Michelle Reed
Body

The pros and cons of a vegan diet

The reasons people eat a vegan diet vary. Some are compelled by the environmental impact of confinement animal feeding operations (CAFO). Others are guided by ethical concerns or religious reasons. Others believe it to be a healthier diet. So, how “healthy” is the vegan style of eating? Here, we break down the facts.

What does a vegan diet look like?

Vegans go one step further than vegetarians in not only do they not eat meat or fish, they also do not eat any products that comes from animals. This is including, but not limited to, eggs, dairy, honey and even marshmallows, some sugars and many types of beer and wine.

Vegans have to carefully read the packaging on anything processed that they purchase, as some products can be surprising. For example, some refined beans are vegan, where as others are made with lard.

Advantages

Disadvantages

The verdict

Overall, the frustratingly neutral answer to the question “is the vegan diet healthy” varies from case to case. For example, someone could eat nothing but lettuce, beans and potato for a month. It would technically be a vegan diet, but it would be far from healthy. In terms of micronutrients, a vegan diet is actually more susceptible to being nutritionally poor. However, a well-planned vegan diet has potential to be more health conscious than a carnivorous one.  Mary Lynch, registered nutritionist and an ex member of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s nutrition team says “Much of the improvement in diets among vegans is a result of education rather than going meat free. In other words, if someone chooses to go vegan they are more likely to care about what they are eating and therefore are more likely to educate themselves on the types of foods they should and should not be eating”.

Related links:

7 common lies about fat

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What your body’s cravings really mean

 

Tags:
diet, health, food, vegan, body, Meat