Is a Vegan Diet Healthy?
The controversy rages with meat eaters pointing fingers at vegans who are frail, immune deficient, and/or have eating disorders and the vegans pointing to the obese, heart disease prone meat eaters.
The truth is simple. Any healthy diet is a matter of getting a good balance of nutrients. Meat eaters often don't understand the vegan protein. Most vegetable protein is not complete protein, meaning that one source doesn't supply all 11 of the amino acids the body needs to produce protein. With the exception of quinoa, legumes and whole grains usually have to be combined in a meal in order to supply all the necessary amino acids. You see recipes for beans and rice, beans and cornbread, and many one skillet meals combine some type of legume with corn or rice or other whole grain plus a variety of vegetables. These can be bland, dull tasteless meals or they can be spiced up with a large variety of vegetables, herbs and spices to produce not only a very tasty meal but a healthy well balanced one as well.
Some people try vegan eating for reasons of their own and see an immediate improvement in health. They may find that old digestion problems have vanished, or if they were overweight or underweight they find their weight leveling out. Others become dull and listless after less than a week on a vegan diet.
There are at least two reasons for the different results. One being that the second group didn't understand the vegan protein and how to combine foods for optimum nutrition. They may have even eliminated some essential carbs and fats, thinking all carbs and fats were bad. Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), found in such foods as avocado, olive oil and nuts, is necessary for our bodies to produce energy and unless there's an over-abundance of it in our system it isn't stored as fat like the longer chain fatty acids. The complex carbohydrates found in whole grains are also necessary to sustain energy throughout the day. Another reason the second group didn't do well could be that their bodies couldn't utilize the vegetable protein even if it was supplied as it should have been. Another option here would be to slowly wean ones self from meat, allowing the body to "learn" how to effectively utilize vegan protein.
At any rate a vegan diet isn't for everybody, nor is an omnivore diet. If you feel that your really need to be on a vegan diet for whatever reason, but haven't been able to sustain optimum health, consult with a nutritional therapist. They are equipped to take your body into consideration and map out a diet specifically for you.
The truth is simple. Any healthy diet is a matter of getting a good balance of nutrients. Meat eaters often don't understand the vegan protein. Most vegetable protein is not complete protein, meaning that one source doesn't supply all 11 of the amino acids the body needs to produce protein. With the exception of quinoa, legumes and whole grains usually have to be combined in a meal in order to supply all the necessary amino acids. You see recipes for beans and rice, beans and cornbread, and many one skillet meals combine some type of legume with corn or rice or other whole grain plus a variety of vegetables. These can be bland, dull tasteless meals or they can be spiced up with a large variety of vegetables, herbs and spices to produce not only a very tasty meal but a healthy well balanced one as well.
Some people try vegan eating for reasons of their own and see an immediate improvement in health. They may find that old digestion problems have vanished, or if they were overweight or underweight they find their weight leveling out. Others become dull and listless after less than a week on a vegan diet.
There are at least two reasons for the different results. One being that the second group didn't understand the vegan protein and how to combine foods for optimum nutrition. They may have even eliminated some essential carbs and fats, thinking all carbs and fats were bad. Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), found in such foods as avocado, olive oil and nuts, is necessary for our bodies to produce energy and unless there's an over-abundance of it in our system it isn't stored as fat like the longer chain fatty acids. The complex carbohydrates found in whole grains are also necessary to sustain energy throughout the day. Another reason the second group didn't do well could be that their bodies couldn't utilize the vegetable protein even if it was supplied as it should have been. Another option here would be to slowly wean ones self from meat, allowing the body to "learn" how to effectively utilize vegan protein.
At any rate a vegan diet isn't for everybody, nor is an omnivore diet. If you feel that your really need to be on a vegan diet for whatever reason, but haven't been able to sustain optimum health, consult with a nutritional therapist. They are equipped to take your body into consideration and map out a diet specifically for you.
