Thanks for the response.

Yes, the bioavailability of nutrients when consuming plants, especially minerals, proteins, and fat soluble vitamins, are lacking in comparison to animal products no matter how much they try to say otherwise. The only way a vegan is going to avoid eventually becoming malnourished is by supplementation. The majority do not supplement beyond B12. Just taking some B12 is not going to cut it. Supplementation is a whole other discussion in itself regarding quality and effectiveness - they are not all created equal. Of course there are always outliers that do not seem to have issues, but they are in the minority.

As a clinician I was in a unique position to do comparisons between patient cohorts. Some of my background was in research. What I saw in my practice among my vegan patients caught my attention - especially considering this was a population focused so much on trying to be healthy. The athletically inclined raw vegans were the worst. These vegans In their mid forties often had bodies with little muscle mass and their bones were trashed. The lower extremity shatter types of fractures that required surgical intervention resulted from non traumatic related everyday activities - something I would have expected to see more from a geriatric patient. It appeared to me that this particular vegan cohort had a much higher level of these types of severe fractures versus the rest of my patient base. That was concerning and it got me taking a closer look.

My vegan patients, due to the lack of muscle mass, body fat, and possibly some level of nerve dysfunction, also often had problems retaining body heat and felt cold even in the summer. They didn't seem to think this was a problem because they thought they were healthy. Personally, these vegans at that point appeared to have a lot in common with anyone else suffering from an eating disorder. I once went to meet with the director of a new dietetic program at the local college to discuss the program. It was in the middle of summer and she had a floor heater. The room was like a sauna. She was a hard core vegan and also was a runner. This person was in charge of educating dietetic techs and the like that often end up in nursing homes and hospitals implementing diets and counseling according to FDA recommendations which currently is pushing a heavy plant based diet. I have been around long enough to have seen this shift over the years.

Education in organic and biochem is not lost on me. It always amazes me that this basic foundational science seems to be thrown out the window when moving into the applied science of many medically related fields. I often find myself at odds with others - not only when I was in college, but also professionally throughout the years. Diets are just one area that I do not agree with the mainstream narrative and consensus. Glad to see there are many like minded individuals in the house.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the response.

Yes, the bioavailability of nutrients when consuming plants, especially minerals, proteins, and fat soluble vitamins, are lacking in comparison to animal products no matter how much they try to say otherwise. The only way a vegan is going to avoid eventually becoming malnourished is by supplementation. The majority do not supplement beyond B12. Just taking some B12 is not going to cut it. Supplementation is a whole other discussion in itself regarding quality and effectiveness - they are not all created equal. Of course there are always outliers that do not seem to have issues, but they are in the minority.

As a clinician I was in a unique position to do comparisons between patient cohorts. Some of my background was in research. What I saw in my practice among my vegan patients caught my attention - especially considering this was a population focused so much on trying to be healthy. The athletically inclined raw vegans were the worst. These vegans In their mid forties often had bodies with little muscle mass and their bones were trashed. The lower extremity shatter types of fractures that required surgical intervention resulted from non traumatic related everyday activities - something I would have expected to see more from a geriatric patient. It appeared to me that this particular vegan cohort had a much higher level of these types of severe fractures versus the rest of my patient base. That was concerning and it got me taking a closer look.

My vegan patients, due to the lack of muscle mass, body fat, and possibly some level of nerve dysfunction, also often had problems retaining body heat and felt cold even in the summer. They didn't seem to think this was a problem because they thought they were healthy. Personally, these vegans at that point appeared to have a lot in common with anyone else suffering from an eating disorder. I once went to meet with the director of a new dietetic program at the local college to discuss the program. It was in the middle of summer and she had a floor heater. The room was like a sauna. She was a hard core vegan and also was a runner. This person was in charge of educating dietetic techs and the like that often end up in nursing homes and hospitals implementing diets and counseling according to FDA recommendations which currently is heavily pushing a heavily plant based diet. I have been around long enough to have seen this shift over the years.

Education in organic and biochem is not lost on me. It always amazes me that this basic foundational science seems to be thrown out the window when moving into the applied science of many medically related fields. I often find myself at odds with others - not only when I was in college, but also professionally throughout the years. Diets are just one area that I do not agree with the mainstream narrative and consensus. Glad to see there are many like minded individuals in the house.

Thanks again.