Vegan Dieting

Vegan Dieting Help Guide

Veganism has recently become a popular choice of diet among many people especially many of the celebrities and Instagram influencers leading us to question what veganism exactly is. Vegans have different reasons for adopting this lifestyle: for a healthier diet, losing weight, or even because their favorite celebrity is doing it. But one of the most common rationales given by vegans is the preservation of animal rights and to adopt a lifestyle that eliminates all animal products like meat, milk, and eggs as well as other byproducts.

The fact that 25 million animals are slaughtered in farms every day is made even worse by the 850 million animals who end up dying of stress or other injuries in the same slaughterhouses each year. Adopting a vegan diet is a humanitarian choice that not only protects the fundamental rights of these animals but is also a healthy alternative to an animal-based diet. Veganism includes a diet rich in grains, seeds, beans as well as other fruit and plant-based foods. Many vegan products effectively replace foods such as meat, cheese, and milk with alternate vegan options like plant-sourced protein from tofu and seitan, cheese made from seeds and soybeans, and plant-derived milk respectively. However, it is necessary to note that a vegan diet may miss out on some essential micronutrients like vitamin B12, Calcium, and Zinc and it is important to supplement these to avoid their deficiency.

Why go vegan?

Having knowledge about the aim of veganism and its health benefits can help new vegans stay focused and steady in their new lifestyle. Few health benefits of veganism are described below:

• Veganism offers the perfect weight loss diet which is healthier and more effective than other diet regimes. It helps achieve a lower body mass index by incorporating a plant-based diet, exercise, and foods high in fiber that decrease the amount of food consumed.

• A normal diet consisting of meats and fats often increases one’s chances of suffering from hypertension and other heart diseases. Choosing a vegan lifestyle is shown proven to decrease total cholesterol and LDL which are the main culprits causing these diseases.

• Red meat, processed meats, and eggs, the main sources of protein in a non-vegetarian diet, as well as a higher incidence of obesity seen with these diets is an important risk factor for cancer development. Alternately, research has shown a vegan diet to reduce the risk of many different cancers.

• Other benefits include a lower blood sugar level that is helpful in managing diabetes type 2, alleviating symptoms of arthritis, improving renal health, and decreased risk of neurological disorders.

The road to veganism may be difficult for some but it is highly rewarding and transforms your life into one based on healthier and ethical life choices.

References

1. Craig WJ. Health effects of vegan diets. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2009 May 1;89(5):1627S-33S.

2. Glick-Bauer M, Yeh MC. The health advantage of a vegan diet: exploring the gut microbiota connection. Nutrients. 2014 Nov;6(11):4822-38.

3. Dinu M, Abbate R, Gensini GF, Casini A, Sofi F. Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. 2017 Nov 22;57(17):3640-9.

4. Turner-McGrievy GM, Davidson CR, Wingard EE, Wilcox S, Frongillo EA. Comparative effectiveness of plant-based diets for weight loss: a randomized controlled trial of five different diets. Nutrition. 2015 Feb 1;31(2):350-8.

5. Trapp CB, Barnard ND. Usefulness of vegetarian and vegan diets for treating type 2 diabetes. Current diabetes reports. 2010 Apr 1;10(2):152-8.