| Vitamin A... is available in plant foods in the form of precursors, e.g., beta carotine and similar carotenoids. These must be converted by your body into retinol, the animal and bioavailable form of Vitamin A. It is not uncommon for some individuals to be poor converters. B6... (pyridoxal, pyridoxamine) is found in plants, but many of these sources require conversion, particularly beans and seeds contain antinutrients which reduce or block its bioavailability. Bioavailable B6 is far more abundant in animal foods. "B12: Should be supplemented, most people get this from fortified foods... deficiency is common across both vegans and those who eat animals." Stating that B12 deficiency is common provides a weak justification of the diet, which at its core exhibits a more pronounced deficiency of B12 than the broad population. Supplementation has its own problems with absorption and is not part of a natural whole food diet. If your answer is to supplement the many gaps of a vegan diet with supplements, isn't that a strong indication you're on shaky nutritional ground? "D3... deficiency is common across both vegans and those who eat animals." D3 deficiency is especially pronounced in certain kinds of diets, including vegan and vegetarian diets. D3 plays an important role in bone/calcium formation. Studies of vegetarians have linked low bone mineral density to their diets. Have you met adult vegans with osteoperosis or broken bones? To combat this during low-light seasons or geographies, a very good vegan source of D3 is lichens, the moldy looking stuff which grows on boulders. Have you ever tasted lichens? "F: This is common outside of the animal kingdom" Outside the animal kingdom vitamin F (linoleic acid) is found primarily in seed and nut oils. Seed/nut oils are not naturally stable and are manufactured through industrial chemical processes. They are high in polyunsaturated fats which also degrade in an oxidative way at high heat. Enjoy these man-made oils at your own risk and avoid using them for frying, searing or sauteeing. "K2: Found in soy" No. Or maybe you're thinking of K1. In the plant world, K2 is found only in _fermented_ soy, which in Japan is a slimy delicacy called natto which smells like sweaty gym socks. When is the last time you ate natto? "Amino acids... Creatine... Carnitine... Taurine..." Vegans have to be particularly careful about methionine and lysine. Creatine, carnatine and taurine are found in animal foods and although your liver can produce them, the muscle fibers of vegetarians and vegans have been found to have much lower levels compared to those on diets including animal foods. Similar for heme-iron-- vegetarians and vegans have higher rates of anemia. "CoQ10: commonly found in vegan diets" CoQ10 is available at low levels in plant foods, but along with antinutrients such as oxalates, lectins and goitrogens, or in the form of seed/nut oils which I have already commented on. "CLA: True, not found outside animals. CLA is controversial as there isn’t clear evidence on wether it is good or bad..." When following an exclusionary diet, you're agreeing to forgo any potential benefits of some food groups. I guess one can hope that the case is closed on CLA, a nutrient in animal foods which the human species has been consuming as part of a natural diet for many millenia. "Cholesterol: Your body makes it." Yes, although body does make cholesterol, approx 1%-3% of the population is not good at making cholesterol. For this segment, their cholesterol can get very low unless they obtain it from the diet-- if they don't it can lead to severe neurological problems. The human brain is 2% of bodyweight, yet it contains 25% of the body's cholesterol. Are you aware that studies show that vegetarian and vegans have much higher rates of mental health problems? Perhaps it's just a coincidence. "There are millions of people thriving on a vegan diet." Veganism is a belief system (one which is noble, I should add). The diet part is full of nutritional gaps which need man-made supplements and powders, so clearly there are more optimal diets from a nutritional standpoint. Nearly everyone can handle an exclusionary diet for some period of time before deficiencies catch up, gut issues develop, or mental health starts to suffer. Note that there are far more ex-vegans in the world than vegans. Odds are also good that you will become an ex-vegan in the future. I think that any diet in which you must study and plan your meals to obtain sufficient nutrients raises a big warning flag. "Yes we evolved to be able to eat many things and thrive. That doesn’t mean we need to." You may disagree, but my experience is that humans should eat a species-appropriate diet with a braod range of nutrients and minerals. Our bodies evolved on a physiological level to obtain nutrients from nature in a form which includes animal sources. Everyone gets to decide what they want to put in their bodies, so I salut your noble cause, but while I believe you are better than a standard american diet of highly processed carbs, seed oils and sugars, I do not believe your nutrition is superior to a natural whole-foods diet which includes both plant and animal foods. |