To Begin, The Vegan Diet Restricts All Animal Products

It has long been believed that animal products are an important element in a healthy diet, but recent discussions have become more common on whether they positively or negatively affect an individual's health. Many have argued that animal products are essential to a healthy life, and make them the staple of their diet. But being Vegan vastly increases your health, decreases your negative impact on the planet, and saves countless innocent animals from a meaningless death.

Eliminating all animal products from the diet increases the risk of certain nutritional deficiencies. Micronutrients of special concern for the vegan include vitamins B-12 and D, calcium, fatty acids such as omega 3 which can be obtained from oily fish. Unless vegans regularly consume foods that are fortified with these nutrients, appropriate dietary/vitamin supplements need to be consumed. Iron deficiency which can cause anaemia will also be a concern as they do not consume any red meat to be able to get the iron their body requires.

Can diet affect mood and behavior? Dr. Neal Barnard with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine addresses the subject in the following statement: “In the evolving landscape of neurological research, a plant-based diet may help in treating symptoms of anxiety and depression.”. A western diet, high in fat and animal protein leads not only to higher rates of obesity and type II diabetes, it also produces impaired cognitive abilities, mood disorders and decreased productivity. Adopting a vegan diet is an excellent choice for many people because it contributes to improved physical, mental and emotional health.

Non-vegan diets that contain food derived from animals can be harmful. Food derived from animals can be harmful because it can cause health issues. Non-vegan diets usually consist of dairy products and meats that according to nursingdegree.net “contain a large amount of saturated fats. By reducing the amount of saturated fats from…diet…improve…health tremendously, especially when it comes to cardiovascular health.” Diets based on animal derived food can health issues like diseases. Milk is normally known as healthy and

More than 150 billion animals are slaughtered each year. “Every year in America, without mercy, we murder 10 billion land animals, and 18 billion marine animals. Not for health, survival, sustenance or self-defense. People eat meat, cheese, milk and eggs for 4 reasons: habit, tradition, convenience, and taste.” (Yourofsky). Making people go vegan for a month or years, can significantly drop the high amount of animal cruelty that happen each day. This can cause an growth in the animal population. It can help animals live a happy life instead of being trap in a slaughterhouse waiting for their

"Going vegan is empowering. In addition to feeling better physically and emotionally, it helps instill confidence," Said Gene Baur founder and CEO of Farm Sanctuary. "There are many things in this world that are outside of our control, but each of us has a lot of power over what we eat. Being mindful and intentional about the way we eat can lead to improvements in other parts of our lives as well."

“The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that a well-planned vegan diet is ‘healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases,’” which is reported by James McWilliams in The Atlantic article The Evidence for a Vegan Diet in 2012. Humans get 40% of our nutrition value from food, and their are enzymes in raw food that is needed to maintain a healthful life (Food Matters, 2008). But the everlasting question always is: how do you get protein? People all around the world believe that a vegan diet does not compose enough protein for a regular human being. In fact, the foods with the most protein in the world are from plants, not meat. Spirulina, a type of dried, leafy green, is the highest protein content food in the world (Food Matters, 2008). The vegan diet is also healthful for babies. In a study conducted at Queen Elizabeth College in London, a vegan diet was found to be, “adequate during pregnancy and lactation, and healthy normal children are born,” and for mothers who can’t breast-feed, “plant milk is satisfactory for the infants,” and can be just as beneficial as breast feeding (Turner, 1979). The vegan diet can be amazing for any person at any age. A reduction in diseases and cancers, a lower obesity rate, and the opportunity for a healthier life is all that can come from a vegan

Eating the right Vegan Foods is important. Just being vegan does not mean you will suddenly be healthier. It is not a magic word you can say where a woodland fairy will appear, tap her magic wand, and poof, healthy. Vegans can still eat potato chips, non-dairy ice cream and any number of unhealthy foods. Going vegan is a lifestyle change, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Far from the typical diet plans of starvation, then using your lack of energy from low calorie intake to attempt exercise, a vegan weight loss plan allows you to eat plentiful and great tasting foods. A common misconception of vegans is that they eat tasteless foods comprised of leaves and twigs. This is far from the truth. There are many

Craig, W. J. (2009). Health effects of vegan diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89(5), 1627S-1633S. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736N

But that?s not all. Vegan diets have also helped prevent and even fight cancer, autoimmune diseases and

Studies have shown that veganism can be a healthy diet if the person is receiving all the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals as well as having a balance between what they are eating. Vegans also commonly have have lower blood pressure and cholesterol, which heavily reduces the risk of them getting a heart disease. They also have a lower risk of being obese, getting some cancers and diabetes, in particular type

Some would not be able to live without eating any animal products in their diets, such as, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and honey. For vegans, however, this is a normal way of life. Vegans are frequently misunderstood as either people who have eating disorders, or an unnatural passion for animal rights. It is time for people to realize that veganism, a challenging yet rewarding lifestyle, goes way beyond being skinny or caring for animals. In reality, veganism can be extremely advantageous to anyone who adapts it as a way of life and has many different benefits that come along with it.

Compared to the non-vegan group, the vegans had low concentrations of vitamins B12 (p=0.002) and D, even though many used supplements. However, few vegans (5%) were deficient in vitamin B12, suggesting that the use of supplements helped the vegan subjects keep a healthy level of the vitamin. The vegans also had a lower concentration of vitamin D (including D2 and 3) by 34% compared to the non-vegans. In spite of this, levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 were higher in the vegans (p<0.001). Ten percent of the vegans and 78% of non-vegans had vitamin D concentrations higher than 75 nmol/L, the proposed optimal level for health. Some possible reasons for these results included lack of, or irregularity of, supplementation and when the samples were taken. Similar studies done with Finnish, British, and Vietnamese vegans showed similar concentrations.

related to them. Vegan diets are proven to have health benefits for a lot of

Vegetarian diets are considered one of the most healthiest diets. Physicians recommend a vegan diet for better overall health. One of the reasons why is because vegetarians usually live longer than meat-eaters. According to the article, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a vegetarian diet is lower in saturated fats. (Physicians Committee, 1) Lower saturated fats in a diet aid to a healthy heart, resulting in a generally longer life span. There are different types of proteins. Plants and animals, when consumed, each supply us with different proteins. Replacing animal protein with plant protein lowers blood cholesterol levels. From the Physicians committee article, a study shown that adding meat to a vegetarian diet raises blood pressure rapidly and significantly. (Physicians Committee, 1). This information