Vegan Myths Busted

Can I get enough protein?

I hear this question almost daily and the answer is ABSOLUTELY!  The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is .8g per kg of body weight.  That means if you weigh 145lbs or 66kg you ONLY need 53g of protein per day!  To hit that on a plant based diet you would need to eat 1 cup of black beans (31g), 1 cup soy milk (8g), 1oz almonds (6g) and 2 cups of broccoli (8g).  I eat that by 10am!  “The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that the average American male eats 102g of protein, while the average female eats about 70g.”  That’s almost twice the Recommended Daily allowance!  So stop worrying about how much protein you eat!

Going Vegan is Expensive

One of the first responses we get is “wow that is expensive”.  In reality it is much cheaper!  Next time you go to your local market walk around the produce section and look at the prices of fresh fruits and vegetables, most of which are far less than $1 a pound while meat can be well above $3 per pound.  A study published in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition has found that people who adopt a vegetarian diet save on average of $750 per year compared to people who eat meat.   We’ll see you in the produce section saving money!

Vegan Diets Are Not Healthy

We have to start by saying all vegan diets are not created equal.  There is such a thing as vegan junk food and you can eat too much of it!  Prepackaged and processed products are not the same as REAL fruits and vegetables.  That being said, dietary intake studies have shown vegans, on average, are not getting the recommended daily intake of three nutrients: calcium, iodine and B12.  Using the same criteria, omnivores are deficient in seven nutrients calcium, iodine and five others!  Personally I would rather worry about fortifying three nutrients, not seven, while at the same time lower cancer and chronic disease risks.