Health Benefits Of A Vegan Diet

A diet based on only plants, such as vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and fruits, is called a vegan diet. This means saying a complete no-no to anything that comes from animals (meat and meat-derived products). Opting for this sort of diet might seem hard at first, but doing so will provide you with many benefits.

You need not worry about your nutritional fulfilment, as all of your fitness and health goals can be achieved by consuming a strict vegan diet as well. Helping you lose some pounds, safeguarding you from many chronic diseases, and improving your kidney function are some of the main benefits this diet carries.

Carrying a rich nutrient profile and being low in saturated fats makes a vegan diet an excellent choice to follow. It is no wonder why more and more people are shifting towards following this diet, looking at the pile of benefits it carries with it. Despite falling short of certain nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, and calcium, the health benefits of a vegan diet are numerous, which we’ll cover today.

A lot of modern research has agreed upon the fact that a diet really plays a crucial role in safeguarding an individual from cancer. It’s been more than two decades since it was proven that there’s only one diet that really works wonders against cancer, i.e., a vegan diet. It’s not necessary to fully switch to this form of eating; what one can do is just focus on eating more plant-based foods rather than fully relying on meat.

This means your intake would have considerably more fruits, vegetables, and legumes than other eatables. Doing so will help you cut your chances of developing cancer by almost 15%. Not just one or two, but following a strict vegan diet might even safeguard you from various cancer types such as stomach, mouth, throat, lung, colon, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. Having high concentrations of antioxidant carotenoids in the body is the main criterion by which all this is done.

Vegan foods have a much lower calorie count as compared to animal-derived foods, which really makes them easier for people to digest and process. Plus, the amount of saturated fat in them is also quite less than that derived from animal products. This allows an individual following a vegan diet to have a lower body mass index than an individual who is non-vegan or not fully vegan.

Many studies have concluded that a vegan diet is more effective than any other diet when it comes to losing weight. Still, one needs to make sure he’s eating the right vegan food in the right quantity, as overdoing so might reduce its effectiveness and even change the whole scenario. As quoted by Jeffrey Soble (MD, cardiologist at RUSH University Medical Centre), “You can be overweight and be a vegan; you can be malnourished and be a vegan.”.

There is no doubt that one of the main culprits behind your skin issues is dairy. Let it be milk, eggs, cheese, or yoghurt. A number of studies have shown that regular dairy consumption aggravates skin issues such as acne in all genders. On the other hand, many epidemiological studies concluded that the higher the intake of vegan diet-based foods, the greater the range of skin benefits you get.

All these vegan foods are rich in plant defence chemicals referred to as polyphenols and other skin-friendly nutrients like vitamins E and C, which makes them an excellent choice for getting healthy skin. So if you’re also facing some skin issues, such as acne, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, aside from ditching dairy products, consider switching to a vegan diet rich in antioxidants and vitamins.

Consuming a plant-based diet means you are taking in stuff that is already low in saturated fat and cholesterol. This means your chances of suffering or having a heart-related disease are much lower as compared to doing otherwise. Along with following a vegan diet, you also need to cut back on your consumption of animal products, which are the main cause of cardiovascular disease in many people.

Thus, try including more vegan-friendly foods, such as legumes, fruit, and whole grains, in your diet, as they will help you lower the cholesterol levels in your body. Plus, vegan foods are naturally anti-inflammatory in nature, and accordingly, they work very well to reduce the levels of inflammation caused in the body due to heart diseases. In addition to being high in fibre, vegan foods become a great option to look after the health of your heart.

Being high in fibre content not only makes vegan foods good for reducing weight, but they are also great when it comes to boosting the digestion process. A lot of research has suggested that just by changing the food that we eat, we are more likely to change the gut microbiome for our own benefit.

Doing so will not only elevate your digestion process but will also elevate your overall well-being and mood. Due to the consumption of more vegan food, we can easily feed our gut some good bacteria that it needs for its proper functioning. This way, your chances of facing some common gut issues such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and constipation also fall short, and you are able to see your digestion process increasing a lot.

Till now, it’s evident that following a vegan diet is associated with lower blood pressure and better control over it as well. For it, one need not make any major changes in their food preferences, as it just requires increasing their intake of plant-based diets such as whole grains and vegetables and cutting short on meat and dairy.

Exactly how it’s achieved is still unclear to many, but the major reason behind this happening is the easy-digesting capability of vegan food that other food types don’t have. Upon eating a plant-based diet, the digestive system need not work excessively, as it has to do in the case of meat and dairy products. This allows the blood to flow at its normal pace without causing any discrepancies in the stream.

Preferring and shifting over to a vegan diet might just work wonders for those suffering from things like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. This will be done by choosing healthy vegan foods, such as fruits and vegetables that are antioxidant-rich and include a variety of nutrients in them. The main problem with eating animal-derived foods is that they are linked to pain-causing inflammation.

The same is not the case for healthy vegan foods such as fermented vegetables, which help the body boost the good bacteria in the large intestine and also reduce inflammation. It’s not a compulsion to follow a strict vegan diet; what one can do is simply make a switch towards it and try resisting meat-based foods.

Upon taking in a healthy and balanced vegan diet consisting of whole foods including vegetables, pulses, fruits, grains, nuts, and seeds, one need not worry about the nutritional fulfilment of their body. Various studies have concluded that eating a diet based on vegan foods tends to be rich in magnesium, folate, fibre, antioxidants, potassium, and vitamins A, C, and E. This helps them to safeguard themselves from any potential issues that might arise because of their shortage.

In contrast to your traditional diet, fulfilling your nutritional requirements on a vegan diet might be a bit hard for you, as you’ll have to eat the right balance of foods to avoid any health complications. For best results, refer to your concerned healthcare experts, who will suggest the best vegan foods for your bodily needs.

Switching over to a vegan diet also elevates your immunity to a great level. Having such a strong immune system also makes an individual more immune and safe from various common and chronic illnesses and diseases. Being a sophisticated system of cells and proteins that acts as a protective cover for your health against various infections and bacteria, boosting it isn’t that easy.

The main constituents of our immunity system are the lymphatic or drainage system, organs such as the spleen, bone marrow, gland-like thymus, white blood cells, antibodies, and complement systems, which are the real heroes saving us from all sorts of health issues. Consuming a vegan diet works wonders to boost the immune system, as the body is able to abstract all the different nutrients from fruits and vegetables with ease.

Taking into account all the numerous health benefits that these vegan foods carry, one can easily make up their mind to make a switch towards following this diet. Plus, there are plenty of healthy and delicious plant-based options available now, which makes it even easier for individuals to shift over to a vegan diet.

Lastly, keep in mind not to overdo anything and consume everything within its limit, as consuming vegan doesn’t mean taking fried vegetables. Consequently, you will be saving a lot of animals from being killed and devastated, as the egg, meat, fishing, and dairy industries are really a nightmare for all these animals.