Numerous scientific studies confirm the great impact of nutrition on our health.1 Improper diet, smoking, alcohol consumption2 and physical inactivity in many people – most often over 60 years old – cause diseases of civilization that could easily be avoided3. Cheap ready-made foods, which seem very attractive to us, have a harmful effect on the body and are not needed by it. These foods and their excess consumption are the causes of disease.
Why politics nobly keeps aloof, says a review of the book “Salt, Sugar and Fat.”
An omnivore can be defined as a person who adheres to the “normal” Western style of eating. Most people focus only on the taste of products and do not think about maintaining health. In order to get used to less salt and develop completely different taste preferences, it takes, for example, about three months.
Healthy or unhealthy alternative diets are followed by a minority. For vegetarians, vegans and raw foodists, the problem lies primarily in the monotony due to ignorance of certain facts. Often they blindly follow a certain direction in nutrition. Vitamin B12, vitamin D, iodine, the ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids and calcium become problems.
With noticeable deviations from a balanced mixed diet, the doctor should monitor the nutritional status from time to time to determine possible nutritional errors. But usually he knows little or nothing about nutrition, so he is instructed to treat, and not to engage in prevention. In addition, the doctor usually believes in the so-called “scientific research in the food and animal industry” that is aimed at increasing the intake of animal protein. It all started with the famous chemist Justus von Liebig, who developed meat concentrate and made it a big business.
Informed vegans can eat very well. Pregnant and lactating women should take into account some points in order for their babies to grow up really healthy. Problems are rare.4 The doctor should neither be a blind vegan advocate nor an absolute critic, but should have sufficient knowledge of nutrition.
Too many vegetarians and vegans fall into nutritional traps that usually only show up after a while. They follow a trend, a guru, or a book. They do this for at least one of three reasons: the protection of animals, the conservation of nature, or the desire to stay or become healthy.
Since the turn of the millennium, statistics have shown that vegans or raw foodists, as well as vegetarians, often eat no better than people on a mixed diet who eat meat. They rarely get help. Here are the reasons for this:
Usually, when switching to a vegan or raw food diet, all attention is paid to improving the taste, enjoying food, and not benefiting the body.
What should we all pay attention to in nutrition?
Nutrients to watch out for, not just vegans or raw foodists:
- Vitamin B12 – the famous classic
- Vitamin D is a problem for “everyone”
- Iodine – vegan sources
- Omega-6 fatty acids in relation to omega-3
- Calcium
- A little about zinc, biotin and low selenium soils
There are many good reasons for avoiding animal products, but we shouldn’t look at it too narrowly.