More and more people have been turning towards veganism of late. One of the prime reasons attributed to the popularity of veganism is based on the belief that it promotes health. Is it true? What are the health benefits of vegan diet? Are vegans the healthiest indeed? Let us check out a few health benefits of the vegan diet.
The prime and top health benefits of Vegan Diet can include
- It offers you a very rich source of nutrients.
- It can help you fight cancer – some of them
- It can be useful in your weight loss regime
- It improves your kidney function
- It can be useful in controlling sugar levels
With a Coronavirus backdrop, going vegan should ideally be the best you can opt for. Just to be on the safer side, of course. We are not imposing any diet habits here. There are practically several benefits of being vegan. Understanding the vegan health benefits can help you have a better health.
Growth of Veganism in the West
West, which is known to be non-vegetarian by and large, has now been moving towards vegetarianism. Most of the people in the Western world have understood the health reasons to go vegan and been cutting down the dairy and meat from their diet. A few of them have even gone to the extent of removing dairy and meat from their diet in its entirety.
According to the Vegan Society, the number of people consuming a vegan diet has gone up from 150,000 in 2006 to 600,000 in 2018. A four times increase in 12 years should speak for itself. These figures are for the UK region. The numbers for the other prominent areas across the West appear to be on the similar lines.
Apart from health benefits assumed to be inherent in a vegan diet, there have been a few other factors that have become motivational for the people to turn towards veganism. What began as a fringe movement in the West has now become a food habit for many. A few other reasons that have been promoting the growth of veganism include climate changes and animal welfare.
Like the volunteer for the movement Blackpool Vegan and Green festival Elizabeth King puts it aptly, “We’re in a non-vegan world…But things are changing rapidly – and if you’re trying to go vegan, you’re a pioneer.”
Top 6 Health Benefits of Vegan Diet – a look at the benefits of being vegan
Well, having understood the growth of veganism and how beneficial it has been, let us check out a few veganism benefits. These tips should ideally be helpful enough in letting you find out the answer to – Is it healthier to be a vegan? They would also help you find why vegan is healthy.
#1. A Vegan diet is rich in nutrients
Of course, going vegan will make you leave out meat and animal products (that includes dairy products ) from your diet. That would make you opt for other options to replace the nutrients.
But wait, the vegan diet does have enough nutrients and that should be one of the advantages of vegan diet. The ingredients such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, nuts and seeds are abundant in the beneficial nutritional elements, and that would mean the significant vegan benefits would be that you get access to better nutrients.
The fibre and antioxidants are what should help you stay more stronger. The vegan diet has also been observed to be rich in elements like more abundant in potassium, magnesium, folate and vitamins A, C and E.
#2. It enriches the kidney function and reduces sugar levels
One of the prime benefits of going vegan includes the ability of the diet to reduce the sugar levels in your blood. It can be extremely helpful in taking care of Type 2 diabetes and may be beneficial in certain Type 1 diabetes cases as well.
Vegans have been known to have a low blood sugar level, better insulin sensitivity, and a smaller risk factor for type 2 diabetes infection. A few studies have also shown that consumption of plant protein can help you in a lowered risk for poor kidney functionality.
#3. A vegan diet can help you fight some cancers
Most of the cancers can be controlled with the right type of diet. There are several options that would be helpful in controlling separate types of cancers.
Several studies have proved that eating legumes can be helpful in reducing the chances of colorectal cancer. There have also been researches that have indicated that consuming fresh fruits and vegetables has been able to provide access to a reduction in the chances of cancer. The soy products can be beneficial in reducing the risks of breast cancer.
It may also be noticed that dairy products have been known to be related to prostate cancer. Avoiding the use of smoked or processed meat can be useful in controlling the occurrence of colon and breast cancers.
#4. The vegan diet is also linked to a lower risk of heart diseases
The fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and fibre have been known to improve the heart health. A well balanced vegan diet does have plenty of these elements, and that would go a long way in enhancing the level of your cardiac health.
Studies have also been conducted to prove that vegans have a 75 per cent lower risk of developing a high blood pressure. It has been estimated that they have a lesser chance of dying from a heart ailment. A vegan diet can also be useful in reducing the blood pressure, LDL, cholesterol and total cholesterol in your body. The benefits of going vegan surely outweigh a few of the inconveniences you may need to go through.
#5. It can be helpful in weight loss regime
One of the prime veganism benefits can be a good option in helping you in a better weight loss regime. One of the prime reasons that people are moving to a vegan regime is that they want to lose weight. Several studies have proved that vegans have a lower BMI index when compared to the non-vegetarians.
In fact, whether you followed your diets diligently or not, vegans have been observed to be losing weight rather consistently. The vegan diets provide you with a natural option for reducing your weight. We would indeed treat it to be one of the pros of being vegan.
Is vegan the healthiest diet?
Well, it should be. What with so many celebrities vouching for the best health benefits of veganism? Gwyneth Paltrow and Venus Williams are a couple of the well-known celebrities who have been complete vegans and have been strongly working towards making the veganism a popular option.
However, there are a few misconceptions that have grown up in their zeal to promote veganism. One of them was that meat causes cancer, and another myth was that eggs could cause cardiac issues.
Leaving those myths aside, we would not consider health alone to be a reason to go vegan. There are several reasons that have been promoting veganism. Ethics and environmental concerns are a few other factors that can influence people in choosing vegetarian food.
However, Is vegan the healthiest diet? And if yes, why vegan is healthy? Well, it would be, but you need to take care of a few prime points. If you are not replenishing your vegan diet with the nutrients that you may be missing when compared to the non-vegetarian diet. Else, you may end up with nutritional deficiencies. While there are several health benefits of a vegan diet, it is essential to keep up with the right balance of nutrients.
One of the significant concerns of going vegan is that you would be missing your dosage of Vitamin B12. Since it has been considered to be the major options for your healthy being, make sure you do have enough intake of the food rich in Vitamin B12. Some such food can include plant milks, some soy products and some breakfast cereals.
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