A quick question, ‘Why do people turn vegan? What dietary changes occur when they turn vegan? What is the psychology of a person who turns vegan, is turning vegan a healthy alternative than being a normal food eater?
A few of the people consider it to be a moral or philosophical decision, a few consider it to be an environment protection step in order to keep our ecosystem under control. The term “Vegan” recently gained attention from the media was plant-based set diet is on a rise considering the 21st-century ecosystem and when the animal activists came up with surveys all around the globe. Here are a few of the major reasons the people around the globe are turning vegan:
1. Health and Nutrition
2. Morality
3. Environmental Protection
4. Social justice
5. Following the Global
Trend
Not every individual avoiding meat has any of the above-mentioned
reasons to do so. Around 360,000 people in the USA have turned vegan. There are
recently launched vegan section in more than 130 stores in the country of
Iceland.
In order to cope up with the necessary requirements related to
diet, the diet requirements are mapped out in accordance with the food intake
of the vegan.
As mentioned, the decision to eat a plant-based diet depends on
various reasons, but including the reasons, there are various categories when
it comes to plant eaters:
1. Individuals who eat
meat, but less than the average person
2. Avoid meat but eat
fish and Dairy Products.
3. Avoid Meat and Fish,
but eat dairy & eggs.
4. Then comes the Vegan –
only eat food from Kingdom Plantae, avoiding everything that is mentioned
above.
Why are so many people focussing on plant-based diets?
One of the major reason to focus on it is to improve the ailments/ the issues associated with the dietary intake which can be only cured with the diet which is associated with high plant food intake. By focussing on plant-based food we usually end up displacing foods which contain high sugar content & fat which is basically replacing the unhealthy stuff with the healthy ones. Besides being healthy, a few vegans consider eating low animal food is good for the environment and the population.
Regardless of the reasons mentioned above, in order to follow a
plant-based diet, many physiological factors are to be considered. When
avoiding animal products, it is more difficult to cope up with the necessary
elements which are usually missed out on being a vegan or going on to a
plant-based diet. These are the few nutrients which are usually left out when
an individual turns vegan and hence the diet has to be coped up with some
artificial supplements.
1. Vitamin B12 – in general terms, vegan quit on the animal
food and is basically a product of bacterial fermentation usually found in
animal foods, therefore it has to be usually replaced by fortified products and
nutritional yeasts.
2. Omega 3 Fatty Acids - usually concentrations on Omega 3
Fatty Acids in the blood of non-meat eaters are lower than the omnivores.
Therefore consumption of flax, walnuts, green leafy vegetables, and supplements
originated from algae is usually recommended.
3. Vitamin D – usually found in
very few foods, only a few fortified varieties of food in the vegan category
will provide the same, therefore consumption of morning sunlight is recommended
and when in winters, supplementation is recommended.
4. Calcium – Usually
found in green leafy vegetables, however some of the veggies eaten in large
amounts will hinder the calcium absorption. Therefore consumption of food which
also has high calcium consumption is recommended, e.g. – seeds, tofu, nuts.
One of the Famous Celebrity Ellen DeGeneres quoted ‘ I personally chose to go vegan because I educated myself on factory farming and cruelty to animals, and I suddenly realize that what was on my plate were living things, with feelings, and I couldn’t disconnect myself from it any longer’
