A big hello to all readers!

Well, last time we spoke about vegan and veganism, and what leads to taking up this decision of going vegan. A little flashback to help, veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan.

In today’s Tuesday scoop I wish to flashlight on few benefits of going vegan.

Research has shown that a vegan diet can help do the following:

• Promote weight loss
• Reduce your risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels
• Lower your chances of getting certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer
• Manage diabetes by lowering A1C levels

Having a good diet means a balance of all nutrients, while many of them are easily available dairy and meat products, veganism gets  you to choose alternatives that have the same nutritional level.

• Protein: Animals are not the only protein, there re products like Soy  (e.g., tofu and edamame) are also super filled with protein. Other good sources include seitan (made from gluten), chickpeas, lentils and nutritional yeast.

• Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12  is an energy booster that can make you feel tired and weak if not taken in adequate quantity.  Getting B12 in with a vegan option can be a bit challenging as it not found in plants, but at the same time there are options to extract energy out of fortified cereals, fortified rice and soy drinks or by taking supplements.

• Essential fatty acids: Problems related to brain health, such as cognitive impairment and depression can aggravate if fatty acids are not taken. To get your essential fatty acids, pile up grains and leafy green vegetables (e.g., kale, spinach and collards), and how can we miss on the unsalted nuts, like almonds, walnuts or pistachios.

• Iron: The richest source of iron is red meat and egg yolks, but nevertheless they also are high in cholesterol. Good plant sources of iron include black-eyed peas, tofu and dried fruits (fresh fruit has iron, too, you just get more iron from dried fruit because you eat more).

• Vitamin D: Ten to 15 minutes of sunlight exposure a day can give you a vitamin D boost, as can be fortified orange juice and soy.

In my personal opinion, it’s a bit difficult to process an immediate change over to veganism. So, it’s always best to chalk out a way and differentiate what is doable, not doable before deciding to go vegan.

So, now that you know the source and the alternatives stay tuned with me until next Tuesday for some more insights.

Story By: Namrataa Mahalley