This isn’t a diet that makes you starve yourself, work your body to excess, or add things to your body that shouldn’t be there. This is the most natural, healthy, effective way out there to get back your health and regrow your roots.
Veganism has claims of aiding in weight loss, making you feel great, being available and affordable, is great for the environment, is easily sustained, and flexible to be made your own. Using historical ideologies of how humans ate, the numerous testimonies of effectiveness, and the ease of access to knowledge on the subject makes this diet unique even between people.
I have already covered why veganism is great for your health, beyond weight loss, but there are endless benefits to being vegan beyond just for your individual health.
This post will go into depth on yes, weight loss, how veganism recognizes how humans historically ate, how vegan food makes your body feel, how affordable and available it really is, how many resources there are out there to learn from, proof of success, how veganism positively affects the environment, how the diet is incredibly sustainable, and how veganism is termed by your individual ideologies.
Healthy weight loss
The reason why veganism aids in weight loss is significantly related to the fibre intake of the foods suggested. Fibre helps move contents through your body, as well as forms the waste making explosion easier. As previously mentioned, humans can have up to 30lbs of waste sitting in their colons at a given time due to inability to be formed and picked up. This is largely due to lack of fibre in the diet.
Weight loss is also attributed to the increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This helps weight loss because they are very low in bad fats, cholesterol, and sodium which cause weight gain. Eating more fruits and vegetables in general is great for your health, but when it is the majority of what you eat, your body recognizes that fat storage is not needed.
Another factor of weight loss is the body's ability to produce the hormones needed to control hunger. Often people consume way more than their body needs to sustain their energy and functioning, this excess goes to fat storage and sits there waiting to be used, when it is never used, more and more fat storage is accumulated causing weight gain.
Lastly, weight loss happens when on a vegan diet because of food pairing. Food pairing is very important when you eat a lot of meat because meat is very difficult for the body to break down. Meat protein is very high in fat, more fat than humans need in their diet to survive through a day at the office. When foods such as potatoes, rice, or bread is eaten in conjunction with meat protein, the digestive system is overworked and has to choose what to digest, and what to put in fat storage. This causes accumulation of partly processed foods in the colon, indigestion, and increased fat storage from starchy foods.
If your goal is to lose weight on a vegan diet, it may take time, years even depending on how much your goal to lose is. After just a few months of veganism changes will be witnessed in physical appearance and energy levels. Just be patient with yourself, and you will get where you need to go just by eating a clean vegan diet.
Cases where weight loss did not happen as expected could be because of underlying health issues, which should be addressed by a physician, such as thyroid dysfunction. Another cause could be eating too many processed vegan foods. These are not healthy by any means, just because it is vegan does not mean that it should be eaten. Stick to whole foods, fruits, and vegetables as much as possible.
Use of traditional eating ideology
Traditionally, with the exception of communities in extreme cold climates where there is little to no vegetation, humans ate a mainly plant based diet because the energy spent hunting the animals with traps, arrows, and other methods was not sustainable.
Human bodies are not equipped to effectively and efficiently break down meat proteins and heavily processed foods such as twinkies, spam, and whipped creams. This is not natural for us, looking at the shape of our digestive tract and our teeth.
Yes, we have evolved to be able to consume dairy, meat, and processed foods, but it is extremely common for people to have sensitivities and allergies to these products. Humans are supposed to consume their mothers human milk as babies, but as they get older and have grown, it is no longer needed. I have no idea who decided to drink cows milk, but it is a strange thought for sure.
Humans are the only species to actively drink another animal's milk out of desire not necessity. Stories of cats being abandoned and adopted by a dog exist, but that is out of necessity, not desire. We are drinking the milk that was intended to feed a baby cow, to make the baby cow grow into a strong full sized cow in a short amount of time. Our bodies don’t need those growth hormones as adults, that is why so many people are lactose intolerant as they get older.
How you feel
The way you feel on a vegan diet varies person to person. Though some things are true throughout everyone. This includes increased number of daily bowel movements, increased energy, decreased feelings of over-fullness, decrease of health issues, as well as longevity of health with fewer to no medications needed.
As previously stated the number of bowel movements will increase because there is no more blockage from the meat protein and dairy in your system. Your hormones are able to function properly telling you when to stop and start eating. You will have a lower risk of heart disease and high cholesterol, as well as other issues which cause you to take serious medication for your entire life, veganism can help you avoid that. There are many studies showing how vegans live longer and are healthier compared to the same aged people who eat meat.
Some people feel lower energy or have an increase in headaches, oftentimes this is because they are unaware of what to eat to properly replace what the body needs that was previously being supplied by meat.
Availability and affordability
Fresh produce is available almost year round in some parts of the world, but due to human innovation, it has been made possible for the majority of people to see fresh produce on their grocery store shelves all year round, of course, changing throughout seasons.
Pricing of fresh produce, dried beans, and other vegan items such as oil, spices, and whole grains are much more affordable than eating meat, processed foods, and dairy products, of course within reason.
There are ways to save money and time on a vegan diet, but when eating meat the only way to make something quicker is to eat the processed version of it.
For example, as school comes back and kids need school lunches. A parent who believes that their kid needs meat in their lunch, on a dime has to make something or send their kids with something processed like cured meats, hotdogs, bologna. Whereas the parents who believe their kid doesn’t need meat and watches their kids nutrition, knows they can send their kid with some nuts/seeds, fruit, veggies, or if there are allergies in the classroom to nuts they can send them with tofu, beans, or hummus.
Vegan options, especially when made at home from basic ingredients are significantly more affordable and available than meat options that are highly processed, expensive, and not always consistently available. The vegan options are also significantly healthier and able to provide the nutrients everyone needs.
I absolutely love hummus, the ingredients are always so simple and healthy. This includes; chickpeas, tahini (sesame seeds), lemon, salt, garlic, and sometimes a healthy oil. Hummus has healthy fat, protein, garlic which boosts the immune system, salt for electrolytes and minerals, and lemon for vitamin C. Every ingredient has a purpose, all of these ingredients are very affordable, easy to find and make, and it tastes great.
Even when out to eat at restaurants, there are often menu options for vegans and vegetarians, and even if something that looks good but has meat or dairy in it can be altered if requested during ordering.
Access to knowledge
There is a vast array of platforms including this blog that provide knowledge on how to properly follow a vegan diet, as well as outlining health benefits, environmental benefits, and social benefits of veganism.
I follow many vegan advocacy accounts on Instagram, they provide me with fun new recipes, motivation, and good hard facts on veganism.
There are scientific studies in abundance with a simple google scholar search. Simply searching on Google Scholar the health benefits of a vegan diet, endless results will come up to help you understand even the deepest science behind it.
Ignorance to anything these days is tough to claim as everything is only a click away. It is a matter of knowing the search terms and topics that you need to learn about.
Trusting your resources then becomes the problem and focus of the vegan online search. Knowing that the people who created the document know what they are talking about. If unsure, always cross reference information between multiple sites to find the common ground.
Proof of effectiveness
There are countless stories of how veganism has changed peoples lives.
I am one more story of how veganism has positively impacted my life in many aspects. I gained body positivity, mental clarity, freedom from animal harm, cleared up my skin, improved my menstrual cycle/PMS, improved energy levels, and opened me up to new people who have similar mindsets.
Many of the accounts I follow on Instagram have found the same benefits and more. Whether with themselves, friends they recommended the diet to, or family members who critically needed to change their lifestyle.
A vegan diet shows beyond what you eat, people can see it in the way that you are. When you are not eating meat, you have a compassion for life that shows.
Veganism when done correctly is not a diet but a lifestyle and has been proven tenfold that it is an effective and sustainable way to live in 95% of the world thanks to current food transportation systems and technology innovations.
Helpful for the environment
I will be writing an entire blog on why veganism is beneficial for the environment, so I will just touch on a few aspects here for now.
If the whole world was vegan…
We wouldn’t have to exploit forests for land for raising cattle and growing food for the cattle (#1 reason for deforestation in the Amazon). The land used for those things that is already destroyed could be left to reclaim itself, or to grow produce for people.
World hunger would be easier to solve. The wasted energy, time, and resources on farming animals, if relocated to growing produce, would be more than enough for the current world food shortages and water shortages.
Fresh drinking water shortages would be null. The water used to produce 1 hamburger is tenfold the amount of water needed to grow a salad. Our water would have sufficient time to be replenished through the natural filtration of the ground.
Our greenhouse gas emissions would also decrease with fewer animals producing methane, less or no more deforestation, less curing and processing of meat products.
One more reason, but not all of the reasons why if the world went vegan, is the welfare of animals and our relationship with animals would be vastly different and significantly more positive. Less of a dominant rulership over animals, but a companionship and understanding of wildlife. Viewing animals as equals not as meals.
Ability to make it your own
Lastly, the vegan diet is highly adaptable to fit one's schedule, if you are a busy person and think you have no time for a vegan diet, consider a banana vs yogurt as a snack. A banana requires only to be peeled (no waste) and can be eaten quickly and clean, leaving you full. A yogurt cup has extra waste, requires cutlery, and likely will not fill you.
The other reason a vegan diet is adaptable is because it is best when one transitions from their regular diet into the vegan diet. Finding a place in the vegetarian range for a while that is comfortable is just as good because you are on your way to still being healthier.
Food items such as eggs, yogurt, fish, and honey have been questioned about the efficacy of being okay for vegans to consume. This is because the claim is that eggs are not yet chickens, yogurt has probiotics, fish don’t feel pain, and honey is good for you, only made by bugs anyways.
The argument that the vegan diet makes is that eggs are meant to turn into chickens, yogurt is still cow milk being taken from a baby cow, fish is a living creature and is unsustainable no matter what way it is put, and honey is meant to be for other creatures and the bees themselves.
Either way, when first starting out veganism, or even later down the road, if you decide to eat any of these items you may be scrutinized by fellow vegans, but in the end do what feels right for your body. Sure hard core vegan is the absolute best for your health and the environment, but not everyone is ready for such a big statement.
Final Remarks
Veganism stands out above all other diets, because of all the benefits and positives surrounding health, the environment, and the ability to adapt it into your routine.
Flaws I have seen in veganism surround the idea that veganism is better or above everything else. If you aren’t vegan then you aren’t worth anyone's time, or if you aren’t vegan you are a bad or less person.
All of those statements are wrong and inappropriate! There are extremists in every category out there ranging from religions to dietary choices. It is up to you to have an open mind and remember that everyone makes their own choices and you need to respect that to be met with the same respect about your choices.
This blog post in no way says that vegans are the best. This is a post explaining why and how veganism stands out in my opinion as something great that works for me. I hope to write another blog post on the flaws I see in veganism and how society is to overcome these flaws.
Thank you for reading my blog, and I hope you stick around to hear more about veganism and the environment from my viewpoint. Please like, share, and subscribe!
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