The New Scientist is usually a very informative magazine. However in the magazine dated 30th October, the front page was headlined, “Vegan Health Trap”, and the magazine contained an article entitled, “The Vegan Health Illusion”, later rewritten in the online version, perhaps due to justified criticism, as “Are vegan meat alternatives putting our health on the line?”.
If you only read the title, you might come away thinking that Plant-Based or Vegan diets are not healthy.
Reading the article, it becomes clear that the opposite is the case and that a Vegan diet is exceptionally healthy.
Here’s a few quotes from the article itself about plant-based diets …
“…this way of eating has proved to be good for health too, especially since consumption of red and processed meats is now known to increase the risk of developing several cancers”
“…studies have shown that a plant-based diet can help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of cancer and event add a few years to your life”
“An increasing body of research suggests that soya protein could be beneficial to health, with claims ranging from its ability to fight obesity and ward off osteoporosis to even protect against diseases such as prostate cancer due to the presence of compounds called isoflavones…”
“Research shows that plant-based diets that include unprocessed nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and legumes do indeed lead to a substantially lower risk of heart disease”
“They found that the nutritional quality of diets was generally higher for vegans than meat eaters”
“Vegan diets also play a significant role in shifting gut microbiota to a population that appears to improve blood glucose levels and reduce body weight”
“Donald Watson [the first vegan] certainly thrived without dairy and meat. He died in 2006 aged 95”
So what is going on here? How can the title give an impression that is contrary to so much of the content in the article? Is this a sensational headline to attract an audience?
In fact, a better title would have been “Junk Food Health Trap”, a title that is applicable equally to vegans and omnivores.
In short, the article pointed out that some of the vegan products appearing on the supermarket shelves are ultra-processed foods high in sugar, fat, and salt, and are lacking in essential nutrients. This is certainly true, but it is also true of many products aimed at meat eaters.
It is disappointing to see New Scientist publish a strikingly misleading title, but good to know that the magazine is concerned about healthy diets.
