We are back with a new blogpost and this time we are going to just summarize some of the positive aspects of living a vegan life or choosing a plant-based life style – vegan perks for you. We think it is important to remind people, that we don’t need to kill and eat animals in order to survive. We do it purely based on likes of taste and because it might be part of our upbringing, heritage or culture. To be fair, those are okay reasons to eat meat and/or consume other animal products. But saying it is necessary or humane or whatever is just plain bullshit. Sorry for the French.
Let’s dive into the first reason why it’s good to be vegan, shall we?
More nutritious diet
When you go vegan and stop eating meat and other animal products like milk or cheese, you will find yourself in a whole new world of other foods, which are most of the time richer in nutrients than animal products.
Those replacements for example are; whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, nuts and seeds. If you will indulge in a whole-food plant-based diet – which means no processed food – you will most likely take in more beneficial nutrients than before.
Fiber plays a huge role in a vegan diet and trust us on this, your digestion will transform into a well-oiled machine. Antioxidants, potassium, magnesium, vitamins and more are just a few to name.
Of course, if you eat crap – and this applies for any diet – you will lack important nutrients like B12, iron, zinc and more. The best way for adopting a plant-based diet is easing into it (we have a blog post on that) and ask your doctor about check-ups in the beginning. As for B12, it’s not the worst to take a supplement for that on a daily basis anyway, since most meat-eaters are even really low on the vitamin. This is just one of the many vegan perks.
Healthier life
If you want to grow old, being healthy is the key factor in doing so. While some aspects can’t be changed (hereditary sickness, genes and accidents for example), you do a lot for your health by eating clean and getting enough exercise.
Because of fewer saturated fats, vegan diets have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and other vegans tend to suffer from fewer diseases like hypertension, cancer, diabetes, gall stones and many others.
And everything goes back to the nutrients you get, while eating a plant-based diet. Through all those vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and more, you can lower your risk of getting any of those diseases by a significant number. You are, in fact, what you eat.
Weight loss
This is a good one, especially if you struggle to lose weight. Since a vegan diet contains less calories, it is easier to lose weight. Since you can eat less and feel full much faster, you will find yourself in the lucky position, that you can even eat a little more than what you are used to.
Of course, you can gain weight pretty easily too, by sticking more to calorie heavy foods and more protein. However this weight gain is not fat based, but rather more muscle fuel if you are eating the right foods.
Cancer prevention
There are a lot of studies on this one and we already talked about that in another part of this post, but it is a big one. Preventing certain types of cancer is just awesome. And by eating the most delicious and healthy food at the same time, why wouldn’t you want to do that?
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that 1/3 of all cancers can be prevented by living a healthy life, including your diet. Fresh vegetables and fruits can lower your risk of dying by cancer by 15%.
Avoiding dairy products, can reduce the risk of prostate, breast or colon cancer. There are also studies that suggest dairy can help you reduce risk of cancer, however it’s important to always look at the sources of what you read. Unfortunately, many articles stating that dairy is good for you are paid for by the milk industry itself. So make sure to read credible sources like the World Health Organization, for example.
It is important to say, that studies never really show how a single person is, will or might be affected by something. Overall, we can definitely say, that a vegan whole food plant-based diet is the way to go for reducing your risk of cancer.
Overall mood
You might think this positive aspect is just a little side-note. But trust us on this, by adopting a vegan diet, you can feel happier, more energized and less depressed. When switching your diet, you want to give your body time to adjust and that can take up to a few months.
Compared to meat- and fish-eaters, vegans tested lower on depression tests and feel better most of the time. Other benefits are not feeling like you have to sleep after every meal, having more energy and feeling more sexually active, which contribute to a overall better mood.
Environmental protection
More and more scientists state that a vegan diet will be the future, if we wan to survive as a species. Right now, we use a massive portion of grown food for animals, which we then eat. Those animals need tons of water for their own food to grow and ultimately, we kill and eat them. In this case animals are a middleman for all the nutrients we then will eat.
Switching to a vegan diet reduces your carbon footprint significantly, especially if you buy seasonal and local. Also, vegan foods need less energy and water to grow. There are several positive aspects for the environment by switching to a vegan diet, which we have a lot of more posts about in our blog.
Verdict
I think it’s fair to say that those six perks for being vegan, are not only great reasons, but also motivation to start eating more vegan food. Nobody is saying you should switch from today to tomorrow but introducing more vegan food into your life, has many positive aspects and – trust us on this – will make your life better in so many ways. Those are just some vegan perks.
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Great post and good read. I will eat more vegan food from now on. And maybe go vegan for good at some point 🙂
Thank you! We love to hear this!
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