Vegan health risks are lies?!


Question: Vegan health risks are lies?
Hi, I've been starting veganism due to watching horrific videos of industrial farm abuse and toture and of course I did my research... i also found that milk that was taken from cows are intended for calfs and NOT humans since every other animal stops drinking milk after a certain age they don't need milk to constantly be fed to humans and that cows only can produce milk when they are pregnant and all the hormones and drugs they feed it to make the cows produce milk they use machines and these arent fun at all for the cow. they said that calcium for humans is intented to be absorbed from leafy greens, lots of salad, nuts, and lots of beans and tofu and certain ethnic veggies too which is actually what they should be consuming and its a much better source of calcium than milk. so on this website while doing my research, I found that the people were talking about all these risks of veganism like the vitamin deficiancies and the part about milk they said that they found many people who dont drink milk to develop Osteoporosis as a result of a lack of calcium causing bone demineralization. i for one disagree a lot and suspect that perhaps certain "facts" are just fed to the public so the meat company would still be in business. and believe me these facts scare people from their strict diets.
so what do you all think? also as stated before leafy greens are a much more ideal way of consuming calcium.

thank you!!

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

As someone else said, it's a good idea to get your research from places that aren't trying to convince you of one thing or another. For example, I learned from the Harvard Nurses Study of Osteoporosis that milk makes you slightly more prone to osteoporosis, which makes sense considering I read that animal protein (to include dairy) makes the blood's pH slightly acidic when it prefers to be alkaline and the blood alkalizes itself by leeching calcium from the bones. This, then, made sense when I read from a sports nutrition publication that an alkaline pH prevents muscle break-down...which made sense, because I lifted weights as an omnivore and still do as a vegan and I notice that I can put on muscle mass the same...but I hold onto my muscle mass a lot longer as a vegan.

I did produce three blog posts, complete with sources, on some nutritional "confusion" out there:
Protein - http://tinyurl.com/2uquvh7
Iron - http://tinyurl.com/3anud79
Calcium - http://tinyurl.com/6x5hwy3

Again, I included sources for my statements, but also included explanations on the nutrients, why vegans needn't worry, and how they can get more of those nutrients in their diets if they want to. For example, did you know that spinach has all your essential amino acids? People talk about meat being a "complete" protein ("complete" because it has all your essential amino acids), but so does spinach...and amaranth (the grain and the leaf), buckwheat, hemp seeds, black beans, quinoa, soy...basically, once I started doing the research, I was appalled to learn that I had been lied to!



Im having steak and eggs for breakfast, cuz im a man, just thought id let you know,

My father is special forces marines, he's been eating steak and drinking milk all his life and look at him, healthy as an ox, humans are ment to eat meat. Period.



Amazing! It may help. http://giftchoice.info/331778/used-machine

http://giftchoice.info/331778/used-machine



vegans needs to take B12 supplement pills in order to survive, nuff said



vegan will kill you



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07luTLX4lj4



I'm glad that you want to embrace a meat-free lifestyle, but you do have to research all the nutrients that you need from animals (like calcium, vitamin B, omega 3, etc.) to make sure that you somehow get it in supplemental (pill/vitamin-fortified food) or natural form (like lettuce, walnuts, etc.). Vegan health risk aren't "lies" because people can get sick from not getting proper nutrients that ordinarily come from animal products. Good luck on your new diet and make sure you get the right nutrients in some form or other!



Actually certain "facts" are fed to kids like you to get you to eat a vegetarian diet....and continue the lies rampant in the veg*n world.

Greens are NOT a more ideal way to get calcium. Most greens high in calcium also contain oxalate. Oxalate inhibits your body's ability to absorb iron AND calcium. As little as 10% of the calcium in green veggies is used by your body as opposed to about 35% of the calcium in cows milk. Soy, in particular, is high in oxalate. Cooking spinach increases the oxalate effect.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/261402…

Humans may continue to drink milk as adults if they want to. My cat and dog are certainly mature animals and they love milk. But they don't have the ability to take it from the cow or go to the store and buy it.

Here's a FACT. Humans have been drinking cows milk for as much as 7,500 years. If it wasn't good for us, how have we been able to evolve to be the prime species on earth?

http://news.softpedia.com/news/We-039-ve…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llC0SxW1k…



"...perhaps certain "facts" are just fed to the public" "and believe me these facts scare people..."
Please talk to a real doctor, and if at all possible visit a farm, and get the real information regarding nutrition. You have to realize that not only do the farmers and/or meat producing industries want to make a buck but folks like PETA and others are doing everything they can to demonize anything we do with to or for animals, including spreading lies. The screen in front of you is not a reliable source of information on this subject.

Cool I got a thumbs-down in less than 10 minutes for telling you to think for yourself and do some real research. I guess someone wants to protect an agenda.



ok, first off they arent "lies"...to become vegan, and be healthy, you have to do your homework and know what to eat in order to have a well balanced diet and get what you need.the danger comes when these 12-13-14 year old get to thinking about the poor little animals being butchered and eaten and decide all of a sudden that they are going veggie-vegan, they think as long as they just stop eating meat or using animal products all is well. they are wrong, they are trying to live in a meat eating household where, honestly we normally dont know what they need to have a well balanced diet without it either, were not used to cooking, or planning a healthy diet without it.so, they fix their meals as usual and the teen is going without proper nutrients because they havent done their research, and the parent hasnt either....dont get me wrong its not always teens that go down this path, but usually it is.people grab an ideal and run with it without knowing what they are doing.

sure you CAN have a healthy diet and lifestyle being vegetarian or vegan, theres no doubt about it, but you have to know what to eat to get what you need. so the dangers arent "lies" like everything else, they have to be taken in context.



There must be a right way and a wrong way to do it because I've seen a lot of sickly-thin, pale vegans. I'm sure there are healthy vegans that I just don't notice..they must be doing things properly...while the malnourished ones stand out.

Do your research, get all vital nutrient and minerals and listen to the people who are knowledgeable about this subject. Your health is so important.

(I'm sure you know you can get milk from cows that is taken in a humane way.)



You asked what I think, and I think that you've discarded one set of mistruths for another.

The best way to absorb calcium is from fortified orange juice. The acidity of the juice makes it easier for you to absorb the calcium. And the added vitamin D will make sure that your body can process the calcium. Better than milk; better than leafy greens. Whatever your source of calcium is, as long as you get enough of it and enough vitamin D, then you're covered.

Once it is absorbed, calcium is calcium. It is a chemical element, and unless you're talking about radioactive isotopes of calcium (which I hope you are not eating, vegan or not), it is all the same, so the calcium from one source is not "better" than another.

If you are female, you have to make sure you get enough iron, vegan or not. Meat is one source of iron, but it isn't the most dense source. Spinach is good, but Popeye has caused some people to overestimate its wonders.

If you are getting Calcium, Vitamin D, and Iron, then you're covered. You're almost certainly getting enough Vitamin A, C, and B if you're eating a non-meat diet. Despite what supplement marketers will have you believe, megadoses of Vitamin C have been clearly demonstrated to suppress your immune system, so aim for enough. If you eat any fruits, you're getting enough.

Going beyond the propaganda, there is one category of concern for vegans. There are many people with eating disorders who call themselves vegan. If you only eat one apple a day, technically you are vegan, but that is really an eating disorder. Vegans who eat enough food have little to worry about.



What site are you doing all your research on?

Keep in mind anyone can type a website, it doesn't mean the information is correct.

No, I am not a fan of milk, I am just encouraging you to do real research.

Look for the studies these websites cite and read them yourself. Try to find out what the criticisims of the studies may be.
Yes, there is research that suggests that countries who have high milk consumption still have high levels of osteoporosis.
But, there is also an issue with absorbing calcium from other sources.

There are studies to support or discount just about everything. Many have flaws in them, many are not conclusive.
Read BOTH sides.

I dont' believe milk companies need to scare us into consuming their product, however, like anything else, they use advertising and try to sell their product.


----
I think Frank hit the nail on the head, you have exchanged one set of mistruths for another.

Read the actual studies not someone's interpretation of them, particularly when that person has an agenda, whether that be to convince you to do or not do something.



The evidence indicates that calcium is best absorbed when the acid-alkaline balance in the diet is level. We excrete more calcium through urine when the diet is more acidic, which is associated with animal products... so more animal products means more calcium lost. HOWEVER the data looking at bone density indicates that women who consume dairy products (particularly post-menopausal women) have greater bone density. So this indicates the form of calcium in dairy is more easily absorbed or utilised, hence they might lose more of it but what they retain is used efficiently. That means that a vegan diet MAY increase your risk of osteoporosis, but of course there may also be other dietary influences involved and also genetic influences. The current research is not conclusive. The best option is to eat lots of calcium rich fruits and vegies.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/58/2/219.abs…
http://www.ajcn.org/content/58/3/398.abs…



OK first, cows where put on earth for milk and what ever, and the calf's get special formula for them to drink just like human baby's. and the machines dint bother the cows, and allot of farms milk them by hand any ways, and milk is one of the best source of calcium!

i went to a dariy farm and seen the cows, they dont mined the machines, and the calf's are healthy and fine, and in school i asked the teachers and they said milk is the best sorce of calcium




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