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From:	Jeff Novick, MS, RD, LD, LN (novick.vegsource.com)
Subject:	Re: animal products
Date:	January 2, 2009 at 8:20 am PST

In Reply to: animal products posted by diane on January 2, 2009 at 6:55 am:

Hi Diane,

I am not a vegan advocate but a health advocate and I focus my attention on getting people to make the changes needed to improve their health and how to focus on those issues that matter most. As a health professional, I work with people where they are at, helping them make the changes they want to. I am not an evangelist for a cause.

I am also more concerned with what people do with say 95 (or maybe 90-98%) of their calories that with the remaining 5%. And this is what the evidence shows also. And, if most people would get the 95% right, it would not really matter what they did with the other 5%.

There are many long lived populations and while they all have common denominators and similarities in their diet and lifestyles, they don't all follow the exact same diets.

Vitamin D is a hormone and not a vitamin that we make when exposed to sunlight. There are many factors that are contributing to the low levels that are being seen in people (vegan or not) including obesity. Some of it is a rebound effect of the 2-3 decade fear of the sun we have had in regard to skin cancer.

If someone chooses to follow a vegan lifestyle 100%, than Vitamin B12 would be an issue that they would need to address as Vitamin B12 does not occur naturally in most plant foods.

If you scan down through the forum you will see discussions on both B12 and Vitamin D.

In Health
Jeff

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