Institutional resistance to veganism: Constructing vegan bodies as deviant in medical encounters in Estonia

Nutritional practices and experiences of people on vegan diet with healthcare system: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

The growing popularity of diets that restrict the consumption of animal-based foods is an important new challenge for the public healthcare system in Czechia. While the environmental and health-related benefits of plant-based diets are widely discussed in the media, people who follow these diets may lack professional support in terms of nutritional advice and even access to healthcare. The present study aims to map the nutritional practices and experiences with the healthcare system of people in Czechia who follow vegan diets.

METHODS

In a qualitative study we conducted semi-structured interviews with twenty-one self-reported adult vegans (14 women and 7 men; 18 with university education) who were on a vegan diet for at least a year. We were specifically interested in their motivation for why and how they became vegans; their everyday diet and eating routines; their use of health care and experiences with medical professionals; their nutritional knowledge and use of supplementation; and their perception of their health and embodiment.

RESULTS

The primary motivations for going vegan are ethical, environmental and health-related. Vegans see themselves and their diet as generally healthier, but for this to be true they must spend a considerable amount of time researching nutritional requirements and what dietary supplements they need. To this end, they tend to rely mainly on non-medical sources of information. Because of the lack of acceptance of veganism among primary-care physicians, vegans tend not to seek out medical advice or tell their doctor about their eating habits in order to avoid conflicts and negative experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified a perceived lack of accessible educational materials and potentially limited access to primary healthcare recommendations for people who eliminate the consumption of animal-based foods. These findings deserve further research and public health risk-mitigation strategies.

Vegan nutrition: a preliminary guide for health professionals

Since the beginning of the 21st century, interest in vegan diets has been rapidly increasing in most countries. Misconceptions about vegan diets are widespread among the general population and health professionals. Vegan diets can be health-promoting and may offer certain important advantages compared to typical Western (and other mainstream) eating patterns. However, adequate dietary sources/supplements of nutrients of focus specific to vegan diets should be identified and communicated. Without supplements/fortified foods, severe vitamin B12 deficiency may occur. Other potential nutrients of focus are calcium, vitamin D, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A, and protein. Ensuring adequate nutrient status is particularly important during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, and childhood. Health professionals are often expected to be able to provide advice on the topic of vegan nutrition, but a precise and practical vegan nutrition guide for health professionals is lacking. Consequently, it is important and urgent to provide such a set of dietary recommendations. It is the aim of this article to provide vegan nutrition guidelines, based on current evidence, which can easily be communicated to vegan patients/clients, with the goal of ensuring adequate nutrient status in vegans.

Vegan Men's Food and Health Practices: A Recipe for a More Health-Conscious Masculinity?

In the age of the Anthropocene, questions of ecological sustainability, animal ethics, and human health are intimately entangled. From a gender perspective, compared to women, men’s diets tend to be less healthy and sustainable. This is linked to worse health outcomes for men. Therefore, alternative, more ethical ways of eating that have the potential to improve men’s health and well-being and simultaneously contribute to better public health and sustainability outcomes should be encouraged. Veganism addresses issues of food, health, climate change, and animal justice simultaneously.

This article explores vegan men’s food practices in relation to health and well-being, drawing on qualitative interviews with 61 vegan men. The interview material was analyzed using the method of thematic analysis. Our findings suggest that becoming vegan encourages positive changes in men’s health behavior. This includes paying more attention to nutrition and taking better care of one’s health. Vegan men report experiencing better physical and mental well-being upon going vegan. Based on these findings, we argue that vegan men’s food and health practices contribute to the emergence of healthier masculinities, as vegan men help to challenge links between risky health behavior and masculinity.