Do vegans have smaller brains?!

Luckily most of the comments I receive online are incredibly lovely and supportive, but occasionally someone always likes to chime in and call me a 'child abuser' for raising a vegan family.

I recently received a comment stating that '...vegan kids grow up shorter and brains develop to half the size...' So let's see if there's any actual truth in that statement!

Here's my original post; https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdoStzSME02/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

“Do vegans grow up with smaller brains?  Welcome to my Wednesday thoughts.

Someone recently commented saying that I was deliberately abusing my child because 'vegan kids grow up shorter and brains develop to half the size...'. So in light of my post about not believing everything on social media, I did a little bit of research!

Just a disclaimer that I am not a doctor or qualified researcher. I'm just someone that spent a little bit of time looking into scientific studies.

Now from my research, their claim seems to have come from a book called Why Vegans Have Smaller Brains: And How Cows Reverse Climate Change which claims that an Oxford University study found that the less animal food you eat, the more your brain shrinks with age.

The study that they referenced in the book, looked B12 levels and brain shrinkage in just 107 elderly people in the UK. The study didn't actually differentiate the dietary habits of any of the participants, so we don't know if they were all meat eaters, all vegetarian or anything about what they actually ate at all. It was simply looking at B12 deficiency and brain shrinkage in a small number of elderly adults.

Now B12 is very important. It ensures that your red blood cells are working correctly to carry blood around your body. There's a belief that you need to eat animal products in order to get enough B12, but this is just not true. B12 comes from bacteria and in fact farmed animals are fed B12 supplements because they don't spend enough time on natural soil!

B12 can be found in fortified cereals, non-dairy milks and yogurts, bread, Marmite, vegan meats and nutritional yeast. So there are lots of simple, cruelty free options to making sure you're eating enough B12.

So, do vegan children have smaller brains? The research suggests not at all!"

References;

NHS B12 guidance; Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia - NHS

Debunking the vegan's have smaller brains claim; 'Why Vegans Have Smaller Brains': Debunked

The 2008 Oxford Study into B12 deficiency; Vitamin B12 status and rate of brain volume loss in community-dwelling elderly | Neurology

The ultimate guide to B12; The Ultimate Guide to Vitamin B12  - PETA UK

B12 questions answered; Vitamin B12: All Your Questions Answered - Forks Over Knives