A Complete Guide To The Vegan Diet!

Human beings need balanced, nutritious food and a certain amount of calories to stay healthy. The sum of food consumed by a person is what is said to be a diet. It implies consuming nutrition for health and weight management reasons. It is essential for good health and it protects us from many diseases. A balanced diet is when you have enough proteins (fish, chicken, eggs, nuts), healthy fats (oil, flaxseeds), and carbohydrates (fruits, veggies, beans). There are many kinds of diets like the low carbs diet, gluten-free diet, paleo diet, vegan diet, etc.

Most people look for short-term weight loss and restrictive food intake but a diet plan differs from person to person and is according to a person’s height, weight, and health that we decide.

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Veganism is completely avoiding all animal foods and products, it has existed for a long period. Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism have promoted this plant-based diet. Many people choose vegan today for the better treatment of all animals. However, there are different reasons for a person to go vegan.

Studies show that vegans have a low body mass index as compared to omnivores.

What is the vegan diet?

It is excluding all animal products. Many of them do not even use or buy products that involve animals in the making process like clothes, shoes, or other goods.

• Veganism is a lifestyle that does not use or excludes all animal products.

• Plant-based diets primarily have whole plant foods but also allow fish, eggs, meat in moderation.

• Vegetarians exclude meat, eggs, dairy, and poultry products.

• Ovo-vegetarians include eggs but exclude meat, dairy, and fish.

• Lacto-vegetarian allows dairy but excludes eggs, meat and fish.

• Pescatarian allows fish but excludes dairy, meat, and eggs.

These terms are often interchangeably used. As you can see, there are different types of vegetarians. All of them are not variations to the vegan diet. People choose different sorts of diets according to their culture and lifestyle changes.

What are the different types of vegan diets?

• Raw food vegan diet - in this diet, foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts are cooked at a temperature below 118 degrees F.

• Whole food vegan diet - this diet includes plant varieties like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts.

• 80/10/10 or Low fat or Fruitarian diet - This diet relies on raw fruits and soft greens and limits fat-rich plants like nuts and avocados.

• The starch solution - This diet is somewhat similar to 80/10/10, a low-fat high-carb diet that includes cooked starches like rice, corn, potato instead of fruits.

• Junk food vegan diet - This heavily relies on cheeses, fries, vegan desserts and lacks plant foods.

What foods to eat?

• Nuts and nut butter

• Legumes and beans

• Seeds

• Fruits and vegetables

• Whole grains and cereals

• Vegetable fats and oils like avocado and olive oils.

• Sprouted and fermented plant foods

What foods to avoid?

• All meat and poultry

• Fish and seafood

• Eggs

• Dairy products

• Products made from bees like honey

• Any product from animal-based ingredients like gelatin, lactose, carmine, plant-based, etc.

These are some of the foods that you can and cannot eat on a vegan diet.

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Benefits of the vegan diet

• It is beneficial for heart health. Researchers found that people who consume more plant-based food and lower consuming animal foods tend to improve their cardiovascular health. It lowers the heart disease rate by 24 percent.

• Fruits, vegetables, whole grains have lower carbon whereas meat has the largest carbon. It is not good for the environment. Many go for plants instead of animals to save nature. Hence, the vegan diet is beneficial/good for the environment.

• Vegan diets may lower the risk of developing or dying from cancer. Studies found that non-meat eaters have a lower risk of developing cancer.

• Vegan diets may prevent or reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Plant foods help to control blood glucose levels as it has antioxidant components.

• A vegan diet may also help to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

Risks involved

Although moving to veganism is good, it is sometimes hard to follow also. People find it difficult to find vegan food if they are at a social gathering or restaurant, the food you're looking for may not be available.

Studies also suggest that there may be many nutrients that we don’t get only from plants, it is hard to find minerals and vitamins like iron, zinc, vitamin B-12, calcium, omega which we get from eating fish, and proteins which we get from eating meat. These are all important for our health. However, we can get all these through vegan substitutes like avocado, almonds, oats, soy, all can be made into milk and is a substitution for cow milk and other dairy products. Molasses and agave are substitutes for honey. There are some brands as a good catch, Sophie's kitchen that provides vegan fish. Tofu works well as a substitute for eggs. But all of them are hard to find everywhere.

How to become a vegan?

• If you want to get into veganism, you start eating and experimenting with some vegan foods say once a week. Try new recipes and find your favorite vegan food.

• To make sure you get all the right and needful nutrients, it's better to consult a dietitian.

• Try new recipes and make sure you structure the vegan plate correctly so that it can be healthy and delicious.

Vegan diets are becoming popular day by day. As mentioned above, it has several health benefits and is good for the environment.

Once you get used to eating vegan foods, you will love it. It is not as boring as people say it to be. If you feel like trying it out, feel free to do it. There are so many recipes and guides available online and it's easy to become one.

“Veganism is not a sacrifice. It is a joy”

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Author - Fiza Fathima

Content Writer at Escribo.