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. 

Chicken Nuggets From Laura Millers’ Raw Vegan Not Gross Website

https://imlauramiller.com/not-chicken-nuggets/

Raw Vegan Not Gross

https://imlauramiller.com/video/birthday-cake/

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. 

Image borrowed from VeganCoach.com  

• 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

Hood, S., B. Sc (Hons). (2008). The vegan diet. Practice Nurse, 35(3), 13-14,16-17. Retrieved from http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy3.usc.edu/docview/230431001?accountid=14749

Knutson, P. (2016). Let’s Uncover the Truth Behind the Vegan Food Pyramid. Retrieved from

http://www.vegancoach.com/vegan-food-pyramid.html

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

http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1016/j.jff.2016.07.015   

Stein, J. (2012). Vegan diet benefits type 2 diabetics. Renal & Urology News, 11(9), 37. Retrieved from http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy3.usc.edu/docview/1312429084?accountid=14749

Tanna, I. & Chandola, H.M. (2014). Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Brain and Neurological Health. 163-179. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1016/B978-0-12-410527-0.00014-4

The Huffington Post. (2013). What the Heck Is in Bologna, Anyway? Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/national-bologna-day-what-is-in_n_4151151.html

Venti, C. A., & Johnston, C. S. (2002). Modified food guide pyramid for lactovegetarians and vegans. The Journal of Nutrition, 132(5), 1050-4. Retrieved from http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy3.usc.edu/docview/197431403?accountid=14749

Vukovic, D. (2013). 14 Best Vegan Sources of Omega 3. Retrieved from

http://plenteousveg.com/vegan-sources-omega-3/