Is Vegan Food Always Healthy?
13 Jan 2020 HYN Himalayan Yoga Academy
Why Vegan Meal ?
The recent rise of plant-based food choices around the world is an exciting step towards people choosing to eat and embrace a healthier, more sustainable diet and lifestyle. From a solely dietary perspective, a vegan diet avoids meat, dairy, eggs, seafood and any foods that have derivatives of animal products. Far from being restrictive, a vegan diet offers abundant choice and creativity. Queestion: Is Vegan Food Always Healthy
A very healthy, balanced vegan diet will often include all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouts, nuts and seeds, fresh herbs and spices, seaweeds, sprouted whole grains, legumes and beans, cold-pressed oils like coconut oil or olive oil, nut butters and seed pastes like tahini, nut milks or coconut milks, unprocessed olives and avocado for healthy fats, fermented foods like miso, tempeh, sauerkraut and kimchi, dried fruits, and superfoods.
A vegan meal provides a wide variety of positive benefits. Various scientific studies have shown that a plant-based, whole food diet has the ability to lower the risk of various types of illness and disease including cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, high blood pressure and degenerative brain disease. A well-planned vegan diet has less saturated fat and cholesterol and more vitamins C and E, dietary fiber, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, and phytochemicals such as carotenoids and flavonoids. As a result, vegan can be said a perfectly balanced healthy life.
Compared to meat-eaters, vegans weigh less, have lower cholesterol, blood pressure and rates of type 2 diabetes. They have a 30 per cent lower risk of heart disease and lower cancer rates. Most cases of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and a third of cancers can be avoided by changing to a healthier diet, increasing physical activity and stopping smoking.
But is vegan food always healthy?!
Marketers and advertisers have jumped on the bandwagon with the new trend and popularity of vegan cuisine. Vegan food may still be laden with white sugar, palm oil, additives, preservatives and poor quality ingredients. A vegan burger from a fast food chain may be a small step in the right direction, yet it is no substitute for real, fresh, wholesome food that nourishes and fuels your body.