this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2023
341 points (87.8% liked)
Science
13257 readers
44 users here now
Subscribe to see new publications and popular science coverage of current research on your homepage
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Plant-based diets are usually superior, health-wise, to meat-based diets.
There are a couple of nutrients that vegan diets at one point may have fell short in, like B12 and D being common examples, but at this point those are present in fortified vegan milks or breads.
The only other ones I can think of off the top of my head are a fatty acid present in fish, that is easily supplemented. Or less essential nutrients like taurine, which are also easily supplemented if one finds that they really need higher levels.
Exactly. Most livestock gets supplemented B12 anyway, since the ground/soil is too clean for it to occur naturally like in the past. Might as well cut out the middle~~man~~cow.
It can be difficult to get enough protein with vegan options for people who aren't knowledgeable about the options.
Not really. Protein is not something particularly difficult in a reasonably balanced vegan diet, for most people. There are plenty of dietary sources of protein in vegan cooking.
Anybody requiring particularly high levels of protein is probably already supplementing it. Usually with vegan sources anyway.
Of all the possible deficiencies in a vegan diet, protein is by far the least of people's, already small, worries.
It does get harder when you have to cut out an entire food group because of food allergies though.
There have been multiple scientific studies asking whether vegans get enough protein. The conclusion is always that they do. Here is one of them.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6893534/
I didn't say they don't, I said it's difficult for people who don't know how. You have to spend time on education when you go vegan.