Comments on: Raw Vegan Diet is Bad for Your Health

By: MotleyHealth

MotleyHealth — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:36:05 +0000

Lori, that is really the point. You have to research. This article is a warning to those who do not research, to those who read somewhere that being a raw vegan is healthy, and create their own diet without consulting anyone, or reading up on it. Obviously if you do your research and maintain a balanced diet, you will be OK.

By: lori

lori — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:14:23 +0000

I am raw vegan and have been for about a year now. I lost 80 pounds so far, my blood pressure was on the verge of needing meds, now it is in the 70’s, my sleep apnoea is gone, my acid reflux is gone, my throat has healed from acid reflux damage, menstrual issues have disappeared.

Yet, i have not paid close attention to balance, i am depleted in vitamin D and B12.
so i am taking supplements now. Also there is a famous family storm and jingee who have 5 raw kids, they are skinny, but she tales them for check ups and they are in perfect health the oldest is 12 the youngest 2.

so you just have to research and know what you are doing with any eating regime.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:26:48 +0000

It is all too easy for vegans to be slagged off and accused of child neglect but as mentioned above children with the standard junk british omnivore diet are much more likely to have long term health problems.I have been a vegan for nearly 18 years with no health problems (in fact better health) and I never have taken supplements. (And there is much debate about how effective or even harmful supplements can be. )My sister’s two young children have been vegan from birth and are fitter and stronger than their peers. It is all about how you do it. obviously as a vegan I could live on chips and dark chocolate if i so chose. It is interesting to see the range of foods that were fed to the children in this story as it sounds much more nutritious than many average childrens diets. Re your vitiman D comments, most vegan margarines are fortified with it anyway…In my opinion dairy produce is not ‘natural’ (its not meant for us!) and it is a myth that is a good source of calcium – we do not absorb calcium from animal produce as well as from vegetables. If I have children I will bring them up vegan – not raw food vegan although I think done properly this can be very healthy. I am glad your article doesnt totally slag off veganism although the headline is sensationalist and untrue.

By: Brendon

Brendon — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:26:42 +0000

This article is interesting to say the least.
I am a vegan and do understand how to have a balanced diet including supplementing B12 as a necessity and also take another supplement which I think anyone regardless of diet should do.
I’ve recently attempted to go raw vegan and I am telling you from experience it didn’t work, I felt light headed, agitated and I CRAVED meat, dairy, eggs, bread. I’ve never had cravings before when I was just a normal vegan. As soon as I had a grain (raw vegans can’t have most grains unless they are soaked before hand) that was cooked it passed, I felt MUCH better and the cravings left.
So, all I can say is it may work for some but it doesn’t work for me and I think that this article is interesting but I am disappointed you didn’t mention B12.

By: MotleyHealth

MotleyHealth — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:14:07 +0000

Hello Brittany. This is a true story, and yes, children do do things like that – but the fact that they had until that point not had exsposure to dairy products, and responded in such an instinctive manner once they got hold of some, shows that they were craving the fats and minerals that they had been deprived of. The article is obviously written with the aim to make people think twice before adopting a diet like this for their children. It is a warning to parents. As I mentioned above, at no point am I saying that a vegan diet cannot be done in a healthy way. But, a vegan diet done badly, can have much worse and longer lasting impact on the development of a child, than other diets, due to the essential fats and proteins which are often neglected by inexperienced parents.

“… professional advice is essential for anyone going on a restrictive diet.”

By: Brittany

Brittany — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:41:32 +0000

This article is one of the worst I have read in a long time. Obviously the mother should have been more knowledgable before changing her family’s lifestyle. But the whole bit about her daughter gnawing on a block of butter is just ridiculous. That is not a natural human instinct. She is a child. Children do things like that. Anyway, I just wish you would think things over before publishing an article like this again.

By: MotleyHealth

MotleyHealth — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:18:50 +0000

Yes, that is pretty much what was meant by the last two paragraphs – “a vegan can be done healthily”. Any diet done badly is bad for you. The problem is, some people hear of the “health benefits” of certain diets, and then adopt them for the whole family without an understanding of what they are doing. This article is a warning to those that are considering a similar diet, not a suggestion that a vegan diet will always be bad for your health. I could talk all day about unhealthy omnivores…

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:18:28 +0000

So let’s completely overlook the number of people who suffer health problems who do eat the holy milk/eggs/meat/fish/etc. ANY diet in which you don’t achieve adequate nutritional intake is bad for your health – including the typical omnivorous diet.