Cutting out eggs and red meat is not clever in the long run
Vegans and vegetarians may be putting themselves at risk of mental health problems and dementia because important chemicals which protect the brain are mainly found in meat, fish and eggs, a nutritionist suggests.
Max Lugavere, author of Genius Foods, says it is wrong to think of animal products as unhealthy because they have effects on brain health.
He warns that eggs have been unfairly demonised even though they contain choline, which has been shown to lower dementia risk by nearly 30%.
“Eggs have been demonised over the past 50 years by so many of our governments,” he says.
“Eggs are a genius food. It’s crucial to remember that when an embryo is developing, the first structure assembled is the nervous system which includes the brain – and so an egg yolk literally has everything that nature has deemed important to grow a health brain. So if you’re just eating the egg whites you’re missing out on a world of nutrition.
“Egg yolks are a wonderful source of choline, and new research is coming out of every day showing the importance of choline to brain health. In one study of choline, they found men who were in the highest tier of choline consumption had 28% risk reduced over 22 years. There is no drug that can do that.
“Choline is really important and it’s also concentrated in animal products, so one egg yolk has about 25% of your daily requirement. It’s found in vegetables but at much smaller amounts, so this is a really interesting study for anyone who believes animal products are inherently unhealthy. If they were inherently unhealthy, you wouldn’t see effects like this.”
Lugavere, who began researching the best foods for brain health after his mother was diagnosed with dementia aged just 58, advises eating fish, such as salmon, and red meat regularly.
“Documentaries are coming out on Netflix all the time talking about how unhealthy meat is, but red meat is a great source of what the brain needs for energy,” he says.
“In randomised controlled trials when you take people who do not consume red meat, vegans and vegetarians, and you give them creatine as a supplement, the vegans and vegetarians have an improvement in their memory.
“So red meat is important. It’s the highest source of iron you can find and it’s also important for mental health.
“Research has found women who did not consume the national recommendation of three to four servings of red meat per week were twice as likely to be diagnosed with mood disorder. So some is better than none.”–