Since the last two or three years, doesn’t it seem like no matter where you go, to any restaurant or whichever magazine you’re flipping through or whichever food blog you stumble upon, the word “vegan” is something you’ll keep stumbling upon? Veganism is all the rage right now, and there are enough stats to prove it.
The number of people eliminating dairy, fish, eggs, and meat from their diets entirely has been massively rising over the last few years. Stats show that the number of vegans across the world have quadrupled between 2006 and 2018.
Some interesting facts about Veganism are as follows:
- A vegan diet consists of only plant-based foods.
- It reduces the risk of cancer and also helps protect bone and heart health.
- To make up for vitamin B12 that is found in nutrients, additional supplements are taken.
- Some popular alternatives to meat are tofu, tempeh and mushrooms.
Why Veganism?
It is necessary to take a deeper look into why so many people are opting for veganism these days. Some of the basic reasons for most people following veganism are preventing animal cruelty and slaughter, looking after the environment, or simply targeting weight loss and trying to attain a healthy lifestyle.
Benefits Of Veganism:
Vegan diets have a lot of positive health benefits. It provides the key nutrients for good health and eliminates any harmful animal fat consumption. Many experts suggest that veganism can help you live a longer life.
1. Reduced Cancer Risk
One of the most disastrous diseases in the world, Cancer is something that everyone fears. It has been proven that even tiny amounts of meat can easily increase cancer risk. Cancer survivors have stated that when they converted to a vegan diet, they got better real soon. Since veganism doesn’t include any kind of meat, it saves you from that perilous risk of cancer.
2. Reduced Diabetes Risk
Diabetes, being one of the most common diseases in the world, is also quite difficult to cure. Research has suggested that a plant-based diet has the capability to reduce diabetes development or even end the disease in a person’s body altogether. An experiment conducted recently showed that people who improved their consumption of fruits, vegetables, and nuts over a course of twenty years effectively lowered the danger of developing type two diabetes.
3. Reduced Heart Diseases
Meat is known to typically contain large amounts of fat, saturated and trans, which always increase cholesterol in the blood. Excessive amounts of cholesterol are known to increase the chances of getting a sudden heart, peripheral artery disease, and other cardiovascular diseases. The benefit of vegan foods is that they contain no dietary cholesterol by nature. They considerably reduce the risk of a heart attack or any other heart disease.
4. Improved Bone Health
Correct amount of calcium in the body is vital for good bone and dental health. For a regular person, milk and dairy products are the top sources of calcium. For someone following a vegan diet, calcium can be obtained by eating spinach, turnips, kale, peas, and figs.
Even Vegan milk alternatives like soy and almond milk are becoming very popular. Vitamins D and K, and sufficient amounts of potassium, and magnesium which are essential to the body can be obtained through soy, fruits, and certain vegetables. Vegans also have high calcium and bone metabolism, forming new bone tissues easily.
5. Effective in terms of Weight Loss
A large number of people are adopting veganism in the hope of losing weight, and it is effectively working out for them. Many observational stats showcase that vegans are thinner and have lower body mass indexes (BMIs) as compared to non-vegans. Eliminating meats and fish from your diet helps shed excess weight as most of the stuff you eat is healthy and high in nutrients.
6. Healthier Skin
A vegan diet can effectively help your skin remain healthy and glowing and boost your beauty regime. Dairy products have been linked to skin problems such as acne or dryness. The growth hormones that are present within dairy products often tend to interfere with the body’s hormones. Dairy also disrupts the body’s insulin levels, which causes more acne.
7. Less Cruelty Towards Animals
Vegans not consuming animal products as food is just one of the ways in which veganism benefits animals. Vegan beauty products, drugs or fashion all boycott any kind of animal abuse or animal testing. Despite the proven fact that animal testing is not accurate as compared to how a product would work on a human being, the practice is still commonly carried out. Since veganism forbids any kind of animal exploitation, consuming vegan products even apart from food ensures that you don’t support any kind of animal testing.
In conclusion, there’s a lot more research being done to understand all the pros and cons of veganism in depth. As of today, most experts advise that the best kind of vegan diet includes high consumption of fruit and vegetables, and sufficient B12 supplements. There are plenty of reasons to adopt the vegan lifestyle, so if it suits you then go ahead and make a difference to the environment and other creatures in it.
Author Bio
Andy D'Silva
I have been working closely with Dr. Bharat Sangani for quite some time. I have been mostly managing the Health wing of Dr. Sangani's Health, Wealth, and Wisdom University. As a team, I am enthusiastic to dissipate the importance of a healthy life to all the individuals who wish to be part of Dr. Sangani's university.
