The Benefits of a Vegan Diet

Lettuce Explain Why You Might Benefit From Dropping The Beef:

If there’s a new “diet” going around lately it probably is either Vegan, or Vegetarian. With almost 7.3 million people being vegetarian (.5 of that percent being vegan), it would first be good to understand what those terms mean before deciding if this is a lifestyle you should embark on.

Vegetarian: a person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other animal products.

Vegan: a person who does not eat or use animal products.

It should also be noted that there are subcategories of vegetarians too:

• Lacto- consume dairy products

• Ovo- no dairy products but yes to egg products

• Lacto-ovo- both dairy and egg products

• Pollotarian- eats poultry

• Pescatarian- eats fish

The most common thing to note though is that regardless of what subcategory you might fall under red meat is not an item on the menu. With red meat being a staple in many diets, it should be understood that there are in fact benefits to losing the beef.

Benefits to being Vegan or Vegetarian:

• Can help with cardiovascular disease prevention

• Reduce chances of type 2 diabetes

• Consume less saturated fat

• Lowers cholesterol and blood pressure

• Helps regulate weight gain

Now before jumping on board the common deficiencies from these diets include:

• Vitamin K and D

• Iron

• Protein

• B-12

• Calcium

Supplements suggested ensuring well-balanced micronutrients:

• Multivitamin

• Fish oil

• Protein powder if not getting an adequate amount from foods such as quinoa, nuts, beans

• B-12 supplement

• Vitamin D if not being exposed to enough sunlight

While there is no right or wrong diet the real question becomes, “What can you maintain doing?” A “diet” really should be a lifestyle choice that doesn’t stress you out more. So before you go ditching all the meat you consume, I would suggest doing your research and analyzing what foods you absolutely cannot live without.

From there, if you’re ready to moo-ve the beef on out here are a few sources of foods you can easily add in:

• Quinoa

• Lentils

• Beans

• Tofu

• Jicama

• Greek yogurt

• Nuts

• Flax seed

• Nori

• Fruits / veggies

• Hummus

• Almond / cashew milk

At the end of the day, you know your body. If it makes you feel good, and you’re getting the nutrients you need / seeing results then keep it up. However, don’t force yourself to try one of these just because it is popular right now. My last tip is give yourself time to adjust as well, trying it for a week then quitting will not benefit your body.

Let me know if you need any assistance on a VEGAN or VEGETARIAN diet and I'll help you out! Get a custom macro plan HERE

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Xo,

Leah Peters

Leahpetersfitness.com