The Vegan diet. All vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. No meat or any meat by-products. What does it really mean to say, “I’m vegan,” and what does it really represent? I, for one, support the Vegan Diet. And I believe it’s more than just a diet, it’s a lifestyle.

Do Vegan People Live Longer?

It was found out that people who practised the Vegan Diet lived healthier and longer compared to people who ate meat.

“People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease. People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest.”

Vegan vs Lacto vs Ovo vs Lacto-Ovo

When you say that you’re a vegetarian, people assume that you don’t eat meat and that’s it. But have they ever thought about eggs? That isn’t really meat like beef or chicken meat, but a by-product of animals that have meat. Or how about milk? It still comes from animals, so if you’re a vegetarian, can you drink milk?

There are several kinds of vegetarian diets. The vegan diet, the lacto-vegetarian, the ovo-vegetarian and the lacto-ovo-vegetarian.

Here is a comparison of the three and other diets:

Make Sure to Get Complete Proteins

One of the downside to having a Vegan Diet is that you have to make an effort to get complete proteins. Complete proteins simply mean that they have all the amino acids needed for a healthy diet.

This does not mean plant-based food don’t have proteins. They do, but the proteins are incomplete. So in order for you to get all the amino acids, you would need to combine them with a grain or beans.

Here are examples of plant-based protein sources:

And in case you’re also wondering where to get iron, as you can’t eat liver and other animal meat, here are plant-based iron sources:

Why go Vegan?

Aside from having a decreased risk for a lot of diseases such as heart diseases, cancer, obesity, etc., vegan diet followers also tend to avoid drinking booze, coffee, and smoking. These great lifestyle changes are what makes the vegans live longer and healthier.

It may seem like a daunting task, saying goodbye to all dairy products, meat, cheese, milk, and so much more of the food that we enjoyed eating, but the rewards are greater.

Will You Lose Weight?

It depends on a lot of factors. First of all, not all plant-based food have low calories, fruits especially. And since you still munch on carbohydrates, you may need to be aware of how many you should consume. And regular physical activity is also important.

Here is a rough guide on what vegans eat and how much of these do they eat. If you think you can do it, try the vegan lifestyle!

Watch as Oprah and her TV show staff challenged themselves to a one week Vegan diet. A little warning though, this video also contains the process of meat production, and if you’re an animal lover like me, you may want to skip these parts.