Being Vegan Isn’t A Trend, It’s A Choice To Go Green

Turning vegan is not a fashion trend. It is a way of life by which one can actually detoxify one’s inner organs, say its staunch loyalists. So, how is it different from being a vegetarian? Vegans do not consume any animal or animal products is one thing. Apart from this, they do not even have dairy or dairy substitutes too.

It is a tough call to turn vegan. Especially if one is addicted to milk, ice cream, or even clarified butter and such related products. Like giving up cigarettes or alcohol, this too will leave its footprint on our minds and souls with its withdrawal symptoms. Again, the point to note is that this act should be done phase wise, in a step by step manner. Do not suddenly become a vegan. Do so, first by becoming a vegetarian, if you are not one already. Then wean yourself off the daily line-up.

It is also wise to sync in tunes with your inner systems and listen to them. If it is a daily glass of milk that is your champagne, do not give this up right away. Substitute it with soya or rice milk. If cheese spread sandwiches are your delight, look towards tofu as a healthy alternative in place of doing without it. The actual plan is to slowly but surely move towards a plant-based, non-refined kind of diet. What puts you in a happy space is that everything, literally everything, has something which can replace it. For instance, even cakes and cookies can be made with milk and soda bicarb in place of eggs!

Then comes dealing with unwarranted questions fielded from friends and foes, alike. Do not get flustered with a taciturn – how do you get your dose of calcium if there is no milk, – return it with a tart how do you get your beta carotenes without beetroots and greens? However, if one has a health condition, it is advisable to check with a reputable dietician before becoming a pure vegan. Despite this, it is more or less understood that without saturated fats and high levels of salt, vegan food does give a lower body mass index and may help in keeping cholesterol problems and high blood pressure risks at bay. Not to say that a non-vegetarian diet ensures such issues. One can be perfectly healthy even with those but in certain proportions.

Veganism, in essence, means having a staple fare which includes nothing other than fruits, veggies, leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. Nothing else, period.

What works well is to have six servings of food in a day, and think your way around them. Do not ignore your taste buds, they will really rebel!

Try to always keep at the back of your mind that by being a vegan, you are harming no other living organism. Your food fix comes from a source which is from all the flora around you, not the fauna. This, in itself, will give you that push to stay vegan.

Image Source: People Of Lancaster.