The Top 5 Benefits of a Vegan Diet

With more awareness about our environment out there today than ever before, people are focusing on living green lifestyles like it’s going out of business. Choosing a vegan diet is a great way for anyone to reduce their footprint on earth. Others end up in the vegan fold in different ways, usually trying to eat a balanced, healthy diet. Whether you choose to eat a vegetarian diet because of animal rights, environmental issues, spirituality or health, the benefits of a vegan diet are amazing. Below are five benefits you should expect when switching to this kind of diet.

1. Decreased Sugar Levels

One of the major benefits of a vegan diet is the decrease in your blood sugar level. This will decrease your likelihood of developing diabetes and other conditions. It is always important to consult with a doctor before you make any changes in your diet though, especially if you already have one of these conditions. The doctor knows your health history and will give you direction for the vegan diet that is best for you.

2. Losing Weight

Another benefit of a vegan diet is weight loss. This is mostly due to an increase in fruits and vegetables and decrease in dairy and protein. Fruits and vegetables will make you feel satisfied, but you’ll also be consuming fewer calories. It’s important to note that dieting alone won’t provide the weight loss you want. Exercise should be included with any diet. Fortunately, you won’t have to worry about feeling worn out and tired during the day, because the fruits and vegetables will give you all the carbohydrates you need. Carbohydrates give us the fuel our body needs so that we have an extra burst of energy for exercising.

3. Preventing Heart Disease

Another major benefit of the vegan diet is that it helps prevent heart disease. Vegan diets cut out saturated fats and cholesterol that you’d normally get from animal products. This will lower your risk for heart disease. Those who suffer from high blood pressure also benefit from a vegan diet because without the additional fat and cholesterol, the arteries will be less likely to get blocked, allowing for an easier flow of blood through your body.

4. Animal Rights

Some people have a strong belief in the right of animals to live on this earth freely and without interference from humans. Even though consuming eggs and dairy products does not involve killing an animal, some people believe that keeping animals in captivity to get these products is unfair, Farming is not the same today as it was years ago. Modern farms are mechanized, and many animals are given chemical products that help them produce more. The philosophy of the vegan is that animals are not ours to use and take advantage of, and we shouldn’t eat any food resulting from interfering with them.

5. Helping the Environment

According to many vegans, livestock farming has a harmful effect on the planet. Animal feed production requires a lot of water, land, fertilizer and other natural resources that could be better used to feed humans. Livestock farms, in the quest for higher yields, are accelerating the erosion of topsoil which is lowering its cultivation for crops. A large part of the pollution in rivers and groundwater comes from the leftover animal waste from factory farms and large feedlots. Eating a vegan type ensures that you don’t contribute to these looming problems in any way, as decreasing the demand for these products will inevitably decrease the supply.

Joseph Rodriguez writes about education, public health, nutrition and activism. His recent work is about the Top Online Masters in Public Health Degrees.