Veganism as a Healthy Diet Option

In the recent past, the overall health of US citizens has been in rapid decline. Overweight
and obesity rates are skyrocketing, along with the health problems that accompany these
afflictions such as heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol (enter for !isease ontrol,
"#$%&. 'ost people can trace their weight and health problems back to the food that they eat, and
yet, they rarely even (uestion the nutritional value of their food, where their food comes from, or
how the unhealthy modern western diet became standard. )fter years of personal struggles with
weight and digestion, these are e*actly the (uestions that I decided I needed to answer. +hile on
this ,ourney of e*ploring our food system, I discovered that the vast ma,ority of our meat and
dairy products are produced in factory farms where animals are pumped full of growth hormones
and antibiotics, and are living in unsanitary conditions. -hese .farms/ are able to produce meat
and dairy at incredibly low prices, often making them cheaper than fruits and vegetables. -his
has led to meat and dairy products becoming a huge part of our diets. ould this be the cause, or
one of the causes, of our growing health problems0 In order to find out, I am investigating what
some people have chosen as an alternative to the typical western diet1 veganism.
) vegan diet is one in which no animal products are consumed. -hat means no meat,
poultry, fish, milk, cheese, or anything else that came from an animal. 2egan diets tend to be
naturally high in fruits, vegetables, and grains and low in processed foods. -his leads to many
health benefits including very low overweight and obesity levels, low cholesterol and blood
pressure levels, and high fiber intake. 3ut are vegans getting all the necessary nutrients that
humans need to live while following what some consider to be such a restricted diet0 )nd are the
benefits of veganism enough outweigh the sacrifice of giving up meat and dairy and living in a
world of constant temptation that overwhelmingly caters to omnivores0
History of Veganism
+hile strict veganism has only been documented for the past "## years, there are many
instances of .flesh avoidance/ in our ancient world. Several famous philosophers and leaders
followed diets that avoided animal flesh, but they all still seemed to consume milk and honey,
making them .lacto4vegetarians,/ or vegetarians who still drink milk (!avis, "#$#&. -here are
some e*amples of monks following vegan diets in the 'iddle )ges but they were using
e*tremely restricting diets as a form of self4punishment and self4denial as opposed to being
vegan for health reasons or out of feeling for animals (!avis, "#$#&. -he first historical e*ample
of following veganism for ethical reasons comes from a poem written in the early $$
th
century by
the poet )l4'a5arri that says1
-hou art diseased in understanding and religion. ome to me, that thou mayst
hear the tidings of sound truth. !o not un,ustly eat what the water has given up, 6i.e. fish7
and do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals, Or the white (milk& of mothers
who intended its pure draught for their young, not noble ladies. )nd do not grieve the
unsuspecting birds by taking their eggs8 for in,ustice is the worst of crimes. )nd spare the
honey which the bees get betimes by their industry from the flowers of fragrant plants8
9or they did not store it that it might belong to others, nor did they gather it for bounty
and gifts. I washed my hands of all this8 and would that I had perceived my way ere my
temples grew hoar: (!avis, "#$#&
-he first well documented case of someone following a vegan diet for health reasons is
the life of !r. +illiam ;ambe who lived from $<=> to $?%? (!avis, "#$#&. @e became vegan at
the age of %$ when he became concerned about his health, and lived to the age of ?", an
impressive life span for that age (!avis, "#$#&. -his famous (uote outlines his feelings on why
he became vegan1
'y reason for ob,ecting to every species of
matter to be used as food, e*cept the direct produce of
the earth, is founded on the broad ground that no other
matter is suited to the organs of man. -his applies then
with the same force to eggs, milk, cheese, and fish, as
to flesh meat. (!avis, "#$#&
9ollowing !r. ;ambe, many more people began following veganism for either ethical
reasons, health reasons, or both. ) man named Aames Breaves opened a school called the )lcott
@ouse )cademy which taught !r. ;ambe5s ideas and beliefs. -he first documented case of using
the word .vegetarian,/ which was used at the time in the conte*t in which we use the word
vegan, was in $?%" in a ,ournal at the )lcott @ouse (!avis, "#$#&. -he first 2egetarian Society
was formed in ;ondon in $?%< in a ,oint effort by the )lcott @ouse and the 3ible hristian
hurch from the 'anchester area (!avis, "#$#&. -he church was not willing to advocate for a
completely vegan diet, so as a compromise, the 2egetarian Society5s ob,ective was to simply
.abstain from the flesh of animals,/ leaving diary and eggs optional (!avis, "#$#&. -his was an
issue of debate for the Society for many years.
In $C%<, a member of the 2egetarian Society, !onald +atson, wanted a separate identity
for true vegetarians, so he formed a new group, the 2egan Society (!avis, "#$#&. +atson
Courtesy of Davis, 2010
invented the word by taking the first three and last two letters of the word vegetarian so signify
.the beginning and end of vegetarian/ (!avis, "#$#& 9ollowing this historic event, many more
vegan societies began forming all over the world and the idea of veganism slowly started to
spread. In the $CC#s, with the invention of the internet, the vegan movement began to pick up
steam. +ebsites were now available which gave people access to vegan recipes, vegan books,
and forums in which to discuss the vegan lifestyle. ) "#$" Ballup Doll reported that about ".>E
of the United States population now identifies as vegan, or about <.> million people.
History of Meat Consumption and the Rise of the Western Diet
;ooking back at the evolutionary timeline of humans, meat and dairy consumption began
very recently. Originally, animals were consumed out of necessity, and only when much more
easily accessed plant foods were not available. )griculture and animal husbandry (or animal
farming& began around $#,### years ago (ordain et al., "##>&. -he reason for this shift from
hunting and gathering to farming is unclear, but it may have had to with climate or simply the
desire to stop moving. Fven though animals were farmed around this time, evidence of milk
consumption was not found until about =### years ago (ordain et al., "##>&. +hile hunting
wild animals, the meat obtained was very lean e*cept for in the cold seasons where animals
would gain protective fat. Once animals were kept on farms, it became possible to e*tend their
fat .season/ year round. It also became possible in this age to store milk, cheese, and salted
meats for year round consumption (ordain et al., "##>&.
9or thousands of years after this event, animal farming changed very little until the mid4
$C
th
century. )t that time, new inventions such as steam engines, mechanical reapers, and
railroads made for a rapid increase in farming production (ordain et al., "##>&. Brain
production became very fast and cheap, so it became the primary feed for animals who, under
normal circumstances, would have a very different diet. -he amount of meat produced and eaten
in the United States continued to rise, and today, the US is the number one producer and
consumer of beef and chicken in the world (U.S. ensus 3ureau, "#$"&. Fach U.S. citizen eats an
average of "<#.< pounds of meat per year, while the world average is only $#".> pounds
(3arclay, "#$"&. +e also consume about =$< pounds of milk products and about "># eggs per
year.
-he general health of U.S. citizens is currently in a sad state. =>E of adults are either
overweight or obese (ordain et al., "##>&. -here are over "?#,### obesity related deaths per
year, and =% million )mericans have heart
disease, which is the number one cause of
death (ordain et al., "##>&. )lmost G#
million )mericans have diabetes and G##,###
people die from it each year ()merican
!iabetes )ssociation, "#$%&. )ll of these
diseases are directly impacted by diet, so it is
clear that our eating habits need to change.
Positive and Negative Aspects of Meat Consumption
-here are two types of iron that can be absorbed into the human body1 heme and non4
heme irons. @eme iron is only found in animal products, especially in red meat, and non4heme
Courtesy of www.fitmenover40.com
iron is found in vegetables such as leafy greens and legumes ('c)ffee et al., "#$#&. 'any
proponents of red meat say that heme iron is preferable because it more bioavailable, meaning a
higher percentage of the iron is absorbed into the human body ('c)ffee et al., "#$#&. @owever,
this may not be a positive thing. If one has an ade(uate iron supply in their blood, non4heme iron
will not continue to absorb, while heme4iron will continue absorbing as normal, making it much
easier to raise iron levels too high (;eibman, "##C&. F*cessive iron levels can lead to heart
disease, colorectal cancer, and infections (Dereira H 2icente, "#$G&.
Ied meat also contains n4G polyunsaturated fatty acid which can be beneficial to the
central nervous system, inflammatory response, and retinal function ('c)ffee et al., "#$#&.
@owever, this nutrient is only found in lean tissue and is much more abundant in grass4fed
meats, which is rare in the western diet ('c)ffee et al., "#$#&. on,ugated linoleic acid is
another nutrient found primarily in meat and dairy that may positively effect health ('c)ffee et
al., "#$#&. It has been seen to have anti4carcinogenic properties and may help immune system
function as well ('c)ffee et al., "#$#&. 3ut like n4G polyunsaturated fatty acid, it is in much
greater supply in grass fed meats ('c)ffee et al., "#$#&
'eat contains other, more well known nutrients as well, such as protein, amino acids,
zinc, riboflavin, vitamin 3= and vitamin 3$" (Dereira H 2icente, "#$G&. -he digestibility of
protein can be measured and rated with the Drotein !igestibility4orrected )mino )cid Scores
(Dereira H 2icente, "#$G&. 'eat rates .C" on the scale while common vegetarian protein sources
like pinto bean, chickpeas, and lentils scored between .>< to .<$ (Dereira H 2icente, "#$G&. -his
meat protein also contains all of the eight essential amino acids that are necessary to the human
body, where as with a vegetarian diet, multiple protein sources must be consumed to receive all
of the essential amino acids (Dereira H 2icente, "#$G&. )n important thing to consider is that the
nutrient content of meat is greatly affected in a negative way by cooking8 the most significant of
these losses being a big portion of the 3 vitamins (Dereira H 2icente, "#$G&. -his is interesting to
note because vitamin 3$" content has been one of the biggest issues used by meat proponents to
argue against veganism.
'eat, especially processed meats like hot dogs, sausage, bologna, and bacon, contain J4
nitroso compounds that are known to cause cancer (;eibman, "##C&. 2itamin is now being
added to these meats to combat the J4nitroso compounds, but recent studies have shown that it
does not always work (;eibman, "##C&. It has been observed that a combination of J4nitroso
compounds, natural gut bacteria, and the heme4irons in red meat, combine to form cancer4
causing formations (;eibman, "##C&.
) study of >##,### people conducted by the Jational ancer Institute from $CC> to "##>
found that people who ate larger amounts of red meat had a G#E higher chance of death than
those who ate very little, mostly due to heart disease and cancer (;eibman, "##C&. -hose who ate
larger amounts of processed meats had a "#E higher chance of death (;eibman, "##C&. -he high
rate of heart disease is due to the large amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol in meat
(;eibman, "##C&. )lso, the same study found that people who ate larger amounts of red meat had
a "?E higher chance of type " diabetes and for those who ate larger amounts of processed meat,
the chance of type " diabetes was G?E higher (;eibman, "##C&. )nother study of %,=?# people
conducted by the !epartment of Fpidemiology and Dublic @ealth at the Imperial ollege of
;ondon in "##? found that eating red meat increases blood pressure levels (linical !igest,
"##?&.
-oday, the overwhelming ma,ority of meat and dairy found in US super4markets is
produced in factory farms, or confined animal feeding operations ()9Os&. -housands,
sometimes hundreds of thousands of animals are crammed into buildings where they live
practically on top of each other, in e*tremely unsanitary states. ;iving conditions such as these
become breeding grounds for bacteria and illnesses that spread to humans such as e coli,
salmonella, and campylobacter (Sayre, "##C&. 'illions of people contract these illnesses from
factory produced food every year (Sayre, "##C&. In order to prevent the animals themselves from
getting sick in these farms, they are given constant doses of antibiotics (Sayre, "##C&. +hen
humans eat this antibiotic filled meat, they slowly build up an immunity, so that when they must
take prescribed antibiotics, they are less effective (Sayre, "##C&.
Positive and Negative Aspects of a Vegan Diet
3y replacing the animal products in your diet with plant4based foods, many health
benefits can be achieved. Some common characteristics of vegan diets is that they are high in
fiber, magnesium, and vitamins and F. -hey tend to be lower in calories, saturated fats,
cholesterol, omega G fatty acids, calcium and vitamins ! and 3$" (raig, "##C&. 2egans are
generally thinner and have lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood lipid levels (raig,
"##C&. -hese factors lead to much lower
rates of obesity, diabetes, and reduced risks
of heart disease and some cancers (raig,
"##C&.
'aintaining a healthy weight is
crucial to your health. It is widely known
that obesity greatly increases your risk of
cardiovascular disease and cancer (raig,
Courtesy of "The Food Revolution"
"##C&. 9or that reason, vegans, who consistently have lower levels of obesity, also consistently
have lower rates of 2! and cancer (raig, "##C&. 2egetables, fruits, legumes, fiber, and
vitamin are all staples of a vegan diet and are all protective against cancers of the lungs,
mouth, esophagus, stomach, and prostate (raig, "##C&. +hile replacing dairy, most vegans
consume a large amount of soy products. Soy products have been found to protect women
against breast cancer, while consuming larger amounts of dairy products has been found to
increase chances of colorectal cancer (raig, "##C&. @owever, vegan diets also tend to be low in
vitamin ! which may increase risks of cancer, so vegans must be aware of that risk (raig,
"##C&.
)nother nutrient that vegans must monitor is calcium. Over time, people with who do not
receive enough calcium are at a greater risk of bone fracture due to loss in bone mineral density
(raig, "##C&. Omega G fatty acids8 commonly, though not e*clusively found in meat such as
fish8 should also be consumed on a regular basis due to its benefits towards the brain, heart, and
eye function (raig, "##C&. 2itamin 3$" is only found in animal products so it should be taken as
a supplement to avoid deficiencies that may negatively effect mood or show other signs of
neurological or psychiatric symptoms (raig, "##C&.
) "##" study that e*amined the effects of a vegan diet on diabetes pain found that
combining veganism with e*ercise had a positive impact on their discomfort ('carty, "##G&.
2egan diets improve blood filterability and glycemic control, making it .a safe, Klow4tech5
approach to managing diabetes that deserves far greater attention from medical researchers and
practitioners/ ('carty, "##G&. ) vegan diet also deserves credit for being able to feed more
people than a diet of meat. urrently, livestock directly or indirectly uses ?#E of the worldsL
arable land, but only provides $>E of all calories ()dministra, "#$#&.
upplementing a Vegan Diet
In order to ensure that vegans are getting the proper nutrition on a diet of solely plant
foods, some vitamins should be taken. 3ecause vitamin 3$" is only found in animal products, a
daily supplement is recommended (raig, "##C&. !uring the winter months when there will be
less sun e*posure, it would also be wise to take a vitamin ! supplement, or to drink vitamin !
fortified soy or rice milks (raig, "##C&. )ll other necessary nutrients can be supplied with smart,
balanced eating habits. ;eafy greens such as spinach and kale provide calcium, iron, and n4G
fatty acid );). Fating vitamin 4rich foods such as oranges or tomatoes helps the body to
increase intake of those nutrients from the greens, especially iron (raig, "##C&. Minc must also
be consumed on a regular basis, and can be found in legumes, whole4grains, and soy products
(raig, "##C&. Of course, all of those nutrients can be found in supplement form if one does not
care for a certain food or does not have access to it.
My Personal !"perience #ith Veganism
In order to add an interesting perspective to this report, I decided to follow a vegan diet
for the duration of the semester. I had realized a few years ago that eggs, dairy products, and
fatty meats do not fully agree with me, but I was reluctant to stop eating them all together
because I had been told through the media for my entire life that they were necessary for humans
to be healthy. @owever, after years of discomfort following nearly every meal, a drastic change
in my diet seemed logical instead of intimidating.
On Aune $, "#$%, I cut from my diet all meat, eggs, and dairy products. I stocked up on
almond milk, hearty vegetables, hummus, beans, fruit, and bread. -hese foods have become the
center of my diet. )s a baker at a bagel shop and deli, I am surrounded by foods that I can no
longer eat, such as cream cheese, fried eggs, deli meats and breakfast meats. In order to make my
work days easier, I began bringing a supply of food into work such as granola and almond milk
for breakfast and large batches of bean soups for lunch. 9or the first few weeks of my vegan diet,
I had a difficult time watching customers and coworkers eating foods that I could not, and
therefore had a hard time en,oying the foods that I was actually eating. @owever, as I grew
accustomed to my new diet, my body no longer craved those unhealthy foods. 2egetables began
tasting more fresh and satisfying. 3ecause I was no longer eating baked goods like muffins or
other sweets like ice cream, fruits became almost as sweet as candy to my taste buds.
Over the past two months, my digestion and comfort after meals has improved greatly.
Fven if I accidently over4eat, I no longer feel tired and sick like I did with dairy and meats. In the
past, when I returned home from work, I would collapse on the couch and remain there until I
could work up the energy to accomplish things around the house. Jow, my energy levels are
much higher. I no longer have a problem completing my errands after work or en,oying time
with family and friends. Fven waking up at three )' for my baking shift has gotten easier this
summer.
One aspect of veganism that is hard to deal with is ,udgement from other people. -he
most common reaction that I receive when I tell someone that I am vegan is for them to list off
all the foods that they could not live without, or to ask me if I live off of grass. I try to e*plain to
them all the health benefits that comes with veganism but I know that it is something you can
only fully understand once you try it. )fter all, I was once very skeptical of vegans myself and
could not imagine giving up burgers and yogurt until I tried it. )nother difficult thing to deal
with is that most restaurants do not cater to vegans, so my options for dining out are now limited.
+hen I began this vegan diet, I intended on it being a temporary e*periment to see if I
felt any improvements in my health. I have now decided to continue with it for the foreseeable
future. -he thought of having meat or dairy does not even appeal to me anymore. I take vitamins
for 3$" and calcium, and I constantly vary my diet of vegetables, grains, and fruits to make sure
that I am getting many types of nutrients. I go to bed every night feeling that I have done
something good for my body that day. )ll in all, my e*perience with veganism has been a great
success.
Conclusion
+hile veganism may not be an appropriate diet for all humans, depending on each
personLs individual body, it seems to be a logical choice for the general population. )ll of the
nutrient inade(uacies of veganism can easily be balanced with supplements and smart meal
planning. learly, the health benefits of a plant4based diet are abundant. +ho could say no to
lower cholesterol, less chance of being overweight or obese, or lower risks of heart disease,
diabetes, and some cancers0 Jot to mention the fact that if the ma,ority of US citizens began
eating a vegan diet, the vast amount of food that gets fed to animals to produce meat can be
redirected to the $%.>E of our population that is food4insecure (+orld @unger Fducation
Service, "#$%&.
-he biggest problem with a mass shift to veganism seems to be the mental hurdle. +e
have been told since birth that eating meat and dairy is not only good for us, but should be a large
part of our diet. )lso, factory farms and government subsidies have made meat and dairy so
ine*pensive and abundant, that fruits and vegetables seem e*pensive in comparison. Jow that
we have become accustomed to having access to all the cheap, .yummy/ meat and dairy we
could want, it almost seems laughable to give it all up voluntarily.
-he purpose of this report, then, is to present veganism as a possible dietary solution for
those who are looking for an easy, logical solution to their health problems. 'any people
consider the switch to veganism an unnecessarily severe change in diet. )s !r aldwell
Fsselstien so effectively said in the documentary 9orks Over Nnives, .Some people think the
Lplant4based, whole foods dietL is e*treme. @alf a million people a year will have their chests
opened up and a vein taken from their leg and sewn onto their coronary artery. Some people
would call that e*treme/ ("#$$&.