The downside of Vegan diets (& how to fix them)

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2 large studies were published in the last 3 months of 2020 looking at the disadvantages of a vegetarian or vegan diet in relation to bones.

A large study was published by Oxford University in November, in which they tracked almost 55,000 people over a period of 17 years.

The objective was to see the impact of their diet on risk of bone fractures.

They split the group into 3:

  • Meat eaters

  • Fish eaters (no meat)

  • Vegetarians (consume dairy and eggs)

  • Vegans

Importantly: they adjusted for common confounding factors, such as BMI and lifestyle (smoking, exercise, etc), which is important since many vegetarians / vegans typically also have better lifestyles.

They analyzed total incidences of bone fractures over the 17-year period, and found the following:

  • Incidence of hip fractures were highest in fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans compared to meat eaters, with the highest incidence being among vegans.

  • In fact, vegans also had higher incidence of total fractures (legs and other sites) compared to even vegetarians and fish eaters.

Another study was published by a top hospital and university in China in September.

This one was a meta-analysis (study of existing studies) covering 14 studies and 1763 subjects.

The objective was to look at the impact of diet on bone density and growth.

They split subjects into 2 categories:

  • Vegans

  • Non-Vegans

Here is what they found:

  • Hip bone density was higher in non-vegans vs. vegans

  • Lean mass (essentially weight of muscles and bones) was higher in non-vegans vs. vegans

  • Height was higher in non-vegans vs. vegans

Are vegetables missing key nutrients?

There are numerous advantages to the vegetarian diet, but one should be aware of significant nutritional deficiencies and should make an effort to compensate for them via supplementation.

Key nutrients which vegetarians (and especially vegans) tend to be deficient in include:

  • B12,

  • Iron,

  • Calcium,

  • Zinc,

  • Omega 3.

This is not because vegetables don't include those nutrients (except B12), but rather because the chemical formulation of those nutrients in vegetables results in them being poorly absorbed by the human digestive system.

For example: the form of Omega 3 in flaxseed cannot be converted efficiently into EPA/DHA by humans. Fish consume this veg source of Omega 3 and convert it into a form which CAN be used by human tissue (especially brain and nervous system tissue). This is why Salmon (for e.g.) is one of the best sources of EPA/DHA for humans.

Same goes for Iron or Calcium: spinach contains both. But these minerals are bound (attached) to other chemicals in spinach, and our digestive system is not capable of breaking that bond, resulting in poor absorption. Animal digestive systems can break that bond.

In fact, I wrote an article about the “The 3 most important supplements for vegans” a while back, you should check it out.

And if you’re curious about which supplements I personally take (I’m an omnivore) and recommend to family and friends, then get my free supplement guide:

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