With the help of Weston A. Price, a Canadian dentist writing in the 1930s, we’ll see why animal products and animal fat are fundamental components of a healthy diet. This is particularly true during pregnancy and childhood, for the proper development of babies and children. We’ll consider the fat soluble vitamins Retinol (Vitamin A), Vitamin D, and Vitamin K2, as well as the long chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA (aka fish oils). These nutrients are essential for the health of your heart, brain, eyes, bones, teeth, and for reproductive health. We’ll see why the vegan diet is inadequate for human nutrition and dangerous during pregnancy and childhood. We'll also consider supplements and food quality. The quotes from Weston A. Price, and the images used, are from his book: ‘Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets and Their Effects.’
References+Further Reading:
Vitamin A in Reproduction and Development:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257687/
Role of vitamin A in child health and nutrition: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221339842030083X
Vitamin A bioavailability:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7393990/
Vit A pregnancy:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10799410/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6470929/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9431575/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855261/
Vitamin D information:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
Calcium / Vit D supplements paper:
https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d2040
K2 helps avoid problems with calcification:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15514282/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22516724/
K2 reduces cardiovascular disease:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.120.020551
K2 and osteoporosis:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36033779/#full-view-affiliation-1
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16801507/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18830045/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6040265/
K2 sources:
https://www.drstevenlin.com/what-are-the-richest-food-sources-of-vitamin-k2/
Papers on saturated fats and cardiovascular disease risk:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28864332/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24723079/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26268692/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34796724/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34547017/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27071971/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23386268/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34509998/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34290045/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34717669/
Food matrix in context of dairy products:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6743828/
Dairy reducing cardiovascular risk:
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003763
Co-enzyme Q10 role:
https://www.drstevenlin.com/coq10-benefits/
Important roles of dietary taurine, creatine, carnosine, anserine and 4-hydroxyproline in human nutrition and health:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7088015/
Taurine and healthy ageing:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi3025
Study looking at life expectancy and meat consumption:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8881926/
Omega 3 chain length conversion inefficiency:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17622276/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9637947/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11844977/
Algae and long chain omega 3:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3736422/
Healthline page on Beef / red meat:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/beef
Healthline page on butter:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-butter-bad-for-you#what-it-is
Dr Philip Bosanquet
The Low-Tech Lifestyle Medic