Becoming a vegan is challenging, even for the body. Not only give up meat and fish, come i vegetarians, but also to other foods of animal origin such as milk and eggs, has effects on the organism that must be carefully evaluated to avoid consequences on the salute. No judgment on the vegan choice, usually based on respectable and acceptable ethical and environmental reasons, but certainly a choice that cannot be improvised. For those who approach this eating style, I recommend that you notify your doctor and, better still, get practical information from a nutritionist expert in plant nutrition, warns Stefano Erzegovesi, psychiatrist and specialist in food science, head of the Eating Disorders Center of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. The real problem is considering the vegan one as a “diet without something”: like that of the vegetarian without meat and fish, that of the vegan would become a diet that also removes dairy products and eggs. The fundamental point why it is a non-harmful choice, indeed useful, for health, is to consider the “good things” to be added, and not just the “bad things” to be removed.
An example?
Some American college kids eliminate products of animal origin and eat industrial white bread, chips and beer: certainly “technically” they are vegan, but certainly not healthy, because such a restrictive choice exposes them to the risk of getting sick perhaps sooner than it could happen to an omnivore. The “healthy” vegan choice must include a huge variety of seasonal vegetables rich in antioxidant phytochemicals, whole grains and legumes, which ensure fiber and vegetable proteins, fresh fruit and nuts, oil seeds and extra virgin olive oil.
What are the steps to achieving a safe vegan diet?
First of all, I recommend a gradual step, to give time to the “friendly” microbiota (that set of useful bacteria that populate our intestine, ed) to organize. In the omnivorous diet of Western countries there are few fibers and too many animal proteins, therefore the intestinal flora is not used to digesting fibers properly. By the time you start introducing it too quickly, you are likely to have unpleasant ailments, such as digestive difficulties and a bloated stomach. Nothing happens, however, if the intestine gets used gradually, perhaps by introducing a spoonful of legumes a day, to be increased every week until, after a month, the dosage of a whole portion for each meal. On a vegan’s table, legumes must appear at every meal and, if the intestine is not used to abundant fiber, it goes haywire. This also applies to wholegrain cereals: you can gradually begin to replace white bread and pasta with wholemeal ones. Even for whole grains a month can be enough to “re-educate” the intestine and avoid digestive discomfort.
How to avoid lack of proteins?
The lack of protein, together with iron, is the great concern of neo-vegans, but by no means a real risk if the vegan diet is designed and structured correctly. To ensure sufficient protein intake, it is necessary to combine, not necessarily in the same meal, a whole grain cereal (there is not only wheat, but there are also spelled, millet, barley, buckwheat, etc.) with a legume: this combination guarantees all the amino acids essential and all necessary proteins. The combination of cereals and legumes, which must always be checked on the label when choosing ready-made packaged foods, is the one that provides sufficient proteins for normal activities, even in the case of sportsmen, there are numerous champions who have made this choice, with certain advantages terms of both performance and muscle recovery.
What about vitamin B12?
It is a vitamin of bacterial origin, which accumulates in products of animal origin and which rarely represents a problem for vegetarians, who take it through milk and eggs, but which is always lacking in vegans. Vitamin B12 present in plants is not assimilable or, more often, in a biologically inactive form. It must be supplemented either with supplements or through fortified foods. On this point we cannot joke: B12 is a vitamin that has to do with the regeneration of red blood cells and the central nervous system, and its deficiency can generate severe forms of anemia and / or neuropathy. In children, vitamin B12 affects neurodevelopment and a deficiency can be responsible for irreversible damage to the central nervous system. This is why it is important to always talk to your doctor and evaluate, with specific blood tests, if the B12 is sufficient. More generally, the control of vitamin B12 levels is a recommendation that should apply to everyone, because even in a Western omnivorous diet it may be necessary to integrate it.
Is the vegan diet suitable for children? Sipps invites us to be very cautious in this regard.
In addition to the cautions mentioned, the question, in my opinion, also has to do with the psycho-nutritional aspect: a choice of this type almost never starts with the little ones, but reflects the orientation of the parents and limits the access to a wide variety of tastes. Personally, I agree with the many vegan parents who leave their children the freedom to build their own “psychosensory alphabet”, allowing them to experience “animal” flavors, for example on convivial occasions with peers, to postpone their decision to adopt this style of nutrition or not. Thus the vegan family will have an extra wealth: accustom the palate of their children to the textures and tastes, otherwise neglected, of the healthiest foods for adults such as vegetables, whole grains and legumes rich in fiber. In this way, a child from a vegan family will be able to experience convivial occasions with his omnivorous companions more easily and, above all, will be able to experience adolescence, with its dynamics of rebellion and affirmation of his own identity, with less risk of an abrupt transition. to a life of hamburger and fast-food.
Is there a risk of overdoing carbohydrates?
It happens if the vegan choice of subtraction, therefore “without something”: in this case it favors white cereals and sweets, rich in calories, poor in micronutrients and harmful to health (and body weight). A vegan cannot afford a diet based on refined cereals and sugars: a low-fiber cereal is bad for everyone, but it exposes vegans, more than omnivores, to micronutrient deficiencies.
Are products that reproduce the flavors and nutritional qualities of meat and derivatives, such as vegan hamburgers or cold cuts, valid?
I only recommend them as “emergency” products when you have little time to put together a meal. However, these are processed industrial products, with little fiber, often rich in salt and fats and with various additives. It is one thing to eat a plate of rice and peas, with high quality fiber, carbohydrates and proteins, another to eat a white sandwich with a vegan burger made of isolated pea proteins, therefore without fiber and other precious micronutrients and with various food additives.
Is a balanced vegan diet healthier than an omnivorous diet?
A plant-based diet, as was the “poor” Mediterranean diet, with abundant vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains and small and occasional doses of animal proteins, certainly gives you health. It is known that more than 30% of chronic diseases, from overweight to diabetes, from hypertension to some types of cancer, could be prevented or better treated by increasing the vegetable component in our dishes. On the other hand, that a 100% vegetable diet is better for health than a mainly vegetable diet (to understand, 80% vegetable), there are no scientific data in agreement. A plant-based diet with a negligible amount of animal protein, such as 10 g of bacon in bean soup, rather than 50 g of meat in Sunday rag or 20 g of anchovies in orecchiette with turnip greens, is a great health gain. as much as the total absence of animal proteins. If, on the other hand, the 100% vegetable choice is based on non-healthy but ethical or environmentalist principles, it must be respected and guided in the best possible way by an expert hand in vegetable nutrition.
Are vegan seniors at risk of muscle weakness?
There are centenarians who eat practically no meat and are fine, because sarcopenia or muscle weakness has more to do with poor physical activity and low-grade silent inflammation. The more vegetables you eat, the lower the inflammation, the more sarcopenia and longevity will benefit. On the other hand, vegetable proteins rich in fibers, such as legumes, can be assimilated with more difficulty in the elderly; in this case I recommend passing the legumes through a vegetable mill, using already peeled legumes, such as red lentils, or even using vegetable proteins naturally low in fiber, such as soy derivatives, but always on the advice of a doctor
May 2, 2021 (change May 2, 2021 | 18:07)
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