Vegans in SIBERIA !!!

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Healthstudy in a Vegan settlement in Siberia, Russia

by Prof.Dr.Irina Medkova

 

from EVU News, Issue 1 /1998 - Español

 

 

Prof.Dr.Irina Medkova

About three years ago the largest vegan settlement in Russia appeared in Si=

beria, where people were united by common religious beliefs. Their way of li=

fe attracted the attention of the officials who were worried about the healt=

h of the vegans. The Medical Centre for Practical Work and Research of the V=

egetarian Society in Russia together with the Institute of Medical Problems =

of the North decided to send an expedition to the settlement to carry out a =

comprehensive study of the way of life, the health status and the eating hab=

its of the vegans. The medical team included doctors of different specialisa=

tions and laboratory specialists.

 

The settlement is situated on the banks of a mountain river in a picturesqu=

e place in the virgin forests of Siberia. The only neighbours are some local=

people in a small village.

 

 

The study included a diagnostical check-up, blood counts, urine tests, ultr=

asound check up. The way of life, eating habits and the type of food eaten w=

ere studied during the talks with the people and through questionnaires. 110=

people were involved in the study: 84 were vegans and 26 were villagers who=

use a traditional diet including meat, fish, dairy products. The latter ser=

ved as a control group. The vegans were divided into four age groups: 18-39,=

40-59 and 60- 74.

 

Formerly, the vegans belonged to an urban population, 55% of them are colle=

ge and university graduates, they have various professions but at present th=

ey have to do a different kind of work – they are engaged in agriculture, co=

nstruction, handicrafts. Although the living standards in the settlement are=

rather low, there prevails a positive emotional atmosphere and great enthus=

iasm.

 

The members of the vegan group have been vegans for 0.5-5 years; the averag=

e term – 2.2 years; they kept to a vegetarian diet for a longer period: from=

1 to 20 years. They became vegetarians for religious and ethical reasons. T=

he vegans stick to a healthy way of life: they do not smoke or take alcohol.=

Most of them do physical work. Previously, 21% of them were smokers and 76%=

occasionally drank alcohol. The change in their way of life benefited their=

health: they lost extra weight, their sleep improved (12% of the vegans for=

merly suffered from insomnia and took pills), they became more fit. 65% of t=

he vegans state that they became more balanced emotionally and their family =

relations improved. Most of the people attribute this to the vegan diet.

 

The diet of the Siberian vegans includes rye bread, often home- made; wheat=

bread is seldom used. The diet includes also various cereals: buck-wheat, m=

illet, rice etc. They also eat beans, peas, lentils, soy. Most of them (91%)=

do not use pastas. The people in the vegan settlement not only eat without =

fats or butter but they seldom use oil (sunflower or olive oil), 86% do not =

use even these. They use such vegetables as potatoes, carrots, beet-root, ra=

dish pumpkins, cabbage onions, garlic, tomatoes, squash, sweet pepper. They =

also widely eat the greens: parsley, fennel and others.

 

People in the vegan settlement

 

Of berries they eat strawberries, black currants, blackberries; they have s=

uch fruit as apples, sometimes oranges and lemons also dried fruit. Mushroom=

s, honey, herb tea and nuts are also part of their diet.

 

 

Vegan children in Siberia

The studies showed that the vegan diet improved the lipid metabolism in the=

vegans (their cholesterol level is very low) and normalised their weight an=

d their cardio-vascular systems. No Vitamin B12, deficiency and no iron defi=

ciency was found in their blood. On the other hand a calcium deficiency was =

observed, evidently, due to the lack of dairy products in their diet.

 

Some disturbances of the liver and pancreas were observed as well as of the=

renal system both in the vegan and in the control group, which can be attri=

buted not so much to diet as to ecological factors – the mineral content of =

the drinking water. On the whole the health of the vegans is better than tha=

t of the control group – the local population living on a mixed diet.

 

Prof. Dr. Irina Medkova

Vegetarian Society of Russia,

39, bl.3, flat 23 Volzhsky Bulvar, Moscow, 109462 Russia,

Tel/Fax: +7 (0)95 170 70 29

 

Source:

http://www.european-vegetarian.org/evu/english/news/news981/siberia.html