Plant-based diets are quite popular at the moment with food and wellness bloggers sharing their recipes. Some of the top selling cookbooks at the moment are ones that are using only whole foods and plant based recipes. They are free from gluten, sugar and obviously anything from an animal. Some people prefer just to have occasional foods following these recipes.
They are great to feel healthy and are easy to make. But more and more people are going vegan full time. It can be quite a controversial topic, with many people becoming vegan for health reasons as well as ethical reasons. Is it healthier to be vegan or do they miss out on certain vitamins and minerals? Here are some of the pros and cons of a vegan diet so you can decide for yourself.
There are proven health benefits to having a vegan diet
You can’t doubt the facts, and there are studies that show that eating a plant-based diet can lower your cholesterol. They also show that it can help lower your blood pressure, much more than any other diet can. They are said to lower the amount of ‘bad’ cholesterol in your blood and as a result, there is less strain on your blood vessels.
We also hear a lot about certain food bloggers that have seen symptoms of illnesses and ailments disappear. All this after they have changed their lifestyle and switched to a vegan and gluten-free diet.
There are less natural vitamins and minerals in a vegan diet
Studies have also shown that vegan diets lack some certain vitamins and minerals that we need in our bodies. Vegan diets contain plenty of things like vitamin C from the fruit and vegetables. But they are shown to lack certain vitamins like B12 and calcium.
So you need to take a supplement or know where you can get this vitamins and minerals from. There are food sources such as sauerkraut, soy sauce or tamari, miso, and tofu.
Your blood sugar levels will be more stable
If you are eating only whole foods and cutting out refined sugars, your blood sugar will be much more stable. If your blood sugar is stable, it means your energy levels will be too. You won’t experience a sugar ‘high’ and then a decline in energy shortly after.
So this kind of diet could be beneficial to diabetes sufferers and for women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
It makes eating out much more difficult
There aren’t too many vegan and sugar-free restaurants when you are out and about. So it can make your life more difficult if this is something that you regularly do. You might be able to ask for something without cheese or without egg, but there aren’t many restaurants that will cater for your diet.
It might cause you to stop going out and being social, so it could perhaps affect your social life. Just something to bear in mind if you are thinking of embarking on a vegan lifestyle.
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