Last Updated on June 14, 2022 by Patricia Carter

Stop! A vegan diet is not preferred for older adults!?! YES, I preach about eating more vegetables for microbiome support. But it’s time to dive deeper and clarify that older adults need to consume an adequate amount of high-quality dietary protein in order to prevent age-related muscle loss. Up to 40% develop this! Surprisingly, the amount of protein NOW recommended for older people is GREATER than the current RDA! The way to make sure you’re getting enough protein is probably NOT by eating a vegan diet –>

This current Perspective article is loaded and discusses why a vegan diet is not preferred for older adults (ages ≥65 yrs)! You need to read the paper for details. But, Spoiler Alert: a vegan diet WON’T provide adequate protein for older ages!

I’ve been waiting a long time for this paper to publish!

The protein/vegan discussion is important because it turns today’s blasting headline for consumers to consume more plant-based foods and lower their consumption of foods from animal origin completely on its head since that needs to be refined by age.

I want to add that I highly recommend making that protein quality animal protein (grassfed, pastured, organic, etc) to avoid the inflammatory fatty acid profile, antibiotics, hormones, heavy metals, etc in conventional.

Why does a vegan diet increase the risk of providing inadequate protein intake for older ages?

“A vegan diet plant-based foods have lower bioavailability and functionality of proteins due to the matrix of the whole-food protein sources. Generally, it provides lower protein density and lower essential amino acid (EAA) content. Additionally, isolated plant-based foods and proteins have an inferior protein quality compared with animal-based foods and proteins and that is reflected in their anabolic potential.”

Why do older ages need more protein than younger?

“Older adults exhibit lower sensitivity to protein consumption, known as age-related anabolic resistance. Experts say that a daily dietary protein intake of 0.8 g/(kg⋅d) is too low for the maintenance of muscle mass in individuals aged ≥65 y, and have repeatedly proposed to increase the RDA for older adults to approximately 1.0–1.2 g/(kg⋅d), with specific attention to timing and quality of the consumed protein (13, 16, 17, 29). This is necessary since older ages need a higher protein intake to adequately stimulate MPS (13).

I’m certainly NOT saying to not eat your veggies!

• You need veggies so that you don’t starve the microbiota and they in turn nosh on your mucosal layer (read about that here).
• You also need a decent amount of veggies to feed your microbiota and still the best number of DIFFERENT COLORFUL vegetables each week is 30 (read about that here).
• AND, I’m also posting for the first time about a recent study by the Sonnenburg Stanford University group that found that increasing whole food ferments actually increased microbiome diversity AND lowered inflammatory markers (ALL GOOD THINGS WE WANT TO HAPPEN) but fiber did NOT. So eat your ferments too! Listen to the Sonnenberg’s explain all of that here. Their paper is: “Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status“
• FOR FERMENTS: If you’re only eating yogurt you’re missing a lot of probiotics. A researcher (Hazan) is about to publish that she only found 3 yogurts at Whole Foods that actually had any bifidobacteria (the biggest probiotic on its list of ingreds). She wouldn’t say which yogurts. Kimchi and Kefir have had a ton of research finding huge microbiome benefits. This 2021 study said Kefir may even help protect against C-19 because it protects against viruses. BUT IT DOES EVEN MORE. KEFIR MODULATES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. Excerpt from the study:

“Potential mechanism of action of kefir against viral infection. (A) Kefir enhances the immune response by stimulating ANTI-INFLAMMATORY cytokine production, including interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-2, and IL-12. (B) Kefir inhibits the inflammatory response by suppressing INFLAMMATORY cytokine production, such as IL-6, IL-1 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α.”

And it bears repeating: WHEN BUYING FOOD READ INGREDIENTS – DON’T GET CRAP PRODUCT LOADED WITH SUGARS, ADDITIVES, AND INGREDIENTS YOU DON’T RECOGNIZE. FOR PROBIOTICS: IT SHOULD JUST CONTAIN MILK AND BACTERIA if it’s a dairy ferment, VEGETABLES AND SALT if its a vegetable ferment.

Here’s a few ALWAYS in my fridge –>

Here’s the Vegan diet is not preferred for older adults study: [Domic et al 2022] Perspective: Vegan Diets for Older Adults? A Perspective On the Potential Impact On Muscle Mass and Strength, https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/13/3/712/6520429?login=false

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Best in health through awareness,