We see many celebrities advocating “veganism,” and often ponder whether it’s a new kind of a diet to lose weight. Vegan is not a fad diet or a way to lose weight, it’s a way of life where one chooses to completely eliminate meat, diary, and animal products from their diet in order to prevent cruelty to animals. It’s an ethical and moral stand that people take to save animals and the environment. But a few choose to go the vegan path for health reasons as well. A majority of vegans also do not use any product or cosmetics that comes from animals. Quite a few studies have found out that vegans have a low risk of developing life-threatening disorders such as cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases etc. Now, let’s know more about veganism, its benefits, and how one can go vegan in a short period of time. Most people find the thought of going vegan quite unachievable, but in reality, it’s quite simple, you can become vegan overnight too! In this post, we will discuss on how to become a vegan quickly:
What is Veganism?
Vegans are people who refrain from eating products that come from animals including meat, eggs, and even diary products. There are many reasons why one would choose the vegan way of life – some do it for the immense love of animals and for ethical reasons, because they care for the environment while some other choose it for health reasons.
Benefits of Going Vegan:
1. You do your bit by preventing exploitation of animals. As we all know, animal agriculture is a big industry all over the world. Animals are raised and often by unethical means (such as injecting animals with antibiotics and hormones so that they can grow quickly), so that they can be sold to the consumer as food items. By going vegan, we can alleviate the situation and do our bit for animals.
2. As we have already mentioned, vegans have a comparatively low risk of developing life-threatening medical problems.
3. Yes, you can lose some extra pounds by going vegan. You will lighter and a lot energetic than going on fad diets that work only short term.
4. Improved digestion with proper supply of nutrients through plant protein, fiber, and minerals from non-animal sources.
5. Reduce cholesterol levels – it goes without saying that a vegan diet will get your cholesterol down.
6. Save the environment – Rearing animals for food is responsible for 91% of Amazon destruction and excessive use of water the world over.
Vegan Celebrities in Bollywood:
- Sonakshi Sinha
- Sonam Kapoor
- Kangana Ranaut
- Ayesha Takia
- Shahid Kapoor
- Virat Kohli
- Jacqueline Fernandez
Grocery List for Vegans:
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Tofu
- Ketchup
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Green peas
- Carrots
- Bananas
- Apples
- Lemons
- Berries
- Quinoa
- Brown rice
- Rolled oats
- Chia seeds
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Peanuts
- Soya
- Pistachios
- Nut butters – almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, macadamia butter
- Spices – Cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, nutmeg, sea salt, cumin, and other commonly used Indian spices.
- Almond milk
- Oats milk
Vegans Refrain from Eating These Products:
- Meat
- Fish
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Honey
- Gelatin
- Casein
- Whey
- Iodized salt
Tips to Go Vegan Quickly:
1. Clean up your refrigerator, kitchen and pantry: The first thing after you make your mind about going vegan is to head to the kitchen and clear every meat, eggs, diary products (including milk and curd), from the fridge, kitchen and pantry area. Even chicken stock tubes should not be missed. Replace these items with the ones in the vegan grocery list mentioned above.
2. Collect Vegan Recipes from the Internet: This way, you would not be confused about what to cook when you are hungry and would think back of converting to old eating habits, because, you already know how to make them. Vegetable pancake, poha, dalia khichdi, upma, etc. are some delicious breakfast ideas that can replace your “bread-omlette” routine.
3. Get sufficient nutrients and protein from plant sources: If you are worrying about missing out protein that you get from meat and eggs, plant sources such as almonds, lentils, peanut, tofu, etc., will give you an equal or greater amount of protein.
4. Find vegan substitutes to your favorite non-vegan food items: It’s not at all difficult to find vegan alternatives to animal sources of food that you absolutely love, here are some examples:
- Ghee – Coconut oil or avocado oil
- Curd – Coconut milk yogurt, almond milk yogurt, oat milk yogurt
- Milk – Soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk
- Meat – Tofu, soya
- Eggs – Chia eggs, flax eggs
What are the Cons of Going Vegan:
1. Iodine deficiency: Vegans opt for sea salt instead of iodized salt and do not get enough iodine from their plant-based diet, so they might get iodine deficient.
2. Vitamin B12 deficiency: A complete plant-based diet can also put vegans at risk of developing vitamin B12 deficiency.
3. Iron deficiency: Plant-based foods do have iron content, but then it’s called non-heme iron and does not get readily absorbed by the body, which may leave some people iron deficient.
4. Too many carbs: Since legumes are consumed as a protein source, there might be too many carbs in your diet.
