Yet another response to Health24

'DietDoc' IV van Heerden has, once more, made a number of false and disparaging claims about veganism in her recent article, 'Protein facts for vegetarians' (http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Vegetarian/15-3961,42728.asp). The article has a strong bias towards dairy and displays unwarranted prejudice towards veganism. One has to wonder where van Heerden is obtaining her dietary information - the 1952 Dairy Institute Guide to Nutrition or the Weston A. Price Foundation, perhaps? Either way, the South African Vegan Society is dismayed by Health24's persistently problematic misrepresentation of veganism; as we have observed in a number of previous critical responses to 'DietDoc' and other Health24 columnists, this essentially anti-vegan position is based on poor research and biased presentation of data, and seems curiously out of touch with contemporary research in the field of nutrition.

That said, let's look briefly at the problematic claims in this latest article.

First, 'DietDoc' misrepresents plant-based proteins as inherently incomplete, failing to mention any of the numerous plant sources of complete proteins like quinoa, soy, spirulina, hemp seed, amaranth and buckwheat.

Even if we did accept 'Dietdoc's false claim that every plant source of protein on the planet is incomplete, it would still be entirely inconsequential given that vegans don't only eat one single plant throughout the day. If we're eating simple, common vegan meals like beans and rice, hummus and pita, or a veggie burger on a roll - in fact, even if we spread just one of these combinations throughout the day, eating beans at lunch and then rice at dinner, for instance - we're pretty much assured of getting enough complete protein. The implication that we should combine proteins at a single meal comes from Francis Moore Lappe's 'Diet For a Small Planet' book from the '70s; Lappe retracted her position on protein combining ten years later once it was discovered that the body can store essential amino acids between meals.

Second, it's very strange, and somewhat telling, that 'DietDoc' mentions mixing animal proteins (described as 'complete') and plant proteins (described as 'incomplete') but doesn't mention that mixing (in)complete plant proteins with other (in)complete plant proteins achieves exactly the same thing. Her language here also betrays a strong value judgement, a subjective bias that has no place in the provision of objective dietary information.

Third, 'DietDoc's promotion of a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet as 'the healthiest diet on the planet' flies in the face of modern dietary knowledge; dairy is highly problematic (not only is it a very poor source of calcium that is positively linked to osteoporosis, but an enormous number of people, including much of the Southern African population, are lactose intolerant, which is unsurprising given that the evolution of lactase enzymes has only occurred in very recent evolutionary history) and eggs are strongly associated with high cholesterol unless used only rarely, i.e., not as a primary protein source.

Finally, 'DietDoc' explicitly mentions vegan diets as being associated with amino acid deficiencies and thus problematic for anyone with growth needs, including non-adults, pregnant and lactating women and individuals with HIV/AIDS or cancer. This unsupported just-so statement is errant nonsense, and flies in the face of what the peer reviewed literature on the subject - including a number of large, highly referenced studies (e.g., the Cornell China Study) and metastudies - concludes. Again, van Heerden's bias appears to be clouding her ability to perform or convey a coherent evaluation of the balance of evidence.

You don't have to take a vegan's word for it though; here's how most dietary professionals (including most major health and diet organisations) see it: "All proteins are made up of the same amino acids. All. No exceptions. The difference between animal and vegetable proteins is in the content of certain amino acids. If vegetable proteins are mixed, the differences get made up. Even if they aren’t mixed, all you need to do to get the right amount of low amino acids is to eat more of that food. There is no need for animal proteins at all." - Dr. Marion Nestle, Professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University

If misleading articles on Health24 and similar have left you (unwarrantedly) concerned about protein requirements in a vegan diet, simply Google 'vegan protein' or 'vegan meal plans' and you'll discover a wealth of researched, scientifically sound information on getting all your essential amino acids in sufficient quantities to thrive, regardless of your age and regardless of whether or not you're pregnant, lactating or suffering from a dread illness.