Is Vegan Food Bad for your Health - Know Facts
Is Vegan Food Bad for your Health - Know Facts
Before going on about how vegan food affects you, it’s essential to understand what a vegan is. Most people confuse veganism with vegetarianism. Vegans don't consume animal products directly or indirectly; products like milk, butter, honey, cheese, etc., are excluded. Vegetarianism, on the other hand, allows indirect consumption of animal products mentioned above. Meat, chicken, beef, pork, and other direct animal products are avoided in both. About 3% of Americans currently follow a vegan diet for different reasons, some for improving health and others due to animal concerns they have. Most Indian dishes are vegan with no shortage of options like Chole Bhatoore, Sambhar, Dosa, Idli, and my favorite Pani Puri.
Many people wonder if Vegan food is terrible for their health. Let’s settle this once and for all. While vegan food limits your options at an American dinner table and makes shopping tricky as you have to shop by diet every time, it provides many health benefits that allow an improved lifestyle in the long run. Eating a properly balanced vegan diet gives you all the nutrients you need throughout the day. Let’s learn more about the health benefits of Vegan food.
1. Takes care of your heart
High blood pressure, Obesity, and excess cholesterol in your body are all indications that your heart is at risk of cardiac arrest, failure, or worse. Meat adds unnecessary saturated fat to your body even though it is completely capable of making enough fat for yourself, putting your heart at risk. DASH diet is prescribed for people with hypertension; it focuses on reducing the intake of meat, which shows how meat is negatively affecting your well-being.
On the other hand, going vegan reduces fat and cholesterol consumption taking the pressure off your heart. Vegan food is rich in omega 3, nutrients, minerals, fibers also does not contain unsaturated fats making sure your heart functions properly.
2. Keeps Your Kidney and Blood Sugar in Check
Cases of Diabetes and kidney failures are increasing every year. Every 40 seconds, an American experiences a heart attack, and there are a total of 805,000 heart attack cases annually.
Studies suggest that people following a vegan diet are less likely to fall prey to type 2 diabetes. It shows that by a vegan diet, the patient’s blood sugar levels were reduced significantly compared to diets prescribed by ADA (American Diabetes Association). Around 43% of the vegan patients reduced their insulin dosage, whereas only 23% of ADA patients could. Researchers also believe that turning to plant proteins instead of meat proteins can help patients decrease their risk of kidney failures.
3. Gives you every element you need
It is a common misconception that meat and other non-vegan items are rich in nutrients compared to vegan ones. Researchers call it a myth; a balanced vegan plate has more nutrients than meat dishes. Here’s how: When you switch to vegan, your animal products are replaced by wheat, oats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and more, which provides a sufficient amount of nutrition when combined. Studies show that vegan food supplies a higher amount of fiber, magnesium, iron, vitamin A, C, and E. They are also rich in proteins, potassium, carbohydrates, and more. However, you might need supplements for calcium, Vitamin D, and zinc.
4. Reduces health risks
According to WHO, diet is an important factor that helps reduce cancer risks and fatality because cancer is the second leading reason for deaths in the US. Also, an average person consumes 222 pounds of meat every year. Studies show that red meat increases the chances of cancer by 2% while processed meat by 4%. Hot dogs and deli meat raises cancer risk by 29%.
On the other hand, a vegan diet contains soy and high fiber items that reduce the risk of breast cancer in women by a factor of 25 and the risk of colorectal cancer by 10%. Researches have shown that plant-based food items like nuts, fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc., reduces the risk of cancer as they are rich in nutrients, hence giving your cells the proper food it need to stay clean and high functioning.
Alcoeats brings you a wide range of vegan mixes that helps you prepare vegan indie dishes in minutes. They offer diversity in their products, proving that the vegan diet is not limited. They also let you shop by the diet of your choice; whether you follow keto, vegan, cultural diets, or more, you choose! Visit us at alcoeats.com