'Veganuary' can make you depressed, cause higher risk of broken bones and ... trends now
A New Year resolution to go vegan comes with a higher risk of broken bones, mental illness and miscarriages within months, a top doctor has warned.
Some 600,000 people in the UK already follow the diet, which excludes meats, dairy, eggs and all other animal products. And figures suggest that one in eight Britons aged 18 to 24 plan to take up the diet for January – the so-called Veganuary trend.
But according to Dr Julian Owen, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, veganism can lead to a potentially dangerous vitamin deficiency within months.
This is because animal products contain Vitamin B12, a nutrient which is crucial to healthy bodily function, but plant-based foods contain little-to-none of it.
A New Year resolution to go vegan comes with a higher risk of broken bones, mental illness and miscarriages within months, a top doctor has warned (picture posed by model)
Dr Julian Owen, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital (pictured) in Cambridge, has said veganism can lead to a potentially dangerous vitamin deficiency within months
Dr Owen, who chairs a worldwide group of experts who research the benefits of Vitamin B12, says that anyone planning to go vegan should be prepared to take a daily supplement. He adds: 'This is a vitamin that is fundamental to the function of the human body, and it is almost entirely absent from a vegan diet. That is incredibly worrying.
'If supplements are not taken, after six months of going vegan, people can start to experience neurological symptoms such as anxiety, depression and even psychosis – symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency.'
Research shows Vitamin B12 is essential for the proper function of blood vessels and brain tissue. A deficiency can also trigger anaemia, a condition where there are abnormally low levels of red blood cells in the body, leading to symptoms such as extreme tiredness and vision problems.
