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Does a Vegan Diet Affect Your Ability to Heal?

  • January 03, 2017

There is no doubt that the standard American diet leaves much to be desired. The manifest nutritional failings and health challenges created by processed food have motivated many to adopt healthier diets. Obesity is skyrocketing and life expectancy is plunging.

As a result of this diet-driven health calamity, we are flooded with contradictory and often inaccurate health information. Still, most experts would agree that people do not eat enough vegetables. This does not necessarily mean that a vegan diet is ideal. As CNN reported, a vegan diet may pose challenges and adversely impact the healing process.

People who eat a strictly plant-based diet may suffer from subclinical protein malnutrition. They are also at risk for a number of other nutrient deficiencies, as some nutrients simply cannot be obtained from plant foods.

I know that a large number of individuals disagree about the potential dangers of veganism, but my views are informed by 30 years of practicing nutritional medicine. Interestingly, the average vegetarian is far healthier than the average American, most likely due to eating far more vegetables and avoiding many processed foods.

However, this is not a justification to avoid all animal foods. While I certainly would never argue with anyone for avoiding animal foods for ethical reasons, it is important to consider the potential impact on your health. Fortunately, it is possible to avoid some of the resultant deficiency syndromes by following the recommendations found in my nutritional plan.