Simple answer: Yes, but that’s not all.
How is veganism for you?
1) If you like meat, cheese, milk and creams, veganism is for you. Seriously. Vegan products are getting better by the day. 2019 will be the year to try out all of the incredible vegan alternatives that replicate your nostalgic favourites. No longer is the word ‘vegan’ a hippy dippy word meaning your fridge is filled with powdered soy milk and cardboard-y tofu. Now ‘vegan’ is becoming the norm, sprinkled on restaurant menus, in clothing stores and all across the grocery shelves.
2) If you like the idea of living as many years on this planet as possible, not only to just get through those days, but to thrive and maybe even be able to hike your favourite mountain until the day you die, veganism is for you. There are incredible studies done on the plant-based diet’s affect on longevity (check out the Blue Zones), and actually extending your telomeres (the strands off of your DNA). Eating whole food, plant based is where it’s at for life extension, along with exercise, de-stressing techniques, socializing you love, and connecting with nature on the regular.
3) If you want to help prevent diabetes, heart disease, cancer… veganism is for you. Eating this way provides you with fibre, micronutrients, antioxidants, water content, and spares you from cholesterol, saturated fat, animal protein, IGF-1 growth hormone, other hormones, and potentially antibiotics. In other words, for each plant calorie, you will get a vast amount of nutrition to power that beautiful body and ward of sickness. If you’re already sick, eating a whole food, plant based version of the vegan diet (minimizing processed vegan foods), with little oil, could be your ticket to the healthy self you once were.
4) If you’re fed up with your skin issues, veganism is for you. You are what you eat! Without consuming animal products packed with excess protein, and saturated fat, your body won’t have as much ‘glug’ to work on digesting. Excess work for the body, means excess back-up and clogging, leading to issues on the outside. Because of the micronutrients, high water content, and antioxidants in plants, acne, eczema, rosacea, wrinkles and other skin issues, can be fixed up.
5) If your body has a few Holiday pounds to shed, and keep them off for good (even through the next holiday)…veganism is for you. Because the nutrient to calorie ratio of plant foods is incredible in comparison to animal foods, the vegan diet is perfect for weight loss, and weight maintenance (as long as you don’t centre your diet around oreos, chips and processed vegan meats/cheeses). Plants have more fibre, therefore they take up more space in your stomach, helping you feel full before you have the chance to over eat. Plus, those few calories pack a crazy nutrition punch! Keep it to whole plant foods 80% of the time, then have some fun exploring the vegan product realm the rest of the time. You’ll be amazed at how much you can eat, yet still lose weight, or keep your weight at where it’s supposed to be! Plus, if you’re an athlete, the plant based diet can help you thrive, recover more quickly and reduce inflammation all over your body to become the best athlete you’ve ever been!
Yes, veganism is becoming so popular because of the incredible benefits people are experiencing from the lifestyle, but no, it isn’t justfor you.
It is connected to an even bigger motivation and reasoning, and the reason why vegans don’t see it as a diet, but more a way of living.
Veganism is the simplest, quickest, and most impactful way to help the environment. Choosing to put our dollars into plant foods instead of animal products is a stronger vote than you can ever imagine. One person going vegan for just one year, would result in reducing the temperature of the earth by reducing the Co2 production by 7300 lbs, saving 400,000 gallons of water, re-flourishing our ocean dead zones with life, saving 11000 sq. feet of rainforests, encouraging more variety in our ecosystems, plus allowing 14600 lbs of grain to be fed to the hungry (instead of farm animals).
So yes, veganism is for you, veganism is for the environment, and of course, veganism is for the 70 billion animals slaughtered each year (just to please taste buds). These animals are as deserving of a long, happy, comfortable life just as much as us, and choosing plants over animals saves an animal a day at least.
The good news is that any nutrient in animal products that we need, is easily available in the plant kingdom.
The Guardian is calling 2019 the year of veganism, and for so many good reasons.
The momentum behind the vegan lifestyle is building like a tsunami.
Come join to ride the big wave!
If you don’t know where to start, you can start at www.MostlyPlants.com to take the easy to digest 28 day program with 1 on 1 coaching, a supportive community chat, a daily video lesson with Julia, plus tons of recipes.
Julia Murray, aka @hookedonplants
Olympian, Certified plant-based chef, registered holistic nutritionist, raw food chef, blogger and recipe creator at www.hookedonplants.ca
She makes cereal too: @julesfuelyum
Try Julia’s new 28-Day program at www.mostlyplants.com