Plant-based diets offer heart benefits but may require supplements

From news-medical.net

By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D.

A study found that while unsupplemented vegan diets were linked to healthier body composition and cholesterol levels, they also carried a substantially higher risk of inadequate intakes of key vitamins and minerals, highlighting the importance of careful dietary planning

A new study published in the journal Nutrients reports substantial micronutrient deficiencies among unsupplemented vegans and vegetarians in Northeast China.

Researchers compare plant-based diets in Northeast China

Plant-based foods are gaining immense popularity in everyday diets because of their beneficial impact on both human and planetary health. In China, the proportion of vegetarian people is increasing rapidly. In line with this trend, the Chinese government has promoted plant-based dietary patterns through the updated Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents.

A large pool of studies has linked well-balanced vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns to reduced risk of cardiometabolic diseases and certain cancers. These benefits can be attributed to lower consumption of saturated fat and refined sugar and higher consumption of dietary fibres, unsaturated fats, vitamins, and minerals.

Despite significant health benefits, there remains a concern whether these dietary patterns can provide all essential micronutrients in sufficient amounts, particularly when supplements or fortified foods are not included in the diet.

People living in the Northeastern region of China have distinct dietary habits, characterized by high consumption of red meat, pickled vegetables, and fermented soy products, all of which are rich in several nutrients. However, vegans and vegetarians living in this region may experience nutritional inadequacy because plant-based diets can provide lower amounts of some nutrients, with Northeast China's long winters limiting vitamin D synthesis and its naturally iodine- and selenium-poor soils potentially increasing this risk.

Given the scarcity of evidence on nutritional status of vegans and vegetarians living in Northeast China, this study was designed to compare dietary intake, body composition, and nutritional biomarkers across three dietary groups, including vegans (diet excluding all animal products and by-products), lacto-ovo-vegetarians (diet including plant-based foods and excluding meat, poultry, and seafood), and omnivores (diet including both plant-based and animal-based foods).

The study included 356 adults living in northeastern China, comprising 82 vegans, 124 lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and 150 omnivores. Importantly, all participants had followed their dietary pattern for at least two years and had not used dietary supplements during the previous six months, allowing the researchers to assess nutritional adequacy from diet alone. Participants' dietary intake was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. In addition, participants' body composition and serum nutritional biomarkers were assessed using validated methods.

Study: Healthier Macronutrient Profiles but Higher Risk of Specific Micronutrient Deficiencies: A Cross-Sectional Study of Vegans, Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians and Omnivores in Northeast China. Image credit: zi3000/Shutterstock.com

Blood tests confirmed benefits alongside nutritional shortfalls

The dietary analysis showed that vegans generally consumed a healthier balance of macronutrients than omnivores. Their diets were lower in total fat and saturated fatty acids but higher in polyunsaturated fats and dietary fibre. Although protein intake was lower among vegans, all three dietary groups met the Chinese-recommended protein intake.

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This healthier macronutrient profile was accompanied by notable differences in micronutrient intake. Compared with omnivores, vegans consumed more vitamin C, vitamin E, folate, magnesium, potassium, and copper, but less vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, iodine, and selenium. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians typically fell between the vegan and omnivorous groups.

When assessed against Chinese dietary recommendations, vegans were far more likely to have inadequate intakes of vitamin B12, vitamin D, iodine, selenium, calcium, and zinc, whereas omnivores were more likely to exceed the recommended intakes of sodium and saturated fat.

These dietary patterns were reflected in participants' physical health. Vegans had lower body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fat mass, body fat percentage, and visceral adipose tissue than omnivores, while lacto-ovo-vegetarians showed a broadly similar body composition to vegans.

The favourable body composition observed among vegans was also associated with a healthier cardiovascular risk profile. Compared with omnivores, they had lower total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. However, blood tests also revealed important nutritional differences, with vegans showing lower serum concentrations of vitamin B12, vitamin D, ferritin, selenium, and zinc, and higher homocysteine levels than omnivores.

Plant-based diets offer benefits but require careful planning

This study provides one of the most comprehensive assessments to date of the nutritional status of unsupplemented vegans, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and omnivores living in Northeast China. Overall, vegans and, to a lesser extent, lacto-ovo-vegetarians showed the most favourable body composition and cardiovascular risk profiles, suggesting that well-planned plant-based diets can offer important health benefits.

The findings also challenge the common perception that plant-based diets cannot provide enough protein. All three dietary groups met the Chinese recommendations for protein intake, while vegans consumed more dietary fibre than recommended and less saturated fat than omnivores. Together with their higher intake of polyunsaturated fats, these dietary patterns may contribute to improved cardiovascular and metabolic health. However, the researchers note that the quality and amino acid composition of plant proteins still require careful consideration.

Despite these advantages, the study also highlights important nutritional trade-offs. Vegans had a significantly higher omega-6/omega-3 ratio, which has been associated with increased inflammatory states and may indicate higher cardiovascular risk. The authors suggest that increasing intake of alpha-linolenic acid-rich foods, such as flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts, could help improve this balance.

Perhaps the study's most important finding was the high prevalence of inadequate intakes of several key micronutrients among vegans and vegetarians. The researchers suggest these shortfalls may reflect not only the exclusion of animal-derived foods but also environmental, social, and behavioural factors unique to Northeast China. Vitamin B12 and vitamin D were the nutrients most commonly consumed at levels below the recommended range. However, because supplement users were excluded from the study, these findings should not be generalized to people who regularly consume vitamin supplements or fortified foods.

Regional dietary habits may also have contributed to some of the observed nutrient gaps. Vegans often replace iodized salt with natural sea salt and avoid selenium-rich animal foods, which may help explain their lower iodine and selenium intakes. Since deficiencies in both nutrients can impair thyroid function, the authors recommend careful dietary planning. They also caution that urinary iodine, the gold-standard measure of iodine status, was not measured, so these findings should be interpreted with caution.

Another notable finding was that, despite consuming the highest amount of dietary iron, vegans had the lowest ferritin levels. This suggests that the lower bioavailability of plant-derived iron may reduce iron stores even when dietary iron intake appears adequate.

Balanced guidance can maximize plant-based diet benefits

Overall, the findings suggest that well-planned plant-based diets can support favourable body composition and cardiovascular health but may also increase the risk of inadequate intake of several essential micronutrients when supplements or fortified foods are not used. The authors therefore recommend that Chinese dietary guidelines place greater emphasis on food fortification and appropriate supplementation to help prevent subclinical micronutrient deficiencies among vegans and vegetarians, particularly in Northeast China.

The researchers also emphasize that the findings should be interpreted within the study's limitations. Because this was a cross-sectional study that relied partly on food-frequency questionnaires, it cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships, and the results may not be representative of all people following plant-based diets in China.

Journal reference:

• Liu X. (2026). Healthier Macronutrient Profiles but Higher Risk of Specific Micronutrient Deficiencies: A Cross-Sectional Study of Vegans, Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians and Omnivores in Northeast China. Nutrients. DOI: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/13/2109. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/13/2109

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260702/Plant-based-diets-offer-heart-benefits-but-may-require-supplements.aspx

6 blistering hot takes that prove there’s no ‘right’ way to be vegan

From veganfoodandliving.com

From gatekeeping vegan language to sharing our lives with meat eaters, here are some of the spiciest vegan hot takes found on Reddit

When people think of the vegan community, they often imagine a united front of absolute moral consistency. But if you peer into the inner circles of vegan Reddit, you’ll find fierce, high-heat debates about what it actually means to live an ethical life.

A recent thread on r/vegan asked users to share their “EXTREMELY SPICY vegan hot takes that will totally get you downvoted.” The compiled receipts prove that modern veganism is about more than what’s on your plate. It’s a complicated, and often contradictory, tangle of pragmatism, purism, and intense human politics.

From the ethics of dating meat eaters to a surprisingly vicious debate over oat milk, here are six of the spiciest ‘vegan hot takes’ from the thread.

                                                      Photo © diy13/Adobe Stock

1. ‘Baby steps’ are just fine

The thread’s original poster (OP) kicked off the discussion with a take that immediately divided the community on the psychology of change, using an extreme analogy to drive the point home.

u/Borgato posted: “I’ll go first: baby steps are absolutely ok and should be encouraged if people feel they aren’t ready to go full vegan. ‘Oh so you should be celebrated for beating your wife 2 days a week rather than 6?’ YES.”

While many users agreed with the underlying logic of harm reduction, some called out the comparison, with u/Senior_Army5086 describing it as “crazy”.

“Domestic abusers should not be celebrated regardless of the frequency they do it,” they continued.

But u/Borkato defended their view, opining that there’s a difference between celebrating an individual’s actions and celebrating their efforts to cause less harm. “A murderer should be celebrated for reducing their murders to 1 when their urges told them to commit a terrorist attack,” they asserted.

2. Gatekeeping the word ‘vegan’ helps the vegan movement… except when it doesn’t

While a surprising number of users agreed with the OP’s vegan hot take, opinions were divided on whether the ‘baby steppers’ in question could call themselves vegan.

“‘Vegan except honey‘ or ‘vegan except eggs’ or ‘vegan except cheese’ isn’t a thing,” wrote u/xLilSquidgitx, while OP u/Borkato added that this should still be celebrated, “as long as they don’t say they’re vegan.”

They’re not necessarily wrong, as it’s not uncommon for people (including foodservice workers) to take veganism less seriously after encountering a ‘watered-down’, almost-vegan. Being served honey at a family gathering because “Auntie Muriel’s neighbour’s daughter is vegan and she eats honey” is not fun.

Many agreed that the word ‘vegan’ needed to be ‘gatekept’, as misuse of the term could dilute the cause. As u/Teddy-Bloat put it: “I don’t see any way in which letting the word vegan become meaningless is helpful to the movement or the animals.”

However, others jumped in to share their experience and reasons why they use the label ‘vegan’ when they aren’t fully there yet. u/GlowyStarMoss calls themself ‘vegan’ to avoid being served eggs or dairy at restaurants. “I am vegetarian technically (but don’t want either eggs or dairy),” they said.

“I do have honey, but it’s too hard to explain to people, so in order to avoid certain foods, I just say I’m vegan. Saying vegetarian just makes people be pushy with fish, dairy, eggs, etc., and I have no idea why lol.”

Meanwhile, u/miraculum_one came in with the true hot take: “gatekeeping the word ‘vegan’ is bad in every way and in every context that involves non-vegans.”

“There are effective ways to educate people,” they continued, “but pretending you don’t know what they’re saying because you refuse to accept an extremely common (mis-) use of the word is simply counterproductive and discredits whatever you’re trying to say.”

Proper use of the word 'vegan' was a divisive subject, but most agreed that "vegan except honey" is incorrect. Photo © Rawpixel.com/Adobe Stock

3. Staying close to meat eaters helps the animals

While some corners of the internet advocate for cutting off non-vegans entirely, several users argued that isolationism is a massive strategic failure.

“From my experience it has helped me educate people on veganism,” said u/shredhedz, “I have many friends who have gone vegan/are eating less animals because of me!”

The thread OP agreed, recalling being told that the common vegan dream of moving to an all-vegan community would actually be “worse for the animals compared to hanging out with non-vegans and getting them to avoid animal products,” saying that it “really blew my mind because it’s completely true.”

Although it’s pretty mild to say that we can form close relationships with non-vegans when they are willing to learn from our ethical choices, u/Spaceward_Bound turned up the heat with this spicy take:

“It’s completely fine to have non-vegan friends with no plans on challenging their views. [I] live with three other people in student housing, they know I’m vegan, they’re not, never talk about it unless it comes up casually. We get on just fine.”

While some thought being friends with non-vegans was an opportunity to change their minds, others would rather keep the 'peace'. Photo © Dorde/Adobe Stock

4. We need to stop treating vegetarians as the enemy

The rivalry between vegans and vegetarians is legendary online, though rarely experienced in the real world. But the debate cropped up in this thread too, with commenters falling on both sides.

It started with u/Agitated_Leopard_765 stating that “vegetarians are allies,” to which u/Im_so_lucky_ agreed, “exactly. Every little bit helps.”

Others blamed ignorance of the true nature of the dairy industry for vegetarians’ continued use of animal products, with u/Foodworksurunga excusing vegetarians because “The dairy industry propaganda is very strong.”

But not everyone agrees. u/Mcjuliamc believes that “vegetarians support just as horrible of an industry as other non-vegans.”

“They only cut out one harmful industry,” they said. “Imagine if we praised lactose-intolerant people just because they don’t buy dairy when they buy meat, eggs, …”

However, the vision of a cheese-munching, milk-guzzling vegetarian may not be accurate. After confirming that vegetarians do indeed get flak from both meat-eaters and vegans, vegetarian u/TheoryCapable7894 caveated that they “think the stereotype of vegetarians eating a lot of dairy/cheese and wearing leather/animal products is kinda wrong.”

“I am a vegetarian yes, but I get all my important nutrition from plants, and do not wear leather at all by all means!”

5. ‘Owning’ pets is an ethical minefield

The ethics of pet ownership caused a massive rift, separating those who prioritise the animal in front of them from those looking at the big picture and the global supply chain.

Some believe that having pets at all is not vegan, like u/Snake_fairyofReddit, who said, “it limits the free will of an animal. The caveat is if the animal is injured and obviously needs assistance”.

Meanwhile, u/Future_Economics_849 thinks “having domesticated animals and releasing them ‘for their freedom’ is unbelievably cruel”.

Many users asserted that ‘forcing’ pets to be vegan was tantamount to animal abuse, particularly for cats. Among them was u/kiwiii66, who said: “An animal in your care should receive the best care you can reasonably provide.

“If you are intentionally shortening your cat’s life by feeding them a diet that is not meant for them, then you are an animal abuser.”

When it comes to caring for your companion animals, it seems there’s no winning in this thread. As u/Chimpnimskey questioned: “Isn’t buying food made from animals… also animal abuse?”

They continued: “Though it’s shortening your cat’s life by a couple of years at worst (and extending it, at best) with a carefully planned plant-based diet, a lesser crime than killing many chickens and fish for their cat food?”

But u/Vegetable_Doubt3996 came in hot with a solution, saying, “If you can’t purchase the proper food for your pet due to ethical concerns, then don’t get a pet imo.

“Would you get a snake or a spider and force them to be plant-based? Both are obligate carnivores and cannot digest plants (the same way we can’t digest grass while other animals can)”.

While opinions varied on whether keeping pets was okay, most agreed that we shouldn't 'force' cats to be vegan. Photo © gitusik/Adobe Stock

6. Oat milk isn’t that great

The thread wasn’t entirely focused on serious topics. The community also engaged in a lighthearted, but truly vicious, battle over plant milks.

u/betch opened the discussion with this bold claim: “Oat milk is the most vile and disgusting product I’ve ever had the displeasure of tasting. It ruins everything it touches and it’s mere existence infuriates me to my core”

In response, u/cali86 lashed out with the phrase “I bet you love soy milk, lol,” sounding almost like an insult.

“I drink soy milk because it’s healthy,” they continued, “but it blows my mind how not versatile it is because of the after taste. It just doesn’t pair well with anything other than maybe cereal. It’s terrible for cooking, with coffee, desserts, etc.”

But u/betch was ready with their answer: “Every plant milk serves a purpose in certain settings and for me, Almond milk is king. Coconut, soy, cashew, rice, hemp milk… all wonderful.

“Oat milk tastes rancid and slimy.” They concluded, doubling down on what one commenter described as an “Indian level spicy take.”

A plethora of other users disagreed, defending their favourite plant milk with reasons varying from it being the only one suitable for their allergies to just liking the taste.

However, while I’d never go so far as to insult the taste or texture of oat milk, this author can’t help but secretly agree. As a long-time lover of a soya latte, I’m tired of coffee shops that offer only oat milk as a plant-based alternative!

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/features/vegan-hot-takes/ 

New Study Finds More Additives in Plant-Based Foods, Here’s What Gets Left Out

From vegconomist.com

A new analysis published in the journal Food Additives & Contaminants has found that plant-based products sold in a UK supermarket contained roughly twice as many food additives as the animal-based products they were designed to replace, a finding that has circulated widely online over the past week, often without the context the study’s own authors attached to it.

“Even though we found that plant-based products had more food additives this does not necessarily mean an increased health risk”

Researchers from the UK paired 71 plant-based products with comparable animal-based equivalents sold by the same retailer, then classified each ingredient using the UK Food Standards Agency’s additive list. The plant-based range used a combined 199 food additives across all products compared with 100 in the animal-based range, and contained 39 distinct types of additive against 31 in the animal-based set. The gap was widest in dairy, meat, and fish alternatives, where additives are typically used to replicate texture, colour, and mouthfeel. Notably, the animal-based dairy products in the sample used no additives at all.

                                                                                                     Image: Dollar Gill on Unsplash

Researchers say the number alone says little

Senior author Joseph Whittaker, a lecturer at ION, was explicit that the additive count does not translate to a health risk. “However, even though we found that plant-based products had more food additives this does not necessarily mean an increased health risk,” he said

“First, we only analysed one product range so we can’t make generalisations to all plant-based products. Second, we didn’t assess the quantity or concentration of food additives used, nor how much or how often people eat these products, so, essentially, we don’t know the level of exposure of food additives from these products. And last, all food additives used in these products have passed UK food safety regulations.”

What the additive count leaves out

The comparison measures formulation only, not the wider profile of either food category. Additive counts do not factor in other variables associated with animal agriculture, such as antibiotic use linked to antimicrobial resistance, and the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans and red meat as probably carcinogenic. Such factors fall outside the scope of an ingredient-list comparison.

The study also does not address overall dietary patterns. Plant-based and vegan diets are not defined solely by consumption of meat or dairy alternatives; for many who follow a whole-food, plant-based diet, staples such as beans, lentils, grains, vegetables, and fruit make up the majority of intake, and these foods carry no additives by nature. Processed plant-based alternatives are, for many consumers, an occasional addition rather than a dietary foundation, comparable to how processed convenience foods function within an omnivorous diet. A study measuring additive counts in matched convenience products does not reflect overall dietary composition for either group.

The authors of the study note that their findings are limited to a single supermarket range and call for further research across other retailers and countries before any broader conclusions are drawn.

https://vegconomist.com/studies-numbers/new-study-finds-more-additives-plant-based-foods-heres-what-gets-left-out/ 

A beautiful, rich life

From koreatimes.co.kr 

Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote “Love without Hesitation” and translated “Little Lord Fauntleroy.”

We met in a theatre class in college and became friends. Thanks to the friend who was a vegetarian, I became interested in veganism and began to read related books. I came to know how animals are raised and killed in the factory farming system, one of the major causes of ecosystem destruction. I gradually went vegan.

Some people may think that going vegan will limit their lives. Nonetheless, it can be a way to live a beautiful, rich life.

Two years ago, I stayed in Sinwol-ri in Inje, Gangwon Province. In the rural village, there was a sanctuary for five cows who were rescued from an unlicensed dog farm. Villagers and young vegan people were building a vegan community together. That autumn, I had an opportunity to experience rural life in the village with other vegans.

Our mentor in the village said, “You can harvest any vegetables in my field freely.” We sometimes cooked and ate the fresh vegetables together. All the participants and our mentor were good chefs. They made sprout bibimbap with lettuce and pancakes with yellow squash flowers. The dishes they made included but were not limited to perilla seed seaweed soup, potato stew, tomato cucumber salad, mushroom vegetable gimbap and "ssambap" (leaf wraps and rice).

On the day when journalists came to Sinwol-ri to report on the vegan village, all of us enjoyed a vegan feast together thanks to the villagers who cooked pan-fried tofu, "japchae" (stir-fried glass noodles) and various seasoned vegetables. We also made injeolmi (bean-powder-coated rice cake) together. Staying in the village, we experienced the joy of harvesting beautiful, fresh vegetables and eating diverse colourful vegan dishes.

Have you ever met the animals we eat, such as cows, pigs or chickens, as living beings? Like many other people, I rarely had such an experience. In Sinwol-ri, however, I met the five rescued cows. When I approached them, they came near to me with gentle eyes. When I gave them hay, they chewed it slowly.

We have thought that nonhuman animals’ suffering is separate from our suffering. Nevertheless, factory farming causes ecosystem destruction and the climate crisis, as well as the suffering of nonhuman animals. This ultimately leads to our suffering.

Going vegan means to see how we have treated numerous nonhuman animals and what consequences it has caused, and to change ourselves first in order to make this world better. I want to respect more living beings, living in harmony with them. Feeling connected with other beings makes our lives richer.

What if we end factory farming and the vast land where trees were cut down for feed cultivation and slaughter houses becomes green forests again? Humans can destroy the Earth but are also beautiful beings who can restore it with love. We can make a better choice both for ourselves and all the other beings.

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/20260629/a-beautiful-rich-life

Half of Young Indians Open to Veganism, but Lack of Information Holds Them Back, Faunalytics Finds

From vegconomist.com

A lack of practical information about plant-based eating is a bigger obstacle to veganism among young Indians than cultural attachment to dairy, according to new research from animal advocacy research non-profit Faunalytics.

The study, titled “The Multi-Generational Kitchen: How To Market Plant-Based Eating To Indian Gen Z Households,” surveyed 801 adults aged 18 to 28 who live with their parents. It found that 58% of respondents already identify as some form of meat-reducer, including vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians, and reducetarians, against 42% who identify as omnivores. Among non-vegan respondents, half said they were likely to adopt a vegan diet within the next year, and 53% believed their parents were likely to do the same.

Image: Thirdman on Pexels

Five barriers, one dominant theme

Needing more information about plant-based diets was the most commonly cited barrier, named by 59% of respondents. It outranked viewing dairy as part of cultural identity (54%), the inconvenience of more frequent grocery shopping (53%), personal health concerns (52%), and a shortage of dining-out options (52%). Only 37% said they worried that going vegan would be seen as abandoning Indian culture for a Western lifestyle, a result the researchers say runs against the assumption that cultural resistance is the primary obstacle to plant-based adoption in the country.

© Faunalytics

Three consumer segments

Respondents were grouped into three categories. Indifferent consumers, the largest segment at 46%, showed the least motivation and the lowest household influence over food decisions. Constrained consumers (33%) were motivated to change but faced the most practical barriers. Game-changers (22%) were the most receptive to veganism overall, skewing female, older, more educated, and higher-income.

Mothers still run the kitchen

While 40% of respondents said they were primarily responsible for grocery shopping, mothers remained the main decision-makers for cooking (57%) and meal planning (39%). Household friction over food choices appeared limited: 59% said it was easy to discuss diet with family, and only 26% reported frequent disagreements.

© Faunalytics

Market implications

Faunalytics found that around half of respondents already consume plant-based dairy alternatives like ghee, yogurt, milk, and cheese on a regular or occasional basis, despite dairy ranking as the second most common barrier to plant-based eating overall. Based on that gap, the organization recommends that companies market dairy alternatives as a form of “traditional” protein rather than as “dairy-free,” paired with imagery of multi-generational families using plant-based alternatives in familiar dishes. It also points to health and fitness influencers as carrying more sway over this group’s dietary habits than other categories of public figures.

The findings add to a growing body of data on Indian attitudes toward plant-based eating, a market Faunalytics flagged as critically underrepresented in global veganism datasets in an April report.

Dr. Andrea Polanco, the study’s lead author and a research scientist at Faunalytics, stated, “These numbers signal a meaningful shift in how young Indians are thinking about food. Gen Z in India is a huge demographic, and our data suggests they’re far more open to plant-based eating than conventional wisdom might assume, but they need better information and practical tools to get there.”

https://vegconomist.com/studies-numbers/half-young-indians-open-veganism-lack-information-holds-them-back-faunalytics-finds/