No

by Susan Schenck

Created on: September 09, 2011

It’s been all over the news lately: President Clinton is a vegan! And it’s true: a vegan diet is more healthful than the average American diet, full of dead, way overcooked meat from factory farms, high in omega 6, full of junk food rich in fructose corn syrup and fast food meals that contain enough calories for an entire day.

But my experience of being a strict vegan for six years proved a disaster. I write about the health issues I experienced, as well as my recovery, in Beyond Broccoli, Creating a Biologically Balanced Diet When a Vegetarian Diet Doesn’t Work. I maintain that   “…a vegan diet often lacks things needed by the brain (DHA, EPA, B12), eyes (DHA, A, B12), nervous system (B12, saturated fats), and bones (D, K2). I don’t know about you, but I consider those to be pretty important organs.”

Over the years as a strict vegan, I gained weight from all the carbohydrates and low protein, as well as an overdose of omega-6s. But worst of all, my brain began to deteriorate. A vegan diet lacks docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Our brains are largely composed of DHA, and if our diets are not rich in this nutrient, we can have all sorts of problems, including lowered intelligence and even early stages of dementia. I would find myself going to another room and forgetting why I went there. I was getting to the point that I would not recall my husband’s cell phone (and I never hit a speed dial, but always mark the number). At one scary moment, even his name was on the tip of my tongue.

Still able to read, I did my research. I found that the vegan diet I was on was creating these issues of weight gain from the high carbs and lack of omega-3 fats which are precursors to DHA. I learned that my vegan diet lacked brain foods, foods rich in minerals needed by the brain and DHA: fish, shellfish, and omega-3 eggs (from chickens fed omega-3 foods like flaxseeds, hemp, fish meal, etc).

But that’s not all. Our brains need eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) for well-being. I was feeling very frustrated and overwhelmed, even moody and depressed without this nutrient.

I am not dogmatic—as stated in Beyond Broccoli: “Some people will fare better on a long-term vegan diet than others. Some, because of genetics or their age and health status when they start the vegan diet, are better at making the conversions from plant precursors to nutrients such as DHA, EPA, vitamin A, and vitamin K2.” For the most part, however, those who succeed tend to be young men in the West. Women (especially menstruating, pregnant or lactating) need a more nutrient-dense diet, and older people tend to have a harder time converting plant nutrients into nutrients found only in animal products (ex: omega-3 into DHA, beta carotene into vitamin A, vitamin K1 into vitamin K2, and much more). People in the West generally have more money for supplements needed in the vegan or even vegetarian diet.

I implore people to be responsible in eating meat—shun factory farmed foods, and seek out the cruelty-free. Eat less (about half what Americans eat). Eat it raw or very lightly cooked, in order to avoid toxic byproducts that lead to cancer. (Meat is one of the most dangerous things to eat cooked—just steam it, or eat it raw after freezing it for two weeks to kill parasites.)

So, while being a vegan is idealistic in theory, it doesn’t produce what I call “peak health” in most people. Deficiencies can take up to a decade to show up! So let’s wait and see how long President Clinton lasts…

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