Overview
Whether it’s for health reasons or an ethical choice, deciding to switch to a vegan diet can be empowering. For some, giving up all animal products is no easy feat. However, a vegan diet can be fantastic for your health, the planet, and animal welfare.
The key to success is gradually adopting a delicious and satisfying vegan diet plan that works for you. Eating a variety of colorful fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds is the healthiest diet on the planet! When you eat only a plant-based vegan diet, just be aware there are a few vitamins and minerals you need to get in supplements.
Transition to a plant-based diet slowly to ensure that you can stick to it and to minimize the “healing crisis” as your body adjusts. Read on to learn the benefits of a vegan diet, what you should and should not eat, and how to handle the shift.
Foods to Eat
You can find plenty of satisfying vegan foods, whether vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, or fermented foods.
Vegetables
No surprise here! Veggies are a staple in a vegan diet. Make vegetables the cornerstone of your vegan diet; they are nutritional powerhouses. Make it a challenge to include multiple colors in your vegetable selection! This ensures you are getting an array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients.
Include leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, chard, and collards. These are some of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. When it comes to vegetables, you can’t go wrong. Use this newfound eating style as an opportunity to try out recipes with vegetables you’ve never had before, such as Jerusalem artichokes, kohlrabi, or jicama. Explore the produce section, and enjoy these newfound delights.
Fruits
Fruit offers a great choice to satisfy your sweet tooth on a vegan diet while reaping the benefits of vital nutrients. Berries are great low-sugar, high-nutrient options. Many fruits are great sources of vitamin C and dietary fiber. They can also provide nutrients many people don’t get enough of, such as potassium and folate. As with vegetables, here you can explore new options, from jackfruit to cherimoya! Try making fruit smoothies or juicing for nutrient-packed and satisfying drinks.
Beans & Legumes
Plant-based proteins are not hard to find. Beans, peas, and other legumes are wonderful sources of protein that provide an abundance of fiber and nutrients such as folate, iron, and calcium. Avoid soybeans, as most are GMO and can affect hormone levels in your body. Other than that, you can make most beans and legumes a part of your diet — lentils, peas, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans, chickpeas, and more. You can find excellent plant-based protein powders, many of which use legumes and gluten-free grains.
Gluten-Free Grains
Whole, gluten-free grains pack more fiber and nutrients compared to refined grains such as white bread and white rice, which have had the bran and germ removed during processing. Gluten is a protein that many people are intolerant of. This substance disrupts digestion in many people, even those who do not have a wheat or gluten allergy. You can avoid this allergen by incorporating gluten-free foods in your vegan diet. Try these excellent, nutritious grains: brown rice, oats, quinoa, millet, as well as ancient grains like farro and amaranth.
Nuts & Seeds
Go for protein-rich almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and sunflower seeds. Try out the many delicious foods made with seeds and nuts, such as nut butter, nut milk, hummus (from chickpeas) or tahini (ground sesame seeds). Brazil nuts are high in selenium, a trace mineral that may be lacking in a vegan diet. Eat nuts in moderation if you are watching your weight, and avoid salted and candied nuts. Raw and sprouted nuts and seeds are a great option.
Foods to Avoid
Gradually cut the following foods out of your diet to give your body and taste buds time to adjust to eating only plant-based foods.
Red Meat
Make red meat the first thing to remove when shifting to a vegan diet — that includes both pork and beef. Red meat is high in total and saturated fat and cholesterol, which are not heart-healthy options, anyway. Eating red meat comes with many health risks: higher rates of mortality, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, and Type 2 diabetes.
Poultry
White meat such as chicken, turkey, and other poultry is often the second category of food to go as you gradually adopt a vegan diet. Although white meat contains less fat and cholesterol than red meat, it is still a source of saturated fat, even without the skin. You will experience better health outcomes if you eat a completely meat-free diet. Like we said, however, go slow. If you want to see success with this new lifestyle, don’t pressure yourself by feeling you have to do it perfectly. Cut back, find alternatives, and make a gradual transition plan.
Fish & Seafood
Fish and other seafood products come from animals, too, so a vegan diet will omit them. This includes fish and shellfish — lobster, crayfish, scallops, shrimp, oysters, and other shellfish. Many seafood items contain at least trace amounts of mercury. Mercury is one of the most toxic elements to human health.
Eggs & Dairy
After you’ve eliminated meat, eggs and dairy usually go next. Many vegans have ethical objections to the factory farming model, which focuses on profit and efficiency at the expense of animal welfare — or human health for that matter. Vegans can choose from alternative milks — such as almond milk, rice milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, and oat milk, many of which are easy to make at home. You can also make homemade vegan cheese, such as that made with cashews. Try using “flax eggs” as a substitute in recipes — see the quick tips above. When you cut out dairy, add in more calcium-rich foods, like dark leafy greens, beans, and sesame seeds.
Honey & Sugar
Most vegans forgo honey since it is an animal product, made by bees. But did you know that vegans also should avoid sugar? Refined (white) sugar uses bone char in the refining process. If you do use sugar, make sure it’s organic sugar and it won’t use the animal products in manufacturing. Although technically vegan, avoid artificial sweeteners, as they are not healthy. Maple syrup is a popular vegan alternative; make sure it does not contain added sweeteners. Stevia leaf is a nearly no-calorie sweetener derived from a plant, and monk fruit is another healthy, vegan sweetener.
Gelatin
Gelatin is an animal product made by boiling an animal’s skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones in water. It is an ingredient in many foods, including marshmallows, candies, cakes, ice cream, fruit gelatins, and puddings. Avoid it. A vegan alternative is called agar agar, made from seaweed, works well as a replacement.
Deep-Fried Foods
Though technically a vegan could eat French fries or other deep-fried vegetables, avoid fast food varieties as many are cooked in animal fat. Fried foods generally are not healthy for your heart or body.
Animal-Derived Ingredients
Many foods, cosmetics, and other products either contain animal-derived ingredients or use them in the production process. The milk protein casein, for example, may appear in ingredient lists for “non-dairy” creamers. Even organic wines often use animal products in the filtering process (vegan wines do exist, however). While not comprehensive, the list below includes some of the most common animal-derived ingredients you might see:
L cysteine, Whey, Confectioners glaze, Casein, Carmine or cochineal, Shellac, Vitamin D3 from animal products (use lichen-derived options instead), Vegetables coated in wax, Animal-based glycerol, Isinglass, Lactic acid, Lecithin, Rennet
Benefits
Vegetarian and vegan diets allow you to live your healthiest life, supporting heart health, and even helping you live longer! Below are some of the top benefits of going vegan.
Assists with Weight Loss
Vegetarians and vegans are less likely to be overweight and obese than non-vegetarians. Vegans tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI). If you want to lose weight healthily, go vegan! When comparing a vegan diet with a less restrictive low-fat diet, people who followed the vegan diet experienced significantly more weight loss over one or two years. One reason may be that a classic vegan diet has the lowest energy intake (calories) of other vegetarian and non-vegetarian ways of eating.
