What is Veganism?
Veganism is becoming popular nowadays. Veganism means to adopt a lifestyle that excludes all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty, whether for food, clothing or any other expense. People become vegan for different reasons:
- Ethical– vegans believe in ending animal exploitation like stop wearing wool, silk or leather or avoiding cosmetics with animal-based ingredients.
- Health reasons-being vegan can help in reducing various health issues like weight loss, improve blood sugar level and cancer risk.
- Environmental Conscious: animals need a lot of shelter space which results in deforestation and also poaching and hunting animals for personal use could disturb the food cycle present in nature which will ultimately disturb the ecological balance. People are aware and thinking about the planet and making changes in their lives.
People who follow a Vegan diet exclude all animal-based products like eggs, meat, and dairy products. A vegan diet helps in various health benefits like weight loss, improve blood sugar level and reduces cancer risk.
5 types of vegan food everyone should include in the diet:
1. Whole grains and cereals: a vegan diet is based on a wide variety of foods such as oats, millet, wheat, rice, and quinoa. These are complex carbohydrates, fiber, and phytochemicals.
2. Raw food: Raw Vegan diet is unprocessed food. Raw foods have many health benefits like more energy, clear skin, weight loss, and improved digestion. Raw Foods includes fruits, vegetables, seeds, and legume (beans, lentils, peas).
3. Vegan meat: Tofu and tempeh can be meat substitutes in a vegan diet. Tofu is made of soybeans and tempeh is made of fermented soybeans and includes the rich amount of iron and calcium.
4. Calcium-fortified diet: fortified foods are those that have nutrients added to them that don’t naturally occur in the food. Vegans should attempt to take calcium-fortified milk and yogurt made from soy, oat, coconut milk, and almond.
5. Sprouted and fermented foods: sprouting and fermenting foods rich in nutrients, a good source for probiotic bacteria, and vitamin K2. You can try sprouting or fermenting grains at home or you can buy from stores.
How to Become Vegan
Some people easily switch from eating meat to vegan directly, while others struggle with their new commitment. People prefer to be vegetarian first and then slowly omit eggs and dairy. To get the starting on a vegan diet, one can get good information on the web and in books that offer structured vegan meal plans and recipes.
Benefits of being vegan
1. vegan diet is rich in antioxidants, fiber and Vitamins A, C and E, these vitamins and nutrients provide health benefits like more energy, clear skin, healthy hair, weight loss, and improved digestion
2. Vegan diets reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
3. A vegan diet reduces the risk factors that contribute to heart disease.
4. Most people are choosing plant-based diets to shed those extra kilos. People who follow a vegan diet tend to lose weight faster than those who follow a calorie-restricted diet.