Vegan Protein Status

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Last year, we learned, in a study of Buddhist nuns, that long-term vegans—vegans for up to 72 years straight—had clinically equivalent bone mineral density, despite milk-drinking women getting twice as much calcium in their daily diet.

This year, there was a 200-page review published on health indicators in people eating vegetarian long-term. What about protein status? Both vegans and meat-eaters, on average, get the recommended amount of protein in their daily diets.

Meat-eaters eat about 20% more protein a day, though. But do they achieve significantly higher levels of protein in their blood? Who has higher plasma protein levels? Three choices: vegans higher, meat-eaters higher, or both the same protein levels?

Despite 20% less protein in their daily diets, vegans actually had significantly higher plasma albumin—the predominant protein in the blood—though inflammation suppresses protein production in the liver. So this is more likely just an indicator of how much less inflammation there is in the bodies of those eating vegan.

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• L. T. Ho-Pham, P. L. T. Nguyen, T. T. T. Le, T. A. T. Doan, N. T. Tran, T. A. Le, and T. V. Nguyen. Veganism, bone mineral density, and body composition: a study in Buddhist nuns. Osteoporus Int, 20(12):2087–2093, 2009.
• I. F. F. Benzie and S. Wachtel-Galor. Biomarkers in long-term vegetarian diets. Adv Clin Chem, 47:171–222, 2009.

• inflammation
• liver health
• omnivores
• Plant-Based Diets
• protein
• vegans
• vegetarians