6 of the Biggest Lies Most Vegans Believe (#4 is the Worst!)

Sometimes it seems as if there is a war going on between vegans and meat eaters. Those who eat meat and dairy products believe eating only plants is unhealthy and/or unnatural. Vegans saying that meat eaters are disgusting and eating meat is unnatural. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Most vegans believe what they are saying because they are repeating what they have been told, but the truth of the matter is that most vegans are never told the whole truth. Vegan diets do work well for some people. This article isn’t to say that every diet is for every person. Some people are lactose intolerant, others can’t tolerate any type of nuts, and still others choke and gag at the mere thought of peas. If a certain food, or even a group of foods, is not for you, then don’t eat it. But for most people, a vegan diet is simply not the healthiest choice. Let’s take a look at the top lies most vegan advocates use to spread fear in an attempt to convince people that eating meat is unhealthy. 1. Vegan Diets Supply the Human Body with All Necessary Nutrients Well, this is simply not true as most vegans find out sooner or later. Nutrient deficiencies are extremely common among those eating a vegan diet. The most severe and problematic deficiencies are: Vitamin B12 – Deficiency of this vitamin is found in 83 percent of vegans and can cause very serious health problems. Iron - Most vegans have only 1/3 of the necessary iron in their blood. Vitamin D - Lack of it is said to be observed in 74 percent of vegans. Omega-3 fatty acids – just slightly more than a half of vegans has lower levels of EPA and DHA as compared to meat eaters. These are just some of the most important vitamin deficiencies. This is a scientific fact, not an opinion. 2. Vegans are Healthier Than Meat Eaters There is no doubt that there are numerous studies showing that vegan and vegetarian diets have substantial health benefits. Although vegan advocates would like to tell you that this is due to a lack of animal protein, this is simply not the whole story. It’s like saying lasagna is made with pasta. Well, it is, but there is certainly a great many more ingredients than just pasta! What other things do vegans cut out of their diet that makes them “healthier”? Refined grains – Most vegans eat only whole grains. Refined grains lead to spikes in blood sugar, weight gain, and insulin resistance. Refined sugar - Can cause insulin resistance and fatty liver as well as heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Trans-fats – These are extremely harmful to the body and are linked to many chronic diseases including heart disease and stroke. Vegetable oils- Highly inflammatory, filled with unhealthy levels of Omega-6 fatty acids, and the leading cause of oxidative damage. Many vegans also remove processed foods from their diets, which are low in nutrition as well as being high in sugar, trans-fats, and artificial chemicals. Most of the benefits of a vegan diet come from the removal of the above ingredients and not the exclusion of animal protein. 3. The Human Body is Not Designed to Eat Animal Protein You might have heard vegans saying that humans are herbivores by nature, and that our bodies have an extremely difficult time while digesting animal protein. This is an outright lie. Humans have been eating animal meat for millions of years. Our bodies are perfectly capable of making full use of the nutrients in animal protein. SEE ALSO: Switch to Grass Fed Meat: 5 Reasons Why You Should If anything, facts show that the human digestive system is nothing like herbivores. We have short colons and very long yet small intestines with lots of hydrochloric acid in our stomachs to break down animal meat. The different lengths of our digestive systems are in the middle between the lengths of herbivores and carnivores, which means that we are naturally designed to be omnivores. The fact that vegans cannot survive without B12 supplements or B12 supplemental foods is proof enough that a vegan diet is not natural and that humans are actually not designed to live strictly on plants. 4. Eating Meat is the Cause of Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Cancer This is a scare tactic that is absolutely false. Most of these chronic diseases are relatively new to our world. Before 1930, heart disease was almost unheard of. Type 2 diabetes began increasing at a rapid rate starting in about the 1970’s. Cancer has been steadily rising for at least the past 60 years. Now you might hear vegans saying that meat and dairy is the root cause of these health problems but consider this; meat is a very, very old food and these health problems are pretty new to the scene. It makes no sense to blame old foods on new diseases. There have also been numerous studies showing that meat is not the root cause of any of the diseases known to modern man. The link between meat and cancer is only related to the way meat is cooked. Meat that is burned, seared, or blackened is linked to higher rates of stomach cancer, but not the meat itself. Two studies, one involving more than 1.2 million people and the other with nearly a half million subjects, found absolutely no link between unprocessed meat and either heart disease or diabetes. 5. High Protein Diets Will Kill You Vegans really hate high protein, low carb diets. This is understandable when you consider that high protein diets mean consuming lots of the foods that vegans don’t want you to eat. You might find it interesting that someone did a study comparing high protein diets and low fat vegetarian diets. This controlled study is often referred to as the “A to Z Study.” After a one year period it was found that those on the high protein diets: Lost more weight than those on the vegetarian diet Had lower overall blood pressure than those on the vegetarian diet Had greater increases in their HDL (good) cholesterol levels Had lower levels of triglycerides Were much more likely to stick to their high protein diet And this was just one study. There are more that show similar results. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to back up vegan claims that high protein diets are unhealthy or that they could do you any harm. 6. Vegan Diets Reverse Heart Disease Vegans state over and over that a plant only diet is the one and only diet proven to reverse and prevent heart disease. Although they base this claim on two studies, done by Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn, these two studies are flawed. 1. Ornish asked his subjects to change more than just their diets. His subjects stopped smoking, began exercising, and doing daily meditation, among other things. His diet was also not vegan, merely low fat vegetarian. (Meaning that these subjects still ate dairy and eggs.) 2. Esselystyn’s study involved only 22 people and had no control group. They also used large doses of statin drugs which lower cholesterol levels. Since these studies involved the use of drugs and other changes besides simply a change of diet, they can hardly be held up as perfect examples of the reversal of heart disease! Some people turn vegan to protest the way in which meat animals are born, raised, fed, and slaughtered. No one can argue that point. If your main objective is the better treatment of animals, say so. But to try to manipulate people into going vegan by using scare tactics is just plain wrong and serves no purpose. References: Ajcn.nutrition.org Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Ije.oxfordjournals.org

6 of the Biggest Lies Most Vegans Believe (#4 is the Worst!)

2. Vegans are Healthier Than Meat Eaters

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