Science Does Not Support Veganism

Nutrition science is a fairly new science.   Historically, food and herbs were recognized as healing and medicinal:  “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

But it wasn’t till the turn of the 20th century that nutrition science started to be really looked at from a research perspective.

Even though there have been some incredible studies done over the years on nutrient based science, unfortunately, nutrition science can also be faulty. 

Nutrition science can also be agenda driven and biased – depending on who is funding the research.  When studies are paid for by manufacturing companies or other entities that stand to gain by the research, there is a high probability that the results will not be reflected accurately.  Here are some cautions to consider when evaluating nutrition science studies:

SCIENCE CAUTIONS:

• Who is funding this research?

• Does the study summary report match the actual study findings?

• Have the results been cherry picked, or is ALL the data being reported?

• Does the study confirm history?

Nutritional research pioneers in the early 20th century proved what true research is all about!  Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist and researcher in the early 20th century, traveled the world studying traditional diets and their effects on dental and physical health. In his 1939 book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, he documented the dietary patterns of isolated, non-industrialized populations who exhibited exceptional health, strong teeth, and resistance to disease.

His research covered over 13 years and was completely unbiased, non-agenda driven.  One of the main discoveries is that in all the groups studied his greatest disappointment was that he didn’t find a a healthy completely vegan culture.  Every culture used some sort of animal product.  More on this in our next article: History Does Not Support Veganism

For now…

THREE REASONS SCIENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT VEGANISM:

#1 – Plant based nutrients are not as easily digested/absorbed. 

Plant nutrients need to go through a conversion process, a breakdown process and fermentation or culturing to be more absorbable.  Some people make the conversion of plant based nutrients more efficiently than others, and do really well on higher amounts of plant based foods.  This is a great example of how bio-individuality matters when it comes to nutrition recommendations being customized to the person.

For example:

• IRON

Ferretin (plant form of iron) is not as usable or easy to metabolize or absorb as heme (animal form of iron)

• VITAMIN A

Betacarotenes (precursors to vitamin A) found in plants like carrots need to be converted to the active form of vitamin A. The active form of actual vitamin A is found in wild-caught fish for example.

• OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS

Plant based omega 3 fatty acid (ALA) found in walnuts, flax, chia seeds need to be converted to the active form of omega 3 – EPA & DHA.  These active forms are found in wild-caught fish.

#2 – Human anatomy – digestive tract

The human digestive tract is uniquely designed to support an omnivorous diet— consuming nutrients from both plant and animal sources for these sick main design factors:  

Teeth & Jaw Structure: 

• Incisors and canines: Suited for biting and tearing (meat).
• Molars and premolars: Flat and broad, ideal for grinding and chewing plant matter.
• The jaw has a rotational movement, allowing side-to-side chewing—typical of herbivores—and up-and-down motion like carnivores.

   

Stomach Acidity

• Human stomach acid has a pH of around 1.5–3.5, which is strong enough to:
• Denature animal proteins.
• Kill pathogens commonly found in meat.
• This level of acidity is more similar to carnivores than herbivores.

   

Enzymes for Diverse Foods

• Humans produce amylase (in saliva and pancreas) to break down starch from plants.
• We also produce lipase and proteases to digest fats and proteins, including those from animals.
• The small intestine is where most enzymatic digestion and absorption occur, and it is designed to handle a variety of macronutrients.

Intestinal Length

• Carnivores: Short intestines for quick elimination of meat waste.
• Herbivores: Long, complex guts (and multiple stomachs in ruminants) to ferment and extract nutrients from fibrous plants.
• Humans: Intermediate gut length (about 4.5–7 meters small intestine, 1.5 meters large intestine):
• Longer than true carnivores, allowing time to digest fibrous plant material.
• Shorter than herbivores, indicating we don’t rely solely on fermentation.

Microbiome Versatility

• The human gut microbiota includes bacteria that:
• Ferment plant fibers into short-chain fatty acids (e.g., butyrate).
• Help metabolize amino acids and fats from animal products.
• This microbial diversity enables flexibility in digesting many types of food.

Metabolic Flexibility

• Humans can shift between glucose-based (plant) and fat/ketone-based (animal) metabolism, depending on dietary intake.
• This ability to thrive on various macronutrient ratios is uncommon in strict herbivores or carnivores.

#3 – Nutrient Deficiencies

Check out our article on Cursed Nutrition to learn more about God’s design for food and how the curse of the ground affected the food system.  This is reflected in nutrition science!!   In essence, while plant foods can certainly be healthy, and powerfully healing too…

Science also confirms with Scripture that plant foods are not enough.