What Is a Vegan Diet?
The word ''vegan'' has become a trend that we frequently hear. Yet, in the mid-twentieth century, the term was coined in 1944 by some people in England, and the Vegan Society was set up. A vegan diet is a part of the broader concept of ''veganism'' which has lately come into existence. Veganism means avoiding animal-based products in all forms, such as food, apparels, cosmetics, etc.
A vegan diet involves excluding the food items obtained from animals like meat, dairy products, honey, etc., and depending entirely on plant-based foods. A vegan diet includes food products like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, legumes, nuts and seeds, spices, herbs, soy products, etc.
What Are the Different Types of a Vegan Diet?
People have different choices in following a vegan diet, and accordingly, it is divided as follows:
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Raw Vegan Diet: It includes plant-based foods that are raw or prepared at temperatures lower than 48℃.
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Whole-food Vegan Diet: It consists of whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, etc.
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Low-fat Raw Food Vegan Diet: In this, the food intake is limited to mostly fruits, and high-fat foods are avoided.
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Flexitarian Diet: In a flexitarian diet, non-vegetarian food items are eliminated, plant-based products are eaten, and occasionally some animal products.
Why Do People Go for a Vegan Diet?
People adopt a vegan diet due to a myriad of reasons. Most of them are associated with human health, but there are a few others, which are as follows:
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Ethical: Vegans strongly believe in fulfilling the rights of all living creatures, including animals. Their notion of not misusing the animals in any form for human welfare strictly prohibits them from using any of the animal products like food items, their skin for clothes, silk, etc.
The caging of animals at farms, artificially making them reproduce their young ones, and slaughtering them for human consumption are some of the practices which exploit the animals, so ethically going for veganism is a step towards exercising basic ethics.
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Environmental: With the overproduction of animals through artificial methods to meet the demands of human beings in different ways, the ecological pyramid might get disturbed soon. Due to the exponential rise in the animal population, there is increased deforestation because of the introduction of large-scale animal farms and the decreasing water table level.
Animal feed also requires vast lands and enormous resources, which hamper the available stock of natural resources.
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Antibiotic Usage: The overuse of antibiotics on farm animals has led to the development of resistance to many antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is one of the critical life-threatening issues that the healthcare industry is highly concerned about. The vegan diet, in the long term, can help in dealing with this problem.
What Are the Health Benefits of a Vegan Diet?
The vegan diet comes with bountiful benefits, mainly related to health. The various advantages of adopting a vegan diet are listed below:
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A balanced vegan diet is a good source of essential nutrients and consists of plant-based foods like grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It is also rich in fiber and antioxidants.
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A vegan diet contains phytochemicals and antioxidants and has prevented severe health problems like cancer. Studies have claimed that when compared to non-vegans, vegans tend to have an increased amount of carotenoids, total omega-3 fatty acids, and decreased quantity of saturated fats, which lowers the chances of developing cancer. Whereas consuming high-fat dairy products regularly may lead to breast cancer and prostate cancer.
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Vegan foods are low in calories and contain less saturated fats, so it is easy to maintain a healthy body weight. Studies also say that non-vegans have a higher body mass index than vegans.
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A vegan diet also includes plenty of micronutrients and fiber, enhancing gut function. Decreased quantity of sulfur in plant products mainly helps people with gut problems. Good gut health further improves digestion, immune system, dermatologic, sexual, and mental health.
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A vegan diet helps control blood glucose levels and aids in preventing type-2 diabetes by 78 %, and decreases the chances of other associated factors.
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A vegan diet contains high quantities of fiber which prevents constipation and decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, diabetes, and bowel cancer.
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A vegan diet has proved favorable in lowering blood pressure. A study in the Journal of Hypertension claimed that people who consume plant-based foods have a 34 % reduced risk of hypertension.
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Plant-based foods help decrease the severity of the manifestations of obesity, arthritis, and neurological issues like Alzheimer's disease.
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The vegan diet also checks the lipid profile by lowering the LDL levels up to 25 %.
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A vegan diet is also a source of butyrate, which helps in averting inflammation and improves digestive and cognitive health. Probiotic foods like fermented vegetables and non-dairy yogurts increase nutrient absorption and decrease inflammation.
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Avoiding dairy products and consuming vegan products rich in vitamins and antioxidants enhances dermatological health.
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According to a study in the Journal of American Heart Association, a strict vegan diet aids in increasing the lifespan of a person by reducing the chances of all causative mortality factors by 25 %.
Who Is Not Fit For a Vegan Diet?
There are certain conditions in which a vegan diet is not considered helpful; instead, it worsens them, so it is advised not to take it up in those conditions. They are as follows:
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Regular use of a vegan diet in patients with severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or irritable bowel disease (IBD) may aggravate their symptoms. However, vegan products can be consumed occasionally.
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A vegan diet may not be safe in conditions that require a particular diet as per the body's needs, like in severe cases of anemia.
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A vegan diet may be challenging to manage in people with poor kidney functions and those on dialysis.
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A vegan diet is not recommended for allergies and intolerances to specific foods such as celiac disease, nut allergy, etc.
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Patients afflicted with genital herpes are suggested to take foods low in arginine. In contrast, a vegan diet is naturally rich in arginine, so it should be avoided entirely in such patients.
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A vegan diet is also calcium-deficient, so high calcium replacements and vegan foods fortified with calcium should be eaten for diseases like osteoporosis.
Conclusion:
The vegan diet is gaining momentum due to its plethora of benefits for the environment, ethics, the healthcare industry, and human health. Opting for a vegan lifestyle and mainly the vegan diet has become easy now, with abundant choices available among plant-based food items. Yet, the vegan diet has some limitations, so it is not fit for all to embrace. A doctor's consultation and a planned individual diet chart by a registered dietician will help in making the best use of it without causing any adverse effects.
