Healthy vs Unhealthy Vegans

Are you considering veganism? Or have you already made the choice to remove meats and dairy from your life? Or maybe you are not ready to 100% commit but ready to incorporate more vegan options in your diet. If you answered yes to any of these, the following is a must read!

Why are millions of people turning towards a vegan diet? There are several reasons:

• They want to have a healthy body and brain,
• They want to help animals,
• And/Or they desire to save the planet.

The most popular reason for converting to veganism is a desire to live/maintain a healthy life. I became vegan because I wanted to be healthy and look sexy 😉 . Well, who doesn’t want that? Everyone! Right?

But wait, before you assume that by simply adopting a vegan diet, you’ll become healthier and achieve your goal weight (as we assume a vegan diet is supposed to do), let me twist your brain and inform you that a lot of people gained weight once they switched to the vegan diet.

You might be wondering how is this even possible, right? If a person isn’t eating meat or cheese, how can they become unhealthy?

Well, this is possible if your vegan diet turns into an unhealthy vegan diet!

What is a healthy vegan diet, and what’s an unhealthy vegan diet?

Do you want to know about it? If yes, keep reading. I’m about to explain the difference.

Difference Between a Healthy and Unhealthy Vegan

A vegan diet is super healthy since it contains fruits, nuts, and vegetables. So without a doubt, if you are vegan and don’t eat meats and dairy you are healthy. If this is your assumption, you’re wrong!

Many vegans are eating vegan products that are processed and contain huge amounts of salt and sugar. If you eat more of these product and less healthy grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables you’re probably a unhealthy or a junk food vegan.

What Is an Unhealthy, Junk Food Vegan?

An unhealthy vegan is a person who mostly consumes processed foods, almost every day! And that is why they start gaining weight even after being on a vegan diet.

Ideally, when you’re on a vegan diet, your diet should contain vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes and beans, healthy fats, fermented food, super-foods, and grains. This is what makes you a healthy vegan.

But what most vegans do is, turn towards highly processed foods. They think that as long as they are eating meat-free food, they are still on the “healthy” road. But regularly consuming highly processed food, wipe out the benefits of meat-free eating, and that makes you a unhealthy vegan.

In other words, you can be vegan and still have an unhealthy diet.

Do you want to save yourself from being an unhealthy vegan? Easy. Stop consuming unhealthy foods.

Below are examples of junk vegan food that you must avoid in order to be a healthy vegan.● Frozen Fake Meats

• Frozen meals
• Vegan desserts (ice creams, cookies, cakes)
• Coconut yogurt
• Vegan Protein Bars
• Sweetened Dairy-Free Milk

Another thing that makes you an unhealthy vegan is you’re not meeting the requirements of enough nutrients your body needs.

But don’t worry, there is a solution to everything. To meet the daily nutrient requirements, many vegans take supplements and fortified foods.

Supplements & Fortified Foods You Need On A Vegan Diet

Dietary supplements:

They include vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other botanicals. If you’re following a vegan diet, then you might be short on some nutrients. Certain supplements will supply you with nutrients your body desires.

Supplements are available in various forms. Such as capsules, tablets, powders, drinks, and energy bars.

The most common supplements for vegans are listed below.

1. Vitamin B-12

It’s a important supplement, particularly for vegans. Most vegans face a huge deficiency of vitamin B-12. It’s adversely affects your physical and mental health.

2. Vitamin D

A lot of vegans also face the deficiency of Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps by enhancing the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the body. Consider taking Vitamin D supplements to maintain a well balanced healthy body.

Some other important supplements you may need on a vegan diet are calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Fortified Foods:

Fortified foods are those that have minerals and nutrients added to them that were not naturally in the food.

If I had to choose the better between supplements and fortified foods, I’d rather pick them both. If my arm is being twisted to choose, I’d pick fortified foods.

Supplements contain only a single nutrient, whereas fortified foods are normally filled with multiple nutrients.

Here are some common fortified food options:

• Whole Grain Bread
• Almond and Rice Milk
• Probiotic Granolas
• High-Quality Salt

The Bottom Line

The gist of the discussion is that being on a vegetarian diet is definitely good for the health. But only if it’s a healthy vegan diet instead of an unhealthy vegan.

Remember that eating an unhealthy vegetarian diet can be riskier than eating a well-balanced diet that includes meat and dairy.

Therefore, always try to eat fresh, whole foods. And don’t overeat processed foods. That’s the way to be a healthy vegan!

As Healthy Feels

July 28, 2021Healthy Eating, Vegan and Vegetarianism