Just curious

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bootyrubsandtacos
bootyrubsandtacos Posts: 775 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Other then ethical reasons and having an aversion to animal products is there any real benefits to eating vegan? Like will it magically cure my depression and give me flawless skin? lol. I watch a lot of those “what I eat in a day” videos on YT and most of them are vegan. I’m just trying to understand the hype.

Replies

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I think plans like Ornish's, with very minimal grains and sugars, can be good for you and are associated with lower risks of CAD and some cancers.

    For the rest, I know of no health benefits for the typical person.
  • fitforeternity493
    fitforeternity493 Posts: 37 Member
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    I’m not sure about the vegan hype either.. But I can say from experience that there are benefits to eating a mostly plant based diet and cutting back on the animal products. I still eat chicken and other animal products but not in the quantity’s I use to.. The biggest benefit of eating more vegetables is clearer skin and mental clarity.
  • bootyrubsandtacos
    bootyrubsandtacos Posts: 775 Member
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    subhayan_5carat_fitness wrote: »
    Thank you for being curious...let me share my viewpoint. There are various studies which have proven that nutrition is the key to almost all the lifestyle diseases. Eating vegan food not only means that the food that you are ingesting is free from cruelty (this is for your soul, the softer/abstract aspect of this discussion) but is also pathogen free (if the food is grown organically, of course thus is free of any chemicals). You must be aware of the fact that input is directly proportional to output - since you are putting clean food in your system, your system goes through a cleansing process (popularly and commercially known as DeToxification) thereby getting your vitals to normal levels. This not only improves your health but also causes various "positive side effects" such as improved mood, clearer skin, healthier mind and body, and so on and so forth.
    It is found in Indian manuscripts - thousands of years earlier, Sadhus and Yogis authored such reading materials which can certify this that healthy eating not only heals oneself but also causes lesser damage to the environment thus not impacting but healing the "Nature" that "nurtures us all".
    Try it and I can assure you it will be worth it.
    If you need any specific guidance, drop me a note.
    Hope reading this was worth your time.

    Hmmm that’s interesting. Thanks for your input :)
    thecharon wrote: »
    I saw a girl on youtube that said her eyes turned from black to green by eating vegan !!! The internet does not lie. :)

    Fullyrawchristina! That chick is a quack lmao.

    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No, not really.

    Some vegans have reported that their skin got better when they eliminated animal products from their diet. My suspicion is that this is not related to veganism as much as it's related to getting rid of a specific food that is causing issues (like dairy products, for example). But many vegans find that their skin stays the same. I've been vegan for ten years and I still sometimes get breakouts. I'm not alone in this, I know of plenty of vegans who don't have flawless skin.

    As far as veganism curing depression, I don't personally know of anyone who has reported anything like that. I would be extremely skeptical about that claim.

    I'm not convinced there are any health benefits from going vegan. Some people do improve their health after going vegan, but it's typically because they're implementing changes in their diet that are also attainable for non-vegans (like getting more vegetables, reducing saturated fat, getting more fiber, etc).

    That makes a lot of sense actually. I was being kinda facetious when I asked if it will magically cure my depression and give me flawless skin lol. A lot of vegans (YT mainly) talk about veganism as if it’s this magic diet that will fix all your problems. I’m not really convinced either.

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No, not really.

    Some vegans have reported that their skin got better when they eliminated animal products from their diet. My suspicion is that this is not related to veganism as much as it's related to getting rid of a specific food that is causing issues (like dairy products, for example). But many vegans find that their skin stays the same. I've been vegan for ten years and I still sometimes get breakouts. I'm not alone in this, I know of plenty of vegans who don't have flawless skin.

    As far as veganism curing depression, I don't personally know of anyone who has reported anything like that. I would be extremely skeptical about that claim.

    I'm not convinced there are any health benefits from going vegan. Some people do improve their health after going vegan, but it's typically because they're implementing changes in their diet that are also attainable for non-vegans (like getting more vegetables, reducing saturated fat, getting more fiber, etc).

    I agree with this. It may magically cure your depression and skin problems. But only if something you are currently eating is causing those things and you remove them from your diet. In which case, you could likely just remove those specific things and get the same results without going vegan.

    It's probably not going to be that simple though.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    bootyrubsandtacos wrote: »
    Other then ethical reasons and having an aversion to animal products is there any real benefits to eating vegan? Like will it magically cure my depression and give me flawless skin? lol. I watch a lot of those “what I eat in a day” videos on YT and most of them are vegan. I’m just trying to understand the hype.

    Not in comparison to a nutrient dense varied diet.
  • caroldavison332
    caroldavison332 Posts: 864 Member
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    the more toward vegan I eat the more SHOCKED I am at how happy I am. Exercise increases this. Why not try it for a month after the holidays, take notes, and see how it works for you?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    caroldavison332 wrote: »
    the more toward vegan I eat the more SHOCKED I am at how happy I am. Exercise increases this. Why not try it for a month after the holidays, take notes, and see how it works for you?

    If you genuinely feel that veganism and exercise would increase OP's happiness (or you have substantial reasons to suspect it will), why recommend she begin after the holidays? Why not right away?
  • bootyrubsandtacos
    bootyrubsandtacos Posts: 775 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    bootyrubsandtacos wrote: »
    subhayan_5carat_fitness wrote: »
    Thank you for being curious...let me share my viewpoint. There are various studies which have proven that nutrition is the key to almost all the lifestyle diseases. Eating vegan food not only means that the food that you are ingesting is free from cruelty (this is for your soul, the softer/abstract aspect of this discussion) but is also pathogen free (if the food is grown organically, of course thus is free of any chemicals). You must be aware of the fact that input is directly proportional to output - since you are putting clean food in your system, your system goes through a cleansing process (popularly and commercially known as DeToxification) thereby getting your vitals to normal levels. This not only improves your health but also causes various "positive side effects" such as improved mood, clearer skin, healthier mind and body, and so on and so forth.
    It is found in Indian manuscripts - thousands of years earlier, Sadhus and Yogis authored such reading materials which can certify this that healthy eating not only heals oneself but also causes lesser damage to the environment thus not impacting but healing the "Nature" that "nurtures us all".
    Try it and I can assure you it will be worth it.
    If you need any specific guidance, drop me a note.
    Hope reading this was worth your time.

    Hmmm that’s interesting. Thanks for your input :)
    thecharon wrote: »
    I saw a girl on youtube that said her eyes turned from black to green by eating vegan !!! The internet does not lie. :)

    Fullyrawchristina! That chick is a quack lmao.

    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No, not really.

    Some vegans have reported that their skin got better when they eliminated animal products from their diet. My suspicion is that this is not related to veganism as much as it's related to getting rid of a specific food that is causing issues (like dairy products, for example). But many vegans find that their skin stays the same. I've been vegan for ten years and I still sometimes get breakouts. I'm not alone in this, I know of plenty of vegans who don't have flawless skin.

    As far as veganism curing depression, I don't personally know of anyone who has reported anything like that. I would be extremely skeptical about that claim.

    I'm not convinced there are any health benefits from going vegan. Some people do improve their health after going vegan, but it's typically because they're implementing changes in their diet that are also attainable for non-vegans (like getting more vegetables, reducing saturated fat, getting more fiber, etc).

    That makes a lot of sense actually. I was being kinda facetious when I asked if it will magically cure my depression and give me flawless skin lol. A lot of vegans (YT mainly) talk about veganism as if it’s this magic diet that will fix all your problems. I’m not really convinced either.

    Veganism only fixed one problem for me, the feeling that I was doing something wrong by contributing unnecessarily to animal exploitation and suffering.

    The other problems in my life, I either still have them or I addressed them with other methods.

    It is true that as I've progressed into middle age (I went vegan in my late twenties), I've consistently had really good medical test results (cholesterol is excellent, blood pressure is very good, no signs of other chronic health problems yet), but that's in the context of someone who was really healthy in my late twenties. Also there are plenty of non-vegans who are also my age and have really good test results and I'm not just a vegan -- I'm an active person who is maintaining a healthy body weight. There are plenty of vegans who are struggling with health problems, either because of lifestyle or because life just isn't fair and sometimes things happen to us that we can't control.

    So when I hear big claims for veganism, I am skeptical too. If someone came to me and asked what changes to make to improve their health or maintain health as they age, I would recommend things like being active, maintaining a healthy body weight, meeting nutritional needs (getting sufficient fiber, eating vegetables, etc). I wouldn't recommend veganism for health because in my mind that's like recommending a hammer to someone who is trying to sew a wedding dress. A hammer is super-useful, but it's not a tool for sewing.

    Well said :smile:
    caroldavison332 wrote: »
    the more toward vegan I eat the more SHOCKED I am at how happy I am. Exercise increases this. Why not try it for a month after the holidays, take notes, and see how it works

    I actually like a lot of vegan meals and I bake vegan brownies and cookies frequently. My only real qualm with veganism is that it’s not the most accessible. For me anyway. For instance, Greek yogurt is one of my favorite foods and I was really curious about cashew milk yogurt until I saw the price. I couldn’t find it in my regular grocery store, so I went to Whole Foods and they charged almost 4 bucks for these tiny little cups. I can get a HUGE tub of greek yogurt at Costco for like $6 and change. I might consider it if I had more disposable income.

  • brig220
    brig220 Posts: 52 Member
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    If you’re not sure maybe try cutting out some animal products and eat mostly plants. I went nonfat vegan for a while back because of cholesterol. I dropped weight really fast, was bright eyed and bushy tail, but it was hard to keep up with all the cooking, and it gets boring and I also missed Greek yogurt that I eat every day. All my meals were kind of mush with lots of legumes. Now I do mostly plants, with some organic chicken and fish. I feel great!
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
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    If you can prepare most of your own food it can be good. I was a vegetarian for several years and then a vegan for 3. (This was over 15 years ago). Honestly, I didn't feel any better physically by going vegan but I was already vegetarian and was concerned about animals. I had read that it was better for health. In my case I was fine with it until I moved into an area and lifestyle in which I was not able to prepare my own meals due to being very busy and on the go. At the time there were very few vegan or even vegetarian restaurants. I returned to eating meat because my health was suffering trying to eat vegan in that context. Nowadays there are more restaurants, but even then one has to consider if one can afford to eat out at them that often. If not, you really need to prepare most of your own meals. I do that now as an omnivore but if I can't get or don't have time, there are obviously many more options.

    I didn't find it boring as a vegan because I am a good cook. I still have a lot of vegan cookbooks, and now you can get that info on the internet for free. There are a lot of things you can prepare and eat, but you need the TIME to do it.
  • dragthewaters1991
    dragthewaters1991 Posts: 45 Member
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    Health-wise, either type of diet has the ability to be healthy. The composition of foods within the diet is the most important thing.

    However, remember that people in the US eat way more meat, particularly processed and red meat, than what is recommended by leading health experts, and that high consumption of red meat is linked to many diseases. People in the US consume more animal products per capita than any other country, and you can see how many people in the US are overweight and have health problems linked to diet, compared to people from other countries. Official dietary recommendations also usually translate to "eat more plant foods." And of course, the vast majority of fast foods and processed foods contain animal products.

    Overall I would say probably the AVERAGE person who eats a plant-based diet is healthier than the AVERAGE meat-eater. This is for a few reasons.

    Some people go vegan for health reasons which means they are probably going to eat mostly healthy foods. Of the people who go vegan for ethical reasons, they are already in the mode of thinking more than the average person about what foods go into their body, which encourages them to make healthy choices. People who eat plant-based diets generally tend to be wealthier and not live in food deserts. And when you're vegan, your options are going to be more limited and it's going to be difficult to get the required nutrition if you don't eat many healthy whole foods.

    Personally I'm vegetarian (I eat eggs almost every day and eat dairy a couple of times a week) but it's for ethical and environmental reasons (a vegetarian diet produces much fewer carbon emissions than a meat-containing diet). I haven't noticed any health benefit JUST from being vegetarian. When I eat processed stuff I feel bad, and when I eat whole foods and lots of produce I feel good. However, when I reduced my dairy consumption, I noticed I had way fewer digestive problems, so I probably have mild lactose intolerance (as do many people without knowing it, which may be why many people report health benefits from going vegan).

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