Claim: Research has shown deficiencies in B12, iron, VD, calcium, and DHA during pregnancy can increase the risk of symptoms like morbidity, low birth weight, altered growth, neurological issues, fetal malformations and the outcome of the overall pregnancy (Sebastiani et al., 2019) (Zec et al., 2020).
Claim: Research has also shown that exclusively breast fed infants of vegan mothers are at a relatively high risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, anemia and failure to thrive (Honzik et al., 2010).
Claim: It’s often believed that well planned vegan diets with supplementation can avoid deficiency and these permanent side effects. But unfortunately, a 2021 study compared vegan, vegetarian and omnivore children whose meals were carefully planned by a dietician and still found vegan children had lower levels of several nutrients, including protein, vitamin A and DHEA and cholesterol (Hovinen et al., 2021).
Claim: In extreme cases, these deficiencies can even result in childhood death or irreversible damage from malnutrition (Von Schenck et al., 1997) (Sebastiani et al., 2019) (Codazzi et al., 2005) (Guez et al., 2012).
Claim: Given these serious risks, many countries like Italy (“Italy Proposal to Jail Vegans Who Impose Diet on Children,” 2016), Switzerland (Hooper, 2014), Spain (Redecillas-Ferreiro et al., 2020), Belgium and Germany (Richter et al., 2016) have warned about the possible negative consequences of vegan diets.
Claim: And if you visit any of vegan forums online, like the reddit thread for “ex vegans”, you’ll find hundreds of other stories involving a myriad of health issues including…teeth issues, kidney stones, joint pain, fatigue, & hair loss (Ex Vegans).
Claim: According to a report from Bloomberg Intelligence, the plant-based market was worth 29.4 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $162 billion by 2030 (“Plant-Based Foods Market to Hit $162 Billion in Next Decade, Projects Bloomberg Intelligence | Press,” 2021).
Claim: While corporations are profiting off this message, a recent analysis of the incredibly influential and plant-based Eat Lancet diet, revealed it was unaffordable for 1.58 billion people worldwide, not to mention nutritionally inadequate for many populations as we discussed in video 1. (Hirvonen et al., 2020)
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Episode 4 - References Part 2
Claim: Research has shown deficiencies in B12, iron, VD, calcium, and DHA during pregnancy can increase the risk of symptoms like morbidity, low birth weight, altered growth, neurological issues, fetal malformations and the outcome of the overall pregnancy (Sebastiani et al., 2019) (Zec et al., 2020).
Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6470702/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32302504/
Claim: To add insult to injury, current testing methods for B12 are thought to miss many of those who are deficient (Iltar et al., 2019).
Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6614102/
Claim: Research has also shown that exclusively breast fed infants of vegan mothers are at a relatively high risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, anemia and failure to thrive (Honzik et al., 2010).
Sources: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090379809002220
Claim: It’s often believed that well planned vegan diets with supplementation can avoid deficiency and these permanent side effects. But unfortunately, a 2021 study compared vegan, vegetarian and omnivore children whose meals were carefully planned by a dietician and still found vegan children had lower levels of several nutrients, including protein, vitamin A and DHEA and cholesterol (Hovinen et al., 2021).
Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33471422/
Claim: In extreme cases, these deficiencies can even result in childhood death or irreversible damage from malnutrition (Von Schenck et al., 1997) (Sebastiani et al., 2019) (Codazzi et al., 2005) (Guez et al., 2012).
Sources: https://adc.bmj.com/content/77/2/137.info https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6470702/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15982440/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22726312/
Claim: Given these serious risks, many countries like Italy (“Italy Proposal to Jail Vegans Who Impose Diet on Children,” 2016), Switzerland (Hooper, 2014), Spain (Redecillas-Ferreiro et al., 2020), Belgium and Germany (Richter et al., 2016) have warned about the possible negative consequences of vegan diets.
Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37034619 https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2014/09/17/Swiss-government-Vegan-diet-bad-for-kids/6161410965963/ https://www.analesdepediatria.org/en-position-paper-on-vegetarian-diets-articulo-S2341287920300211?referer=buscador https://www.ernaehrungs-umschau.de/fileadmin/Ernaehrungs-Umschau/pdfs/pdf_2016/04_16/EU04_2016_Special_DGE_eng_final.pdf
Claim: And if you visit any of vegan forums online, like the reddit thread for “ex vegans”, you’ll find hundreds of other stories involving a myriad of health issues including…teeth issues, kidney stones, joint pain, fatigue, & hair loss (Ex Vegans).
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/exvegans/
Claim: According to a report from Bloomberg Intelligence, the plant-based market was worth 29.4 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $162 billion by 2030 (“Plant-Based Foods Market to Hit $162 Billion in Next Decade, Projects Bloomberg Intelligence | Press,” 2021).
Sources: https://www.bloomberg.com/company/press/plant-based-foods-market-to-hit-162-billion-in-next-decade-projects-bloomberg-intelligence/
Claim: While corporations are profiting off this message, a recent analysis of the incredibly influential and plant-based Eat Lancet diet, revealed it was unaffordable for 1.58 billion people worldwide, not to mention nutritionally inadequate for many populations as we discussed in video 1. (Hirvonen et al., 2020)
Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7024996/