The Risks a Vegetarian Diet Can Pose for Adult Women
Activists (nutrition, climate, environment, and those with religious fervor) are pushing that we must stop eating meat – while ignoring real risks.
Promoters cherry pick studies to show alleged benefits but omit studies showing risks. The above story notes a few of the risks – but there are many more as shown below:
Rarely does the media mention the health risks of plant-based eating.
Risks
- Decrease in bone mineral density
- 33% higher risk of hip fractures (and possibly other bone fractures)
- Anemia, iron deficiency
- Loss of muscle mass
- Hair loss
- Risks of vitamin B-12 deficiency. This is not a minor issue but can lead to severe health problems. Meat is the primary and usually the only source of B-12 in our diets.
- Other nutrient deficiencies and health problems. As we age, our ability to absorb some critical nutrients tends to decrease (notably B-12).
- More: 10+ Potential Risks of a Vegan Diet (One is Irreversible)
- Plant-based diets are best… or are they? – Harvard Health
- Some of my vegetarian-related health problems: non-viral hepatitis, gall bladder inflammation, severe dizziness, nonspecific ST anomaly irregular heart rate, migraines, visual auras/scotomas up to 10x per day, tri-geminal nerve pain, memory problems, loss of energy, chronic fatigue, and during this period I also suffered two broken bones in my foot (may or may not be related). All of this was caused by a B-12 deficiency and led to two very horrible years of my life.
If you plan to eat vegan or vegetarian, let your doctor know, consult with a dietician, have your blood levels tested annually, and use an app or spreadsheet to track your food intake. Please see The Accidental Vegetarian – Coldstreams for more, including what happened to me.
Contrary to the first paragraph in the above linked story, vegan and vegetarian eating is NOT growing in popularity but has shrunk from 6% vegetarian, 2% vegan in 2001, to 5% vegetarian, and 1% vegan in 2023 (per Gallop survey).
Unfortunately, many naive individuals tried vegetarian eating styles but had to quit due to health problems (35% quite within months due to health problems).
Between 65%-85% of those who start eating vegetarian eventually quit, for many reasons.
A popular meme is that few vegetarians are B-12 deficient, but that is misleading. Most people have a 2-to-5-year store of B-12 in their liver – and can survive for long periods without dietary B-12. But over time, that internal store is slowly depleted. Further, as we get older, our ability to absorb B-12, and our storage of B-12 decreases to the point older adults are more likely to become B-12 deficient.
Most vegans/vegetarians quit before running out, so the claim that most vegetarians do not become B-12 deficient is misleading – they are not B-12 deficient because they were no longer vegetarians!
