‘It’s easy to be (a healthy) vegan!’ #easy2bvegan
What could be more important than your health? Such a simple question, yet looking after our health can fall by the wayside in today’s frantic pace of life.
The good news is that eliminating animal products from your diet and switching to plant-based vegan foods (vegetables, fruits, grains, pulses, nuts and seeds – and everything made with these ingredients) as part of your vegan lifestyle, will help you to take care of your health in the easiest and most natural way possible.
Scientific studies consistently show that a well-balanced vegan diet can reduce your risk of suffering from the world’s worst killer diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, some cancers, diabetes, obesity and even alzheimers. Healthy vegan food can help to prevent all of these things and can even reverse the symptoms of these diseases – enabling you to live a longer, healthier, happier life.
We understand the common concerns that you might have about changing to a vegan diet, so throughout our website we’ll offer ongoing help and support with the key issues. As part of that we’ll be chatting with and featuring case studies of real-life vegans in our onsite news blog VEGAN24. They each have an incredible story to tell on how becoming vegan has improved their health and changed their lives for the better.
Our recent survey showed that vegans typically experience these health benefits:
- more energy and greater stamina
- fewer allergies, colds and less mucus
- clearer complexion, softer skin, glossier hair and stronger nails
- improved sleep and happier mood
- steady loss of excess weight
- lower cholesterol and blood pressure
- reduction and reversal of diabetes symptoms
- less arthritic joint pain
- improved PCOS and PMT symptoms
- improvement in conditions such as MS and ME
- fewer migraines or general headaches and greater mental clarity
- better digestion, less bloating and an improved sense of taste
- higher libido and improved sexual function
Some further advice:
Nutrition: For the best health possible it’s always common sense to eat the widest range of foods, and hence nutrients, possible. Please check our recipe pages and try some new foods and new dishes every week. Please also see our nutrition page for help with understanding how you can improve your intake of essentials such as protein, calcium and B12.
Caution: Just as there’s non-vegan ‘junk’ food, there’s now a growing range of vegan ‘junk’ food – and when foods such as chips, crisps and cakes can be vegan, then it stands to reason that moderation in a vegan lifestyle is sensible as well. Salt, sugar and oils/fats can all be vegan – so care still needs to be taken in their consumption. BUT you’ll automatically almost zero out your intake of health-damaging cholesterols, which your body will thank you for instantly.
NB As with any change to what you eat and how you live, it’s always best to consult with your doctor and/or a registered dietician first. You can find a registered dietitian through the British Diatetic Association who advise us that “all dietitians are trained and knowledgeable in plant-based diets“.
Medications: If you’re on any prescribed medications at the moment please continue taking them until you’ve discussed this fully with your doctor. It’s currently a legal requirement that drugs, and their component ingredients, undergo testing on animals; they may even contain ingredients that are derived from animals (lactose from cow’s milk, gelatine from animal bones/skins etc.) and for this reason many are not vegan. However, the good news is that there are often alternatives available (i.e. different brands or products) that MAY NOT contain animal-derived ingredients. Your doctor and prescribing pharmacy can help you look into these alternative options if you wish. Until legislation is changed on animal testing there’s nothing you can do about retrospective tests.