3 Reasons Why a Plant-based Diet Won’t Save You

Veganism is one of the most extreme diet ideas with a mix of religious beliefs, global politics, scientific dilemmas, and business gains. This might shock you: 90% of all vegans and vegetarians quit their diet. And guess what? They feel better and healthier afterwards. This should not surprise you.

 

 

Nutritional confusions

The average human is being subjected to a dozen cozy diets that never existed in our ancestral lineage. Veganism, vegetarianism, Mediterranean, carnivore, low-carbohydrate, low-fat, keto, and other types of diets. But here is the first thing to note before we dissect the plant-based diets: The Diets of the Healthiest Cultures in the World

 

Dr. Weston Price, in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, noted that among the healthiest cultures in the world, their diets consisted of healthy fats, meats, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, lacto-fermented foods, bone broth, and whole grains in their whole, unrefined state, as well as some raw foods of both animal and vegetable origin.

 

Dr. Price found that people eating this diet were free of diseases, dental decay, and mental illness.

 

The most nutrient-dense and bioavailable foods in the world are steak, meat organs, eggs, and fish. Abandoning these is a downhill way to weak health and uncontrolled cravings.

 

The most recent study published on the Maasai Traditional Food System revealed that the diets of this native tribe are rich in animal-based products, cereals, fruits, roots, and vegetables. Such a traditional food system was associated with a low prevalence of modern diseases such as heart disease, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and gout.

 

What you should know before going vegan

You should keep in mind that going vegan or plant-based is a way to restrict your diet. Animal products contain vital nutrients that are not found in plants. Meat, organ meats, and bone broth are full of important nutrients not contained in plant-based diets. They contain important amino acids, which too have become lost in the modern diet.

 

Here are three (3) reasons that plant-based diets might not improve your health:

1. Modern vegetables and fruits are loaded with chemicals

You are not eating the corn, legumes, and pulses you ate years ago. The inevitable application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, and food preservatives makes plants a mini-store for more than 30 chemicals. Most of them are known for their potential to disrupt your hormones, harm good gut bacteria, cause cancer, and other types of modern diseases.

 

Besides the chemical content in modern plant-based diets, there is also an alarming concern about genetically modified seeds. There is no clear evidence that such produce does not carry serious health effects for the consumer.

 

Modern fruits are loaded with sugar; for instance, you have to eat eight oranges to get the same nutritional value as you would get from a single fruit 50 years ago.

 

2. Presence of large amounts of Anti-nutrients

Most cereals and legumes contain anti-nutrients. These are compounds found in plant sources that interfere with nutrient absorption and utilization in the body. Such anti-nutrients include gluten, lectins, oxalates, phytates, and enzyme inhibitors.

 

Gluten, found mostly in wheat, causes intestinal permeability and a list of autoimmune conditions.

 

Phytates commonly found in soybeans reduce the amount available for absorption of vitamins A, D, and E, and minerals such as calcium, zinc, magnesium, and iron, leading to significant nutritional deficiencies in people who consume a lot of soy foods.

 

Soy-based foods – including milk, meat, and burgers – produce a chemical known as phytoestrogen, which drives up the production of the female hormone estrogen. It is associated with hormonal disturbances, weight gain, and cancer.

 

Soy has also been found to interfere with the utilization of iodine, leading to goiter.

 

3. Lack of some essential nutrients

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. You need at least 150 grams of protein for the optimal functioning of your body. This is your daily intake.

 

Plant-based proteins, including legumes, comprise the second class. The first-class proteins, the animal-based type, have a full amino acid profile. They contain all 20 amino acids, including the nine (9) essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized by your body.

 

 

These essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

 

You need a full list of amino acids for the synthesis of cellular components, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies. You need them for building muscle mass, which provides anti-aging benefits. Whenever a particular amino acid is lacking in the process of protein synthesis, the whole process is broken. You can’t optimally function at a cellular level while you miss the most important amino acids only present in animal sources. Vegans are at risk of developing amino acid deficiency.

 

Vitamin B₁₂ is also another important nutrient missing in vegan dishes. You need the vitamin for healthier red blood cells and neuron cells.

 

Other vital nutrients missing from plant-based diets are creatine, vitamin D₃, carnosine, and taurine. You need these for the proper functioning of your muscles, heart, and brain.

 

Still want to go plant-based? Consider doing the following:

You may still consider going vegan for a few reasons. The following tips will help you maximize your nutritional requirements:

 

Get your right supplements

Supplements are a good way to ensure you get all the nutrients that are required by the body but are missing from your plant-based diet. You can supplement with free-form amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, creatine, vitamin B₁₂, vitamin D₃, and taurine.

 

Prepare your food the right way

Soaking, fermenting, and heating are traditional food preparation techniques that reduce the anti-nutrients contained in whole grains and legumes. Soaking neutralizes the phytates and enzyme inhibitors. Fermentation makes grains easy to digest and increases the availability of nutrients for availability. Soak legumes and grains for seven hours or more before cooking.

 

Avoid industrially prepared cereals and plant-based meat and milk

Packaged cereals are prepared from grains at high temperatures with added seed oils and sugar. This process makes boxed cereals toxic. Soy meat, sausages, and milk contain preservatives and other contaminants that are highly toxic.

Whenever possible, choose organic foods over the genetically modified.

 

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