Most people probably know what veganism is; for those who do not, veganism refers to the complete removal of animal based products from your diet. This means that vegans cannot eat milk, cheese, eggs, or fish. A lot of vegans choose this lifestyle because of moral or religious reasons. However, vegan lifestyles also attract a lot of people seeking to make themselves healthier. Some people willingly go on vegan diets in an attempt to lose weight. But, are vegan diets effective?
Key Features
- Veganism emphasizes the complete removal of animal products from your diet. No eggs, no dairy, and no fish.
- There is no single vegan diet, you can find potentially hundreds of different vegan diets.
- Heavy emphasis on consuming more vegetables and fruits.
Pros
Vegan diets tend to have a variety of health benefits. For example, consumption of red meat is associated with increased risk of stomach and colon cancer. The removal of red meat from your diet drastically reduces your chances of getting those specific kinds of cancer.
Scientific study after scientific study has confirmed just how healthy veganism is for you. Meat, specifically red meat, can cause a lot of dietary issues for some. Likewise, the fats that are found in dairy products and meat drastically increase your chances of suffering from heart disease.
Vegan diets also tend to be very easy to follow. Before the advent of the internet, following a vegan diet could be a bit difficult due to the lack of recipes. But, thanks to the internet, you can find literally thousands of easy to make, delicious vegan recipes for free. This makes it easy to shop for vegan ingredients and to cook vegan meals.
Cons
A vegan diet is more about the principles that it is about the actual diet. This means that it can be good or bad. Some vegans promote unhealthy eating because they are so passionate about the animals (such as high carb, low fat diets which can be hard to maintain or deficient in nutrients of not researched carefully)
Also, vegan diets can be a bit expensive. Since quality fruits and vegetables tend to be quite expensive in many areas, you may end up spending a lot more on groceries than you are used to. This problem gets even worse during the winter months when most fruits and vegetables are out of season.
The good news is that by eating a balanced vegan diet, one that contains plenty of vegetables but also proteins and fats, can actually be well worth the money and efforts in the results you’ll gain.
