美国国家公共电台 NPR Can A Vegan Diet Give You All You Need? German Nutritionists Say 'Nein'

Can A Vegan Diet Give You All You Need? German Nutritionists Say 'Nein'

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OK, if you're interested in a vegan diet, a good place to be these days is Berlin, Germany. From vegan lifestyle festivals to a growing array of vegetarian 2 restaurants and shops, Berlin has really become a world vegan capital. In fact, some people call it that. But as NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, Germany's leading group of nutritionists is pushing back.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE 3: When the temperature pushed towards 80 degrees on a recent afternoon in Berlin and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, Moza Kabbar and his wife were craving 4 a last taste of summer. So they stopped in for an ice cream.

MOZA KABBAR: It's a vegan ice cream. That's what makes it so beautiful and so nice (laughter).

AUBREY: This ice cream shop serves up only vegan options. In lieu of dairy fat, they use palm oil. And Kabbar says he likes that it doesn't come from a cow.

KABBAR: The one that I'm eating, it's like cookies and cream. The chocolate is really nice. And the cream is very tasty.

AUBREY: Kabbar, who's social worker in his 30s, has been vegan for about four years - mostly, he says, because he opposes animal cruelty. It used to be a little challenging to find vegan options in Berlin, but not now.

KABBAR: Today you find, like, vegan options in even, like, the mass-production bakeries that you find in the train station. So, yes, there is a unbelievable growing boom of veganism in Berlin.

AUBREY: It's hard to know just how many people are following a vegan diet in Berlin. One pro-vegan group says 80,000 people, which of course is just a small fraction of the population. But given all this buzz about veganism in the city, the German Nutrition Society has just put out a new position paper. It warns that if you follow a vegan diet, one that is completely free of all animal products, you can lose out on key nutrients 5 your body needs, such as vitamin B-12, found in meat and eggs, or omega-3s, found in fish - even minerals, such as calcium 6 and iron.

Now, the society says if you're following a vegan diet, you need to take supplements to guard against deficiencies. The group also states that a vegan diet is not recommended for kids, teens or pregnant women. The society did not have a spokesperson available for an interview in English. So we linked to their new position paper on npr.org. Now, advocates of veganism say these recommendations go too far.

JIMMY PIERSON: Hello, Jimmy speaking.

AUBREY: Jimmy Pierson is a spokesperson for The Vegan Society, which is based in England.

The German Nutrition Society has said that it is difficult, or maybe even impossible, to attain 7 the adequate nutrients you need from a vegan diet. Do you agree with that?

PIERSON: Not at all, actually - with a little knowledge and planning, rest assured you can get everything you need from a vegan diet for great health.

AUBREY: Pierson says he acknowledges the German nutritionists' point, that it is harder to get some nutrients, such as omega-3s, from a vegan diet. But he points out there are plant-based alternatives.

PIERSON: Omega-3 is found in flaxseed. And so I make sure that I consume quite a bit of flaxseed every week.

AUBREY: He says you can also get enough of other minerals, such as calcium and iron, if you plan out a vegan diet well. So can you easily get everything you need from a vegan diet? Are the Germans being overcautious? I wondered what nutrition experts in the U.S. think. Lisa Cimperman is a registered dietitian 8 in Cleveland, and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 9.

LISA CIMPERMAN: It is possible to get the nutrients you need in a vegan diet.

AUBREY: But she says if you're not careful, you can - as the Germans say - miss out, especially when it comes to B-12.

CIMPERMAN: B-12 only comes from animal products. It's necessary for proper red blood cell formation as well as normal neurological function.

AUBREY: Now, some foods, such as breakfast cereals, are fortified 10 with B-12. So you could get all you need this way. But to make sure you're covering all your bases...

CIMPERMAN: I would recommend a standard multivitamin.

AUBREY: It's a good insurance policy for vegans. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.