Dietitians Call Attention to Errors in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Vegetarian and Vegan Position Paper, Correcting Low Vitamin D Myth

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dietitians should encourage their patients to adopt a plant-based diet, say dietitians with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in a recently published letter to the editor. The letter responded to the recently updated Vegetarian Dietary Patterns for Adults: A Position Paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which recommends that dietitians only share information on vegetarian and vegan diets with patients who “express interest.” The position paper also contains several errors, including statements that vegans have low vitamin D.

“Just as smoking cessation is recommended to all patients, regardless of their interest or motivation, so too should dietitians be allowed and encouraged to recommend adoption of a plant-based eating pattern to all patients,” write Anna Herby, DHSc, RD, CDCES, and Noah Praamsma, MS, RDN, dietitians for the Physicians Committee.

Dr. Herby and Praamsma also say that a section of the position paper, which was published in June 2025 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, mistakenly links vegetarian and vegan diets with vitamin D deficiency.

In their letter, they point out that research cited in the paper found diet to poorly predict vitamin D status, and that people following vegetarian and vegan diets are not at higher risk of deficiency: “On page 7 of the position paper, the text states: ‘Evidence from large cohort studies shows a high incidence of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency in vegetarians, including vegans.’ The cited source, however, stated the opposite, finding no significant difference in serum vitamin D concentrations based on vegetarian status.”

They add, “The section on vitamin D also cited a 2021 systematic review of observational studies, but failed to correctly cite its stated conclusion, which was that, among those following vegan diets, serum vitamin D concentrations ‘are not below healthy levels.’”

Vitamin D comes primarily from sun exposure. Most foods, including animal products, are naturally poor sources of vitamin D, say Dr. Herby and Praamsma, adding that planning is important regardless of vegetarian or nonvegetarian status.

The published letter to the editor was accompanied by an erratum and response written by the authors of the position paper. In it, they acknowledged a lack of clarity and revised a portion of the position paper text. The revised text continues to imply vegans risk compromised vitamin D, however, and no changes were made to the paper’s directive for dietitians to defer to patient preferences.

“A vegetarian or vegan dietary pattern may be a good option for the patient,” state the position paper authors, “but successful adoption requires individual interest, readiness, and consideration of lifestyle factors.”

Praamsma and Dr. Herby argue the paper should go further. “Many patients need significant diet interventions, and dietitians are in a unique position to facilitate them,” says Praamsma. “Dietitians possess authoritative voices and have the responsibility to encourage their patients to make lifesaving changes. We should be supporting them with evidence-based counseling and plant-based cooking skills."

The Physicians Committee has also asked the Academy to retract the paper and make corrections in other sections.