Is A Vegan Diet More Healthy?

Is a vegan diet more healthy? This is a conversation I’ve been having with many of my patients through January. With so many of them doing Veganuary it felt right to write a little about it. Many of you are ‘going vegan’ for the health benefits and some for maybe more ethical reasons.

So is a vegan diet actually a physically healthier way of eating?

I followed a vegan diet for a year and a half. Initially it was more for a detox and to help balance my own hormones. I have to say that initially it really made a positive impact to my gut function (you go a lot more regular!), skin, hair and energy. However I went out of my way to ensure that my diet was balanced with a wide range of fruit and vegetables as well as taking a good vitamin B complex (important for good nerve and brain function). What I found after the first year was that I started to get a bit more adventurous. I started to introduce more ‘meat alternatives’ or ‘fake meats’ and I attended many of the vegan fairs and festivals and boy did they love their ‘raw desserts’ and so did I! After a while, I started to gain weight (sugar happens to be vegan and there was a lot of coconut oil involved!). I stopped feeling so energised and resorted to more carbs as they were quick and easy to find in short lunch breaks. Trying to be vegan started to feel like a lot of hard work and as a foodie I started to feel like I was missing out and with me introducing all these other processed fake meats, I stopped feeling much of the health benefits.

I decided that rather then eliminating anything completely, or try any other diet approaches I would do what seemed to work well in the past. A regular, old fashion, healthy and balanced lifestyle and diet. Currently I make sure to eat mainly plant based and still have meat once or twice a week.

I have reduced processed sugars massively and stick instead to fruit, honey or natural sweeteners and make sure I still keep these low as one thing that everyone agrees with is: ‘TOO MUCH SUGAR IS BAD!’

Life felt easier…

I took away the pressure I put on myself to follow particular diets. I let go of the guilt and judgement on myself for eating ‘things I shouldn’t’. I stopped beating myself up and taking the fun out of one of my favourite activity…’eating!’’. Instead I now fully embrace my balanced diet lifestyle. I don’t feel like I’m ‘missing out’ on anything which is important to me as a foodie and the whole eating process feels more less stressful (very important for the digestive system!). It’s made eating more enjoyable and taken away the unnecessary stress I was putting on myself and I find it feels easier to eat healthy when I ‘allow myself’ occasional guilt free treats.

It’s all about ‘BALANCE’

The first thing I would like to stress is that just because food has ‘VEGAN’ written on it, it DOESN’T automatically mean its healthy!

My opinion is that it’s not about being vegan, vegetarian or any particular diet. Vegan can be just as unhealthy as non-vegan if not done in a balanced way.

Here are a few tips on how to follow a ‘balanced’ vegan diet…

1. Aim for at least half your plate of food to be vegetables. The bulk of your diet should consist of vegetables and fruit. If your vegan diet consists mainly of bread, pasta potatoes and not many vegetables (yes, I have spoken with patients who are vegan with very little vegetable in their diets!), then you’re kinda missing the health benefits of it.
2. Check the ingredients: If it’s trying to be something its not (eg: fake meat and cheese) then PLEASE check the content of the food! Check the sugar, salt and preservatives in it.
3. Avoid processed foods: The further something is from it’s natural state, the more processed something is, the harder it is for your body to break down. So same thing applies to vegans and non-vegans!
4. Do your research: There are many weird and sometimes seemingly wonderful meat and dairy alternatives. Again, if you aren’t sure what it’s made of, then please do some research first. Please resist the ‘It’s vegan, it must be ok.’ approach. For example, if you are gluten intolerant, I wouldn’t recommend you go and eat a load of Seitan based substitutes.
5. Remember that fruit is still sugar: Just because a cake is vegan and sweetened naturally with 20 dates doesn’t mean that it’s ‘healthy’. It’s still cake and full of sugar so be mindful and resist the…’It’s natural and fruit so I can eat lots more’, approach (yes, we have all been there!).
6. Eat more vitamin B rich foods e.g: kale, dark green leafy veg, brown rice into your diet or a Vitamin B12 supplement: Vitamin B12 deficiency is more common in vegetarians and vegans as is found mainly in animal based produce.

Every body is different. For some, the pressure of cutting out whole food groups indefinitely puts unnecessary pressure. Where as saying ‘I won’t have it now, but that may change.’ has helped me keep to a healthier way of eating without creating any negative emotions to it also. The way I eat is mainly vegan but not completely and this is what works for me on many levels. Make sure what you choose to do works for you physically and also emotionally.

The basic facts that will guarantee to make your eating ‘healthier’ whatever lifestyle you choose to follow…

• Drink lots of water: Recommended amount is 2 litres a day (6-8 glasses a day).
• Eat a large variety of vegetables and some fruit: 5 a day mainly vegetables should be an absolute minimum!
• Reduce or eliminate processed sugars: Reduce or eliminate processed foods.
• Reduce or eliminate stimulants: For example alcohol, caffeine and sugar.
• Choose Organic where possible: This is important for fruit and veg AND if you are eating meat it also applies there!

A few other tips I have found help me eat healthier…

• Replace foods: Rather then ‘cutting out’ foods try ‘replacing’ them with healthier options and keep them on standby. Don’t wait till you are hungry to do this! For example, if you are cutting out bread. What healthy alternative will you replace it with?
• Meal prep is key!: Prep meals and snacks for the week. It will work out cheaper in the long run and even frees up some time.
• Reduce snacking: It takes about 6-8 hours for food to pass through your digestive system! If you are constantly snacking the digestive system is constantly working and doesn’t get a rest. This also means a lot of the bodies energy is directed here rather then doing other things that may need doing like healing the body, reducing inflammation or recovering from a cold or illness.
• Be realistic with the changes you make: This will help keep you feeling motivated and encouraged and more likely to keep doing this.

I hope these methods inspire you with your eating habits! Please take care of you. Remember to be sensible, realistic and set yourself up to win. I like to keep it simple. Eat healthy and balanced and remember, positive small, permanent changes will have much better results then extreme short term changes. If you would like more support with the way your are eating, please contact me as I have a great network of qualified and very brilliant nutritionists I can refer you to who can help you understand what works best for your body.