Let’s clear up a really common point of confusion in nutrition. Humans aren’t plants. We’re animals. And that single fact explains a lot about why nutrients from animal-based foods are generally far more bioavailable to us than nutrients from plants. This isn’t about ideology. It’s about biology.
Plants and humans live in completely different worlds physiologically. Plants are stationary. They don’t chase food, fight gravity, regulate body temperature, or run a brain that burns massive amounts of energy. They meet their relatively low energy needs through photosynthesis—using sunlight to build sugars. Humans, on the other hand, are mobile, energy-intensive animals. We move, think, build, regulate hormones, and maintain a constant internal temperature. That takes a lot of fuel—and very specific nutrients in bioavailable forms we can actually absorb and use directly.
Bioavailability simply means how much of a nutrient you eat actually makes it into your bloodstream and your cells.
Animal foods already contain nutrients in forms that closely match human biology. Vitamin A from animal foods is already in its active form, retinol, whereas plants only provide beta-carotene, which many people convert very poorly. Vitamin B12 is another great example—it’s essentially absent from plants altogether.
Now let's talk protein. Animal-based foods contain complete proteins with all essential amino acids in the proportions humans need, because muscle tissue in animals is built from the same basic components as our own. Plants don’t need muscles, so their proteins are structured differently than those found in animals. That’s why plant proteins often lack key amino acids or come packaged with fiber and compounds that reduce absorption, forcing people to carefully combine foods just to approximate what meat provides naturally.
Omega-3s follow the same story. Fish and meat provide directly usable forms, namely, DHA and EPA. Plants provide ALA, which must be converted through a slow and inefficient process. Again, animals provide animal-ready nutrients.
Even minerals behave differently. Plants often package nutrients alongside anti-nutrients like phytates, oxalates, and lectins that actively block mineral absorption. Iron from animal foods comes as heem iron, which is easily absorbed. Plant iron is non-heem and is strongly inhibited by anti-nutrients. Zinc and calcium face similar issues in plant-based foods.
Plants aren’t trying to nourish you—they’re trying to survive and grow so they can reproduce. Many contain defense chemicals that interfere with human digestion and mineral absorption. Unlike humans, herbivores evolved specialized systems to handle this.
Plants aren’t trying to nourish you—they’re trying to survive and grow so they can reproduce. Many contain defense chemicals that interfere with human digestion and mineral absorption. Unlike humans, herbivores evolved specialized systems to handle this.
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