Vegan Diet and Oral and Dentogingival Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/piii2025435Keywords:
Vegan diets, Nutritional deficiencies, Oral health, Cardiovascular risks, Professional supervisionAbstract
Introduction: Vegan diets have gained popularity in contemporary society, mainly due to ethical and aesthetic factors. However, the adoption of these diets has been affected by widespread misinformation, which has led to negative health consequences for those who implement them without adequate knowledge.
Methods: The analysis was based on a review of previous scientific studies on the effects of vegan diets on human health. Their benefits and risks, as well as associated nutritional deficiencies, were evaluated. The population groups most vulnerable to these deficiencies and the possible long-term adverse effects on the body were also identified.
Results: The results showed that vegan diets, although rich in fiber due to the consumption of fruits and vegetables, present significant risks when not supervised by professionals. The main deficiencies identified included Vitamin B12, Omega-3, iron and zinc, essential nutrients for the correct development and functioning of the body. These deficiencies were related to health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, bone disorders, cancer and oral alterations, such as dental weakness and increased susceptibility to oral infections.
Conclusions: It was concluded that vegan diets are not suitable for the entire population and require careful planning and professional supervision. Although they offer specific benefits, the risks associated with deficiency of critical nutrients underscore the importance of individual assessment before adopting this type of diet
References
1. Rivera F, García Rojo M. La búsqueda de bibliografía: nuevas soluciones para un viejo problema. Nefrología. 2003;23(6):487-96.
2. Cisneros M, Olave G. Redacción y publicación de artículos científicos: enfoque discursivo. 1ª ed. Bogotá: Editorial ECOE; 2012. p. 139.
3. Appleby P, Bradbury K, Sobiecki R. High compliance with dietary recommendations in a cohort of meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition–Oxford study. Nutrition Research. 2015;36:464-77.
4. Arango Medina C. El mundo vegano: un nuevo estilo de vida, una nueva ética [tesis]. Bogotá: Universidad EAFIT; 2016. p. 43.
5. Stahler C. How many adults are vegetarian? Veg J. 2006;25:14-5.
6. Jacobsen MF. Six arguments for a greener diet: how a more plant-based diet could save your health and the environment. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest; 2006.
7. Key TJ, Appleby PN, Rosell MS. Health effects of vegetarian and vegan diets. Proc Nutr Soc. 2006;65:35-41.
8. Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada. Vegetarian diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003;103:748-65.
9. Strohle A, Waldmann A, Wolters M, Hahn A. Vegetarian nutrition: preventive potential and possible risks. Part 1: plant foods. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2006;118:580-93.
10. Fraser G. Risk factors and disease among vegans. In: Fraser G, editor. Diet, life expectancy, and chronic disease. Studies of Seventh-day Adventists and other vegetarians. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2003. p. 231-9.
11. Toohey ML, Harris MA, Williams D, Foster G, Schmidt WD, Melby CL. Cardiovascular disease risk factors are lower in African-American vegans compared to lacto-ovo-vegetarians. J Am Coll Nutr. 1998;17:425-34.
12. De Biase SG, Fernandes SF, Gianini RJ, Duarte JL. Vegetarian diet and cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2007;88:35-9.
13. Keinan-Boker L, Peeters PH, Mulligan AA, et al. Soy product consumption in 10 European countries: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Public Health Nutr. 2002;5:1217-26.
14. Larsson CL, Johansson GK. Dietary intake and nutritional status of young vegans and omnivores in Sweden. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:100-6.
15. World Cancer Research Fund. Food, nutrition, physical activity, and the prevention of cancer: a global perspective. Washington, DC: American Institute for Cancer Research; 2007.
16. Fraser GE. Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;70(Suppl):532S-8S.
17. Liu RH. Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer prevention: mechanism of action. J Nutr. 2004;134(Suppl):3479S-85S.
18. Holick MF. Sunlight, UV-radiation, vitamin D and skin cancer: how much sunlight do we need? Adv Exp Med Biol. 2008;624:1-15.
19. Cross AJ, Leitzmann MF, Gail MH, Hollenbeck AR, Schatzkin A, Sinha R. A prospective study of red and processed meat intake in relation to cancer risk. PLoS Med. 2007;4:e325.
20. Park SY, Murphy SP, Wilkens LR, Henderson BE, Kolonel LN. Legume and isoflavone intake and prostate cancer risk: the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Int J Cancer. 2008;123:927-32.
21. Chan JM, Stampfer MJ, Ma J, Gann PH, Gaziano JM, Giovannucci EL. Dairy products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk in the Physician’s Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001;74:549-54.
22. Chan HHL, Lau EMC, Woo J, Lin F, Sham A, Leung PC. Dietary calcium intake, physical activity and risk of vertebral fractures in Chinese. Osteoporos Int. 1996;6:228-32.
23. Appleby P, Roddam A, Allen N, Key T. Comparative fracture risk in vegetarians and nonvegetarians in EPIC-Oxford. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007;61:1400-6.
24. Cassidy A, Albertazzi P, Nielsen IL, et al. Critical review of health effects of soybean phytoestrogens in post-menopausal women. Proc Nutr Soc. 2006;65:76-92.
25. Arnett TR, Spowage M. Modulation of the resorptive activity of rat osteoclasts by small changes in extracellular pH near the physiological range. Bone. 1996;18:277-9.
26. Provenza FD, Meuret M, Gregorini P. Our landscapes, our livestock, ourselves: Restoring broken linkages among plants, herbivores, and humans with diets that nourish and satiate. Appetite. 2015;95:500-19.
27. Mills MR. The comparative anatomy of eating [Internet]. 1996 [cited 2024 Dec 12]. Available from: http://www.adaptt.org/documents/Mills%20The%20Comparative%20Anatomy%20of%20Eating1.pdf
28. Danowitz M, Solounias N. Embryology, comparative anatomy, and congenital malformations of the gastrointestinal tract. Edorium J Anat Embryol. 2016;3:39-50.
29. Armelagos GJ. Brain evolution, the determinants of food choice, and the omnivore’s dilemma. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2014;54(10):1330-41.
30. Ramalanjaona BJ, Sorrento C, Pagano AS, Marquez S. “You are what you eat” or “You eat what you are?” Comparative mammalian gastrointestinal anatomy. FASEB J. 2016;30(1 Suppl):1044-6.
31. Spencer C. The heretic’s feast: A history of vegetarianism. Lebanon, NH: UPNE; 1996.
32. Lanham-New SA. Is “vegetarianism” a serious risk factor for osteoporotic fracture? Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90(4):910-1.
33. Fox N, Ward K. You are what you eat? Vegetarianism, health, and identity. Soc Sci Med. 2008;66:2585-95.
34. Fox N, Ward K. Health, ethics and environment: A qualitative study of vegetarian motivations. Appetite. 2008;50(2-3):422-9.
35. Machovina B, Feeley KJ, Ripple WJ. Biodiversity conservation: The key is reducing meat consumption. Sci Total Environ. 2015;536:419-31.
36. Tom MS, Fischbeck PS, Hendrickson CT. Energy use, blue water footprint, and greenhouse gas emissions for current food consumption patterns and dietary recommendations in the US. Environ Syst Decis. 2015;36(1):92-103.
37. Chauveau P, Combe C, Fouque D, Aparicio M. Vegetarianism: Advantages and drawbacks in patients with chronic kidney diseases. J Ren Nutr. 2013;23(6):399-405.
38. Fields H, Ruddy B, Wallace MR, Shah A, Millstine D, Marks L. How to monitor and advise vegans to ensure adequate nutrient intake. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2016;116(2):96-9.
39. Crowe FL, Appleby PN, Travis RC, Key TJ. Risk of hospitalization or death from ischemic heart disease among British vegetarians and nonvegetarians: Results from the EPIC-Oxford cohort study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;97(3):597-603.
40. Yokoyama Y, Nishimura K, Barnard ND, Takegami M, Watanabe M, Sekikawa A, et al. Vegetarian diets and blood pressure: A meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(4):577-87.
41. Key TJ. Cancer risk and vegetarian diets. In: Mariotti F, editor. Vegetarian and plant-based diets in health and disease prevention. New York, NY: Elsevier; 2017. p. 345-54.
42. Bradbury KE, Appleby PN, Key TJ. Fruit, vegetable, and fiber intake in relation to cancer risk: Findings from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;100(Suppl_1):394S-8S.
43. Gilsing AMJ, Weijenberg MP, Goldbohm RA, Dagnelie PC, van den Brandt PA, Schouten LJ. Vegetarianism, low meat consumption and the risk of lung, postmenopausal breast and prostate cancer in a population-based cohort study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2016;70(6):723-9.
44. Boskovic M, Baltic M. Association between red meat consumption and cancer risk. Meat Technol. 2016;57(2):81-8.
45. Tom MS, Fischbeck PS, Hendrickson CT. Energy use, blue water footprint, and greenhouse gas emissions for current food consumption patterns and dietary recommendations in the US. Environ Syst Decis. 2015;35(4):92-103.
46. Godos J, Bella F, Sciacca S, Galvano F, Grosso G. Vegetarianism and breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer risk: An overview and meta-analysis of cohort studies. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2017;30(3):349-59.
47. Koushik A, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, Beeson WL, van den Brandt PA, Buring JE, et al. Fruits, vegetables, and colon cancer risk in a pooled analysis of 14 cohort studies. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007;99(19):1471-83.
48. Baltic ZM, Djuric J, Karabasil N, Dimitrijevic M, Markovic R, Mirilovic M, et al. Istorijski osvrt na proizvodnju mesa u Srbiji. Zbornik referata i kratkih sadrzaja 21. Savetovanje veterinara Srbije. 2010:249-59.
49. Petti A, Palmieri B, Vadalà M, Laurino C. Vegetarianism and veganism: Not only benefits but also gaps. A review. Prog Nutr. 2017;19(3):229-42.
50. McEvoy CT, Temple N, Woodside JV. Vegetarian diets, low-meat diets, and health: A review. Public Health Nutr. 2012;15(12):2287-94.
51. Kapoor A, Baig M, Tunio SA, Memon AS, Karmani H. Neuropsychiatric and neurological problems among Vitamin B12 deficient young vegetarians. Neurosciences. 2017;22(3):228-32.
52. Woo KS, Kwok TC, Celermajer DS. Vegan diet, subnormal vitamin B-12 status, and cardiovascular health. Nutrients. 2014;6(8):3259-73.
53. Li D. Chemistry behind vegetarianism. J Agric Food Chem. 2011;59(3):777-84.
54. Crowe FL, Steur M, Allen NE, Appleby PN, Travis RC, Key TJ. Plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans: Results from the EPIC-Oxford study. Public Health Nutr. 2011;14(2):340-6.
55. Aloufy A, Latzer Y. Diet or health: The linkage between vegetarianism and anorexia nervosa. Harefuah. 2006;145(7):526-31.
56. Chauveau P, Combe C, Fouque D, Aparicio M. Vegetarianism: Advantages and drawbacks in patients with chronic kidney diseases. J Ren Nutr. 2013;23(6):399-405.
57. Menzies K, Sheeshka J. The process of exiting vegetarianism: An exploratory study. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2012;73(4):163-8.
58. Satija A, Bhupathiraju SN, Spiegelman D, Chiuve SE, Manson JE, Willett W, et al. Healthful and unhealthful plant-based diets and the risk of coronary heart disease in U.S. adults. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017;70(4):411-22.
59. Di Genova T, Guyda H. Infants and children consuming atypical diets: Vegetarianism and macrobiotics. Paediatr Child Health. 2007;12(3):185-8.
60. Djordjevic V, Petronijevic R, Sarcevic D, Jankovic V, Lakicevic B, Velebit B, et al. The attitudes and habits of Serbian preschool children in consumption of meat and fish. Meat Technol. 2017;57(1):72-7.
61. Rogne T, Tielemans MJ, Chong MF, Yajnik CS, Krishnaveni GV, Poston L, et al. Associations of maternal vitamin B12 concentration in pregnancy with the risks of preterm birth and low birth weight: A systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data. Am J Epidemiol. 2017;185(3):212-23.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Lía Berlié , Ciro Leonardo Quiroga Shraer (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.