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“The vegan diet is low in — or, in some cases, entirely devoid of — several important brain nutrients,” argues the BBC. “Could these shortcomings be affecting vegans’ abilities to think?”
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According to the latest statistics, there are around 375 million vegetarians on the planet. In the West, veganism has ditched the hippie stigma to become one of the fastest-growing millennial trends; in the United States, it grew by 600% between 2014 and 2017. Meanwhile in India, meat-free diets have been mainstream since the 6th Century BCE…
[T]he holes in our current understanding of what the brain needs to be healthy could potentially be a major problem for vegans, since it’s hard to artificially add a nutrient to your diet, if scientists haven’t discovered its worth yet… “I think we need a lot more research into vegan nutrition and health,” says Heather Russell, a dietitian from The Vegan Society. “As far as we can tell, it’s possible to lead a healthy life as a vegan — certainly there are people who thrive on a vegan diet.” Though it’s important to take supplements, she explains that a person’s cardiovascular and brain health are inextricably linked, and vegans tend to have healthier hearts…
Nathan Cofnas, a biologist from Oxford University, takes a harsher view. Though vegans can take supplements, he thinks it’s unrealistic to expect that they all will. Consequently, he finds the recent shift towards plant-based diets troubling, though he’s sympathetic to the arguments for doing so. “Without question, veganism can cause B12 and iron deficiencies, and without question they affect your intelligence,” he says.
The BBC does cite various studies about specific nutrients, but ultimately drew an angry response from a microbiologist who describes themself as “a vegan with a Ph.D., who works alongside many sharp and bright vegans,” and complains the BBC is using outdated data, starting with the theory that meat consumption allowed humans to evolve larger brains.
This is now considered outdated thinking as recent research, published in the journal Nature, refutes this, arguing that a higher-quality diet, including some meat but also improved by cooking, coupled with the energy saved by walking upright, growing more slowly and reproducing later, fuelled the growth in brain size. Prehistoric humans ate some meat but that alone didn’t make them smart…
Sure vegans need to ensure a good B12 intake but so should everyone, as low levels of B12 are common in the entire population, regardless of diet. Everyone over 50 in the U.S. is advised to take B12 supplements and meat and dairy only contain it because animals are fed or injected with supplements… [A]ll major health bodies agree that well-planned vegan diets are appropriate for all people at all ages. For example: “It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics [America’s largest organization of nutrition professionals] that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases…”
I recently wrote a piece for Viva!'s magazine Viva!life about the trend in vegan-bashing articles and this FOMO (fear of missing out) approach is popular click-bait claptrap. However, articles like this do nutrition journalism no favours as misleading the public is irresponsible and dangerous.
