The science of plant-based nutrition ⋆ Animal Knowledge

#science #plantbased #nutrition #Animal #Knowledge

Our book “The Science of Plant Food” completes and deepens our previous work “The best way to eat plant-based” published in spring 2022.

We focus here on the scientific data available on the subject of different nutrients likely to cause problems or raise questions when a person engages in a process of reducing their consumption of animal products. specify that the information in this book is for healthy adults only. For children, the elderly and/or in the event of illness, we recommend always consulting your doctor and, ideally, benefiting from personalized advice from a dietitian expert in vegetarian diets.[1].

Still too many vegetarians keep quiet about their diet or that of their children from their doctor, certainly for fear of judgment, but this attitude can unfortunately have very damaging health consequences. If your doctor is not an expert in this area, you can inform him of the existence from the Végéclic website which is a clinical tool specifically designed to support caregivers in the care of flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan patients. This site is directed by a doctor who is an expert in vegetarian diets and is also a member of the ONAV scientific council.

Concerning the training of health professionals in vegetarian diets, we are delighted with the recent emergence of two complementary training courses:

–e-learning training which has been available since winter 2022 at the dietetics and behavior training center. This 25-hour training course entitled “Vegetarian foods: optimized dietary support” is provided by dietician Virginie Bach (members of the ONAV scientific council) and dietician Florian Saffer.

-a university diploma in “vegetarian foods” has been offered since 2022 at Paris-Sorbonne University.

At the level of the French population, health authorities recommend significantly reducing the consumption of animal proteins in favor of plant proteins (flexitarianism), knowing that animal proteins represent approximately 2/3 of the total proteins currently consumed by the French. Pending the publication of the first ANSES recommendations on vegetarian diets[2], The scientific data available to us allows us to draw up the following assessment:

-The use of enriched products and/or food supplements (vitamin B12 at a minimum) makes it possible to cover all of the nutritional needs of a vegan (and to pull away a vegetarian and a flexitarian).

-Assuming that no fortified product and/or food supplement is consumed, several studies have evaluated the minimum portion of PA to cover all nutritional needs. Depending on the team of researchers considered, this threshold differs greatly. It is between 20 and 50% AP.

-If we integrate the ecological impacts attributable to food production, the most favorable diets are those containing a minimum quantity of PA.

Thus, all the scientific data currently available (at the health and ecological levels) argue for a substantial reduction in the consumption of animal products.

With this second book, we modestly hope to contribute to the dissemination of such information so that everyone can choose their diet in a free and informed manner.

Presentation of the authors:

Léa Lebrun is a dietician-nutritionist and clinical psychologist. Fabien Badariotti is a SVT teacher and doctor in molecular and cellular biology. They are both members of the scientific council of the National Observatory of Plant Foods. ONAV.

[1] The term “vegetarian diet” is used in a broad sense; it includes vegetarianism and veganism.

[2] The publication by ANSES (national agency for food, environmental and occupational health safety) of these recommendations is expected in the coming months…

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Léa Lebrun

Dietitian and psychologist