Is it true that vegan diet causes your muscles to atrophy?

Question

I was reading a medical journal that said a vegan diet causes muscles to atrophy. It said the lack of complete proteins in a vegan diet causes muscles to waste away. Is this why vegans lack the muscle tone of someone who is eating a well balanced diet?

andielep and Princess, I have reported you both.

Answer 1

Let me guess. You are, in fact, Foxhunter Guy. Your account was closed down by Yahoo and so you opened a new one with a new name.

Yawn.

EDIT- Reported me and andielep for what?! Lol. You make me laugh. Which is amazing, considering all the muscles laughter uses, and I haven't eaten meat in 14 years. I'm a freakin' miracle child, I am.

Answer 2

It really depends on how you eat as a vegan or vegetarian.

My muscles did start to atrophy when I first started eating vegetarian because I wasn't being smart about the way I ate, and didn't realize how much protein my body really needed. I was so concerned with not being at a loss of iron that my diet wasn't fully complete.
Now I suppliment with sprulina protein shakes in the morning, and am eating a more protein dense tofu, as well as looking for other foods with protein in it.

If you are looking to be a body builder and need 100 to 300 grams of protein a day while bulking up, it's true that it would be more then hard, but even the average body builder, when not getting ready for a show can endure a few well balanced, protein rich vegetarian meals with out losing their muscle gains. This is what I cook for my husband when he is not getting ready for a show, and he does just fine.

Answer 3

There are ways to combine foods in a vegan diet so that you're consuming "complete proteins" but many vegans don't combine their foods properly in order for this to occur. The problem is not the vegan diet. It's the lack of knowledge some vegans have in preparing their meals to intake the proper amount of complete proteins.

We call this "altered statistics" and many medical journal articles have them because they're not taking all necessary facts/information into account. Also, just because something was published doesn't make it accurate. There are many different opinions and it's not hard to find supporting evidence for almost any idea or possibility.

Answer 4

Hello,
I am new on this site and also a vegan-so I thought i would reply to this-this is not true, my dad has been a vegan for 26years, he was a professional footballer back in the 70's/80's, he is a personal trainer, and qualified nutrisionist, he owned his owned gym and took up bodybuiliding, he was extremely strong and his muscles grew, and this is all while he is still vegan, i know this is not your view and was a genuine question so i don't blame you for asking but other people who no nothing about veganism and want to comment on it really should read up about it and they may be surprised, u don't always see the skinny frail people u may think u will c, u c healthy people!
And why is it also percieved that if u r eating meat and dairy u r eating a well balanced diet-what about the choloestrol and dair well cow’s milk and dairy products are neither natural nor healthy, in fact they are harmful to health and have been linked to a wide range of illnesses and diseases.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Nonsense.
I don't know what "medical journal" you have been reading, but, as any nutritionist since the 1950s will tell you, the important thing for vegetarians and vegans is to get the right mix of proteins, which involves eating a mixture of the right food groups. It used to be believed that you have to eat all these groups in the same meal, but now it is known that the body stores them for days and so, as long as you have a relatively balanced diet, you don't have to eat all the groups in the same meal.
This information is well known and can be found on the Internet within 5 minutes.

Answer 7

The most natural and healthy diet for humans is an omnivorous diet, and not a plant based diet, or a meat-based diet per se. The Paleo Diet can be very widely varied and omnivorous for the most part, but the most important thing is that it’s unprocessed, and avoids the worst foods that agriculture brought mankind… refined inflammatory vegetable oils, refined grains (some are worse than others), and sugar! Learn here https://tr.im/McDo8

As you can see, the benefits of adopting a Paleo way of eating can be incredible! I’ve been eating 95% Paleo for the last 5-6 years and I’ve never felt better. I have dozens of friends that have adopted a more Paleo way of eating too, and have seen all sorts of health problems disappear, including eliminating acne and other skin problems, digestion problems, improving brain clarity, and of course, losing a lot of body fat!

Answer 8

Better check with experts but then the medical journals must know something too. With a diet like that you have to be cautious to have all the vitamins needed. My grandson is a vegan and doing fine.

Answer 9

* * * ANOTHER NUTTER * * *

Look at its A to another Q about Tofu -

"Studies continue to show that tofu increases the risk of breast cancer in women, damage brain function in men and lead to hidden developmental ab-normalities in infants.

I just recently finished reading a medical journal warning about the dangers of tofu."

...mmh... you seem to be reading a lot of medical journals. ha ha ha ...
Vote it outta' here!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Unless you are a qualified nutritionist don't come on here and tell people what they need or don't need nutritionally. You QUACK, charlatan; mountebank.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PROTEIN DIFFICENCY among any healthy people in the Western World, including vegans. We all eat too much protein. In fact I will reward or pay any **** on this website who can post any evidence of a protein deficiency amongst vegetarians being reported in any medical journal.

Oh and Iron, vegans are not deficient in this either, nor b12. Iron needs Vitamin C to be absorbed by the body. Vit C only comes from plant not animal. So Big meat eaters who eat no fruit would suffer an Iron deficiency.

Answer 10

You were "atrophied" ? Really? Look up the definition. A person can have atrophied muscles, glands, or organs, but a person is not "atrophied." You cured all your diseases by eating carnivores? Interesting. Trolls are capable of so many astonishing medical feats.

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDATI

Answer 11

No this is not at all true. Perhaps the journal you were reading was outdated? You may want to check the year...anything before 1970 I would pitch...science has come a long way and most scientists today know vegetarian and vegan diets are, in fact, very healthy and complete.