiencies of these have potentially serious consequences, including anemia, pernicious anemia, cretinism and hyperthyroidism.
[2]
Miret and colleagues 2009 report the development of sodium iron chlorophyllin
from mulberries which could replace heme iron to fortify foods .The use of
heme analogues from vegetable origin could provide an alternative iron source
of potentially high bioavailability. Sodium iron chlorophyllin is vegetal
semisynthetic chlorophyll derivative.
The authors substituted the magnesium in the porphyrin ring by iron. Sodium
iron chlorophyllin is stable under simulated gastrointestinal conditions and
is able to deliver bioavailable iron. The authors stress that it may be
inhibited with calcium. This combination should be avoided. The green colour
may be covered by the colour of chocolate bars or drinks. Another way to
fortify foods could be to combine it with the taste and colour of pistachio or
kiwi, suggest the authors. [3]
Polyphenol are antioxidants substances found in many fruits and
vegetables. They may prevent or delay certain types of cancer, enhancing bone
metabolism and improving bone mineral density, and decreasing risk of heart
disease. Okhee Hanand colleagues 2010 found that these antioxidants, however,
may decreased the amount of iron the body absorbs, and may cause iron deficiency.
Polyphenoles of grape seed extract and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) found
in green tea, bind to iron in the intestinal cells, forming a
non-transportable complex and is excreted in the faeces when cells are
sloughed off and replaced. Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutrient
deficiency in the world, especially in developing countries where little meats
is being consumed.
Bioactive dietary polyphenols inhibit heme iron absorption mainly by reducing iron exit rather than decreasing heme iron uptake in intestinal cells. The
heme form of iron is found in meats, poultry, and fish.
In a foregoing study the authors studied the uptake of non-heme iron found in
plants. The bioavailiability of non-heme iron was also found to be impaired by
grape seed extract and EGCG. [4]
Both studies suggest that people at high risk of developing iron deficiency,
such as pregnant women and young children, should look at this issue, when
taking polyphenols.
Nutritional supplements often contain high concentration of active ingredients
which surpass the natural content in foods by several times. This may lead to
unwanted results such as iron deficiency. Normal varied diet is therefore the
best to keep a healthy nutritional balance. [5]
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued the guidance on food labelling for vegans and vegetarians in 2006. These terms had not been defined by UK food labelling regulations. The FSA guidance was therefore welcomed by consumers and food industry. FSA definitions are:
"The term 'vegetarian' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten. 'Animals' means farmed, wild or domestic animals, including for example, livestock poultry, game, fish, shellfish, crustacea, amphibians, tunicates, echinoderms, molluscs and insects."
"The term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of animals or animal products (including products from living animals)." [5]
According to the UK FSA there are various reasons for people choosing vegetarian or vegan diets. Many prefer not to consume food that results from the slaughter of animals, or from animal products.
Others are concerned particularly about ethical methods of farming, transport, and slaughter. An individual's choice to be vegetarian or vegan may be based entirely on religious grounds. Some people are allergic or intolerant to particular animal products. Personal choice may be based on a combination of these factors.
The motives for individuals choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet are important, because they determine what particular foods or food ingredients are deemed to be acceptable. [6]
Campbell and colleagues found that rural China diets are substantially richer in foods of plant origin when compared with diets consumed in the more industrialized, Western societies.
The scientists came to the conclusion that chronic degenerative diseases are prevented by an aggregate effect of nutrients and nutrient-intake amounts that are commonly supplied by foods of plant origin, and that even small intakes of foods of animal origin are associated with significant increases in plasma cholesterol concentrations, which are associated, in turn, with significant increases in chronic degenerative disease mortality rates. [7] [8] citeIVU worldwide
According to FAO , the livestock sector generates 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent. This is more than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.
Global meat production is projected to more than double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 million tonnes in 2050, while milk output is set to climb from 580 to 1043 million tonnes.
FAO says that the environmental costs per unit of livestock production must be cut by one half, just to avoid the level of damage worsening beyond its present level, FAO in its Report suggests: controlling access and removing obstacles to
mobility on common pastures. Use of soil conservation methods and silvopastoralism, together with controlled livestock exclusion from sensitive areas; payment schemes for environmental services in livestock-based land use to help reduce and reverse land degradation. increasing the efficiency of livestock
production and feed crop agriculture. Improving animals' diets to reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions, and setting up biogas plant initiatives to recycle manure. Water improving the efficiency of irrigation systems. Introducing full-cost pricing for water together with taxes to discourage large-scale livestock concentration close to cities.
Other suggestions are to eat more vegetables. Meat consumption should de reduced by half. The vegetarians suggest to stop eating meat at all.
Vegetarianism means nutrition without any products from dead animals such as meat, poultry or fish.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat plant food plus dairy products and eggs.
Lacto vegetarians don't eat eggs but they eat diary products.
Vegans don't eat anything coming from an animal, therefore no diary products, eggs or honey for example.
Meat based nutrition requires 20 times more land and 14 times more water than a plant-based diet. The production of 1kg of meat requires 10-16 kg of cereals and other plant food.
70% of the world's water consumption is needed for the production of fodder. It has been calculated that to produce 4kg of meat, the amount of water needed is equal to what a normal family consumes in one year. Animal excrement which is responsible for half the pollution of our lakes, rivers and groundwater, amounts to 110t per second in Europe and America. 2/3 of it is liquid manure. The nitrate and ammonia in it contaminate our waters.
The evaporation of the ammonia from this liquid manure causes part of the acid rains, after having changed to nitric acid.
The most important reason why we should not eat meat: sentient, suffering creatures have to give their life for it. Every year 13 billion animals are slaughtered on earth. [9]
B. M. Popkin and S. Du used China as a case study and found large shifts in the composition of diets and obesity across the developing world noting that these changes are accelerating. The authors point out that in developing countries the prevalence of obesity is greater than that of undernutrition and concerns related to intake of saturated fat and energy imbalance must be considered more seriously by the agriculture sector which is focused on livestock promotion.
They come to the conclusion that although linkages between animal source foods intake and obesity cannot be established as clearly as they are for high animal source foods intakes, heart disease and cancer, the potential adverse health effects linked with an increased animal source foods intake should no longer be ignored. [5]
The animal origin of some ingredients may not be apparent from their names. For example, some additives may be carried on a gelatin base and therefore not be suitable for inclusion in a vegetarian or vegan diet. Food labelled as vegan or vegetarian may become contaminated during preparation, for example, outlets where deep fried food is cooked in oil that is used for both meat and non-meat products. This will not be apparent from the ingredients list.
General EU rules already prohibit misleading labelling (Article 2 of Directive 2000/13/EC and Article 16 of EC Regulation 178/2002. However, there are no specific rules at EU level on vegetarian or vegan labelling, and this subject is not currently under discussion at EU level.
Labelling food as suitable for vegetarian or vegans is entirely voluntary. However it does provide useful information to consumers and Government would not wish to discourage it.
Legislation, including sanctions, is already in place to protect consumers against misleading labelling. Current enforcement activities involve industry inspections of labels to ensure they are not misleading. The advice set out in the proposed Guidance provide an interpretation of what should be considered as a minimum standard when labelling food as 'suitable for vegetarians' or 'suitable for vegans' (or other similar claims). [10] [11]
According to Marcus Richards evidence increasingly suggests that intelligence is associated with health and survival, and intelligence could mediate the impact of adverse circumstances (such as overcrowding), influence the acquisition of factors that protect health, and reflect underlying biological mechanisms that regulate health. [12]
Ramakant Sharma does not agree with the study. He says that vegetarianism has nothing to do with IQ. He claims that 60% of the population of India is vegetarian, even so this population is not more intelligent than the western counterparts who eat meat. The incidence of Indian CAD is 7 times higher than the western population. Sharma says that vegetarianism is a cultural phenomenon and it should be looked as that only.
Sharma concludes that "vegetarian food is healthy" is a misconception. Probably, food has nothing to do with disease except malnutrition and deficiencies.
About 6% of the population of Germany are vegetarians. They want to avoid to harm animals, to avoid food waist as animal feed and last, but not least to reduce greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide emanating from animal breeding. FAO environmental scientist calculated the CO2 - equivalence of the different types of nutrition:
The global animal population produce approximately one fifth of greenhouse gases resulting from the activities of mankind. FAO stresses that this is more than the emission of global traffic. CO2 emission results from burning forests to prepare land for pastures and feed crops. Dung and liquid manure produce nitrous oxide. Ruminants such as cattle and sheep emit methane. Mechanized agriculture of rape and soy produce more CO2. Approximately 6 kilos of vegetable protein are necessary to produce one kilo animal protein. The Cornell University (Ithaca, USA) found in a study, that the production of one kilo milk protein needs 14 kilocalories of fossile energy, this is the same amount needed for the production of one kilo porc. The German Freiburger Öko Institute writes that 8 litres milk are necessary to produce 1 kilo cheese.
| Product |
Emission of |
|---|
| CO2 equivalece Cheese |
8 kilo |
|---|
| Meat |
6 kilo |
| Egg |
2 kilo |
| yoghurt |
1 kilo |
According to Jörg Michael Greef from the German from the Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtscaft. The world production of soy is 220 million tons. Germany imports 40 million tons. Three million tons are used for the production of edible oil and other applications. The main core of 37 millions tons are transformed in animal feed.
Soy farms built monocultures in USA, Argentina and Brazil, where they invade the tropical forest and savannahs. Centralised animal breeding, depending on soy are an environmental false step. Smaller units, depending on local feed are ecology friendly and create jobs. According to the Environmental Program of the United Nations UNEP, 83% of palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaisia. The consumption of Palm oil increases deforestation of these countries. [13]
In a survival analysis to assess the effect of meat consumption and meat type on the risk of breast cancer in the UK it was found that women, both pre- and postmenopausal, who consumed the most meat and processed meats had a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer.
According to Professor Janet Cade and colleagues from the University of Leeds, the high saturated fat content of the meat may be behind the apparent effects, with this kind of fat linked to cholesterol production which is a precursor for the female hormone oestrogen, linked to breast cancer risk.
The disease is, however not limited to red meat as sole cause, but many other factors may trigger breath cancer.
The authors found a 64 per cent greater risk of breast cancer for post-menospausal women which consumed more than 20 grams per day processed meat, such as as bacon, sausages, ham or pies. An increased risk of 56found in women of the same age, which consumed more than 57 gram red meat per day. In pre-menospausal women consuming more than 20 grams processed meat per day an increase of breast cancer of 20 percent, compared with none meat eating women.
The British Charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer denotes that there are other factors like age, weight, nutritional habits accounting for 30 per cent of the cases, and exercise which influence health. It is being emphasized that all women eat a balanced diet, limit alcohol consumption, exercise regularly and keep a healthy weight in order to maintain general good health. [14]
A systematic electronic literature search was conducted by Ho-Pham to verify the
association between vegetarian diets and bone mineral density. The authors found
that bone mineral density was approximately 4% lower in vegetarians than in
omnivores , and 6% lower in lumbar spine in vegans, whereas only 2% in
lactoovovegetarians. The results suggest that vegetarian diets, particularly
vegan diets, are associated with lower BMD, however it is not significant. [15]
Krivosikova and colleagues 2009 wrote that vegetarian diet is deficient in
vitamin B group, leading too hyperhomocysteinemia which,on its turn, is linked to increased bone turnover markers and increased fracture risk. The
authors stresses that hyperhomocysteinemia, vitamin B(12) and folate
deficiency are risk factors for micronutrient deficiency-related osteoporosis.
According to the authors homocysteine levels dependent on age as well as on
nutritional habits, and can be regarded is one of the predictors of bone mineral
density, homocysteine levels are. According to the data of the study elderly
women on a vegetarian diet are at higher risk of osteoporosis development than
nonvegetarian women.
[16]
Lee and Krawinkel 2009 described the body composition and nutrient intake of
Buddhist vegetarians nuns compared with omnivores Catholic nuns in South Korea. The found no height difference between both dietary groups, however, the
vegetarians had a significantly higher body weight, fat free mass, body fat and
body mass index than the omnivores. The authors stress that in vegetarians, body
fat was inversely correlated with the duration of vegetarianism.
[17]
Van Audenhaege and colleagues 2009 compare the pesticide residue dietary intake
of the French general population and the vegetarian population. The authors found
that the vegetarians are exposed to pesticides found in fruit, vegetables and
cereals, such as tri-allate, chlorpyrifos-methyl and diazinon. Except for
organochlorine compounds, the vegetarian population may be more exposed to
pesticide residues than the general population due to specific dietary habits.
Thus, this population should be considered for risk assessment of pesticide
residues. [18]
Liszt and colleagues report that vegetarian diet changed the faecal microflora in
quantity and quality regarding Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium and Clostridium
cluster IV. Both bacteria Faecalibacterium sp. and a strain similar to gut
bacterium DQ793301were more frequent in omnivores than vegetarians. Vegetarian
diet reduced the amount and diversity of Clostridium cluster IV. The authors
concluded that vegetarian diet changes the gut microbiota specifically in
relation to Clostridium cluster IV, and the effects of these shifts are unknown. [19]
In children vegetarian diets may bear risks with regard to growth, such as
anaemia. Malnutrition risks even increase with vegan diets. Hackett and
colleagues 1998 found that lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet is closer to recommendations
and children on this diets grow similar to omnivores. The authors call on the
industry to produce vegetarian convenience foods closer to recommendations.
Recommendations are to avoid excessive reliance on convenience foods, lack of
variety and lack of exercise. [20]
Tupe and Chiplonkar 2009 report that Indian schollgirls had inadequate intakes
of energy, protein, and micronutrients including zinc compared with the recommended
dietary intakes of India. The authors developed new cereal-based recipes of which
200g could fulfil 75% of the daily zinc requirement of adolescents and increase
the intake of other micronutrient. They call on zinc-rich recipes with high
bioavailability to counter zinc deficiency in adolescents.
[21]
Hartmann and colleagues 2009 point to the fact that even persons with normal
vitamin B12 concentrations may present signs of deficiency. The authors
recommend to measure methyl malonic acid (MMA) in urine of risk group for
deficiency which include pregnant, breast feeding women and infants. The
authors stress that prenatal and postnatal vitamin B12 deficiency can cause
severe irreversible neurological damage, and report of such cases caused by
unidentified pernicious anemia and by vegan diet of the mothers.
The researchers emphasize to measure MMA in the urine of all pregnant women to
detect vitamin B12 deficiency.
- 1
-
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Veganism.
- 2
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20025224.
Miret S, Tascioglu S, van der Burg M, Frenken L, Klaffke W.In Vitro Bioavailability of Iron from the Heme Analogue Sodium Iron Chlorophyllin. J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Dec 21. - 3
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http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/140/6/1117.
Ma Q, Kim EY, Han O: Bioactive Dietary Polyphenols Decrease Heme Iron Absorption by Decreasing Basolateral Iron Release in Human Intestinal Caco-2 Cells. J. Nutr., June 1, 2010; 140(6): 1117 - 1121. - 4
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http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/138/9/1647.
[2] Kim EY, Ham SK, Shigenaga MK, Han O: Bioactive dietary polyphenolic compounds reduce nonheme iron transport across human intestinal cell monolayers. J Nutr. 2008 Sep;138(9):1647-51. - 5
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http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/vegitermsria.pdf.
Food Standards Agency: Guidance on the use of the terms vegetarian and vegan in food labelling. - 6
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http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/59/5/1153S.
TC Campbell and C Junshi: Diet and chronic degenerative diseases: perspectives from China; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 59, 1153S-1161S. - 7
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http://www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/A0701E00.pdf.
Livestocks long shadow. Environmental issues and options. - 8
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http://www.european-vegetarian.org/evu/english/news/news.
Vegetarianism is Love for Animals and Humans Speech given at the demonstration for animal rights in Zurich, October 1996 by Sigrid De Leo. - 9
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http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/11/3898S.
B. M. Popkin and S. Du: Dynamics of the Nutrition Transition toward the Animal Foods Sector in China and its Implications: A Worried Perspective; J. Nutr., November 1, 2003; 133(11): 3898S - 3906. - 10
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Richards, Marcus: Childhood intelligence and being a vegetarian ; BMJ, Feb 2007; 334; 2216-217; doi:10.1136/bmj.39107.671412.80.
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Catharine R Gale, Ian J Deary, Ingrid Schoon, and G David Batty: IQ in childhood and vegetarianism in adulthood: 1970 British cohort study. BMJ, Feb 2007; 334:245 ; doi:10.1136/bmj.39030.675069.55.
- 12
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http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/334/7587/216#156886.
Sharma, Ramakant: IQ has nothing to do with vegetarianism. Rapid Responses Published to Marcus Richards Childhood intelligence and being a vegetarian BMJ 2007; 334: 216-217(5 February 2007). - 13
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http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v96/n7/abs/6603689a.html.
Taylor, E F; Burley; V J; Greenwood, D C and Cade J E: Meat consumption and risk of breast cancer in the UK Women's Cohort Study British Journal of Cancer. Volume 96, Pages 1139-1146 doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6603689. - 14
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19571226.
Ho-Pham LT, Nguyen ND, Nguyen TV: Effect of vegetarian diets on bone mineral density: a Bayesian meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Oct;90(4):943-50. Epub 2009 Jul 1. - 15
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19809862.
Krivosikova Z, Krajcovicova-Kudlackova M, Spustova V, Stefíkova K, Valachovicova M, Blazicek P, Nemcova T: The association between high plasma homocysteine levels and lower bone mineral density in Slovak women: the impact of vegetarian diet. Eur J Nutr.2009 Oct 7. - 16
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19713187.
Lee Y, Krawinkel M.: Body composition and nutrient intake of Buddhist vegetarians. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2009;18(2):265-71. - 17
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19707917.
Van Audenhaege M, Heraud F, Menard C, Bouyrie J, Morois S, Calamassi-Tran G, Lesterle S, Volatier JL, Leblanc JC.: Impact of food consumption habits on the pesticide dietary intake: Comparison between a French vegetarian and the general population. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2009 Oct;26(10):1372-88. - 18
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19641302.
Liszt K, Zwielehner J, Handschur M, Hippe B, Thaler R, Haslberger AG.: Characterization of Bacteria, Clostridia and Bacteroides in Faeces of Vegetarians Using qPCR and PCR-DGGE Fingerprinting. Ann Nutr Metab. 2009 Jul 27;54(4):253-257. - 19
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9670174.
Hackett A, Nathan I, Burgess L: Is a vegetarian diet adequate for children. Nutr Health. 1998;12(3):189-95. - 20
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19628369.
Tupe R, Chiplonkar SA.: Diet patterns of lactovegetarian adolescent girls: Need for devising recipes with high zinc bioavailability. Nutrition. 2009 Jul 21. - 21
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2689578.
Hartmann, Hans; Das, Anibh Martin; Lücke, Thomas: Correspondence (letter to the editor): Risk Group includes infants. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2009 April; 106(17): 290-291. Published online 2009 April 24. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2009.0291.
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