Meatless diet, brittle bones?
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.Vegans, but also vegetarians, are more likely to suffer broken bones. The risk of osteoporosis could also be reduced in a targeted manner with a meat-free diet.
There are many arguments in favor of a meat-free diet: It helps the climate, serves animal welfare - but above all it should be healthier. At least for the bones, however, avoiding meat could have negative consequences: Vegans in particular, but also vegetarians and people who do without meat but not fish, suffer much more often broken bones.
This is shown by a large British long-term study. She accompanied 55,000 people with different eating habits for an average of 18 years.
43 percent higher risk of fractures
In the end, those who followed a vegan diet had a 43 percent higher risk of breaking bones. The association was most pronounced with respect to hip fractures. Here, the scientists also found a significantly higher risk for vegetarians and people who ate fish but no meat.
Whether the bones of the participants were actually more fragile due to their diet or, for example, they had more frequent accidents - the data does not provide any information. However, there are indeed circumstances in the meatless diet that could favor osteoporosis.
Those who eat meatless have to pay more attention to calcium and protein
Because with a predominantly plant-based diet, various cornerstones of a healthy diet are less easy to implement, in particular an adequate protein intake and an adequate supply of calcium.
Since even more food is omitted with a vegan diet, it is an even greater challenge for people who completely avoid animal products to meet their needs. But it is possible.
Proteins
The recommended daily protein intake of 0.8 to 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight can be achieved using pulses, tofu, grains such as spelled and oats and nuts. Vegetarians can also top up their protein intake with dairy products and eggs.
calcium
Dairy products are also suitable to meet the daily calcium requirement of 800 to 1000 mg per day. Non-animal foods such as mineral water, broccoli and kale, almonds, dried figs, rocket, sesame, nuts and tofu are also rich in calcium.
Vitamin D
Stable bones also need vitamin D. In the winter months, the body cannot produce the vitamin itself with the help of sunlight in latitudes far from the equator. If you eat at least fish, you can at least partially fill your vitamin D store with fatty sea fish.
Eggs also contain vitamin D. However, the requirement cannot be met through food alone, which is why both people who live without meat and meat eaters are advised to take the vitamin in the form of dietary supplements after consulting their doctor.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids also seem to lower the risk of osteoporosis and thus of broken bones. They have an anti-inflammatory effect. The omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are particularly valuable. They are found in wild salmon, oily sea fish and algae. Flax seeds, walnuts and olives contain alpha-linolenic acid, from which the body can produce EPA and DHA itself.
How healthy is meatless?
Despite the critical supply of some nutrients, vegetarian and vegan diets are said to be much healthier than a meat-based diet, proponents say. In fact, vegetarians and vegans are slimmer on average, rarely suffer from diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and are less likely to develop cancer.
However, whether this is solely due to diet or perhaps related to the fact that vegetarians, for example, exercise more, smoke less or drink more alcohol, needs to be researched more closely. In particular, the stricter vegan diet has not yet been fully investigated.
