Are you on a vegan diet and not losing weight? Veganism has become more popular as mainstream media claims it is better for your hormones, weight loss, energy, and of course the environment. But the truth is most people find themselves feeling better when they first begin the vegan diet not because of what they ARE eating but because of what they are NOT eating.
Typically anyone who starts a vegan diet has come from the Standard American Diet full of processed foods, inflammatory seed oils, refined sugars, and conventionally raised beef and chicken. When they eliminate those GMO-ladened foods that inflame the body, causing increased oxidative stress, increased insulin resistance, and Leaky Gut, anything other than that food combination will show improvement in energy and health.
To magnify their “life change and identity”, it is easier to say, “I am a Vegan” versus saying “I am a non-Standard American Diet Eater.” And, when someone identifies as a Vegan, there is a dogma that they feel they have to be tied to, that being eating no animal products, regardless of the side effects.
However, the benefits of switching to a vegan diet have diminishing returns after about 6 months when the body’s nutritional deficiencies start to wreak havoc.
For every study that is manipulated to say a vegan diet is healthier than a wild animal-based diet, there are multiple studies saying the opposite. And, every study showing disease stemming from animal meat is based on a Standard American Diet including conventionally raised chicken and beef, toxic vegetable oils, and processed carbs.
Why a Vegan Diet isn't Right for Everyone
Long term, most vegans see symptoms manifest including:
- weight gain
- insulin resistance
- arthritis
- inflammation
- nutritional deficiencies
- hormonal imbalances
Vegan sources of nutrients are not only suboptimal, but the overall diet may cause Leaky Gut and inflammation so that the little nutrients consumed are not absorbed. The typical vegan diet includes many of the wrong “healthy” foods. These include ones that have Sulfur, Oxalates, Lectins, and Mold.
Vegan Foods that May Be Wrong for You
Sulfur Foods
Sulfur is a compound found in many foods, medications, and even health supplements that have to be metabolized by our bodies’ detoxification pathways.
One paradox is that healthy, sulfur-rich foods such as kale and broccoli may be leading to diseases such as Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, arthritis, and even mental health issues.
Foods that contain sulfur include:
- Cruciferous vegetables
- Onions
- Garlic
- Egg yolks
Even many vegan foods touted as “healthy” have these sulphuric ingredients in them.
What’s worse, is our environment and the toxins we are surrounded by may impact sulfur metabolism further.
Gluten, found in grains of wheat, rye, and barley, is typically sprayed with glyphosate which is also contributing to this disruption in sulfur metabolism.
If you experience any of the following symptoms, you may have compromised sulfur metabolism:
- Bloat, gas, malabsorption of nutrients
- Allergies to sulfa-contain medications
- Reactions to red or white wine
- Reactions to garlic or eggs
- Asthma or wheezing after ingesting food, especially dried fruit or foods with preservatives
- Strong urine odor after eating asparagus
- Arthritis, Tendonitis, or Joint Pain
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or Irritable bowel
- ADHD
- Neurotransmitter imbalances, such as domaine, epinephrine, and serotonin
- Skin rashes, including psoriasis
High Oxalate Foods
Oxalic acid is a naturally occurring molecule that is a toxic and corrosive acid. When it attaches itself to a mineral, like calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium, it becomes an oxalate, i.e. sodium oxalate, potassium oxalate, magnesium oxalate, and calcium oxalate.
Oxalates are in vegan foods such as almonds, spinach, kale, swiss chard, most nuts, berries, and chocolate. They can cause thyroid disease, urogenital issues, arthritis, joint pain, kidney stones, gout, and much more. They can also clog detoxification pathways, leading to dysbiosis, bloat, and other gut issues. Learn more about high oxalate symptoms.
Lectins in Food
Lectins don’t get broken down by your GI tract, so they disrupt your digestion, reduce energy absorption, weaken your immune system, and throw off your gut bacteria. Lectins poke holes in your intestinal walls and leak into your bloodstream; this is known as “Leaky Gut,” and it causes massive inflammation all over your body.
Leaky gut can damage your internal organs, and joint tissues, and may even be the source of autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes mellitus.
Foods with Lectins include:
- nightshades like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and potatoes
- all beans
- fruits like zucchini, pumpkins, and melons
- grains like wheat, oats, quinoa, rye, wheatgrass
- corn and corn syrup
- dairy from A-1 cows
- some nuts and seeds
- oils including soy, grapeseed, corn, peanut, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable, and canola.
Mold
Many vegan foods are prone to mold which can lead to inflammation, liver backup, and allergies.
Foods prone to mold include:
- peas
- grapes
- mushrooms
- cantaloupe
- beans
- corn
- peanuts
- sesame seeds
Side Effects of a Vegan Diet
Plant Antinutrients
All vegetables have antinutrients. These compounds are meant to protect the plant from insects and other pests. Depending on a person’s individual metabolic health and immune status, the antinutrients can be benign or extremely detrimental to the body.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Some essential nutrients like magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A, B6, B12, D, E, Niacin, and folate are either absent completely or are found in a minimal amount of vegan foods. To make matters worse, the soil is depleted of nutrients compared to just 70 years ago; for example, it would take 50 peaches today to equal the nutrients in ONE peach from 1950.
Additionally, even if they have some of the nutrients, the bioavailability is much lower due to the plant Antinutrients. For instance, oxalates bind to minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, depriving our bodies of these nutrients, and phytates block the absorption of critical nutrients like calcium, iron, and zinc.
For example, when plant foods were substituted for meat, zinc absorption was reduced by almost half, and vegetarians may need to increase dietary iron by 80 percent to compensate for an estimated lower iron bioavailability of 10% from a vegetarian diet compared with 18% from a mixed Western diet.
Hungry all of the Time
Satiety comes from a hormone called CCK in the gut that is ONLY triggered by the amino acids from animal protein and omega 3 fatty acids; vegan foods do not trigger this hormone. This is why you can eat a larger amount of vegan foods without feeling satisfied or full.
Increased Insulin Resistance
It is difficult to ingest sufficient amounts of protein on a vegan diet without eating an immense amount of carbs, even if they are “healthy.” All carbs convert into glucose, eventually leading to insulin resistance. The insulin resistance will lead to inflammation, Type II diabetes, heart disease, hormonal imbalances, estrogen dominance, and all metabolic disease.
Hormonal Imbalances
Estrogen dominance results from insulin resistance, excess carb consumption, pesticides on GMO crops, inflammatory grains, Leaky Gut, and compromised detoxification pathways; all of these factors can stem from a vegan diet.
Hypothyroidism and Slow Metabolism
Thyroid health depends on amino acids and iodine to function properly, in addition to not having oxalates from vegan sources clogging the receptor sites in the thyroid. A vegan diet does not supply sufficient iodine or amino acids for thyroid health, and the thyroid gland is a primary target for oxalates to attach to.
Weight Gain
As insulin resistance and hormonal imbalances increase, weight gain will eventually occur. Furthermore, without the proper amino acids, iodine, and other nutrients supporting thyroid health, a vegan diet typically leads to hypothyroidism.
Hair Loss and Dry Skin
Hair loss and dry skin are symptoms of a diet low in protein, B vitamins, magnesium, and other nutrients, low thyroid, and increased toxicity. Most vegans eventually see these symptoms arise.
Bloat and Constipation
Many vegan foods from the sulfur, oxalate, lectin, and mold groups will cause bloat, leaky gut, and constipation. Constipation is also a symptom of hypothyroidism, and constipation will cause the body to reabsorb the bad estrogens and toxins to further cause bloat, weight gain, inflammation, and hormonal imbalances. It becomes a vicious cycle.
Fatty Liver
Fatty liver isn’t caused by eating an excess of fat; it is caused by high consumption of glucose, fructose, and hydrogenated oils. Fatty Liver Disease is most common among those with metabolic syndrome, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
The inflammatory foods leading to fatty liver will then inhibit the liver’s ability to detox the body from bad estrogens, to break down fats, and to convert the inactive thyroid hormone T4 into the active thyroid hormone T3. As a result the metabolism will slow down, fat burning will halt, and constipation and bloat will become worse.
What are Vegan Diet Alternatives
Prioritize Wild Animal Protein
Some animal proteins like chicken, turkey, pork, and conventional beef contain amyloid proteins that the body can’t break down or utilize, and instead get lodged in the tissues of the body and brain; they can lead to diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Many vegans may have reacted to one of these proteins negatively and assumed they should cut out all animal protein.
However, wild proteins like lamb, bison, deer, elk, Cornish Game Hen, organic eggs, and wild fish are full of dense nutrition without inflammatory triggers to the gut and body. This should be the main focus of nutritional dietary intake. Even just finding one of the above sources to add to a mostly vegan diet will help tremendously.
Unlike vegan protein sources that carry with them carbohydrates, these wild animal protein sources contain no carbs and can actually lower insulin resistance and increase fat burning in addition to providing the most nutrient-dense source of nutrition. Furthermore, wild animal protein is easier to digest than conventional chicken, beef, and pork.
Fill in with Healthy Fats and the Right Vegetables
If weight loss is a goal, consume only a limited amount of healthy fats like olive oil, ghee, organic butter, and avocado oil. If weight loss is not a goal, then consume those healthy fats as much as desired. Stick to vegetables like asparagus, artichoke, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, bib lettuce, and celery. Stay away from vegetables in the Sulfur, Oxalate, Lectin, and Mold groups if those are causing bloat, constipation, or other side effects.
Intermittent Fasting
By abstaining from eating for a period of time, your gut is able to heal, eliminating bloat and mobilizing fat from visceral, subcutaneous, and liver fat for energy. As a result energy increases and bloat decreases. Furthermore, you enter a state of ketosis or fat burning, where the brain and body utilize their own fat stores for energy. This staves off the “hangry” feeling and the starvation state that are both experienced on a vegan diet.
Eliminate all Processed Foods and Oils
Vegetable seed oils are more inflammatory and damaging than sugar and carbs; they stay in the system, wreaking havoc throughout the body for up to a year. These vegetable oils are hidden in even “healthy” keto or vegan foods. The oils are highly processed. Stay away from peanut oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, soy oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and rice bran oil.
Cut out Fructose
Fructose is metabolized differently than anything else; it is absorbed directly through the portal vein and delivered to the liver in much higher concentrations compared to other tissues.
Fructose also heightens de-novo lipogenesis, increasing the rate of fructose turning into fat tissue. Fruit is designed to “fatten” us up for survival. Also, fruit doesn’t need insulin, so it immediately converts into triglycerides. This is especially dangerous when it comes to fruit juice or high fructose corn syrup.
Dismiss the Vegan Identity
Too many people hold to a specific dietary regimen because it becomes their identity, even at the detriment of their health. Instead identify with the “DNA DIET”, meaning the diet that is right for your DNA.
Supplements to Enhance Your Weight Loss Results
Accelerated Keto™ kicks you into the state of ketosis where your body burns its own body fat for fuel. As a result, insulin resistance reverses, inflammation comes down, and the body is able to “heal” at a cellular level. Furthermore, ATP production increases about 4 times more than a typical carb-centered vegan diet, so physical and mental energy increase significantly.
Accelerated Keto™ includes additional fat-burning ingredients that de-fat the liver specifically; no other keto supplement incorporates these ingredients. It is lipotropic, meaning it breaks down saturated fats into unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are easier for the body to utilize and easier for the body to convert to ketones.
Because of this property, it is able to de-fat the liver as well. It is well known that the liver is responsible for converting stored fat into ketones. It is the liver that produces the ketones from fats.
The more a person’s liver is defatted and unclogged, the easier it is for the liver to function in all areas including producing ketones.
The liver is also where the thyroid hormone converts from T4 to T3, and as the liver function becomes better, the thyroid works better as well, increasing metabolism further. This mechanism leads to diminishing liver fat, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat.
This is truly “detoxing” your liver the way a vegan diet unsuccessfully attempts to do. Accelerated Keto also contains HMB which is directly related to preventing muscle loss while losing body fat. As you take Accelerated Keto and stick to a low-carb diet, you are healing your Leaky Gut, eliminating bloat, while increasing fat loss.
Many vegans have low immune systems because of the inflammatory vegan carb-heavy diet, imbalance of hormones and low thyroid. Accelerated Scalar Silver® helps support the immune system and devitalize foreign pathogens including viruses, bacteria, fungus and parasites.
Accelerated Thyroid® helps reverse hypothyroid, which is a common condition associated with the Vegan Diet. With the Kanchnara and glandular therapy, in addition to other ingredients not found in the vegan diet, this formula helps supports an optimal metabolism, fat burning, and overall endocrine health.
Furthermore, Accelerated Thyroid® has Threonine that prevents fat buildup in the liver. It does this by regulating fat metabolism and facilitating lipotropic function.
Lipotropic compounds work to break down fat during metabolism, and without the amino acids threonine, methionine, and aspartic acid, this wouldn’t be possible. Threonine deficiency can lead to fatty liver and even liver failure.
An animal study published in the American Journal of Physiology found that Threonine-deficient diets increase mitochondrial uncoupling in the liver. This means that diets lacking quality protein foods that provide essential amino acids can lead to cell malfunction and the buildup of fats in the liver.
Iodine helps detox every one of the 100 trillion cells in the body from toxins including bad estrogens, fluoride, bromide, and chlorine. It also helps with fibroids, PCOS, and other issues related to hormonal imbalances. Acceleradine® is also an anti-inflammatory and a powerful antioxidant, which helps neutralize inflammation and oxidative stress.
Intracellularly, meaning inside the cell, iodine produces energy.
Extracellularly, outside the cell, iodine acts as an antioxidant and anti-allergenic, and is detoxifying, vasodilating, auto-immune suppressing. It induces apoptosis, the natural death of cells during fetal development, as well as destruction of abnormal cells, thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth.
Acceleradine® is the only iodine that is enhanced with Scalar energy, radiation free, 100 percent absorbable, and can reverse damage done to the DNA.
By just putting a pinch of Accelerated Ancient Salt™ on your tongue, your cravings and appetite are suppressed, your blood sugar is lowered, and you are hydrating your cells properly. You avoid the hangry feeling from a vegan diet while absorbing the full spectrum of needed minerals. Accelerated Ancient Salt™ is composed of raw, unbleached, unheated, unrefined ancient seabed and sea salt from pristine sources in the Andes, Himalayas, and the U.S. without stabilizers, chemicals or plastics like most salts.
Furthermore, it is charged with Scalar Frequency to help detox the body of heavy metals and radiation. It helps replenish electrolytes, suppress appetite and sugar cravings, lower blood sugar, alleviates nausea, and tastes amazing! It also has a strong negative charge to help “pull out” positively charged toxins, parasites, and undigested fats.
Most salts are stripped of all of the natural minerals outside of sodium, causing face bloat, stomach bloat, and overall edema. Accelerated Ancient Salt contains over 60 of natural minerals, balancing out the sodium. As a result, true hydration is achieved within the body, eliminating bloat.
PerfectAmino® Powder is composed of pure Essential Amino Acids in an exact ratio that is 99% utilized to build new protein and collagen in the body – without the calories. This is the ideal protein supplement for a vegan, vegetarian, or low animal protein diet. PerfectAmino Powder can also be used to build lean muscle during exercise.
One serving is the protein equivalent of approximately 30 grams of whey, pea, soy and collagen, but instead of 120 calories, you only get 2, and you don’t have the adverse effects of the other ingredients.
With the Keto diet, many people have trouble taking away their body’s accustomed energy source (sugar) without, at the same time, giving it what it actually needed in the first place: usable amino acids to build the body’s structure. When adding in PerfectAmino, most people who had trouble with their Keto diet or the “Keto Flu”, now find they are able to follow through with it. And adding in PerfectAmino will not add calories to this or take them out of Ketosis, it will only enhance their gains.
The three supplements in the Leaky Gut Bundle help control the bad bacteria, encourage the growth of the good bacteria, and repair the mucosal lining of the gut.
1. MegaSporeBiotic
This unique probiotic blend aims to recondition the gut instead of reseeding with probiotic strains that cannot survive digestion or colonize the gut.
MegaSporeBiotic helps control the “bad” bacteria that lead to bloat and dysbiosis and grow the “good” bacteria. It has been shown to help with E. Coli, Salmonella, H. Pylori, and more.
2. MegaPre
This reinforces the beneficial microbial changes created by MegaSporeBiotic™ to promote a strong and diverse microbiome.
3. MegaMucosa
The mucosal system is a very important part of the human immune system. The mucosal system in the intestines contains 150 times more surface area than the skin, which makes it an essential element of the immune system that supports healthy immune function. MegaMucosa™ is the first complete mucosal support supplement of its kind, formulated to support a healthy mucosal barrier.
From ordinary activity and exercise to illness and overtaxed adrenals, electrolyte balance is a key player in our body’s ability to perform.
Wild-Lytes goes beyond the scope of a simple electrolyte formula to target the effects of daily stress, inflammation, adrenal fatigue, and immune disruption at a cellular level, providing a foundation for whole-body health.
The Wild-Lytes formula takes into account commonly overlooked genetic sensitivities, and is free of oxalates and sulfur-containing compounds – common additives in standard supplements that have been shown to contribute to inflammation and poor microbial health which encourage the growth of pathogens and spark weakened immunity.
Unlike many electrolyte supplements, nothing in this formulation weakens liver detoxification or blocks sulfation pathways for oxalate metabolism.
Quintessential 0.9 supports homeostasis, rehydration, and normal digestion while eliminating excess water retention. All of these factors lead to leaner, healthier gut and metabolic health.
This perfect isotonic solution of organic ocean minerals is diluted with natural alpine spring water to achieve the same consistency as your blood plasma and consists of all the needed electrolytes and minerals. This 0.9 concentration can help replenish mineral and trace element levels, gently detoxify, and support sleep, relaxation, and digestion.
Berberine supports normal glucose and lipid metabolism, keeping insulin and blood glucose in a healthy range. The HCL helps digestion which in turn, inhibits gut pathogens to become out of control.
The Lifewave X49 is a patch that may reduce body fat, increase lean muscle, increase energy, improve recovery after exercise, improve cardiovascular function and focus, increase muscle tone and strength, and strengthen bone density. The X49 is enhancing the weight loss results when combined with sufficient amino acids, especially Alanine, and protein.
Glutathione is the master antioxidant, detoxifier, immune booster and neuroprotector. The patch has been shown to increase glutathione by 300% in 24 hours. When worn with X39 Stem Cell Patch, glutathione production increases to 400%. Additionally, it is antiviral and great for healing infections.
Compared to vegan foods, Glutathione is much more powerful for detoxification and providing the needed antioxidants. For chronic issues, it brings glutathione levels up so suffering goes down in symptoms like autoimmune issues, arthritis, autism, MS, and Parkinson’s. It is known to help with longevity. The glutathione patch signals the body to make glutathione.
X39 is a STEM CELL patch that activates our own stem cell production by elevating GHK-cu peptide for regeneration and repair. This peptide resets 4,000 genes to a younger state, helps repair collagen in all tissues, activates stem cell production, encourages apoptosis of cancer cells, and discourages metastatic cancer cells.
People using X39 notice mental clarity, pain and inflammation reduction, wound healing, better sleep, more joy, youthful energy, soft skin, wrinkle reduction, hair growth, enhanced sports performance, faster recovery and reversed cellular aging.
Sara Banta
Sara Banta is a Stanford University Graduate with a Degree in Economics and Psychology, and a certified Natural Supplement Expert & Graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sara is the Founder of Accelerated Health Products and host of the health & wellness podcast, Accelerated Health Radio.
