Vegan Food vs. Conventional Food: A Snapshot of The Science Behind What We Eat
If science can not show the detrimental impacts a Westernised lifestyle and diet has on the human body then what can? The term vegan was coined in 1944 by Donal Watson to challenge non-vegetarian and lifestyle. In today’s world it seems perfectly natural to oppose a vegan lifestyle when all we were told was that meat and dairy was healthy for human consumption, contrary to science-based evidence and even the world's largest meat and dairy companies adapting to the rise of plant-based food.
The definition of "Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals." (The Vegan Society)
Evidence shows that people have chosen to avoid animal products for over 2,000 years. As early as 500 BCE, the likes of Pythagoras promoted benevolence among all species and Buddha too, discussed the vegetarian diet with his followers and so the concept is not as new as we all believe.
The bottom line is that in order to change our beliefs we as individuals must take personal responsibility through questioning our justifications. Through this method we create the space for ourselves to scrutinise our beliefs and to logically provide an argument against our own arguments and thus, by developing our perception on our beliefs we create new definitions and through new definitions we create new experiences.
We as human beings are complex animals and by following a science-based evidence approach we can compare the conventional diet to the vegan diet. Evidence that one simply cannot dispute.
Through science we can begin to move away from the “I’m right, you’re wrong” opinionated scenario. In the media there have been multiple cases showing how meat and dairy consumption leads to increased rates of disorders of bone and calcium balance, increased cancer risk, disorders of the liver, worsening of coronary artery disease and so on. What's more, animal protein consumption has been shown to trigger the release of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a cancer-promoting growth hormone. The more IGF-1 in our bloodstream, the higher our risk for developing some cancers. Animal protein has been shown to stimulate IGF-1 production whether it’s the muscle proteins in meat, the egg-white protein in eggs, or the milk proteins in dairy and studies have shown that after just 11 days of cutting back on animal protein, our IGF-1 levels may drop by 20 percent.
On the other hand eating a diet rich in plant-proteins has been proven to:
Lower risk of allergies
Lower risk of bladder cancer
Lower blood pressure
Lower total cholesterol
Lower risk of Crohn’s disease
Lower risk of endometrial cancer
Lower risk of inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis
Better preservation of muscle mass as one ages
Benefit the effects for Parkinson’s disease patients
Lower risk of premature puberty
Slow the progression of prostate cancer
Whole plant proteins give you zero negative health impacts, unless you consume too much however it is virtually impossible to consume the quantity of whole foods before it becomes toxic. In animal protein there is increased subcutaneous fat, increased cholesterol, increased bone fractures (from drinking diary) and decrease in the FGF21 enzyme, shown to be likely “mediators of the protection from cancer, autoimmunity, obesity, and diabetes afforded by vegan diets”. A vegan diet also offers fewer Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) and this has shown that a “Decreased Consumption of Branched-Chain Amino Acids Improves Metabolic Health”. This means improved blood-sugar levels whilst decreasing BMI and body fat. Studies show that people who eat the RDA of protein (0.8g/kg) around 56g protein per day are actually capable of losing weight when eating hundreds more calories than people eating less calories and on a high protein diet.
All animal-based foods also contain sex steroid hormones, such as oestrogen. These hormones naturally found (even in organic cow’s milk) may play a role in the various associations identified between dairy products and hormone-related conditions, including acne, diminished male reproductive potential, and premature puberty. Furthermore, significantly higher rates of bone and hip fractures, heart disease, cancer, and premature death in general for women who drank more milk.
There is a plethora of research that shows the benefits of a diet derived from plants of which I have outlined here in comparison to animal products such as milk and meat and whilst I have not outlined a comparison to eggs the story is much the same.
To conclude, moving towards a whole-food plant-based diet (or vegan diet) gives you all of the nutrients you need and without the added adverse health effects. The most regarded lifestyle is the high-carb, high-fibre vegan lifestyle and it has been shown to be beneficial for overweight individuals, diabetics and even those wanting to gain muscle mass.
Sources
Butler, J. and Health, V. (2017). How and why meat consumption is a major public health concern A review of the evidence. [online] . Available at: https://viva.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Meat-the-Truth_1.pdf [Accessed 8 Sep. 2021].
Carbone, J.W. and Pasiakos, S.M. (2019). Dietary Protein and Muscle Mass: Translating Science to Application and Health Benefit. Nutrients, [online] 11(5), p.1136. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566799/.
Kahleova, H., Dort, S., Holubkov, R. and Barnard, N. (2018). A Plant-Based High-Carbohydrate, Low-Fat Diet in Overweight Individuals in a 16-Week Randomized Clinical Trial: The Role of
Carbohydrates. Nutrients, 10(9), p.1302.
McCarty, M.F. (2014). GCN2 and FGF21 are likely mediators of the protection from cancer, autoimmunity, obesity, and diabetes afforded by vegan diets. Medical Hypotheses, 83(3), pp.365–371.
nutritionfacts.org. (n.d.). Are BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) Healthy? | NutritionFacts.org. [online] Available at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-bcaa-branched-chain-amino-acids-healthy/ [Accessed 8 Sep. 2021].
The Game Changers Movie (2019). The Game Changers Movie. [online] The Game Changers Movie. Available at: https://gamechangersmovie.com/benefits/maximizing-performance/gaining-muscle-and-strength/.
The Vegan Society (2021). Definition of veganism. [online] The Vegan Society. Available at: https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism.
The Vegan Society (2019). History. [online] The Vegan Society. Available at: https://www.vegansociety.com/about-us/history.
Viva! - The Vegan Charity. (n.d.). Dairy – Why Animal Products Harm. [online] Available at: https://viva.org.uk/health/why-animal-products-harm/dairy/ [Accessed 8 Sep. 2021].
Other
SURGE. (n.d.). UK pig farmers double their use of specific antibiotics deemed “critically important” for humans. [online] Available at: https://www.surgeactivism.org/articles/uk-pig-farmers-double-their-use-of-specific-antibiotics-deemed-critically-important-for-humans [Accessed 8 Sep. 2021].
Butler, D.J. (n.d.). White Lies. [online] . Available at: https://viva.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/White-Lies-report-2014.pdf [Accessed 2014].
Wrtten by Harry Bone
