As we celebrate Veganuary, Dr Bijal Sisodia-Shah and Dr Keval Shah explain how dental professionals can navigate questions from patients in regard to plant-based diets.
Increasingly, we are being met with questions pertaining to plant-based nutrition. This is great news, as patients are becoming more aware of how their diet choices are affecting their health, the lives of other animals and the planet as a whole.
The British Dietetic Association has declared that well-planned plant-based nutrition supports healthy living at every age. In fact, a wholefoods plant-based (WFPB) diet has shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer, thus improving health and longevity.
With regards to emotional and mental wellbeing, a WFPB diet promotes a healthy gut microbiome, which in turn produces specific chemicals that act on the brain, such as serotonin.
As healthcare professionals, we are in a responsible position to educate our patients about what affects their oral and general health – as we always say ‘the mouth is a mirror to the rest of the body and vice versa’.
Here are some of the common questions that patients may ask us, as they embark on their plant-based/vegan journey. And it is vital that we provide them with evidence-based care, advice and information on the subject.
Will I get enough calcium from plant-based nutrition?
While this is a common question asked to both dentists and general practitioners, it is often disappointing to discover an inadequacy in knowledge on the topic, mainly due to the limited teaching imparted within medical and dental schools.
Fundamentally, all nutrients exist in soil, and are assimilated in plant foods. Calcium, for example, is a mineral found in soil, which is absorbed into plants via their roots. This is how cows obtain their calcium when eating grass, and how humans can obtain calcium through the various plant foods we normally eat. Moreover, there is no scientific evidence showing that dairy consumption improves bone health or prevents osteoporosis.
Contrastingly, it is the combination of weighted exercise, adequate vitamin D, and calcium from fruits and vegetables, that has been shown to enhance bone health. Specifically, low-oxalate green leafy vegetables, legumes, calcium-set tofu, nuts and seeds.
The bio-availability of calcium from low-oxalate green vegetables like bok choy, kale and broccoli, is even higher than that from dairy. Conveniently, most plant-milks are fortified with calcium and health-promoting nutrients. Obviously, it is important to advise patients to opt for the unsweetened choices.
What about vitamin B12? I’ve been told I might become deficient in it…
Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria found in the soil, and is therefore naturally obtained by free-living animals and forest-dwellers. However, most ‘farmed’ animals are confined on factory farms devoid of soil – hence, they are given B12 supplements, which in turn end up in eggs, meat and milk.
A more optimal and efficient way of obtaining vitamin B12 is therefore to simply take a daily supplement. We universally recommend this, regardless of whether animal products or plant foods are being ingested, as evidence has shown that most people are deficient in it.
Will I get adequate iron?
While iron stores could be found to be lower in WFPB diets, it is not associated with deficiency. In fact, WFPB nutrition avoids the uptake of haem-iron (found in animal sources), which plays a significant role in cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Good sources of plant-based non-haem iron include whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and leafy greens.
The wider perspective
Healthcare professionals, globally, are on the frontline of another extremely urgent crisis threatening humanity – antimicrobial resistance. It has been predicted by the United Nations that nearly 10 million people will die annually by 2050, as a result of antimicrobial resistance.
Can you imagine a small cut or a dental abscess causing the death of loved ones? And yet, we as a society are wasting away our most powerful defence drug – on ‘farmed’ animals that we are exploiting for dairy, meat and seafood. They are routinely given low-dose antibiotics in their feed and water to promote growth and to reduce infections caused by crowding thousands of them in prisons devoid of space or sunlight. The bacteria that become resistant as a result, spread through their secretions (dairy), their flesh (meat) and through the workers.
But here’s the good news that could uplift the NHS and prevent the potential extinction of NHS dentistry due to lack of funding. The Office of Health Economics recently found that if everyone in England switched to a plant-based diet, the NHS could save around £6.7 billion a year in healthcare costs. This is because WFPB nutrition could result in 2.1 million fewer cases of disease across the country.
Besides educating ourselves on platforms such as Plant Based Health Professionals UK, we can become active in our own communities and the world. A great resource for this much-needed action is provided on www.climatehealers.org.
Of course, this is the perfect time and reminder to start your own vegan journey – go to www.veganuary.com.
Resources for healthcare professionals and patients
- www.plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com
- Eating Plant-Based: Scientific Answers to your Nutrition Questions. Authors: Dr Shireen Kassam & Dr Zahra Kassam
- www.veganuary.com
- Comfortably Unaware: What you choose to eat is killing our planet (2012) Author: Dr Richard Oppenlander
- www.pbwf.info/pbwf.org/pdfjs/web/pdf/Benefits/.
References:
- Bodai BI, et al. Lifestyle Medicine: A Brief Review of Its Dramatic Impact on Health and Survival. Perm J. 2018;22:17-025.
- Agarwal U, et al. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of a nutrition intervention program in a multiethnic adult population in the corporate setting reduces depression and anxiety and improves quality of life: the GEICO study. Am J Health Promot. 2015 Mar-Apr;29(4):245-54.
- Kassam S, Kassam Z – Eating Plant-Based: Scientific Answers to your Nutrition Questions (2002).
- Melina V, Craig W, Levin S. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016 Dec;116(12):1970-1980
- www.who.int/news/item/07-11-2017-stop-using-antibiotics-in-healthy-animals-to-prevent-the-spread-of-antibiotic-resistance
- Manyi-Loh C, Mamphweli S, Meyer E, Okoh A. Antibiotic Use in Agriculture and Its Consequential Resistance in Environmental Sources: Potential Public.
Find some plant-based recipes below:
Follow Dentistry.co.uk on Instagram to keep up with all the latest dental news and trends.
