The vegan diet is popular but not automatically healthy

A vegetarian or vegan diet is said to be particularly popular among girls and young women. But despite what some people think, these diets, especially vegan diets, are not automatically healthy. A vegan diet can lead to nutritional deficits as a result of the limited choice of foods. These deficits can cause clinically relevant symptoms if they are not balanced out. One of the things to keep in mind is the need for a sufficient amount of vitamins B₁₂ and B₆, as well as vitamin D, explains nutritional scientist Bettina Dörr, PhD, from Munich, who specializes in how nutritional science is applied in everyday practice.

Vegetarian and vegan diets

According to Dr. Dörr, vegetarian diets can be categorized into the following main types:

• Ovo-lacto vegetarian (excludes meat and fish).
• Ovo vegetarian (excludes meat, fish, and dairy products).
• Lacto vegetarian (excludes meat, fish, and eggs).
• Vegan (excludes meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, and honey).
• Raw vegan (excludes meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, honey, and heated food).

The following are additional groups:

• Fruitarians want to eat only plant products that do not result in any damage to the plant itself (apples and nuts, for example, but not carrots or potatoes).
• Pescatarians exclude meat but still eat fish or seafood.
• Dirty vegetarians avoid meat and fish but, according to Dr. Dörr, they do not pay particular attention to their diet and eat lots of ready-made and confectionery products.
• Flexitarians value a balanced diet and eat meat or fish in moderation, but not particularly often.

Another diet is the orthorexic diet. Followers of this diet force themselves to have a healthy diet and are afraid of getting sick from unhealthy food. As the nutritional scientist explains, orthorexic persons set their own definitions of what is healthy. While some refrain from certain foods (e.g., household sugar), others eliminate whole food groups and eat nothing but raw food. Compulsive behavior can appear in specific methods of food preparation or adherence to fixed meal schedules.

The overwhelming majority of orthorexic persons are young women. As shown in a study from the University of Göttingen, orthorexic behavior is displayed above all in active women who play sports, particularly high-performance athletes. Children can also be affected by orthorexia if their parents are.

Critical nutrients

When following a vegan diet, it is possible to ingest sufficient critical nutrients, even with plant-based foods, according to Dr. Dörr. The prerequisite for this is good knowledge regarding food and nutrients. However, it is increasingly the case that foods are “simply left out,” without consideration of the consequences. This factor should be considered when providing medical advice.

Some of the important nutrients in this respect are proteins and vitamins B₆, B₁₂, and D.

Proteins

Girls need 0.9 g/kg per day of protein. For a person whose body weight is 60 kg, this corresponds to 54 g. The daily protein requirement for a person who weighs 60 kg can be fulfilled through a vegan diet. According to Dr. Dörr, 54 g of protein is contained in 300 g of tofu, 350 g of cooked soybeans, 350 g of hazelnuts, 750 g of whole grain bread (15 slices at 50 g each), 750 g of cooked lentils, and 1 kg of white beans.