Is Going Vegan Actually Healthier than Not Going Vegan?
Let’s Myth Bust this.
[Avg Read Time: 2 mins]
Adopting a vegan lifestyle where you eat mainly whole foods has tons of benefits.
A few are…
- weight loss
- lowering blood sugar
- helping protect against certain cancers
- lowering your risk of heart disease
- even reducing pain from arthritis
However, just like any diet that completely cuts out an entire food group, you need to make up for what you are cutting out.
What I mean by that is… you do not want to create a nutrient deficiency just to reap the rewards of a diet.
For example, veganism cuts out all meat, dairy, eggs, and fish.
None of these foods are absolutely necessary to have in a diet, but they are LOADED with nutrients your body needs.
When someone goes vegan it can cause them to be deficient in nutrients like…
- Vitamin B12
- Iron
- Iodine
- Zinc
- Calcium
- Vitamin D
- Omega 3s
Your body needs these just to function normally, let alone keep you healthy & lose weight.
This doesn’t mean I’m saying don’t go vegan.
This just means that if you decide to try it out or any other diet for that matter, DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
Supplementation on restrictive diets is almost always a necessity.
Supplementation fills in those gaps in your nutrition that can keep you healthy for the long run.
Along with supplementation, you also need to pay attention to what types of food you consume.
Vegan style diets do not include very much protein.
If you are an active person you need more protein than the average person.
Trying to get that all from plant-based foods can be very challenging, especially when the goal is to lose weight.
Another factor to consider is what types of protein you are consuming.
For your body to use protein efficiently it should be a COMPLETE protein.
A complete protein is a single source or a combination of protein sources that contain enough of the 9 essential amino acids so that your body can put it to use.
When it comes to vegan, all single source complete proteins are cut out (Meat, Dairy, Fish).
However, this is where complementary proteins come in handy. Mixing foods can create a complete protein source. There are even vegan protein powders that combine ingredients to give you a complete protein.
So, if you are craving beans, have them with brown rice.
If you are about to buy a protein powder, go for the one that is a blend of things like pea, pumpkin, and rice. (like Dr.’s Whey available here at GFP, cough cough)
Vegan can be a great choice for some people. Just cover your nutritional bases so you can stay healthy and happy for the long term.
-Coach Bryan
