How to selfcare with veganism

This week at university, one task was to prepare a short presentation on the topic selfcare and I was like: Why not do something on veganism? 
As this is a very important subject to me, the presentation evolved to be a bit longer than expected, but I just wanted to give those of you, who are interested, some input on that topic.

*Disclaimer: Some sources of knowledge are written in german, but I will add them all the same for completeness of content*

Why veganism as selfcare?

Various benefits for health of a long-term vegan diet have been reported:

- Athletes report increased performance as consequence of faster regeneration and because of that more possible training sessions. Better regeneration is a result of plant based foods, which heal the body and reduce inflammation in contrast to inflammation stimulating food consisting of animal products (source: The Game Changers)

- Many people, who shifted to a vegan diet, could observe their skin clearing up. Scientists assume, that there is a connection between hormones or bioactive molecules in milk and the development of acne (https://www.peta.de/milchundakne).

- A plant-based has also shown to prevent certain food related diseases like obesity, high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes (https://www.peta.de/herzgesundheit or https://albert-schweitzer-stiftung.de/themen/vegan-gesund)

If you are interested in this topic, keep browsing and you are sure to find more health benefits of a vegan diet.

Prejudices against a vegan diet

-    'Vegans don't get enough protein'
Answer:
All protein initially comes from plants. Where else should animals get their protein from? Plant-based sources like peanuts even contain a higher amount of protein per gram (25g per 100g) than a steak (20 g per 100g). It's important to combine different protein sources (f.e. soy-yoghurt, beans, lentils, nuts, quinoa, bulgur, oats, wheat...) throughout the day in order to get all the amino acids, but if you do, there is no problem of not getting enough protein. The right combination of foods can even exceed the Amino Acid score of meat. For example, beef has a PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score) of 0.9 and the combo of wheat (bread/noodles/toast...) and white beans reach a score of 1. 
'Someone asked me, ‘How could you get as strong as an ox without eating any meat?' And  my answer was, ‘Have you ever seen an ox eat meat?’ ' (Patrik Baboumian in “The Game Changers”)

-  'The only things to eat are vegetables and greens'
Answer: Most everyday food actually is already vegan. Bread or pizza dough is largely made of flour and water and are (mostly) vegan. Potatoes, rice, wheat, oats, spelt, nuts, oil and beans are vegan as well as fruit or vegetables.

- 'A vegan diet is unhealthy and always leads to signs of deficiency'
Answer: It is correct, that vegans have to be mindful of their micro nutrient intake, but that's not different for meat eaters. Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutrition-related problems all over the world, regardless of the diet (https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/en/ida_assessment_prevention_control.pdf, S.31).
Vitamin B12 is often mentioned in this context. Again, this is not an exclusively vegan problem. Vitamin B12 is produced by microorganisms, which can't survive in our hygienic  and antibacterial surroundings, but in previous times were found in dirt on food or in water. In that way people consumed enough Vitamin B12. The only reason for meat eaters to have a higher intake, is that the food of animals is supplemented with Vitamin B12. So actually, animals aren't the source of the vitamin, but the carrier. For vegans, vitamin B12 can often be found in vegan yoghurts or milk, but is also easily available in chemists or whole food shops in combination with iron.



- 'A vegan diet is boring'
Answer: If food is boring or not solely depends on the amount of effort invested in creating a meal, no matter according to which diet. There are all sorts of different recipes and inspiration on the internet, for example on YouTube and on my blog as well.



- 'Eating plant-based foods is expensive'
Answer: Meat is one of the most expensive everyday groceries in the supermarket. The money saved by refraining from buying meat can be invested into vegan options like vegan sausages. But a question to ask yourself could be, why animal products like milk or eggs can be bought so cheaply... ?



- 'All of this is super complicated'
Answer: It doesn't have to be. If you prefer quick and unhealthy meals, there's lots of vegan fast-food out there, waiting to be grabbed. It wouldn't be my recommendation, but shows, that vegan meals can be as easy and quick as meals containing animal products.

 - 'But we've already eaten meat in the Stone Age'
Answer: Biologically spoken, the body of a human is not made for eating meat. Take the teeth of humans as example and compare them to real omnivores like lions. We are missing the long sharp teeth and fangs characteristic for meat eaters and equipped instead with blunt back teeth, which are more similar to those of plant eaters.
Additionally, our gut is too long to be suited the digestion of meat, because it rots very quickly. For that reason, omnivores digest meat quickly and possess a short gut.
Also in the stone age, meat was actually implemented quite late into the diet of humans and before that they relayed on plant-based foods.
(https://www.geo.de/magazine/geo-wissen-ernaehrung/19575-rtkl-evolution-menschen-sind-von-natur-aus-fleischesser-stimmt) 

- 'The cultivation of soy leads to the clearing of the rainforest'
Answer: It is true, that for the cultivation of soy parts of the rainforest have been destroyed. But what is important to know, is that most of the harvest is not manufactured for vegan products. The biggest part of the soy is grown in order to feed livestock. The same goes for most of the cultivated grains.
Theoretically, there is enough food in order to feed the entire world population and no one would have to go hungry. Lots of the farming is even done in the countries missing food, but it is used elsewhere.

- 'Soy is unhealthy'
Answer:
'This report was limited to human studies, and thus was unable to fully respond to biological or biochemical hypotheses of benefits or harms of phytoestrogens suggested by various animal, in vitro, or assay detection studies: the correlations between specific nutrients and their effects remain unclear. While the evidence does suggest a greater likelihood of adverse events with soy consumption, these were mostly minor in nature. There were a limited number of studies with duration of 1 year or longer; thus the long-term adverse effect of soy in a large population is uncertain'
(https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/076c/0f37585fa5f979fbb2e354a1db3dbb19ae22.pdf, p. 7)


“Consumption of soy protein appears to consistently lower blood LDL cholesterol in hyperlipidemic subjects. However, the magnitude of the effect and the required intake to achieve the effect are variable in different studies. Increasing evidence, especially in light of results from recent human studies, tends to support the beneficial effects of soy ISF in the prevention of bone loss in postmenopausal women. Although soy protein or ISF positively impact biomarkers of prostate cancer, their potential benefits have not been substantiated in clinical trials. The effects of soy protein and ISF in relieving menopause symptoms and prevention of breast cancer are not evident.” (https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/138/6/1244S/4670298) 

 “Also described are possible beneficial and adverse effects of soy-containing diets. The former include soy-induced lowering of cholesterol, anticarcinogenic effects of BBI, and protective effects against obesity, diabetes, irritants of the digestive tract, bone, and kidney diseases, whereas the latter include poor digestibility and allergy to soy proteins.” (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf0009246) 

 “Animal studies using classic models of chemically induced breast cancer showed that a diet containing soy protein significantly reduced tumor formation (123, 147, 148) and that this effect was lost when isoflavones where removed from the soy protein [...] These latter findings may indicate that early adaptation to phytoestrogen exposure may confer benefit in later life and could partly explain why the incidence of breast cancer is so much lower in Japan and China, where soy is commonly consumed throughout life, than in Western populations” (https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/68/6/1333S/4666199 -> PDF p. 7)



“Heavy consumption of soy in Southeast Asian populations is associated with reduction in the rates of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. Recent experimental evidence suggests that phytochemicals in soy are responsible for its beneficial effects, which may also include prevention of osteoporosis, a hereditary chronic nose bleed syndrome, and autoimmune diseases.” (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3181/00379727-217-44249) 


Overall, the current state of studies concerened with long-term effects of soy consumption seems to be very inconsistent. I would advise judging every article critically and most importantly, view the sponsors of a study. Even though science pretends to be objective, sadly in most cases it is not.
Anyhow, my conclusion would be not to consider a moderate consumption of so products as harmful, as long as it is part of a healthy and balanced diet.

My greatest source of inspiration

- The movie: The Game Changers (featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and the 'strongest man of Germany')
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpglxHTJVM)

-  The movie: What the health
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDxZfVPYNNA)