Right now, more and more people are turning towards a vegan diet or a vegan lifestyle. Chances are, when you’re in the supermarket or doing your grocery shopping, you’re noticing more and more foods being advertised as “vegan” or “plant based”. You’ve probably seen more vegan options on the menus at restaurants, takeouts and cafes. Some even have wholly vegan menus or wholly vegan stores! But what is “vegan” and is it a lifestyle choice that could be beneficial for your health and wellbeing? If you’re interested in going vegan, there’s a whole lot to learn and plenty of tips and tricks that can help you along the way. We’re going to go through just some of this information right now! Hopefully, some of it will help you to determine whether this is a good idea that will suit you!
What Exactly Is Veganism?
Let’s start out with the basics. What actually is veganism? Most of us are aware that it’s an alternative diet or lifestyle that’s similar to vegetarianism, but not exactly the same. To put things simply, being vegan means that you adopt a way of living that cuts out the use and consumption of any products that contain animals, animal matter or is tested on animals. This means that vegans don’t eat:
- Meat
- Fish
- Glatine
- Dairy
- Eggs
- Honey
This doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you eat a diet that incorporates these foods, you’ll quickly notice that these ingredients will be found in most of your meals. If you decide to go vegan, you’ll have to cut them out and replace them with alternatives.
Why Would I Want to Go Vegan?
There are countless benefits of going vegan and many people go vegan for different reasons. The most common reasons people often state for going vegan tend to talk about the subjects of animal rights, health and wellbeing and the environment. For now, let’s focus on health. Many studies have found that vegan diets can help you to cut out unhealthy and fatty foods, such as red meat and dairy, and can encourage you to eat much more green matter, such as fruits and vegetables. Of course, with the newfound popularity of veganism, many vegan junk foods are coming out. These are great as an occasional treat. But you should try to ensure that you don’t rely on them for your daily meals and snacks.
Making Sure You Still Get Your Nutrients
Of course, when you cut lots of foods out, you can find that you quickly become nutritionally deficient. This is a mistake that many new vegans make. They don’t actively replace the nutrients found in the foods they used to eat. The good news is that there are plenty of plant based alternatives that provide all of the nutrients you need to fuel your body. One thing that some vegans struggle with is B12, as there aren’t many plant based sources of this. However, you can easily supplement with the best vitamin b12 to use on a vegan diet.
Go Easy On Yourself
It can be difficult switching from eating anything to eating a comparatively limited diet. So, go easy on yourself. Take things one step at a time. You’ll eventually get there!
As you can see, veganism can be great for your health. So, why not give it a go?
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