Dr. Coffee blog's updates

This post is a continuation from two past posts with new observations. Both topics are on human health and diet.

First update stems from the previous post Supplementing what? in which I warn about the dangers of long term strict veganism. This weekend, I had the luck of meeting an individual who became a Vegan within the last couple of weeks after being a practicing lacto-ovo vegetarian for about a year. It was a sight to see. She was about 10-15 pounds underweight. Her complexion was similar to a ghost, pale white. She is obviously intelligent, but the mental sharpness was not present. This on top of being sick with a cold or flu. Her friend (she was also present) who just started practicing veganism (same time) after being lacto-ovo vegetarian even longer was in the same physical state. I wish both of them would realize they are destroying their own healths'. It seems that these extreme vegetarian types have a cult like following. This trend is very disheartening in the least.

One argument that I read from a vegan propaganda publication this past week concerned the actress Alicia Silverstone. Her source of Vitamin B12 comes from Miso soup. I was not aware of this vitamin source, but I rather doubt the concentration is enough to fulfill an individual's daily requirement without eating several bowls of the soup. This is the very basic problem with veganism. Yes, you can find these necessary vitamins in certain vegan approved sources, but they will not provide enough of the vitamins to an individual for healthy living. I repeat once again, healthy, long term, strict vegan adherents do NOT exist. It is a dangerous lifestyle. One other quirky thing about the article was her description of feeling holistic (??????). I am coming to the conclusion that this general "feeling" comes from a lack of energy and mild hallucinations. Yeah, you feel holy, but what is it really?

The other update is on my own health and is a follow up to the post, Give me a D, Vitamin D, where I discuss a potential Vitamin D deficiency in my own diet during winter. I would my overall feeling as constantly tired even though I am not sick and been sleeping quite well. After taking about 2000 IUs of Vitamin D from store bought vitamins, I felt better the following day. After one week of the supplements, I felt back to normal or similar to summertime. My guess was right, I was lacking Vitamin D in my diet and it was manifesting itself as symptoms similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. From now on, I am going to start taking lower doses (~800 IUs) starting in November to prevent this problem from hitting me in the middle of winter again. I am sure this is a very common problem in our modern society that lives indoors during daylight winter hours because of employment.

Supplementing what?

I have been at a quandary on topics to write. Today at work, we had a discussion concerning veganism. First, I will give a definition on veganism and categorize the diet as an extreme form of vegetarianism. The most common form of vegetarianism is lacto-ovovegetarianism or a vegetarian who eats eggs and consumes dairy products. Several variations of the protein loving vege types exist. If the diet is carefully planned, the egg/milk consuming vege types can live long, healthy lives. Be warned, a poor vegetarian diet is just as bad as a poor omnivorous diet though. As your momma said, "Eat your vegetables!"

Veganism takes a further step removing all forms of animal byproducts including dairy and eggs. Animal products have high concentrations of certain vitamins and minerals that may be found in plants, but the plants have low concentrations. These are iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, and B12. Removal of all animal byproducts severely limits the intake of these vital nutrients and could lead malnourishment. Supplements are often taken by vegans to fulfill their needs. The one of interest is vitamin B12. B12 is from yeast or bacterial activity, but the only source in modern diets is through animal products. Vegans do not eat any forms of animal products, thus, they will suffer vitamin B12 deficiency over a long period of time. What if they take supplements? Supplements come from a form of living animal byproduct, they are not vegan if B12 is one of them. Other deficiencies will also come into play from lack of these nutrients over a long period of time. Someone may live in good health over a few weeks or months, but any longer that is not possible. No large group of individuals is found worldwide that strictly adheres to veganism as a result. I will make the statement simple and clear. Healthy, strict, long-term vegan adherents are like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, they DO NOT EXIST.

This leads me to the second half of my post, something of interest to vegans, vitamin supplements and their benefits. In a prior post, I spoke about the value of research studies on health and continuing medical care. This study questions the beneficial value of supplemental vitamins. The multitude of vitamins individuals take for various disease preventative purposes may not have that significant of an effect on actually preventing the disease. In some cases, as with antioxidants and heart disease, it may actually be worst than not using the vitamins. (Note: Links do not work in paraphrase.)

The news on antioxidants, the darlings of the vitamin menagerie, is even more troubling. These compounds, which include Vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, beta carotene, and folate, fight free radicals, unstable compounds thought to damage cells and contribute to aging. But not only do antioxidant supplements fail to protectagainst heart disease, stroke, and cancer; they actually increase the risk of death, according to a 2007 analysis of research on more than 232,000 people, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, as well as other studies.

The article does make the statement that in cases of diets that lack certain nutrients (i.e. Vegans) vitamins are recommended and are beneficial. Vitamin supplements are not all bad. As for the preventative ideals concerning disease, this study demonstrates our basic lack of medical knowledge about the complex interactions vitamins have within our bodies. More studies are required in the future to clear our understanding.