The Problems With A Plant Based Diet

Meatless eating , Eating Meat Free , Vegetarian .

Call it whatever you want , this way of eating is becoming more and more popular as time goes by .

A lot of people are moving toward the vegetarian diet these days , as found recently,  4 % of the American population are full time vegetarians with half these people are vegan .

While they might have different reasons to adapt certain eating style , health seems to be the main reason for that .

Vegetarian diets have an excellent health reputation due to it's great benefits as we all know , but recent reports mentioned some side effects about vegetarian diets , especially the more strict ones , AKA vegan diets .

These side effects are in no particular order :

- stroke risk
- brain health harms
- hair loss
- depression

So the question of the day is : are there actually some problems with a plant based diet ?

Qi Sun, MD, an assistant professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health , said and I quote " I don't see any reason that eating a vegetarian diet is risky to health for generally healthy people " .

But as in others researchs , Sun's research concluded that the type of the foods in a vegetarian diet can make a huge difference when it comes to health benefit , for example : Vegetables vs French Fries.

He also added that there are potential pitfalls and downsides to meat-free eating , but with a good nutrition education and well structured supplements usage when needed , people can actually overcome them .

According to the vegetarian resource group's definition , a vegetarian diet is the one that excludes all type of meats and animal protein , this include meat , fish and poultry .

As for vegan diets , they are basically a strict vegetarian diets , as they also exclude dairy products ,  that are milk eggs and cheese , as well as all type of animal based products such as gelatin .

They also exclude every animal product like honey , silk and leather .

The Problems With A Plant Based Diet

You might already know that there are a lot of planet based diet benefits , but today you'll learn about it's downsides , so in no particular order here are the main problems with a plant based diet .

Higher Stroke risk

A study was conducted by British researchers over the course of 18 years , on more then 48,000 men and women with no previous history of strokes / heart diseases , found that :

- Meat-free eaters had 13% lower risk of heart disease than meat-eaters .

- Meat-free eaters had a 20% higher rate of stroke than meat-eaters .

However , Liz Weinandy, a registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center said that this can and should be taken with some caution due to the following reasons :

- It's just an observational study , which means it doesn't show any causes or effects .

- It was conducted in the UK , so the vegetarian eating pattern there may be different than the other areas .

- the topic needs more study , as she suggests that maybe a vegetarian diet doesn't increase the stroke risk every single time .

Brain Health Issues 

Another expert said that when someone exclude meat and poultry from his diet , as in vegetarian diets , it can lead to choline crisis .

This is because the human body can't make it's own need from this nutrient , which is considered to be important for a lot of functions including brain health .

" Vegetarian diets lacks choline , however this can be avoided by simply eating a few eggs throughout the week , as it can help to boost choline intake " as Weinandy said .

She also added that " Vegans and those who are on a strict meatless diets should consider a choline supplement , which should be USP certified " .

This means that the supplement's ingredients and amounts should be verified by an independent company .

Hair Loss Possibility

Can meatless eating patterns lead to hair loss ?

Well , to the majority of people this is the least important one of all the problems with a plant based diet , but the short answer is yes.

Lack of protein can lead to hair loss , as found in recent report .

This is because animal protein contain important nutrients for a healthy hair growth , such as iron , vitamin B and zinc .

Listen , it's true that vegetarian diets contains a lot of foods that are rich in iron , such as dark green , leafy vegetables and dried beans .

However as Sun says " it is harder to absorb iron for a strict vegetarian diet .

But this can reversed by simply taking a supplement , as he said .

So those of you who follow a meat-free diets should take a little bit of caution to get enough iron , as supplements should come as a last solution .

Severe Mood Problems

Now this is something that a lot of people are interested in , can going vegetarian or vegan mess with your mood ?

Well , sorry but as I can't give you a clear answer , because this is one of the main problems with a plant based diet that was studied directly , but unfortunately researchs are mixed on this topic .

Some of them found that it improve your mood , others found the opposite .

In one study , they found that vegetarian diets may actually cause mood problems .

And in another one , when comparing vegetarians , vegans and those who eat a mix of plant and meat ,they found vegan had a lower stress level and anxiety than those who eat a mix of plant and meat .

And lastly , one study concluded that vegetarians are more likely to have mental health problems , but on average , the mental problems existed before they started eating a vegetarian diet .

The researchers said that they found no cause-and-effect link .

Warning : Please Don't Be A Junk Food Vegetarian

This might be one of the main problems with a plant based diet .

You see , when people think about vegetarian or vegan diets,  they always assume that they are healthy , well that's not always true , as Sun says .

He also caution them not to become a junk food vegetarian or vegan .

When someone tries to eat a vegetarian diet he should stick to plant based whole foods such as fruits and vegetables ,

He also should stay away form refined carbs and junk foods like French Fries .

Ohio State's Weinandy said that the meat-free diet isn't for everyone , however she still encourages people to adopt such healthy eating habits that we tend to find in vegetarian and vegan diets .

So the next time you have breakfast in a vegan restaurant , pick you foods wisely , or you can do better , stay at home and make yourself a healthy liquid meal - shake or smoothie - as a lot of vegetarians prefer their breakfast that way .

Final Thoughts 

So , although there are some problems with a plant based diet , it is still considered to be one the best ways to improve health and sustain an enjoyable weight loss journey , and having such little side effect won't make it less of diet then other ones like keto and carnivore diet .

In fact , this what makes the plant based diet so special , even though it can have small risks in nutrients deficiency , the benefits and the good habits that you'll get from it far exceed those negligible negatives .