Month on Vegan Diet Shifts Epigenetic Patterns Assoc with Aging and Inflammation • Hacker News Board

Re: Month on Vegan Diet Shifts Epigenetic Patterns Assoc with Aging and Inflammation

#11

Post by Daishiman » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC

seanhunter wrote: post #5

mint5 wrote: post #2

So much science work and analysis - all likely ruined by poor dietary controls. I skimmed the actual linked paper to see any details about the vegan vs meat rich diets and didn’t see any discussion whatsoever on that crucial part of the whole thing. I was very curious if they’d kept the protein, fat and carb proportions constant, or what even is the typical meat rich diet. Is it spam and sausage at every meal? Could…

I’m not sure you can just make a direct comparison between protein amounts, so that control may not work as you intend. As I understand it, your body metabolises dietary protein into amino acids, which it then uses to synthesise the protein it needs (that’s why even if you eat meat, your body isn’t made up of cow protein it’s made up of human protein). Meat eaters get most of their protein from meat and dairy product…

> I’m always skeptical of studies like this because the group that shifts to a vegan diet might just be shifting to a healthier diet in general and therefore that might be the effect you’re seeing rather than an effect that shows veganism is better than meat eating per se.

This happens with pretty much every dieting study. In fact the population of vegans is now less healthy on average as it's become more mainstream and more junk food products are aimed at vegans.

Re: Month on Vegan Diet Shifts Epigenetic Patterns Assoc with Aging and Inflammation

#12

Post by Daishiman » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC

Foskya wrote: post #4

adrian_b wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, that's true. Despite the fact that I happen to eat mostly vegan food myself, I am extremely skeptical about the claims of most such studies that claim positive results for vegan diets, because, as you say, they lack adequate dietary controls that would enable the interpretation of the results. I looked in the paper at "Materials and Methods", but there was no useful information about the actual diets, because it…

>None of the dietary studies that I have seen has provided any conclusive evidence that meat per se is the harmful ingredient This is innacurate if not simply false; according to the WHO red meat is a class 2 carcinogenic and sausages are class 1 carcinogenic. This leaves only white meat as non cancerogenic If you look at the data vegan (and vegetarian to a lesser extent) diets over various studies consitently perfor…

The OP is actually talking about the studies that the WHO was using to classify meat as a class 2 carginogen. For meat preserves the evidence is clear and known mechanistically, but for meat in general it's inconclusive at best and badly-designed at worst.

Re: Month on Vegan Diet Shifts Epigenetic Patterns Assoc with Aging and Inflammation

#13

Post by techno_tsar » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:53 PM UTC

seanhunter wrote: post #5

mint5 wrote: post #2

So much science work and analysis - all likely ruined by poor dietary controls. I skimmed the actual linked paper to see any details about the vegan vs meat rich diets and didn’t see any discussion whatsoever on that crucial part of the whole thing. I was very curious if they’d kept the protein, fat and carb proportions constant, or what even is the typical meat rich diet. Is it spam and sausage at every meal? Could…

I’m not sure you can just make a direct comparison between protein amounts, so that control may not work as you intend. As I understand it, your body metabolises dietary protein into amino acids, which it then uses to synthesise the protein it needs (that’s why even if you eat meat, your body isn’t made up of cow protein it’s made up of human protein). Meat eaters get most of their protein from meat and dairy product…

The complaint is that if you strip the controls out, then you're no longer betting on diet. Because whoever maintains a fully plant-based diet is drawn from a population that 'probably' smokes less, drinks less, sees doctors, sleeps, blah blah. True.

But nobody constructs elaborate arguments about hypothetical Oreo-vegans because they're worried about hypothetical Oreo-vegans. The same person who wants a randomized control trial about how 'healthy' a plant-based diet is versus an omnivore diet will happily take creatine on the strength of a forum post.

A thought experiment: bet money on who you think will live longer. Someone vegan or someone who isn't. No whining about controls like "how well planned is the diet", how much they exercise, if they smoke, and so on. Just a deadpool bet at a dive bar.

Ultimately, I've never found any of this research showing that vegan diets are good for you to be worth the controversy. It's not that 'veganism' is intrinsically better than eating meat. Fiber up, saturated fats down, and so on, and a vegan diet is a very good implementation of it. I have a feeling the reason why it makes peoples throats so tight has nothing to do with health.

Re: Month on Vegan Diet Shifts Epigenetic Patterns Assoc with Aging and Inflammation

#14

Post by mkli555 » Fri, Aug 07, 2026, 11:08 AM UTC

nozzlegear wrote: post #9

mkli555 wrote: post #6

Click-bait junk science. The authors contradict themselves, admitting the study "does not demonstrate" cancer prevention or aging reversal. State-sponsored hype ignores proven killers like sugar, tobacco, and alcohol.

Which state would sponsor hype for vegan diets?

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