After many years of often biased and poorly data driven debate on the animal versus non animal product composition of the optimal human diet I welcome this latest piece of research consensus out of the Brussels University. The data they used to come to their recommendation is really quite solid.
The take away message is that after many years of being vilified, animal products are now recognized for their value in the human diet because of the nutrient density of certain hard to get nutrients. This would include things like certain essential amino acids, certain minerals like iron zinc, certain essential fatty acids and many more. While some non animal products may contain many of these nutrients, they are often not bioavailable to humans because our digestive tract is different from animals who can easily extract them (Think of a cow’s ability to extract essential fatty acids from grass that goes right through a human digestive tract).
The recommendation is for approximately one third of human calories to come from animal sources in order to ensure adequate essential nutrient intake. It does not discount the fact that plants and non-animal products still have a very important role in the human diet obviously, but they need to be eaten in combination with animal products for optimal results. Interesting piece of information buried within the long consensus paper was that the risk of obesity with strict vegan diet may increase, since the body will continue to upregulate the eating reflex until the minimum intake of certain key nutrients, especially essential amino acids, has been met. This would mean that someone’s hunger reflex would continue to drive food seeking behaviors until they have eaten 3000 calories on a vegan diet to obtain the same amount of amino acids that would be obtained after 1800 calories of a mixed animal vegan diet.
As always, the quality of the animal product needs to be emphasized in the context of an omnivore diet. Thankfully we live in an area where properly raised animal products are relatively easy to come by.
https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/news-views/a-new-perspective-on-healthy-eating/?utm_source=klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%28Email%20-%20Chris%20Kresser%20General%20News%29%20Chris%27s%20Friday%20Favorites%20%28LINKS%20FIXED%29&utm_term=new%20dietary%20framework&utm_content=new%20dietary%20framework&_kx=ZpXBDTeEF9QJhwDqQXXrImrT_HpFsBz1ZlYMbsx_Vq0.my75y6
