Stupid article

In the Sun (which I don't normally read, but someone forwarded me the link). Says idiot nutritionist, "People who don't eat enough protein such as vegans or those on strict exclusion diets often suffer more colds, which in turn last longer." http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...-24-hours.html

I am sooooooooooo bored of the myth that vegans don't eat enough protein. Sure, it is possible to eat unhealthily as a vegan (just as it is possible to eat unhealthily as an omni - in fact the omnis I know are far more likely to eat a rubbish diet because they don't give it enough thought). But I have been vegan for twenty years and have never struggled to get enough protein in my diet. I don't make a special effort beyond using common sense and eating a healthy balanced diet. I'm active, toned, full of energy, work out most days, and have never taken protein supplements. I eat a blend of cereals for breakfast (malted wheats, crunchy bran, oat crunch etc) with soya milk, and bingo, that's at least half my daily allowance sorted straight away. Getting the rest, from wholegrain bread, beans, soya products etc etc etc, is so easy that I rarely even think about it. When a so-called "nutritionist" makes idiotic, ignorant, prejudicial claims like this in a newspaper read by many people who don't know better, it perpetuates the belief that vegans are unhealthy freaks who are wasting away from malnutrition. Argh. :mad:

I am 36 years old and can honestly say with my hand on my heart, that I've never felt as healthy in my entire life as I have done in the last month, and I'm positive it's only going to get better and better!

I got so cross about this that I went on her website in order to leave her the following comment, which I sincerely hope she will take on board:

"I take issue with your insulting claim in today's Sun newspaper that vegans do not eat enough protein. As a vegan for most of my life, I know a lot about the vegan diet. I would like to draw your attention to the following:
1. Most vegans are far more aware and informed of nutrition than those who do not follow a vegan diet. We take the trouble to educate ourselves about our nutritional needs and to ensure that we eat a healthy, balanced diet. This is important to us, not only to ensure our good health, but also to have adequate knowledge to combat the prejudice we encounter on a regular basis about the adequacy of our diet. For this reason, the vegans that I know tend to be healthier and better nourished than their non-vegan counterparts, many of whom remain ignorant of how to eat a healthy balanced diet.
2. The sources of plant-based protein are so numerous that I have never struggled to get enough protein in my diet. Wholegrains, beans, soya products and the like are more than enough to meet my dietary needs without requiring any special effort or supplement on my part. I have been vegan since the age of 11, at which point "nutritionists" advised my parents that a vegan diet would hinder my physical and intellectual growth. Thankfully, we did not pander to their prejudice and ignorance, instead preferring to educate ourselves about healthy eating. If my development was affected in any way at all, it was in a positive sense. I am a healthy, active adult, full of energy and vitality. I have a PhD and a thriving academic career. The notion that a vegan diet would retard my development was clearly nonsense. I have had various blood tests over the years and have never been deficient in anything.
3. It is ignorance, more than anything else, that threatens healthy eating. Vegans, just like omnivores, may end up deficient in certain nutrients if they are unaware of how to eat a healthy, balanced diet. The solution to this problem is not to perpetuate ignorant prejudices regarding the viability of a vegan diet, but rather, to provide adequate nutritional information to enable people to make informed choices that are best for them. As a dietitian, you must be aware of the vast array of nutrients available within a balanced vegan diet (including protein), as well as some of the associated benefits, such as low consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol. Rather than assuming that lack of protein is associated with a vegan diet, please consider that any nutritional deficiency is most likely to be the result of poor dietary choices, made through ignorance and/or carelessness. As many vegans have gone out of their way to inform themselves about nutrition, it is fallacious to assume that vegans are more likely than others to eat a poor diet. Please do not perpetuate this myth, and instead focus on encouraging a healthy, balanced diet, without prejudice as to the source of the nutrients consumed.

Thank you."

[edit] Argh, her stupid comment page doesn't even work! It claims that it needs a valid email address. I've tried it with two different email addresses, both valid, and it still doesn't work! Stupid idiotic "dietician"! :mad:

Can't you comment on the Sun website itself? It looks as if you can.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the Sun hack has misreported whatever the dietician said about vegans, which is another reason to post it on there perhaps!

Good idea - except that you need to be signed in, and I just can't bring myself to create an account with the Sun. I feel bad, but I just don't think I can do it! :o

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rainbow

In the Sun (which I don't normally read, but someone forwarded me the link). Says idiot nutritionist, "People who don't eat enough protein such as vegans or those on strict exclusion diets often suffer more colds, which in turn last longer." http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...-24-hours.html

I am sooooooooooo bored :

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Yawn yawn!! Me too Rainbow.. How tiring to have the same old fallacies rolled out time and time again.

I used to suffer with perpetual colds but am struggling to remember one occasion that I have had a cold in the four years since I became Vegan.
I have lost nearly three stones.
I have almost eliminated a long standing problem with high blood pressure.
I eat a healthy balanced diet and a greater understanding of nutrition than I ever had as a meat eater.
What a load of b******s !

If that is how the Sun perceives Vegans I am going to start using Andrex instead!
;)

I'm actually feeling a little under the weather, myself :p I think it might be a mix of the travelling, the poor diet while travelling, and the -42C snowy weather :p I bought a lot of healthy food at the grocery store the other day, but I haven't felt hungry for the past few days. Yesterday I had 3 pieces of fruit and a vegan granola bar :(

I like how the article says "People who don't eat enough protein such as vegans..." as if there's no way possible for a vegan to meet the daily requirement of protein :p

Your reply is brilliant Rainbow..............I hope you can find a way to enable it to be read by the relevant people.
It's so annoying hearing the same old lines coming out of non-vegans time after time. With regard to supposedly suffering more colds............I've been vegan for 5 years and I've only had 1 or 2 colds, plus they haven't been as severe or lasted as long as the colds I had before I was vegan.
I used to get 2 or 3 colds a year in my pre-vegan days.

It is a stupid article from a stupid paper.

I really don't trust many newspaper/magazine/media nutritionists. They start by mentioning antioxidants...as far as I'm aware there is no evidence that eating more antioxidants will do you any good. They also recomend an expensive pill.

A lot of these 'nutritionists' come up with sciencey sounding explanations of why this or that is good or bad, but they often have no evidence or the evidence is inconclusive. They do it because a basic healthy diet can't really be marketed so they have to come up with new gimmicks to sell to the public.

The vegan comment is just like some of the subtle rascism they show.

The Sun is a good read if you want a laugh but I'd never buy it. Most popular paper in Britain though, just goes to show how soft porn can sell a paper.


Edit: that'sa bit of a rant, sorry :)

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SlackAlice

If that is how the Sun perceives Vegans I am going to start using Andrex instead!
;)

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lol

Such articles seem to me like the lobbyists are being at work again. Maybe the nutritionist was paid to say this, just like the doctors who are working out the government dietary recommendations are being paid by the meat and dairy industry.
I think it is well known that average omnis eat about double the ptotein they actually need. (And those on stupid diets maybe even more.) And hardly any of the omnis knows how much protein is in grains and veggies alone, not to talk of legumes, nuts and seeds.

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Johnstuff

It is a stupid article from a stupid paper.

I really don't trust many newspaper/magazine/media nutritionists. They start by mentioning antioxidants...as far as I'm aware there is no evidence that eating more antioxidants will do you any good. They also recomend an expensive pill.

A lot of these 'nutritionists' come up with sciencey sounding explanations of why this or that is good or bad, but they often have no evidence or the evidence is inconclusive. They do it because a basic healthy diet can't really be marketed so they have to come up with new gimmicks to sell to the public.

The vegan comment is just like some of the subtle rascism they show.

The Sun is a good read if you want a laugh but I'd never buy it. Most popular paper in Britain though, just goes to show how soft porn can sell a paper.


Edit: that'sa bit of a rant, sorry :)

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Indeed, indeed.

Yeah, and like mentioned omnis eat way too much protein and cholesterol, which isn't healthy either.

I will also announce myself as a very healthy vegan, I haven't had a cold since I don't remember when it was last time since I vent vegan. I also have noticed that my skin is more hydrated and my lips doesn't seem to get as dry as before. I hardly ever use any lipbalm nor any other cosmetics ^^

HILARIOUS!!!!!! I never get colds!!!!! I'm a vegan.....but, hmmmm, i can actually name of three meat-eating friends right now who are sick, and I am sure they packed some lean chicken in at 11 a.m....Where do they come up with this stuff?????? Seriously, freedom of speech is wonderful, but it becomes a problem when people just start making things up.