Some real scientific information on raw vegan diets
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From: Dragonblaze on 3 Aug 2008 11:25 "Vitamin B-12 status of long-term adherents of a strict uncooked vegan diet (‘living food diet’) is compromised." Rauma AL, Torronen R, Hanninen O, Mykkanen H. Journal of Nutrition, 1995 Oct; vol. 125, pp. 2511-5. Abstract: The present study examined the vitamin B-12 status in long-term adherents of a strict uncooked vegan diet called the "living food diet." The study was comprised of two parts. In the cross-sectional part, the data on serum vitamin B-12 concentrations and dietary intakes in 21 (1 male, 20 females) long-term adherents (mean 5.2 y, range 0.7-14) of the "living food diet" were compared with those of 21 omnivorous controls matched for sex, age, social status and residence. In the longitudinal part of the study, food consumption data were collected and blood samples were taken from nine "living food eaters" (1 male, 8 females) on two occasions 2 y apart. The cross-sectional study revealed significantly (P < 0.001, paired t test) lower serum vitamin B-12 concentrations in the vegans (mean 193 pmol/L, range 35-408) compared with their matched omnivorous controls (311, 131-482). In the vegan group, total vitamin B-12 intake correlated significantly (r = 0.63, P < 0.01) with serum vitamin B-12 concen tration. The vegans consuming Nori and/or Chlorella seaweeds (n = 16) had serum vitamin B-12 concentra tions twice as high as those not using these seaweeds (n = 5) (mean 221 pmol/L, range 75-408, vs. 105, 35-252, P = 0.025). In the longitudinal study, six of nine vegans showed slow, but consistent deterioration of vitamin B-12 status over a 2-y observation period. On the basis of these results we conclude that some seaweeds consumed in large amounts can supply ad equate amounts of bioavailable vitamin B-12. However, the average use of seaweeds and fermented foods by "living food eaters" will not supply enough vitamin B- 12 to maintain the body vitamin B-12 status. J. Mutr. 125:2511-2515, 1995. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/125/10/2511 "Metabolic vitamin B12 status on a mostly raw vegan diet with follow- up using tablets, nutritional yeast, or probiotic supplements." Donaldson MS. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2000; vol. 44, pp. 229-34. Abstract: Pure vegetarian diets might cause cobalamin deficiency due to lack of dietary intake. It was hypothesized that a population following a vegan diet consuming mostly raw fruits and vegetables, carrot juice, and dehydrated barley grass juice would be able to avoid vitamin B12 deficiency naturally. METHODS: Subjects were recruited at a health ministers' reunion based on adherence to the Hallelujah diet for at least 2 years. Serum cobalamin and urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA) assays were performed. Follow-up with sublingual tablets, nutritional yeast, or probiotic supplements was carried out on subjects with abnormal MMA results. RESULTS: 49 subjects were tested. Most subjects (10th to 90th percentile) had followed this diet 23-49 months. 6 subjects had serum B12 concentrations <147 pmol/l (200 pg/ml). 37 subjects (76%) had serum B12 concentrations <221 pmol/l (300 pg/ml). 23 subjects (47%) had abnormal urinary MMA concentrations above or equal to 4.0 microg/mg creatinine. Sublingual cyanocobalamin and nutritional yeast, but not probiotic supplements, significantly reduced group mean MMA concentrations (tablet p < 0.01; yeast p < 0.05, probiotic > 0.20). CONCLUSIONS: The urinary MMA assay is effective for identifying early metabolic cobalamin deficiency. People following the Hallelujah diet and other raw-food vegetarian diets should regularly monitor their urinary MMA levels, consume a sublingual cobalamin supplement, or consume cobalamin in their food. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11146329?dopt=Abstract "Consequences of a long-term raw food diet on body weight and menstruation: results of a questionnaire survey." Koebnick C, Strassner C, Hoffmann I, Leitzmann C. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 1999; vol. 43, pp. 69-79. Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between the strictness of long- term raw food diets and body weight loss, underweight and amenorrhea. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study 216 men and 297 women consuming long-term raw food diets (3.7 years; SE 0.25) of different intensities completed a specially developed questionnaire. Participants were divided into 5 groups according to the amount of raw food in their diet (70-79, 80-89, 90-94, 95-99 and 100%). A multiple linear regression model (n = 513) was used to evaluate the relationship between body weight and the amount of raw food consumed. Odds of underweight were determined by a multinomial logit model. RESULTS: From the beginning of the dietary regimen an average weight loss of 9.9 kg (SE 0.4) for men and 12 kg (SE 0.6) for women was observed. Body mass index (BMI) was below the normal weight range (<18.5 kg/ m(2)) in 14.7% of male and 25.0% of female subjects and was negatively related to the amount of raw food consumed and the duration of the raw food diet. About 30% of the women under 45 years of age had partial to complete amenorrhea; subjects eating high amounts of raw food (>90%) were affected more frequently than moderate raw food dieters. CONCLUSIONS: The consumption of a raw food diet is associated with a high loss of body weight. Since many raw food dieters exhibited underweight and amenorrhea, a very strict raw food diet cannot be recommended on a long-term basis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10436305?dopt=Abstract "Effect of a strict vegan diet on energy and nutrient intakes by Finnish rheumatoid patients." Rauma AL, Nenonen M, Helve T, Hanninen O. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1993 Oct; vol. 47, pp. 747-9. Abstract: Dietary intake data of 43 Finnish rheumatoid arthritis patients were collected using 7-day food records. The subjects were randomized into a control and a vegan diet groups, consisting of 22 and 21 subjects, respectively. The subjects in the vegan diet group received an uncooked vegan diet ('living food') for 3 months, and they were tutored daily by a living-food expert. The subjects in the control group continued their usual diets and received no tutoring. Adherence to the strict vegan diet was assessed on the basis of urinary sodium excretion and by the information on consumption of specific food items (wheatgrass juice and the rejuvelac drink). The use of these drinks was variable, and some boiled vegetables were consumed occasionally. However, only one of the subjects in the vegan diet group lacked a clear decrease in urinary sodium excretion. Rheumatoid patients had lower than recommended intakes of iron, zinc and niacin, and their energy intake was low compared to mean daily energy intake of the healthy Finnish females of the same age. Shifting to the uncooked vegan diet significantly increased the intakes of energy and many nutrients. In spite of the increased energy intake, the group on the vegan diet lost 9% of their body weight during the intervention period, indicating a low availability of energy from the vegan diet. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8269890?dopt=Abstract "Dental erosions in subjects living on a raw food diet." Ganss C, Schlechtriemen M, Klimek J. Caries Research, 1999; vol. 33, pp. 74-80. Abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency and severity of dental erosions and its association with nutritional and oral hygiene factors in subjects living on a raw food diet. As part of a larger dietary study 130 subjects whose ingestion of raw food was more than 95% of the total food intake were examined. The median duration of the diet was 39 (minimum 17, maximum 418) months. Before the clinical examination, the participants answered questionnaires and recorded their food intake during a 7-day period. Dental erosions were registered using study models. As a control 76 sex- and age-matched patients from our clinic were randomly selected. The raw food diet records showed the median daily frequency of ingesting citrus fruit to be 4.8 (minimum 0.5, maximum 16.1). The median intake of fruit was 62% (minimum 25%, maximum 96%) of the total, corresponding to an average consumption of 9.5 kg of fruit (minimum 1.5, maximum 23.7) per week. Compared to the control group subjects living on a raw food diet had significantly (p</=0.001) more dental erosions. Only 2.3% of the raw food group (13.2% of the controls) had no erosive defects, whereas 37.2% had at least one tooth with a moderate erosion (55.2% of the controls) and 60.5% had at least one tooth with a severe erosion (31.6% of the controls). Within the raw food group no significant correlation was found between nutrition or oral health data and the prevalence of erosions. Nevertheless, the results showed that a raw food diet bears an increased risk of dental erosion compared to conventional nutrition. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9831783?dopt=Abstract
From: archaea on 3 Aug 2008 12:19 The real question is not if the articles posted are "real" science. The better question is do they represent the range of "real" science on the topic so one can come to an informed conclusion by weighing all the research. Too often cherry picked results are chosen by food cults and represented as "science" while real science makes an explicit and determined point of not doing so. One can for example find web sites which survey the research on the question of the health impact of consuming soy. One can post food cult pages which pick among the research to seem to support their notions alone. By doing so they come to oppisite conclusions on the soy question but fail the "real" science test as above.
From: Rupert on 4 Aug 2008 20:40 I think that dietitians agree that any vegan diet should be accompanied by Vitamin B12 supplements, regardless of whether it is a "raw food" diet or not. I myself was recently found to have Vitamin B12 levels below the normal range and my doctor said that that was an "expected outcome" of following a vegan diet without taking Vitamin B12 supplements. (I usually take supplements but I was a bit forgetful about taking them over the last year or so.)
From: Dragonblaze on 5 Aug 2008 03:10 On Aug 5, 1:40Â am, Rupert <rupertmccal...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > I think that dietitians agree that any vegan diet should be > accompanied by Vitamin B12 supplements, regardless of whether it is a > "raw food" diet or not. I myself was recently found to have Vitamin > B12 levels below the normal range and my doctor said that that was an > "expected outcome" of following a vegan diet without taking Vitamin > B12 supplements. (I usually take supplements but I was a bit forgetful > about taking them over the last year or so.) I just wonder how those who claim vegan diet - and especially raw vegan diet - is the natural diet for humans explain this problem. In my thinking any diet that is natural for a species should not require supplements, but all the necessary vitamins and micronutrients should be available from the diet. Dragonblaze
From: Rupert on 5 Aug 2008 09:47
On Aug 5, 3:10Â pm, Dragonblaze <dragonbl...(a)apexmail.com> wrote: > On Aug 5, 1:40Â am, Rupert <rupertmccal...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > I think that dietitians agree that any vegan diet should be > > accompanied by Vitamin B12 supplements, regardless of whether it is a > > "raw food" diet or not. I myself was recently found to have Vitamin > > B12 levels below the normal range and my doctor said that that was an > > "expected outcome" of following a vegan diet without taking Vitamin > > B12 supplements. (I usually take supplements but I was a bit forgetful > > about taking them over the last year or so.) > > I just wonder how those who claim vegan diet - and especially raw > vegan diet - is the natural diet for humans explain this problem. Well, that's a good question; I wouldn't know, I have no interest in making such a claim. > In > my thinking any diet that is natural for a species should not require > supplements, but all the necessary vitamins and micronutrients should > be available from the diet. > > Dragonblaze |