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Whether we are talking about veganism or vegetarianism, both of these lifestyles are, and have been on a serious rise for quite some time now. As our society becomes more and more sensitive to the inhumane treatment of all animals and the environmental impacts of an animal product based diet, we see more people choosing this way of life.
Numerous sites, organizations and societies continue to educate people on not only the animal and environmental benefits of choosing these lifestyles, but perhaps most importantly on the health benefits one incurs from abstaining from meat, if not all other animals products. Of course EvolvingWellness.com is one of those sources, as well.
Given this, there are many people out there with a lot of questions when it comes to changing to being a vegetarian or a vegan. After all many of us have been heavily conditioned that meat and dairy are part of a “healthy” diet. It is for this reason that I feel we need to continue to provide high quality information for people who are thinking of making this change and knowing what benefits lay ahead.
Although both vegetarianism and veganism have their benefits, many people may not realize that there are many more benefits to being a vegan. Hence in this article, I want to provide you with an important foundation of facts, from all angles, of the benefits of veganism over vegetarianism.
Vegetarian vs Vegan
Just before we go any further, I want to define what I mean by vegetarian and vegan, so that we are all on the same page.
A vegan is someone who does not eat any animal products. I am not going to address here their other lifestyle choices, as we will only focus on the diet.
A vegetarian does not eat any meat or seafood, but typically eats dairy and/or eggs.
Cholesterol Benefits
Being vegan has huge cholesterol benefits. As cholesterol is a compound that is only found in animal products, vegans do not consume any cholesterol.
This significantly decreases their chances of having high cholesterol to the point that most may never have to worry about having high cholesterol. Granted they may be prone to low levels of healthy cholesterol, but that depends on what healthy fats they incorporate as part of a daily diet and whether they exercise or not.
For vegetarians, both dairy and eggs are a source of bad cholesterol (LDL). A single egg contains over 200mg of cholesterol and the recommended daily allowance for cholesterol stands at 300mg per day.
However, high, bad cholesterol (LDL) is not only inherited from foods high in cholesterol, but rather comes more significantly from the amount of saturated and trans fat in our diet, which brings us to our next section.
Decreased Saturated and Trans Fat Benefits
Being vegan can mean huge benefits when it comes to having lower intakes of saturated and trans fats. Most saturated fats come from animal products, with dairy fat being about 65% saturated, especially cheese.
Trans fats come from hydrogenated vegetable oils, as well, some trans fats are naturally found in animal products, like dairy. So the next time you eat something that most consider healthy, like a yogurt, be sure to check out the nutritional label.
Now, most of us by now are well aware that both trans and saturated fats are strongly related to risk of heart disease. However, they are also related to several cancers, gallstones, kidney disease and possibly even type 2 diabetes.
What else is critical to know is that saturated and trans fats have a stronger influence on increasing our bad cholesterol, than eating cholesterol from food products itself. Hence, if you have high cholesterol the culprit may not necessarily be whether you eat eggs or not, but how much meat and dairy you consume.
Therefore for vegans, as long as they do not overdo their use of coconut oil, other tropical oils or processed vegan food, have significantly lower intakes of saturated and trans fats. In fact, seriously health conscious vegans may have an intake of 0g of trans fats in their diet. As well, saturated fat from coconut oil has been proven to be metabolized quite differently in the body than animal sources of saturated fat, adding to more health benefits than risks.
For vegetarians on the other hand, especially those who rely heavily on dairy or are not health conscious as to how much and what kind of processed food they eat, their intake of saturated and trans fats can actually be very high. In fact, it can sometimes be worse than very health conscious people who occasionally consume meat.
Iron Benefits
The richest sources of iron are found in meat and plant foods, like beans and leafy greens. Given this, many studies show that vegetarians and vegans have higher iron intakes than non-vegetarians. However, there is a big advantage to being vegan over vegetarian when it comes to proper iron levels.
Dairy and eggs are poor sources of iron. Not only this, dairy products actually inhibit iron absorption. This is something vegetarians, not vegans have to consider, especially women who have not yet hit menopause, for whom maintaining proper iron levels may be a challenge.
B12 Benefits
This is a tough and at the same time interesting topic when it comes to vitamin B12 benefits. One would think that vegetarians are at an advantage when it comes to B12 over vegans. This may not be quite so. On the one hand we are taught that all animal foods are reliable sources of vitamin B12, but on the other hand research tends to overlook that even people who consume animal foods, can still be deficient in this vitamin. Here is why:
The metabolism and absorption of B12 is actually quite a complex process. One must have proper secretions of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and production of pepsin and intrinsic factor to fully digest and use B12. For some people who eat animal products, any of these three not working properly can be a limiting factor in their ability to absorb the B12.
This is why vegetarians who eat dairy or egg products cannot automatically assume that they are safe where B12 is concerned, as studies prove that B12 is easier to absorb from supplements or fortified foods, when it is not bound to a protein, like in most animal product sources. As we age too, our stomach lining gets worse and worse at producing the pepsin and hydrochloric acid. This is especially critical thus for those over the age of 50, where even animal product eaters are recommended to consume a B12 supplement.
So, since all vegans either take a supplement of B12 or consume fortified food products with it, they may actually have an easier time absorbing this crucial vitamin.
One more note on vitamin B12, the supplement form should be of the methylcobalamin form, not cyanocobalamin form, for best absorption and use in the body.
Calcium Benefits
It is of course no surprise that most of us still equate healthy bones with dairy intake. This is actually what prevents most vegetarians from moving to a vegan lifestyle. This however cannot be further from the truth. We have to really start coming around and understanding that strong bones are not a by product of how much dairy one consumes. For more information on this please read the following article: “You Can Thank High Protein and High Sodium Diets For Your Bone Loss.”
In fact, the richest and most absorbable forms of calcium are in plant sources, mainly leafy greens. Thus vegetarians, who solely rely on dairy for their calcium and don’t eat enough greens and other plant food varieties, can actually have a false positive on the “calcium and strong bone” front.
This puts healthy vegans at a huge advantage, as they are known to eat large amounts of greens, which are an excellent source of calcium. For example, consider this: there are 1,055mg of highly absorbable calcium in 100 calories of bok choy and only 194mg of it in the same amount of calories in milk.
Not only that, dairy products have other problems associated with them in terms of actually contributing to leaching calcium from our bones, which are discussed in the next section.
Acid/Alkaline Benefits
Our blood pH is normally between 7.35 and 7.45. This is slightly alkaline and has to stay so in order for us to be alive. Just a slight shift out of this region can mean a life and death situation. Therefore our bodies do everything they can to keep this delicate balance.
As food comes into our system, it is not the pH state that it comes in with that makes the health difference, as what pH the by products break down into. Plant foods, especially leafy greens are highly alkaline. Animal foods, sugar, alcohol and processed foods are highly acidic.
Now since, your body is going to do everything it can to maintain that blood to be alkaline, it will use precious minerals, like calcium from your bones to combat excess acidity. Thus, eating high amounts of acidic foods can leave one’s body very prone to many illnesses and infections, which thrive in acidic conditions, as well as with weak bones in the end.
Vegetarians who eat large amounts of dairy, eggs, sugar and other processed food tend to be much more acidic, than vegans who eat large amounts of plants, especially leafy greens and few processed foods. In fact, our goal at any time, whether vegan or vegetarian should be to maintain an alkaline, not acidic state in our body.
Fiber Benefits
Most vegetarians can obtain a large quantity of their calories from dairy and eggs. These products are completely devoid of fiber. Thus if one is eating a lot of these foods, they most likely do not have the capability to include as many fiber rich plant foods, as they would if they were not eating these products.
Since vegans do not eat any animal products, their diets are significantly higher in fiber.
High fiber diets have numerous health benefits including: better, more regular elimination and detoxification; decreased risk of colon and rectal cancers; lower cholesterol; easier weight maintenance and prevention of other diseases like heart or kidney disease.
Decreased Food Poisoning Benefits
Unless there is some oddly unforseen contamination, plant foods are not typical carriers of disease causing microorganisms.
Animal foods on the other hand naturally have various bacteria, including many disease causing microorganisms, and are the main sources of food poisoning.
Thus avoiding the dairy and eggs, and assuming properly handled plant foods, one’s chances of food poisoning sharply decrease. (This does not take into account contaminated water).
Weight Maintenance Benefits
As vegan foods are not only low, but can be completely devoid of bad fats, and tend to be lower in calories as well, vegans have a much easier time maintaining a healthy weight.
Vegetarians who normally eat high amounts of dairy, eggs and processed food, may have no benefit at all when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, compared with typical meat eaters.
More Variety Filled and Diversified Eating Benefits
As soon as you take out meat, dairy and eggs out of your diet, generally speaking by default, your diet expands greatly. There are so many fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, not to mention an almost infinite amount of combinations or things that one can do with them!
Thus, vegetarians who have only taken out meat out of their diet, may still be relying heavily on the same “old” foods, with a heavy emphasis on dairy and eggs in most of their meals.
For vegans, generally speaking the variety of food greatly increases, which also opens them up to obtaining high amounts of all nutrients on a regular basis.
Animal Benefits
If you decide to or have already decided to be vegetarian for humane reasons, thus for the sake of the animals, then I strongly urge you to obtain more information on how milk cows and chickens are raised and treated. In some cases because they do not get slaughtered like meat animals, they live a life of constant pain and torture. Good books to read on this topic are the Skinny Bitch or Skinny Bastard if you want the short story, or Thanking the Monkey, if you want the long story.
While vegetarianism definitely saves the lives of numerous animals from being slaughtered, if you really want to help all animals, then veganism is definitely the way to go.
Environmental Benefits
Like the above section, one cannot dismiss the fact that a vegetarian lifestyle definitely helps out the planet in terms of environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions, among other things.
However, land for dairy cows and chicken farms still has to be cleared. The huge amounts of waste that they produce still has to be dealt with. And the amount of food used to feed them is huge, which could be going to people from 3rd world countries instead.
Thus, if you decided to be vegetarian for the planet and to help out the environment, then yes that is a wonderful step to take, but to make an even bigger impact, a vegan way of life provides even more benefits for all.
Overall Benefit
According to the China Study – the most comprehensive study on nutrition ever conducted, the lower the percentage of animal-based foods that are consumed, the greater the health benefits. In fact people who consume 10% of their calories from animal products daily slightly increase their health benefits, where as people who consume 4% of animal product calories or less, have been shown to have the most significant health benefits.
Conclusion
In conclusion, whether you are considering changing your lifestyle to a vegetarian or vegan way of life, there are indeed a lot of things to consider.
Based on all the research and my own personal experience, the way I see it is that a vegetarian way of life is an amazing transition period from a regular animal-product diet to an animal-product-free diet. How long this transition takes is entirely up to you. For some people it will take days, for other weeks, while for others even years.
Also whatever you decide, understand that any lifestyle can be a huge disadvantage to you by relying on a foundation of processed foods, whether meat eater, vegetarian or vegan. Thus as much as vegan diets tend to be the healthiest diets of all, if one fills them with processed foods, they may not be that much better than a person who occasionally eats meat.
Bottom line, whatever you choose, learn as much as you can on the subject and be comfortable with your choice. Ultimately no one can tell you what is right or wrong for you, but we cannot hide our heads in the sand and stay ignorant to the facts out there today, either. With an educated mind and heart, you have to decide for yourself and live with your own decision.
References and Further Reading
2. The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet
3. Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet
4. Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss
*Photograph provided by Andrew Michaels
About the author:Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.
20 Comments to “The Benefits of Being Vegan Over Vegetarian”
Excellent article, Evita! I tweeted it earlier.
Another great article!
I do have a cautionary comment on animal welfare, however. I guess “real vegans” don’t even eat honey because it’s a product of bees’ labor. I personally think this may be going too far. For one, bees are insects, and I make distinction between animals and bugs. Do these proud vegans who refuse to take honey never slap a fly, either?
Add to this the fact they are likely eating bugs themselves. I wash my vegs carefully, and quite often find bugs and bug eggs on them. This is how things are when they are organic. Of course I take them away, but I also know manual check up can never be 100% perfect. (I worked in a mfg company before, you know)
So even though it’s a icky thoughts, with organic produce, we are likely eating some bugs. Plus farmers have to control pest one way or the other. Sure organic farmers don’t use pesticides, but then they have to use organic approach, like ladybugs that eat up pests. We are killing pests in some way if we want our share of the produce.
I think sharing honey bees’ peaceful product with them is quite fine.
What do you think about the whole bug issue? ;)
@ EARTHMOTHER – Thank you so much – times two :)
@ AKEMI – Thanks so much Akemi for the feedback. It is truly always appreciated.
Where honey is concerned, that always seems to be a little bit of a tricky area, in fact a touchy one for most people at that.
The reason most vegans have a problem with honey is that honey is the bees “home” for the most part, but even more importantly their food source for the winter. So the taking of honey from bees, can in some ways be looked at like an exploitation of their efforts/work. Bees work very hard to make that honey, for themselves, and then here we go and take it away.
Where bees are concerned too, their numbers at this time and even their survival is in serious danger. Bees are disappearing from all over the world, and while some may think this is no big deal. We have to realize that they are responsible for most of the pollination of our food crops, and there is no technology to substitute that. So if the bees go, we are in serious trouble. Therefore, I think vegan or not, we need to be doing everything we can to help and try to save the bees, not make their lives even more difficult.
Having said this, I will start with myself. At this time, I may still eat tiny bits of honey here and there, but it is definitely something that is bound to disappear entirely from my diet very soon, as there are so many other plant sources that can take its place, like agave nectar for one. So despite that, the “label” that best represents me at this time is still vegan, as I eat no other animals products and have even become conscious of not buying any more animal product things, like leather goods. Likewise, I will not take any supplements that are not vegan friendly, as the typical “capsule” of any vitamin, supplement or medicine is made of animal products(I am sure I do not know all the products that use animal products in them in some way, but I am very conscious of what I can, and avoid accordingly as I learn more.)
Now on the “bug” front. I have to be honest with you, as I grew and learned more, there came a day when I looked at a spider in the house and knew that killing it was no longer an option – it was no longer my highest thought. So yes, today, as funny as it may sound we safely “escort” all spiders out of the house, try to do the same for flies or whatever else. Of course there may be tiny exceptions like I slap a mosquito that is trying to bite me, but again those are exceptions and I do as much as I feel I can at this time. There is always more room for growth. OR the same can be said for your example of eating organic produce. Again, sometimes one can do something about it, and at other times you can’t. And I know, anti-vegan people always seem to throw in the argument “do you know how many bugs or even larger animals are killed during farming and harvesting of plants?”
….yes, of course we do. But again, what are we going to do, pick on everything and do nothing, or try to keep moving to a better and more evolved and peaceful way of life for all.
Bottom line, there did come a point where I did not see bugs in that much different of a light than I saw other animals. They still have feelings believe it or not, and when we learn about them, some have such amazingly intelligent systems of living that it almost puts some human societies to shame, so who am I to take life away from them?
I do this, because I really believe in living out life authentically, not only to others, but first and foremost to myself.
So yes, I know most people do see “bugs” in a totally different light than other animals. I was there once too. But here is the thing, and forgive me I am not trying to pick on what you said, but there is a good learning point there.
When you said “I make a distinction between animals and bugs” – this is indeed how most people feel. But I also think most people do not realize that bugs are technically animals. We are all part of the same kingdom, biologically speaking.
And when one starts to study what insects are capable of, what intelligence, what emotions even – it is not only breathtaking but can truly put one in a state of awe and amazement.
So in the end, the way I see it, it comes down to this:
There is the animal kingdom. In it are the humans, mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, insects, worms and some other groups of creatures. There are some in society who think that there is nothing wrong with killing a human. There are some who think there is nothing wrong with killing a mammal. There are some who think there is nothing wrong with killing a bird. There are some who think there is nothing wrong with killing a fish. There are some who think there is nothing wrong with killing an insect. And there are some who think, that there is something wrong with killing any of these sentient beings.
I never judge who is where in this game of life. We are all at different levels of what we perceive as right or wrong for us. In the end it is all relative to something else. The point I only leave people with, is that we all continue, in no matter how small of a way, to keep moving towards peace and love.
Thank you so much Akemi for raising this point – I think it makes for a great and very important discussion :) In fact, it has inspired me to write an article about this for EvolvingBeings.com – thank you again!
Ah, I see our differences, Evita. It’s because I see plants as a feeling, intelligent beings as well. They talk to me :)
Personally, I’m more concerned about living than dying. I wrote this in my own blog recently, but if I were a chicken and you raised me humanly and healthfully, I don’t mind at all if you cooked me for your family dinner one day. I understand.
The problem with current meat / dairy industry, from the spiritual point, is they treat animals so badly (including the way of slaughtering them, but a lot more).
Ultimately, the best way to eat is to eat the light, not foods whether the food is animal or plant based. All “eating” is transitional way of getting energy.
@ AKEMI – Great points Akemi and I totally agree, plants indeed have their own amazing qualities – and I respect those too.
But Akemi, I have one more question, as I think this is a really meaningful and important philosophical discussion, which a lot of people struggle with – and I love that the two of us can bring more light to this for many.
With regards to the chicken, here is my thing: how many chickens or other animals, no matter how well they are raised, go to their death peacefully? They squirm and try to run away, instead of laying down and peacefully accepting us eating them.
This is where my thinking is coming from… animals, no matter what animals defend their lives ferociously. I know some might say this is “instinct” – but if they were so “okay” with dying then why not, through all this time and evolution develop a new instinct?
Again, these are hard concepts and I am not looking for a “right” or a “wrong” – but I love delving deeper into our minds and looking at all these situations from all angles. That is the part about “philosophical thoughts” that I think makes us grow.
And yes, I totally agree with the consuming “light” or energy. I have heard of several yogis who do this and they have survived on nothing but water and gaining energy from the sun, through sun gazing. I think this is an amazing process and makes a lot of sense. After all, all energy on this planet is derived from the sun first…so if we keep going down the food chain, we obtain our energy more efficiently.
Perhaps the humans of the future will be able to do so more, for now they are only a very tiny minority – but they indeed show us that it is possible.
Well, I said I’d be okay to be eaten, not all chickens (and other animals and plants) have reached this point of acceptance and understanding. . .
And as you know, I am pretty much a vegan. I think plants have a higher level of acceptance than animals. Plus plants are closer to the light energy — the earth grows the plants, then the animals eat plants, some animals eat other animals as well. Eating closer to the true source of energy is wiser.
I just don’t like the judgmental attitude of some vegetarians / vegans. Not saying you are one, Evita, but you know those people. If someone is become vegans because it’s more “right” then there is fear in them, which will negatively affect them.
Oh, and on living on light. Don’t assume this is just for a few yogis. Many raw foodists, for instance, eat incredibly little, a lot less than nutritional science can make sense. I think they are taking part of their energy from light, whether they know so or not.
I intend to live on light, increasing its % in my overall energy needs.
And sunlight is only a fraction of the Light Source.
@ AKEMI – Well said Akemi, and you are absolutely right. The more nutritionally dense you eat and as well the lower on the food chain, where there is more “energy” available, the less we need to eat.
And as for the judgmental attitude of vegans/vegetarians, yes I know what you mean, and I know it turns a lot of people off from even going into that lifestyle when they hear or see some people in their face, sometimes even aggressively.
Equally so, it is never my intention to get there – it is not why I chose this lifestyle (I primarily chose it for health, the other benefits followed. So I do try to choose my words carefully to make sure they are as much as possible full of acceptance and peace, not judgment. Having said that though, we each have our free will in how we take or interpret the words of another. So no matter what, when we speak out, one still never knows how another will react to their words. I may at times hope to give people another perspective, and poke them to think, but it is never my intention to prove that my way of life is more “righteous” then theirs.
Anyway this was an awesome discussion – thanks again :)
Very interesting article. Iron consumption seems to be related to RLS Restless Legs Syndrome and I am wondering if a Vegan diet might improve things in this regard. May have to try it! Or at least eliminate the meat aspect to a larger degree from my diet. Every day we can do things to improve our diet. We may not always get it exactly right but it’s better to try than to just forget about it.
Hi Evita,
Btw, what do yo think about supplements? You mention B12 supplement in this article, and I see your point. What is the best way or best brand of supplement? And what do you think in supplements in general, like the habit of taking multi vitaminerals and calcium?
@ DAVID – Thanks David. I still have not had a chance to research RLS but if you feel that there might be a connection, I would definitely get your iron levels checked.
While for more women before menopause, like me, it is generally an issue of not enough iron, for many men, especially one’s who regularly eat meat, and fortified food with iron (which today is many processed foods) they can actually be at risk of iron overload. This puts a huge stress on the body, and this is why I always recommend that people (no matter what they eat) go for a yearly blood test, for things like cholesterol, iron, B12, among some other things.
As for cutting down on meat David, that definitely never hurt anyone, but on the contrary added to many benefits. So if you are up for it, I would definitely give it a try and remember more fruits and veggies – fresh and raw as much as possible.
And you couldn’t have said it better, when it comes to ones diet, it is definitely better and try and do something, instead of sit back and do nothing. The way I see it, is that there is ALWAYS room for imporvement – in everyone’s diet.
@ AKEMI – Hi Akemi
As far as supplements go, I am not big on most supplements, as I really think we should always look first to our diet to get everything we need. I know some people live off of supplements. However, having said that, there are some supplements that support the body very well and are a really good option to take, especially today that we messed up so many natural cycles. For example vegans of the past, had no problem getting B12 from plants, thanks to today’s farming practices, this is no longer applicable.
Here is the problem though, say for example multivitamins. They are pushed on us today in pill form, in drinks and even in food. But this gives a lot of people a false sense of security. I feel that many people use that as an excuse not to eat good. Like “oh I can have my McDonald’s, as I take my multivitamins”
Unfortunately it does not work like this. If it did, then we could help the 3rd world countries by just sending them multivitamins.
So for one – most vitamins in pill form are not well absorbed by the body (and we just pee them out giving our livers and kidneys more unnecessary work)
Two – vitamins and minerals work in a very synergistic wat, ie. too much or too little of one can throw off many important functions of the others. This is usually not a concern with diet alone, but when one puts in pill forms they can really quickly sometimes upset proper levels for all these substances to work properly.
You can also check out the following two articles I wrote:
http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/30/multivitamins-to-take-or-not-to-take/
and
http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/27/vitamins-and-minerals-a-quick-guide/
So, if one is a vegan, they must think about what they are going to do about the B12. Will they eat the processed food that is fortified with it, or will they take a supplement?
If they take a supplement, most supplements are of the form cyanocobalamin. This is okay, but it is not the most efficient form, as it has to still be metabolized by our body to be used. The most absorbable and effective one appears to be B12 in the methylcobalamin form. If one has no issues with a deficiency and gets their blood checked yearly, and sees no decrease, then their body is probably fine with the “cyano” form. But if there are some past issues with B12 or any area for concern, it would be probably best to find a methylcobalamin form.
In terms of brands, I don’t really have one I recommend, as there are so many and availability differs depending on location. I would look for a pill of about 50-100mcg daily and one where in the ingredients there are no artificial colors, preservatives, fillers, etc. If there are problems with the stomach, one might also want to consider a sublingual form or nasal spray form.
I also recommend reading the following article from a nurse on B12:
http://blog.peta2.com/2009/09/b12_a_nurse_gives_the_lowdown.html
In terms of calcium – I just read a fantastic article from Dr.Olson about calcium – he is the author of Sugarettes and was featured here on Evolving Wellness too. That will say exactly pretty much how I feel about calcium and how we are somewhat greatly mislead when it comes to this mineral.
http://olsonnd.com/calcium-myths/
In mainstream medicine they scare us with these huge numbers of you must get this and you must get that – but the truth is sometimes these things do more harm than good. Dr. Pam Popper is also amazing to look into her work on calcium, as she amazingly explains how calcium supplements can actually throw your body into absorbing less calcium and leaching more.
I guess I should write about all this in an article on its own, eh? Another good inspiration Akemi – thanks!
Wow! The comments are just as informative as the post! Great post!
@ HANLIE – Thanks Hanlie! Yeah, it seems a good discussion was sparked here indeed :)
Great points, Evita. These and many more helped my husband and I “convert” to veganism several years ago and regain our health by doing so. We use to think that we had an excellent diet (before becoming vegan) but had health issues that no medical doctors could help us with. A few months on a vegan diet resolved my husband’s issues!
Evita, thanks for stopping by my blog ;)
Great post Evita, and great comments section as well! I’ve recently been attempting to move in the vegan direction, even though it seems so far away. As someone who is so used to eating junk, it’s quite a dietary shock!
After watching a few videos of animals being raised for food, it makes any decent person never want to eat animal products again. Whether I’ll be able to stick to that is a big question, but I figure just making an attempt is a good start.
@ ELENA – Thank you so much Elena!
I can totally relate to thinking “one has a healthy diet” before going vegetarian or vegan. I know because I was there. If someone asked me 5 years ago if I eat healthy I would have said “oh yes, definitely”. However, seeing what I know today about the food I used to eat and then going all natural and vegan – WOW – what a difference. In the end it really comes down to I find knowing that there are different levels and definitions of what “healthy” really means.
I am so happy to hear that all your husband’s problems have resolved :)
@ HUNTER – Thank you Hunter for the feedback :)
Hunter I can so relate to what you have said. It kind of goes along the lines of what I said to Elena above. If someone told me 5, but even 3 years ago that I would be vegan today, I would not have believed them. But look at that – today I am – and thriving and loving it. And all that changed where my ideas about food and nutrition.
So what advice I give to people now is this – take your time with any change you are facing – but stay open minded and continue to research more on it.
I have friends who became vegan in one month from eating a better version of the SAD diet, and then I have examples like myself who took about a year to 2 to get to where I am today.
See for me, as I learned a little, I wanted to know more, so I just continued to read and learn. As I learned “enough” on any particular topic I was ready to make a change. So for me change came in steps. First went the red meat. 4 months later all meat. 6 months later dairy. 6 months later refined sugar. Then eggs and today I am all plant based and natural.
So take all the time you need – know that there is no one right way and no one has to rush, as that might only make you do things you are not ready for. Just immerse yourself in knowing more about what you are interested in and all the rest will come on its own. To me at times it honestly felt like I just woke up one day and no longer would eat this or that. But in reality it was a beautiful journey and process.
Enjoy yours :)
I loved your article and the whole blog section, Evita. Especially the discussion between you and Akemi.. quite an eye opener. I also want to live on sun..the direct source.. Great! Right now, I’m a ovo-lacto-vegetarian..But working towards being a vegan cuz it makes complete sense to me..But I’m just looking for substitutes. My Mom always stress upon milk for calcium and all other nutrients. But as I just learnt it actually inhibits iron absorption so give me a reason to avoid. The other diary products Yogurt, Milk Shakes, ice-creams, tea and coffee with milk, cereals and all the beverages which has/use dairy to consume.. Hw do you substitute them. I will find it extremely difficult if I have to go out and eat. As it’s getting pure vegetarian food is extremely difficult to get in normal restaurants. For example if you go out to eat like I go for a veggie burger/sub with no meat or fish…but instead a soy patty..with the bun.. and/or lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and all…Now if I really go in deep all the bakery items they have either egg or yeast or both. Now when it comes to eating how do you manage it without all of that.. Please tell me the substitutes for bread, beverages (as I don’t want to drink soda cuz it’s bad for health and I don’t like the taste of soy milk or green tea iced tea)and cheese (as i have never seen a veg cheese)..I completely lost..
@ MONIKA – Hi Monika, thank you for coming by and wonderful to meet you! It is fantastic to hear that you have made changes in your lifestyle to reflect a more healthy approach and wanting to continue to improve even more! It is only to your benefit to take preventative measures today to enjoy great health for many years to come, right to the end in fact :)
To answer your question of substitutes, you have inspired me to write a whole article on it, as there was a lot that I wanted to share with you and make it as helpful as possible for you – and other readers who are wondering the same thing as you, as well.
So thank you so much for asking the question and I answer it here:
http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/916/how-to-handle-vegan-and-vegetarian-substitutions-for-common-food-items/
Please feel free to let me know if I missed anything, or if you have any other questions that this may stir up for you.
I may be very unusual when it comes to diet, but I eat vegan with seafood. No eggs or dairy. I do all the vegan eating as you describe, not at all like the vegetarian you describe. I seem to have all the benefits. I may change one day, but this seems to work pretty well. I understand the issues.
Hi Dr. J
Thank you for sharing your experience with being vegan – and it is awesome to hear that it is working for you!
All the best with continued great health.