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Is Veganism Healthy?

With so many touting the benefits of cutting animals from their meal plans, one has to ask "Is veganism healthy?"

By Miranda O'ConnerPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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Veganism has gone from a fringe, niche community to a mainstream diet trend, but, with so many touting the benefits of cutting animals from their meal plans, one has to ask "Is veganism healthy?"

Of course, there are benefits to eating greens. No one is denying that. But is there really a benefit to eliminating all animal-based foods? Human beings have canine teeth, after all. We evolved eating meat. Is it good to cut out meat entirely? Is it healthy?

Is veganism healthy, or is it a trend that has a lot of people risking their health?

B12

One of the immediate hazards of going vegan is the lack of vitamin B12 in the diet. B12 is a vitamin found primarily in meat. It helps keep the blood and nerve cells in your body nice and healthy. If you consume B12, then your cells can produce more DNA, and, thus, replicate. Any dead or necrotic cells get replaced immediately.

It helps keep you youthful.

So what happens if we cut out meat, the primary source of B12? Is veganism healthy if we aren't taking in any B12?

Symptoms of a B12 deficiency include incredible fatigue, depression, rapid weight loss, constipation, and, in extreme cases, your very body breaking down.

Now, you can use a B12 supplement to get your daily dosage of B12, but this begs the question: is it worth it? Is that enough?

Iron

Another thing you get primarily from meat is iron. Iron is necessary to keep your muscles and blood nice and healthy. While iron does exist in veggies, it is harder to absorb in the system. Most iron you consume from plants passes through your system.

But meat? Most iron that your body absorbs comes from meat. While a lot of vegans think they can compensate by eating high-iron veggies, they don't realize that their bodies won't take in said iron.

Most vegans require iron supplements in order to bring their iron count up. Without those supplements, those vegans would experience the effects of iron deficiency – more commonly referred to as anemia. Is veganism healthy if it makes you anemic?

Protein

This is a little easier to deal with, as many vegan friendly foods contain protein. Beans and rice offer a great deal of healthy protein for the hungry vegan.

But an immediate difficulty many vegans face is the lack of protein in their diet. Meat is a great source of protein. So you will need to get creative.

You can do that, though. That isn't impossible. Unlike the B12 and iron deficiencies, you also don't need to take supplements. You just have to be very, very conscious about what you consume.

Junk Food is Vegan

Is veganism healthy? If you take iron and B12 supplements and find alternative means to take in protein, is it healthy?

There is an odd believe that, somehow, that vegan food is inherently healthier for you. This is a strange mentality, since a lot of highly unhealthy foods are vegan.

For example, most junk foods don't require animal byproducts as ingredients. So potato chips? Vegan. Candy? Vegan.

The problem here is that, not only will you be missing out on a lot of vital vitamins, but now you're replacing those nutritional components with junk.

Too Much Soy

The other sad truth is that, by avoiding to consume any meats, vegans may consume too much of something else.

Take soy, for example. Soy is a staple of the vegan diet, with many foods incorporating it. Soy beans, soy sauce, tofu. Lots of soy.

But here's the rub: too much soy can actually harm you. A lot. Soy has a lot of sodium in it, and the high quantities of sodium in, say, a whole turkey made of tofu, could raise blood pressure and cause heart disease, as well as serious inflammation in the joints.

There are a ton of health risks to a vegan diet. But, then again, there are health risks involved with any change in diet. The trick is for you to ask yourself if you yourself will be healthier as a result of these lifestyle changes, or do the cons outweigh the perceived pros.

Is veganism healthy? Not inherently. It has all the potential to be as dangerous to your body as a diet of high meats. But can you stay healthy on a vegan diet? So long as you're careful, then yes.

healthyfact or fictionvegan
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About the Creator

Miranda O'Conner

Body positive blogger, freelance sculpture, self-proclaimed connoisseur of whiskey, and forever in search of a hamburger as delicious as the ones you see in food commercials. Wendy's just doesn’t cut it.

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