Veggie diet helped cause my mother’s early death, says doctor
‘We didn’t evolve to take supplements’
A SENIOR cardiologist believes his mother’s vegetarian diet contributed to her early death as she was not getting all the nutrients she needed.
Dr Aseem Malhotra said his mother Anisha suffered for years from illnesses but that it was her religious faith to avoid eating animal products – combined with a diet high in starch and sugar – that led to her death.
She succumbed to a heart attack and sepsis in November last year aged 68.
Her son has now warned that the growing trend of going vegan or vegetarian is putting others at risk because of the tendency to associate them with being ‘healthy’.
Clever marketing of ‘super-processed’ vegan and vegetarian products means that people are unwittingly consuming foods that have low nutritional value and can be high in salt and sugar, the surgeon warned.
‘People should not be under the illusion that a vegetarian diet is necessarily healthy,’ he added. ‘In fact, for most people in the world following a vegetarian diet, it is actually unhealthy. ‘I am concerned about what seems to be a huge vegetarian and veganism agenda. I understand that a lot of being vegetarian or vegan is driven by religious or ethical reasons – my mum was like that.
‘But what is happening is being conflated with good health and that’s what disturbs me.
‘ It’s not that you can’t be a healthy vegetarian – you definitely can – but it’s actually much more difficult than when you eat meat because of nutrient and protein deficiencies. A lot of people just think being vegetarian is healthy, they don’t think about good vegetarian food. What I tell patients is that if it comes out of a packet, has five or more ingredients, then that’s ultra-processed and should be avoided.’
Dr Malhotra, who has written books including The Pioppi Diet – which he credits with helping Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson lose weight, said half of the nation’s diet was now processed food. He said starchy and refined carbohydrates such as rice, bread, pasta and potatoes are the real problem foods.
India for example, which has more vegetarians and vegans than the rest of the world combined, has become the ‘diabetes capital of the world,’ because of the popularity of such foods, he added.
The NHS cardiologist said he grew up watching his mother, who worked as a GP, eating starchy carbohydrates such as rice and bread as well as ultra-processed snack foods such as biscuits, crisps and chocolate. Her weight contributed to developing high blood pressure in her 40s and she suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2003.
While she went on to make a full recovery and started exercising regularly, she developed osteoarthritis and her mobility eventually declined, forcing her to take early retirement from general practice. Her vegetarian diet meant she had to take vitamin B12 and iron supplementation while she also developed sarcopenia, which is a decline in muscle mass, because of a lack of protein.
‘Protein deficiency is a big problem and if you compare it calorie for calorie, meat is much more nutrient dense and has more protein than plant-based products.’ Dr Malhotra said.
‘I have some vegan friends and they’re on supplements – did we evolve as human being to take supplements? That’s absolutely ridiculous ... Having a base of vegetables is really important for good health – but if you’re having too many starches and not enough protein or animal products then you’re going to be in trouble.’