Vegan Diet
Vegan is a word derived from “vegetarian” brought on by frustrated by UK vegetarians who decided the eating of dairy products was also against their principles. With the first three and last two letters of vegetarian they formed vegan to classify themselves as “the beginning and end of vegetarian.”
Vegan diets are much stricter than vegetarian as they seek to exclude “all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose…”
A tough task as the use of animals has become so inherent in our lives. Animal products by the vegan diets definition include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy to name a few. Also included is products derived from insects which includes honey.
Some vegans reject cane sugar and won’t drink beer or wine treated with animal blood as this was part of the process. Vegans also have a host of non-food restrictions placed upon themselves.
Vegans seem prone to malnutrition as so many of the products they won’t allow are part of the diet pyramid. Also unallowable is the use of vitamins, supplements, and medicines which may offer some relief from their strict dietary restrictions.
However there is some rejection of that presumption. Studies have shown that plant based diet offers better health benefits than a meat heavy diet. The ADA in Canada says that “well planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages in the life cycle.”
Some obvious benefits are lower levels of saturated fats, no cholesterol and higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, potassium, Vitamin C & E among others.
Studies have also shown that the disease risk is greater in vegan diets, so the jury’s still out. Even if it were found to allow people good health until they were 150 years old, the meat, poultry, and dairy industries which would be crippled by en masse veganism would never allow it.
So we should all eat more veggies and natural products; that much is clear. How we get to this blissful place is another question. It certainly isn’t a rash move to either side; if you’re interested in a vegan diet, you should speak with your healthcare professional and find out more about this interesting diet.