Your Guide To Veganism

Veganism has picked up in the last few years, we have all seen our Instagram reels and Facebook videos. Navigating it is sometimes difficult, sometimes confusing. In this blog, we help you navigate veganism and how to follow a vegan diet at home.

1. Don’t Google Vegan restaurants near me

Vegan cooking isn’t all that tiresome. If you really check, most Indian dishes are vegan or can be veganized with just a change of one ingredient. Take for example, the timeless chole bhature, except the occasional cream, all of the ingredients are vegan! So go ahead, binge on some chole bhature.

2. Why do people adopt a vegan diet?

For most it is to help save the environment and animals. Many times it is also to do with people’s health. Veganism is also a gateway to having a lifestyle which includes more vegetables and meat alternatives.

3. Lower cancer risk

Following a vegan diet has been known to lower an individual’s risk of certain types of Cancer. This can be because plant-based food has more fiber and phytonutrients which help in protecting you against cancer.

4. Better weight loss!

Studies have shown a vegan diet helps you lose weight, better! This is due to the fact that many meat based and semi-vegetarian diets have a higher level of calories from animal products, whereas vegan food has lower calories while also hitting your macronutrient levels.

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN ON A VEGAN DIET?

Most Vegans are prone to having certain vitamins and minerals deficiency, which can be taken care of by having certain supplements.

• Vitamin B12:

Mostly present in animal products, B12 is basically what keeps our body running. Deficiency of this vitamin can cause you to be fatigued, experience mood swings, have foggy memory, to name a few issues. Vegans can get B12 from nutritional yeast, plant milks and fortified cereals.

• Iron

Iron is basically what our blood is made up of, dark leafy greens and beans are a great way to up your iron intake and make sure you dont feel weak.

ALTERNATIVES TO EVERYDAY FOOD ITEMS

You will experience the craving of wanting to have meat when you stop it. The best way to go about it is, start slowly. Make a plan on what you will eliminate from your diet to become vegan. Once you have made sure of that, you start by slowly lessening the amount of that particular product, until eventually you have stopped. You can also make a weekly plan in which you can target one particular product, at a time. Never start by leaving everything in one go, that way you will have withdrawal and your body won’t be able to cope.

For meat you can have tofu, tempeh or even seitan. Instead of milk, you can have plant based and nut based milk. Jackfruit is one of the best alternatives to meat, it tastes like meat when cooked properly.

Above all, listen to your body, see how your body reacts to the different foods and how long you take to adapt to it, and if at any given moment you feel remotely sick, consult your physician.