Vegan diet

A vegan diet is stricter than a vegetarian diet, cutting out all products from animal sources. It's tough to follow and can carry health risks. Here's our info and advice for vegans and for anyone considering a vegan diet.

What is a vegan diet?

Veganism is an extreme form of vegetarianism. It involves not eating not ony foods that come from animal flesh (meat, fish and seafood), but also any products from animal sources, which include dairy, eggs, butter and honey.
Vegans may choose to eat a strict non-animal diet for various reasons: to get a more natural diet, help protect the environment, respect animal rights, promote sustainable consumption or stick to religious principles.
Vegans eat fruit and vegetables, pulses (split peas, broad beans, kidney beans etc), soy, grains and cereals (rice,  millet, corn, wheat etc), nuts, seeds and anything else that doesn't come from animal sources (otherwise, mainly special types of milk and plant oils). A lot of imagination is required of vegans if they are to get a balanced, varied diet, and the vegan diet is sometimes not the most sociable of diets in terms of eating out or being invited round to eat. 

 

Because vegan diets don't include any animal produce, they can lead to severe deficiencies in protein, essential amino acids, Vitamin B12, iron and Omega 3 fatty acids; plus, cutting out dairy products can cause severe calcium and Vitamin D deficiencies.
However, vegan diets are lower in saturated fat (the bad type of fat you find in meat, cheese and butter, for example) than a traditional diet. Because of this, it can help prevent followers from becoming overweight, suffering from high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. A vegan diet is high in fibre, filling and good for intestinal transit. 

 

Vegan diets are very restrictive, can be dangerous and followers should keep a careful eye on their nutrition. Vegan diets are strictly not recommended for children, adolescents, pregnant women and breastfeeding women. 

To avoid deficiencies that could damage the body, it's essential to eat to compensate for lack of the following: 

- Protein. Protein from plants is incomplete, so it's vital to eat cereals/grains and pulses at every meal to get all the essential amino acids the body needs.

-  Vitamin B12. This vitamin, which is vital for red blood cells, isn't found in any plant produce, so it's vital to get plenty of good sources of B12 from foods that contain lots of it (yeast and soya or rice drinks) or even take supplements.

- Iron. The iron you get from pulses, tofu and whole grains and cereals is less well absorbed by the body than iron from animal sources, so vegans need plenty of Vitamin C (which aids the absorption of iron) and limit their intake of tea, which has the opposite effect.

- Vitamin D. Vegans should get plenty of foods containing lots of this essential vitamin (it is found in mushrooms and added to some cereals, yoghurts and other foods) or take supplements to avoid deficiencies.

- Calcium. In the absence of dairy produce, vegans should drink vegetable drinks (almond and soy milk, for example) which contain lots of calcium, drink high-calcium mineral water and get plenty of high-calcium fruit and veg (cabbage, broccoli and citrus fruit).

- Omega 3. Plant oils and nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds, for example) should compensate for the absence of oily fish in a vegan diet, as long as they're eaten regularly.