Vegan Lifestyle
More and more people are adopting a vegan lifestyle, which appears to be driven by individuals making more ethical and compassionate choices. For instance, some people choose veganism because consuming more plant-based foods is associated with a lesser environmental impact. While there are many good reasons to choose more plant-based foods, this eliminates many foods high in protein and other nutrients that are essential for your body’s optimal functioning.
If not vigilant around their diet, vegans could experience a number of nutritional deficiencies. The key nutrients to pay attention to are protein, iron, calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. In many cases we find that individuals following a vegan diet are under-eating, which causes their body to break down their essential lean mass (muscle, connective tissue, brain matter, etc.) and hoard fat. While this undereating may not be intentional, it is causing harm to the body and without intervention, can result in fatigue, poor athletic performance, gastrointestinal distress and other physical complications.
A good example we like to give is how much more tofu than chicken you have to eat to get enough protein at one meal. On average, we find that many of our folks need roughly 30 grams of protein at each meal. ½ cup tofu has 10 grams of protein while 3 ounces of chicken has 26 grams of protein. So you need a little more than 3 ounces of chicken to get the protein you need. But to get the same protein from tofu you would have to eat 1 ½ cups of tofu! While it is possible to eat that much tofu at one meal, of course, it is not the amount someone would naturally serve themselves without knowing this information. Here are photos of it:
As you can see, it requires less animal protein to meet your needs when compared to plant-based proteins. This scenario is similar with many nutrients that are lacking in a vegan diet and we can help make sure you’re in tune with each of these unique requirements.
The Metabolic Test and Body Composition Analysis will help us determine if your body is fueled enough while following a vegan diet. After completing the Metabolic Test at your initial visit, we can see if your body is breaking down too much of your lean mass. If so, we are able to correct this via proper nutrition with the right amount and proportion of plant-based foods and in some cases, supplements. It’s not uncommon for vegan diets to require supplements and we are happy to recommend these when needed. At each follow-up visit we will track your progress with the Body Composition Analysis to make sure your body is responding well to our nutrition changes and that your vegan diet is fueling you towards optimal health.
A vegan diet can be a great choice but it’s important that it’s done well, and with excellent nutrition knowledge to prevent nutrient deficiency and possible damage to your lean mass and metabolism.
Concerns should be raised when an individual starts to follow a vegan diet for the primary reason of either inappropriate weight loss, body shape control or avoiding “scary” or fear foods. Veganism (as well as vegetarianism) may serve as a mask to cover up an eating disorder in an attempt to restrict food and lose weight. It provides an easier and more socially acceptable way to justify avoiding certain foods allowing restrictive eating to go unnoticed. If you are concerned you or a loved one may be following a vegan diet with a motive that seems inappropriate or disordered, we can help.