The latest issue of Vegetarian Journal is a special 35th Anniversary Issue celebrating the vegan education and outreach The Vegetarian Resource Group has done over the years. Our Nutrition Hotline column looks at vegan/vegetarian research the past 35 years and what to expect the next 35 years.

Thirty-five years ago, scientific research about vegetarian diets was limited; research about vegan diets was even less common. In 1982, 48 articles related in some way to vegetarian nutrition were published in scientific and medical journals; six mentioned vegan diets. The vegan articles had titles like “Rastafarianism and the Vegans Syndrome” and “Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Vegans” and were mainly concerned with getting adequate amounts of nutrients on a vegan diet. Over the next 35 years, much more research was conducted on people choosing vegetarian diets and more attention was paid to the health benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets. In 2016, 75 articles were published about vegan diets and 176 about some aspect of vegetarianism. Many of these articles focused on the use of vegetarian and vegan diets to prevent and treat chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

To read the entire article, visit:
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2017issue3/2017_issue3_nutrition_hotline.php

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