Do Fruit Diets Lead to Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies?

It is common for people to undervalue vegan, raw vegan and fruit based diets by saying they are too restrictive and lacking on essential nutrients. Truth is, there is enough evidence to support both sides of this discussion. To keep an unbiased approach to this exploration, I am including cited sources from published research. Please remember the following results are based on studies of vegan and vegetarian diets. They don’t include samples from raw vegan or fruit-based groups. Sufficient research on raw vegan and fruit-based diets is yet to be performed.

Some studies suggest that a lack of animal products in our diet can lead to certain nutritional deficiencies. These include vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, zinc and omega-3. According to these findings, people following a vegan diet are recommended to supplement their diet with fortified foods and nutritional pills. (1)

Unfortunately, these findings are inconclusive, affirming that more studies are needed to get a clear picture of the health state of people following a vegan diet. We also need to consider the age of the participants in these studies. There can be huge differences depending on the age when vegan diets are adopted, and the number of years people spend following these diets.

The lack of clarity from these studies is the reason I prefer to rely on personal experience rather than scientific findings. We can spend our whole life looking at conflicting research and studies that point in opposite directions, but we will never know the absolute truth of how something will affect us, unless we try it. This is why I invite people to Give Fruit a Chance, and find the truth for themselves.

To be clear, I am not saying that scientific research is useless. In fact, I am using findings from hundreds of studies to support my arguments in this book. At the same time, anyone who has studied statistics knows there is always a margin of error, in statistical research, and their findings. In other words, many scientific studies are flawed. This can be due to personal biases, or honest mistakes in the preparation and performance of the study.

These studies deal with the human body, one of the most complex systems we know. There is an infinite number of variables we may overlook, from psychological factors to emotional, environmental, and spiritual components. To assume that we know how the human body works, is to assume that we know who we truly are, and that is a question that can’t be answered. Shout out to Ramana Maharshi.

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