Is Plant Based Eating Healthy?
Going vegan- will it have negative long term impacts on your health?
Diet and nutrition can create a lot of emotional charge with political and social issues intertwined with what and how we eat. In this article I will spend the time looking at what the research tells us about plant based eating. How going vegan can impact your health and even how you can extend your lifespan.
This is one article in a series on plant based eating so if this is a change you’re considering stay tuned.
It’s worth mentioning that it’s a challenge to study the long term impacts of certain diets however one of the most referenced points when it comes to the science behind plant-based eating is the Seven Day Adventist health studies.
These are some of the most well-known, because when you look at the beliefs of this religious group, they really do see the body as being a temple. And they view the consumption of certain animal products as being unclean.
They also have very low rates of things like smoking and alcohol.
Plant based eating is strongly promoted in this Adventist community. There is a range of adherence to this in that some of them do consume dairy and eggs, some of them are completely plant based, but in the research, that's also broken down and documented.
Scientists have found things like chronic illnesses; diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and just all round mortality is significantly reduced in this particular study group.
It has been reported in different studies that their life expectancy can be up to 10 years longer than their average counterpart eating and consuming your typical western meat diet.
Blue Zones and plant based eating
I'm sure you've heard of something called the blue zones.
These are the areas with significantly higher percentages of centenarians. You may be interested in the book called The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner.
What scientists did essentially was look at these areas where people are living up to 100 and beyond.
They found areas like Loma Linda, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Sardinia in Italy, and also Okinawa in Japan.
Scientists looked at, how these people choose to live their life? What type of food they consume? their lifestyle? and how much exercise they’re doing.
What can we learn from these people that have these increased longevity and lower incidences of chronic illnesses and chronic diseases?
The types of diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease are largely influenced by what we eat and our lifestyle.
When we look at the blue zones and what they’re consuming, it is primarily a vegetarian diet.
For example in Sardinia, in Italy they do eat some whole wheat and barley, potatoes, and some dairy. They also consume a very common sourdough bread there as well, with different veggies and pulses and soups and things like that.
It’s reported that their meat intake rarely exceeds two to four servings per month, so very little meat consumed in that particular region. And when you look at Okinawa in Japan, they tend to consume a lot of green veggies. They also consume soybean-based products and foods like tofu, tempeh, and lots of different medicinal plants along with their root veggies.
Interestingly again, we see a very similar scenario where there's little to no animal product in their particular diet.
Do Vegans Get Enough Protein?
Looking at the macro food groups - carbs, fats and proteins, we know we get our calories from these three groups.
When we look at the breakdown in these blue zones, 65% of their calories come from carbohydrates, 20% of their calories come from fats, and then 15% come from proteins.
This is interesting because one of the questions that comes up time and time again for plant-based eaters is “where are you getting protein from? “and “ Are you getting enough protein?”
If we're looking at the blue zones or looking at how much protein they are consuming, and the relationship to health and longevity, it would suggest that maybe we don't need as much protein as what we are considering as being essential, food for thought for sure.
Another note worthy study, was a long-term study done on 65,000 people over an 8year period.
They found that vegetarians had a lower body mass index. They had lower incidences of hypertension, and also lower cancer rates as well. This is again a really interesting study that would definitely support the application of the plant-based diet when we're looking at longevity and health.
It’s not just about living longer, it’s about living longer and improving quality of life.
So, we want to live healthy and we want to live strong.
That's certainly what seems to be coming up and looking at this in this research.
What the scientists have to say about going vegan?
If you’re thinking about going vegan you want to start following Dr Dean Ornish and Dr Elizabeth Blackburn (Nobel Prize winner) both of whom are interested in plant based eating and longevity.
Elizabeth's scientific work is very much centered around telomeres - they’re like these little caps on the end of your chromosomes and it actually helped protect your genes.
And when we get older, it's associated with the degeneration of these telomeres.
The analogy that's often used is; at the end of your shoelaces, you've got those little plastic caps, and if those little plastic caps get worn away, then your shoelaces start to sort of fray at the end, and that's a good analogy for what happens with the telomeres and your genes.
Studies have actually shown that the length of your telomeres actually indicate the state of your health. Longer telomeres can equate to a longer healthier life. There's a book called the telomere effect cites lots of the research, Elizabeth Blackburn included.
It talks about this plant-based approach around fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and their ability to keep your telomeres healthy and young, which therefore contribute to your longevity.
A small five-year study was conducted. It was on 10 men who had a low risk for prostate cancer, and they followed the fundamentals of Doctor Dean Ornish’s healthy lifestyle. Primarily vegetarian diet.
What they found was that these men adhered to these fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle, as prescribed by Doctor Danish, had longer telomeres than the control group who didn't adhere to this sort of lifestyle protocol. That's interesting, and again, coming back to that principle of a plant-based diet.
Limiting the amount of damage done on the cellular level and that in relation to how we age.
Test Don’t Guess…
One of the most common issues I see with my plant based eaters are nutrient deficiencies and these can have a significant impact on your long term health.
It’s essential to have yearly checkin’s with a health practitioner who can refer you for functional pathology so you can catch deficiencies early and avoid significant fall outs from not getting adequate vitamins and minerals.
This becomes even more important when you’re pregnant or trying to fall pregnant or if under a fair amount of stress this includes physical or psychological stress as your demand for certain nutrients will increase.
A plant based nutritionist or naturopath can also give you clear dietary guidelines based on your individual needs. If you’re just starting out with a plant based diet, it’s a good idea to check your baseline. So start taking stock and book yourself in with someone who’s familiar with plant based eating.
Top 5 vegan foods to help keep you healthy
The top foods that they actually mentioned in the study is also note worthy.
As a naturopath I recommend them to many of my clients:
flax seeds,
spinach,
mushrooms,
berries,
and oats.
These are the top five foods that they mention in the study that actually help keep your telomeres long and your chromosomes safe
Consider increasing your consumption of these.
Is the human gut made to be vegan?
While we’re here, there are lots of discussions that you might come across in popular media with influential personalities; arguing whether the structure of our gut supports that we evolved to be herbivores or carnivores.
Some people say that the large intestine in carnivores is much shorter and we've got quite a long and large intestine which would support the fact that we're supposed to be more herbivores than carnivores.
This point is hardly worth arguing as there is evidence to support both sides, you can also present research that supports both.
So, instead of jumping down this rabbit hole simply know that what you eat will directly impact your microbiome.
There is some research that shows eating a primarily plant based diet can decrease the amount of inflammation in your gut and of course high consumption of meat has been linked to an increase in cancers of the digestive system.
Your gut flora directly impacts all aspects of your health and well being.
In many cases when people become vegan they turn to eating lots of processed ‘meat’ like products and sugar and carbohydrates, please know that there is such a thing as an unhealthy vegan diet.
If you’re just starting out with a plant based diet, take it slow and enlist the support of a naturopath or nutritionist for vegans who can assess and monitor your essential nutrient status and make sure you're not running into issues with deficiencies.
Yoga and plant based diets
Within the yoga traditions yogis were predominantly vegetarians and or vegans and they’re known for living a very long time. They did consume things like ghee and some milk and animal products but it was generally very limited.
For them, much of their daily activities revolved around eliminating toxins. Fascinating they chose predominantly vegetarian diets, or plant-based eating.
There are key nutrients that are known to be difficult to obtain on a vegan diet and as a naturopath I’ve seen the fall out from deficiencies in things like B12 and iron along with other fat soluble vitamins. As with any diet proper testing and monitoring will set you up for long term success and help you avoid the common pitfalls.
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