Thinking of going vegan this January?

I’m often asked about the benefits of adopting a plant-based diet and especially in January with the annual health push and Veganuary promotions. It sounds easy right – cut out animal products from your diet and you’re good to go. But is it really that simple and what are the potential pitfalls?

Here are some things to consider…

What actually is a vegan diet?

A vegan diet is a stricter version of a vegetarian diet. On top of not eating any meat, fish or seafood –a vegan diet also omits any foods derived from animal sources (some of which are the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat) – so, this includes eggs, milk, yoghurt, butter, cream and honey, as well as certain desserts (due to gelatin content) and even non-vegan wine.

Vegan doesn’t automatically mean healthy

Over the years, prominent claims, (notably in recent documentaries such as 'You Are What You Eat,' 'What The Health,' and 'The Game Changers’) have been made about a vegan diet being the most healthy of all diets. Without delving into all the issues with this statement, it's important to recognise that merely labelling food as 'vegan' doesn't guarantee its healthiness or that it's a healthier alternative. A diet consisting of only white bread, margarine, and jam would be classified as vegan, for example.

Of course, incorporating more plants into your diet is advantageous for various health reasons. However, completely excluding animal products requires careful consideration to ensure the intake of essential nutrients through other sources. Opting for processed plant-based options might seem convenient, but the manufacturing process of these foods requires additives, including stabilisers, gums, thickeners, and highly processed protein extracts and may be nutritionally inferior to what you are replacing.

Even with a non-processed, whole-food plant-based diet, meeting all your nutritional requirements may pose a greater challenge. Here are some of the nutrients to be mindful of:

Protein

Ensuring you have sufficient protein intake is important – and it is often lacking in the diet of people who struggle with binge eating, emotional eating or who crave sugary foods. Amino acids – the building blocks of protein play a vital role in making hormones and brain chemicals such as serotonin as well as muscle growth, repair and numerous cellular processes. Achieving this requires careful planning and organisation. Legumes, such as chickpeas, borlotti, kidney, and cannellini beans, alongside lentils, provide plant-based protein options. However, these choices contain lower protein levels compared to animal sources and also contribute significantly to carbohydrate intake. Tofu, derived from soybeans, serves as an alternative protein for vegetarians. Opting for high-quality organic tofu is recommended. Tempeh, a traditional Asian food, is made from fermented whole soybeans and offers another vegetarian protein source.

Vitamin B12

This nutrient has a variety of important roles within the body. Vegan diets are low in vitamin B12 (several studies showed 68% of vegans tested were deficient), as it is only found in animal products like eggs, poultry, shellfish, red meat and dairy products.

B12 deficiency can result in fatigue, depression and anaemia and can lead to potentially irreversible brain and nerve damage, If you’re thinking of going vegan, you’ll need to be taking a B12 supplement. But be aware that the synthetic form of B12 is less well absorbed than the natural forms. You should also be spreading your intake throughout the day by eating B12 fortified foods, too, such as plant-based milks and nutritional yeast.

Calcium

It is possible to get the calcium you need from greens rather than dairy. Kale is one of the best vegan sources, along with collard greens. Spinach and chard also provide calcium but, unfortunately, they also contain natural molecules called oxalates that bind to calcium and make it less available to your body. Rhubarb, beetroot, carrots, potatoes and broccoli also contain oxalates – although cooking reduces it, so raw veg isn’t necessarily the most helpful choice for calcium absorption! Other good sources include tofu, beans, and nuts and seeds. 

Iron

Iron from animal sources is much easier for your body to absorb than plant sources of iron. It is a fact that vegetarians and vegans have lower iron stores than meat eaters. It’s not that you can’t get enough iron in this kind of diet, but it is something to be aware of.

To maximise the iron intake from your food, you can soak your nuts, seeds, legumes and grains overnight before cooking or sprouting them. This reduces the phytate content which can interfere with iron absorption.  Eating foods rich in beta-carotene (usually orange or yellow foods) and vitamin C can increase iron uptake too.

Omega -3 fats

Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid, meaning you need to eat or supplement it as the body can’t make it on its own. There are several types of omega 3 fats. While oily fish provides DHA which is needed for brain health, only seaweed provides a plant-based DHA option. Seeds such as flax, hemp and chia contain another form of omega 3 that must be converted to make DHA. Most of us only convert about 5% so it’s likely you will need an algae-based omega 3 supplement to get your quota.

The connection with disordered eating

While many people genuinely want to go plant based for the benefit of the planet and animal welfare, I regularly see some individuals turn to veganism as a socially acceptable way to restrict their food intake. I would not recommend adopting a vegan diet if you have a history of disordered eating or an unhappy relationship with food. Restricting any food groups has the potential to lead to nutrient deficiencies that help exacerbate an eating disorder.

Furthermore, the rigidity around eating can for some develop into an eating disorder such as orthorexia – an unhealthy obsession with clean/pure eating. Sadly, it is not uncommon for this eating disorder to morph in to anorexia.

Instead, why not adopt a more flexible, balanced approach by increasing your plant food intake, incorporating a variety into the diet, without the rigid rules that come with a restrictive diet.

Ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and making peace with food?

Start by downloading my FREE guide,

Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

The Truth about the ketogenic diet

(Please note– if you currently have an eating disorder or are in recovery – I hope this information will help you to shift your thinking about dieting and reframe eating disorder thoughts about diets with something more rational.)

Whether you have a long history of dieting or you relatively are new to the ‘game’, the keto diet may have piqued your interest. Hailed as the diet to help you burn fat faster or watch your weight disappear, it sounds like the magic bullet you’ve been searching for – or is it?

WHAT IS THE KETOGENIC DIET?

The keto diet has been around for approximately 50 years but was used as a treatment for epilepsy. It involves removing almost all carbohydrates from your diet resulting in a significant increase in your fat intake. Foods that contain carbohydrates don’t just include pasta, bread and cake. In fact, all grains, legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans, peanuts), fruit and ‘below ground’ vegetables would also be out of the picture.

SO WHAT IS KETOSIS?

A regular person will metabolise both carbs and fat – ie use them for energy. If you remove the majority of carbohydrates from your diet – to almost none, his halts this process for producing energy. Instead, we begin to produce ketones from the breakdown of fats in the liver. They are an alternative source of energy when glucose is not available. Overnight, we will produce ketones if we haven’t eaten for between 6 and 12 hours as we will have used up our carbohydrate stores.

IS THE KETO DIET REALLY THE ULTIMATE WEIGHT LOSS PANACEA?

If you’ve been following me for a while, you will know my take on diets. I am frequently questioned on this particular one– after all we are told it has fantastic health benefits and if it just burns fat surely it will work?

But as with all things nutrition we cannot just simplify and isolate – we need to look at the big picture. What happens in the body, how sustainable it is, the physiological knock-on effects when we restrict whole food groups|?

A recent study compared the keto diet to a traditional Mediterranean diet (which excluded refined carbs- but not all carbs -and sugar.) with prediabetic and diabetic individuals. After 12 weeks, participants on both diets lost the same amount of weight. Not a great surprise when we restrict intake and exclude sugar and refined carbs, we are likely to lose some initially. However it’s interesting that the keto diet did not live up to the hype. 

 It's worth noting that it was only a short-term study. The research tells us that in the longer term, weight lost from any diet is not sustained for the majority of people.

In fact, most of research investigating ketogenic approaches, tells us that initial weight loss is due partly to water loss. Some fat loss may then occur but as the sustainability of the diet wanes, the effect becomes similar to other diets after one year. (It’s after this time that we begin to see weight regain for the majority of people)

IS THIS DIET HARMLESS?

Apart from the fact that diets do not work in the long term and are often a high-risk factor for developing disordered eating behaviours and even eating disorders, this diet is extremely restrictive. We know from any kind of diet which omits foods and food groups, that it becomes extremely difficult to sustain in the long term.

Additionally, the absence of many vegetables, grains, legumes and fruit has quite an impact on the microbiome. The microbes in our gut need diversity of these plant foods to remain in a healthy balance. Not only will this impact our digestive health but may also negatively affect our immune system, mental health and possibly our weight too! (Yes, you heard that right – there is much emerging research in this area!)

These ‘forbidden’ foods are an important source of many nutrients – fibre, vitamins, minerals and polyphenols that are so essential for our wellbeing and for the body to function at its best.

So as with any diet (that is unsustainable, restricts foods and therefore important nutrients) and impacts your relationship with food – the keto diet is not all its cracked up to be and for some may cause harm.

If you are you struggling with your eating and your relationship with food + your body, head over to The Food Freedom Collective free group, for daily support and weekly live videos to tackle your challenges

If any of these resonate then this community is for you :

💠You are on and off diets all the time

💠You find yourself binge eating

💠You are an ‘emotional eater’

💠You restrict food in order to lose weight

💠 You can’t stop thinking about your weight, appearance or food

💠 You feel overwhelmed and confused no longer knowing what you ‘should’ eat

Why calories on menus are harmful + won’t solve your weight worries

A few weeks ago, it became compulsory for large chain restaurants, cafes and takeaways to print calorie labels on menus.  In order to help us make ‘healthier’ choices and solve the ‘obesity crisis’.

However, there is little evidence that the government will achieve its goals. Large chains in the US have been required to print calories on menus since 2018, and this is proving to do little for their ‘obesity crisis’. The problem is that this directive is not only flawed, but it  creates many more problems.

For many of my clients, who battle with eating disorders/ disordered eating, the idea of enjoying a meal out with friends creates a great deal of anxiety. They know their calorie intake when preparing their own food but, in a restaurant, feel a lack of control. Much of the work we do is helping them to rewire their thinking around calories and food. Seeing calories on menus is extremely triggering- a reminder that they must chose the lowest calorie option, creating added stress and fuelling their eating disorder behaviour.

The reality is that for most people weight loss is not just about knowing what choices to make….

The government may claim that this new strategy will be a game changer, for people struggling with their weight. But the reality is that for most people weight loss is not just about knowing what choices to make. Weight science is complex – it is far more than creating a deficit between calories in and calories out.

This policy ignores many of the underlying problems when it comes to the nation’s health. Instead of solving the country’s health inequalities, it places the ‘blame firmly with the individual – i.e ‘it’s up to you to make the right choice’

When we rely on the calories in calories out theory, we are ignoring the fact that each of us is unique with complicated regulatory systems, our own health history and genetics. This involves a complex interaction between hormones, brain chemicals, the gut ecosystem, energy requirements, fuel source availability, genes and hundreds of other variables, all interconnecting.

Food is so much more than calories…

We are also neglecting the fact that every calorie behaves differently within the body as food is so much more than calories. Food is information for the body that changes our genetic expression. It consists of macro nutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fats), micronutrients (minerals and vitamins), phytonutrients and enzymes which all interplay with our biology in so many ways.

And of course, for many people food is used as a coping mechanism. Providing people with the misconception that low calorie equates to healthy food is an unhelpful falsehood. If emotional eating or bingeing is involved, guilting folks to feel bad about what they’re eating is just going to add fuel to the fire.

If you think calories on menus are going to negatively impact your eating behaviour, there are a few things to consider:

• Choose to eat in smaller independent outlets as they are not required to follow the new legislation.

• Request a menu without calories (Outlets are not legally required to provide them, but some will have them available.)

• Remember, you do not need to compensate for what you’ve eaten when out, before or after the meal.

• Set yourself a time limit for how long you spend looking at the menu.

• If you can’t decide what to eat, you could order what your friends or family are having.

A focus on calories, takes away the enjoyment from food and eating, when eating out should be a pleasurable experience. What will you do to keep it that way?

If you are stuck in a diet mindset, have realised that dieting and restriction doesn’t work for you and want to understand why, then take a look at my free download - ‘What the diet Industry doesn’t want you to know’. Using evidenced based weight science research, it exposes the biggest weight loss myths and why you have been trapped in the relentless dieting cycle.