Boom Pow Vegan Now
Explaining veganism and the vegan diet
By: Neyra Reeves
September 28, 2016
If you have ever met a person that is
vegan you have probably asked them a few questions and expressed comments like,
“What do you eat?” “how are you still alive right now?” “where do you get your
protein from,” “why are you vegan?” and my favorite one, “Wow, you don’t look
pale at all.”
If you, or someone you know, have asked
these questions, it’s okay, because until recently, veganism has just started
to become a “hot topic,” so to speak. Therefore, vegans can’t be mad at you for
not knowing all the answers. Baby steps right?
My personal journey into veganism all
started when I was eleven or twelve years old with a specific life changing
moment. I was in the cafeteria one afternoon eating lunch with my friends—one of
them was vegetarian— and as I was three bites into my bologna sandwich, my vegetarian
friend asks me if I knew what bologna was made of. Of course, I didn’t know, so
I told her no and then she, unknowing changing my life, went on to explain that
bologna is made of a blend of animal trimmings, meaning the extras (The Huffington
Post). I don’t know why this new information changed my view of meat—maybe I
was grossed out at the fact of eating animal extras—but I went home that day
and told my mom that I never wanted to eat meat again.
I have been a vegan for almost half of my
lifetime now, and I want to spread awareness of veganism. The purpose of this
post is to demystify veganism by exploring what it is to give you a little bit
of the basics of being vegan. First we
are going to talk about what it means to be vegan, then move on to a little
diet basics to understand exactly what vegans eat, and lastly, address a few misconceptions
about the diet. By the end of this article you’ll be an expert on veganism.
What does it even mean to be vegan?
Being vegan means that a person does not
eat any animal products (or byproducts), such as, meat, fish, poultry, eggs,
animal milks, honey (Hood). A vegan lifestyle is a bit more intense version of
veganism and requires abstaining from any animal manufactured products. There is
also the raw vegan diet that excludes all animal and processed food products. But,
for the purpose of this article we will be focusing on the standard vegan diet.
There are many reasons people choose vegan
diets or lifestyles. These reasons include: love for animals and hate of animal
cruelty, environmental consciousness, health issues, allergy constraints,
religion, or maybe someone just really likes vegan food because it’s delicious
and makes them feel awesome after they eat. Whatever the reason, veganism is
for anyone and is pretty easy to maintain.
Common Misconceptions about Veganism
You may be wondering, or have in the past,
“well, what do vegans even eat?” We eat everything—everything except animal
products of course. If anyone has ever told you that vegan food I boring, they’re
liars. Okay, that was a bit harsh, but they probably generalized from one
not-so-great vegan eating experience. I have to say this is probably the worst
allegation against vegan food because it turns people off to the idea of
adopting vegan diets. If people have this perception of vegan diets they think,
or they hear, that all we eat is bland vegetables all time. They probably
imagine a sad plate of uncooked, or steamed veggies for breakfast, lunch, and
dinner. I am here to tell you that vegan food is extremely creative and
delicious. Vegans have to get creative to be able to eat pizza, burgers, desserts,
and most importantly cake. Thanks to the recent vegan popularity, there are
hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of vegan blogs, cooking videos and recipes, available
on the internet and social media. These recipes combine the deliciousness of
vegetables, fruits, and a variety of other ingredients to create amazingly delicious
food, such as, “chicken nuggets” and cake. Who said you can’t have your cake
and eat it too? Well, now you can because it’s healthy.
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Chicken
Nuggets From Laura Millers’ Raw Vegan Not Gross Website
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Another misconception is that vegans do not get the
needed nutrients to maintain a healthy, functional body. Vegans eat a lot of
fruits, vegetables, and fortified foods that provide them with the nutrients
they need to be healthy. As we will see
in the next section vegans get their nutrients from a variety of sources.
The Basic Components of the Vegan Diet
To answer what vegans eat, I will do a quick breakdown
of the diet and the purposes of each food.
To give a basic model of the vegan diet we can use the vegan diet
pyramid which is used to mirror the standard diet pyramid. There are several
variations of the vegan diet pyramid but all contain more or less the same
components most of which include the main five groups: protein, non-dairy
alternatives, fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, and oils.
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Image borrowed from VeganCoach.com
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- In the protein group we have legumes (beans, lentils, peas), seeds and
nuts, and tofu and tempeh (Hood & Knutson & Venti & Johnston).
Seeds and nuts also provide iron, zinc, and omega-3 which are all needed for
proper body function (Johnston). Omega-3s are essential to brain development,
nervous system function and cardiovascular health (Chandola & Tanna &
Vukovic) and because humans can’t actually produce omega-3 it has to be
consumed daily. So, if you haven’t gotten your omega-3s today do it now! Okay,
after you finish reading.
- Non-dairy alternatives can include cashew milk, soymilk, rice milk, and
almond milk. There are also other non-dairy product options such as yogurt,
cheese, mayonnaise, margarine, nutritional yeasts, and ice creams. A diet is
incomplete without ice cream so this is very important. Non-dairy alternatives
provide a great source of vitamins B12 and D (Johnston & VeganHealth.org).
- The fruit and vegetable group are self-evident. However, there is an emphasis on
“leafy greens,” like kale and spinach, as they are said to contain many
minerals and antioxidant vitamins (Knutson) (Ranaweera & Gunathilake),
which contribute to brain performance. Eat kale go to Yale!
- Grains are a great source of complex carbs and protein which give you enery. Whole grains, such as, barley, oats, and quinoa, rice, pasta, and cereals (Knutson) are all great options and will definitely fill anyone up.
- Oils are needed in every diet. For the vegan diet, coconut oil, olive oil, and soybean oil are the most popular sources of good fat. Thank goodness for good fat.
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Benefits of a Vegan Diet
The great thing about vegan diets is that it’s not
just a recent trend but it’s really good for you. Research shows that people
who are vegan are healthy and often times healthier than people who eat meat
(Hood). Vegan diets have been proved to reduce risks of hypertension, type 2 diabetes,
reduces body mass index, and cardiovascular diseases (Stein & Venti &
Johnston). A vegan diet also helps you feel good about yourself because you
never feel groggy or sluggish after eating a meal.
Adopting a vegan diet is for everyone! Even if you’re not completely sold on making
your own raw vegan cashew butter, or wearing sustainable clothing, you can
still try the healthy and super delicious vegan food. I hope that this post
shed some light on the somewhat mysterious nature of veganism. By now, you are
an expert on veganism. Now, next time when you meet a vegan at CrossFit, you
can share your new found knowledge and trade some recipes.
References
Knutson, P. (2016). Let’s Uncover the Truth Behind the Vegan
Food Pyramid. Retrieved from
Ranaweera,
K.K.D.S. & Gunathilake, K.D.P.P. (2016). Antioxidative properties of 34
green leafy vegetables. Journal of
Functional Foods, vol 26, pp. 176-186. Retrieved from
Tanna, I. & Chandola, H.M. (2014). Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Brain and Neurological Health. 163-179.
Retrieved from
The Huffington Post. (2013). What the Heck Is in Bologna,
Anyway? Retrieved from
Vukovic, D. (2013). 14 Best Vegan Sources of Omega 3.
Retrieved from
