The Vegan Diet — A Complete Guide for Beginners

Becoming a vegan or following a vegan diet is  the best thing one can do for the welfare of the environment, animals and to yourself. Vegan diet is a pure plant source based diet, which excludes all animal products. Vegan diet has a lot of health benefits. Not only it helps in removing the waistline but also helps with controlling the blood pressure. 

Veganism is a way of life where we exclude animal exploitation and cruelty, for food, clothing and other means. In the vegan diet we even avoid dairy products such as milk, yogurt, butter  and other dairy products.Different people have different reasons for adopting a vegan diet.  Some of them are too conscious about ethics and environmental concerns while others seek to improve health. 

How to Begin

To begin with a vegan diet one needs to clear the mind and make up a mental stability about what you can eat and what you need to avoid. It needs a very slow and steady transition. It requires a lot of food which you need to discard from your diet which might be your favourite ones. So it's better to go step by step and week by week. Every week you need to work upon leaving one that particular food which you are fond of and which does not come into a vegan diet. Like eliminate eggs during your first week,  then gradually increase your level to red meat, fish and other poultry food items from your diet. 

As you have grown up eating dairy products, eggs, chicken or fish so it is not going to be that easy. It will require a lot of patience. After eliminating a lot of food varieties first you need to substitute them with vegan products. Then move on to processed vegan food as it tastes good. Lastly you will come up to that stage when you start having only homegrown  food which comes under the pure vegan category.  do a lot of research before having food in the initial days, try to have their alternative. With time you will become habitual of eating a vegan diet and you won't even have any sort of cravings.  

What and Not Vegans can Eat 

Vegans can eat anything which is plant based such as fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, spices, herbs, vegan beverages, frozen pizza, vegan ice cream and other sort of vegan junk foods. You can have tofu, beans, lentils, Avocado Sushi, carrot salman, algae soup, etc.  

Instead of having dairy products you can have goat milk, nut milk,cashew cheese,olive oil,  coconut cream and yeast.Instead of having eggs go for crumbled tofu, bananas, flax egg and  chickpeas flour. 

Vegans cannot eat fish, meat, dairy products, honey, eggs,etc. Apart from animal based products,you cannot eat processed food. You cannot use white flour, white sugar, soft drinks, alcohol,etc.

CAN:

CANNOT:

Vegan Protein

Since during the vegan diet we are letting go a lot of protein rich food. We need to concentrate on the intake of proteins from the food which we are having. Some of the protein rich vegan foods are Oats, Quinoa, Brown rice, Peanut butter, Broccoli, Blueberries, Pumpkin seeds, Beans, Beets, Potatoes, Zucchini, Cauliflower, Almonds, Pistachios and Flax seeds. 

Give Time to your body

When we make changes in our diet, our body starts reacting to it. We may also feel headache, fatigue, nausea and other symptoms during the initial days. Don't worry when such things happen these are bound to happen and are quite normal. Since your body is habitual about eating fish, meat and eggs, it is going to be difficult for your body system to also understand the kind of transformation you are trying to give. Don't be too harsh on your body. Have some patience and give your body some time to transit. Your body will get adjusted to this new diet. 

Types of Vegan Diets 

There are a lot of varieties and ways of following vegan diets. People choose their own set of food to go for as per their convenience. Here are 7 types of Vegan Diets which one can go for:

Vegan Weight Loss

Vegans have much more fit bodies than any non vegetarian. They are thinner and have a low Body Mass Index (BMI).There are a lot of people who even choose to switch to vegan diet for losing weight. Due to less calorie intake and no fats at all, it is easy to lose weight with the help of a vegan diet.Plant based diets are the safest and healthiest ways for weight loss. 

Vegan Diet & Other Diseases

Vegan Diet keeps your blood sugar and type 2 diabetes under control. Having a vegan diet lowers 78% risk of having diseases like Type 2 diabetes. Not only does it work well with diabetes and blood sugar but also improves heart health. It cuts down the cholesterol, LDL, blood sugar and other heart diseases from the body. 

It also aids diseases like cancer, arthritis, kidney issues and Alzheimer's.Thus, it is an ultimate diet which cures a lot of diseases, provides essential nutrients to the body and releases joint pains, stiffness and swelling from the body. 

Vegan Risks

If you are following a vegan diet, then it is necessary that you follow it rule by rule by taking into consideration all the nutrients which are essential for the body. Otherwise you will have to face a lot of deficiencies such as inadequate blood levels of vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega 3 fatty acids, zinc, iron, iodine and calcium. Do not take the risk of eating processed food during a vegan diet. It may counter attack your gut system. 

Vegan Supplements

There might be some people who may find it difficult to absorb all the nutrient rich food.So, there are some of the supplements which you should go for in order to dodge the deficiencies.

• Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 in cyanocobalamin form 
• Vitamin D: Opt for D2 or vegan D3.
• EPA and DHA: Sourced from algae oil.
• Iron: Should only be supplemented in the case of a documented deficiency. 
• Iodine: Take a supplement or add 1/2 teaspoon of iodized salt to your diet daily.
• Calcium: Calcium is best absorbed when taken in doses of 500 mg or less at a time. Taking calcium at the same time as iron or zinc supplements may reduce their absorption 
• Zinc: Take zinc gluconate or zinc citrate forms.

Vegan Meal Plan

Here is a sample of  Vegan Menu which you can follow:

Vegan Snacks

• Fresh fruit with a dollop of nut butter
• Hummus and vegetables
• Nutritional yeast sprinkled on popcorn
• Roasted chickpeas
• Nut and fruit bars
• Trail mix
• Chia pudding
• Homemade muffins
• Whole-wheat pita with salsa and guacamole
• Cereal with plant milk
• Whole-grain crackers and cashew nut spread
• A plant-milk latte or cappuccino
• Dried seaweed snacks

Vegan Tips

Give your body time to adjust. Prepare yourself mentally. Don’t be harsh on yourself. Have patience.

Go with the transition. It will take 30 days to get into the mode.

Keep your meals simple but diversified. Eat food which is a rich source of vitamins.

Always go for Vegan Supplements and Substitutes. It will keep up the pace.

Don't rush or panic if your body starts showing some signs. Embrace the changes.

Have healthy snacks which are low in calories.

Inculcate reading habits. Read food books, articles and blogs to know more about vegan options and try to improve yourself.

Accept your mistakes and rectify them. 

Try having Fortified foods that have nutrients added to them that don't naturally occur in the food. These foods are meant to improve nutrition and add health benefits. For example, milk is often fortified with vitamin D, and calcium may be added to fruit juices.

Final Thoughts

Take care of your health, environment, ethics, surroundings and animal foods. Vegan Diet is easy to follow, just some control over your cravings is necessary. Be calm and just flow with the flair of  nutritious diet.

Eat healthy and stay fit.