There are plenty of positives and negatives to a plant-based diet. There are two reasons why people will adopt a plant-based diet. Some people do it because they are trying to be more eco friendly. Other people will do it for health reasons.
Back in 2018, Netflix released a documentary called Game Changes which has celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lewis Hamilton. It is about a former mixed martial arts fighter called James Wilks. He travels around the world trying to find out the truth about protein and how beneficial meat is for our body.
Strengthens Your Immune System
Vegan diets are packed with vitamins and minerals which, is one of the great benefits. It also contains phytochemicals and antioxidants. These are great for keeping your body healthy and fighting off diseases.
The immune system plays a vital role in fighting off flu and diseases by using antibodies to fight them off. It is the body’s first line of defence when fighting off viruses. Cells can sometimes mutate which can be damaging to our health. So, our immune system must be at its healthiest to recognise these mutating cells and act upon them.
The multiple vitamins and minerals that are found in vegetables are essential for improving our immune system.
Reduce Inflammation
Some nutrients in certain fruit and vegetables are really good for helping fight off inflammation as well. As mentioned earlier, they can improve your immune system as well as getting rid of bacteria, pollution and viruses. Having any of these can damage the cells in your body making you ill.
Having a healthy diet is a great way of having a healthy lifestyle. Not just for keeping a healthy weight but, also for reducing the chances of inflammation. Inflammation can damage your health if it is not noticed earlier, keeping on top of your diet will help combat it.
Many issues come with eating the wrong foods. They can cause you to gain weight or you can feel more tired than usual. Having all of your vitamins and minerals in your diet will reduce the chances of this. Not to mention it will keep you healthy.
There are many healthy foods in a vegan diet so trying a vegan diet. Even just a vegetarian diet will help you get those vitamins and minerals that your body needs.
Contains Plenty Of Fibre
Both a vegan diet and a vegetarian diet will give you plenty of fibre. This is because it is in foods such as; broccoli, lentils, strawberries, kidney beans, Brussel sprouts and many more. All these foods are suitable for a vegetarian/ vegan diet.
Fibre is an important nutrient that helps with improving the health of your gut. Not to mention it is needed to break down foods. Other positives come with fibre as well. For starters, it helps balance out your blood levels as well as lowering cholesterol.
It is recommended that you should have around 30 grams of fibre. Foods that contain plenty of fibre are often wholewheat foods. They can also be found in fruit and vegetables that were listed before.
Fibre is an essential nutrient that is needed in our bodies, hence why scientists recommend we have a lot of it.
A Vegan Diet Is Not All Good
Like everything, there are always some negatives after hearing the positives. This is the same with different diets. Some will be more suitable to others due to our bodies and lifestyles being different.
A vegan/ vegetarian diet can give you plenty of essential vitamins and minerals that you need. However, it is also lacking in certain nutrients that the body needs that cannot be found in many foods.
One of these vitamins is Vitamin B12. This is a vitamin that is often found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. All of these foods will not be on a vegan diet and some of them will not be on a vegetarian diet.
We do not require a lot of Vitamin B12. Health experts recommend we only have 1.5 micrograms a day. If you are a vegan, you might want to start including spinach, legumes, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, lentils and mushrooms. If you include these in your daily diet then you will be able to get the amount you need.
Another nutrient that you will not find often in a vegan diet is Vitamin D. Again, this is another food that is often found in red meat and oily fish. However, our body can also automatically produce it as well. The body does this by producing Vitamin D when it comes into contact with the sunlight for longer than 10-15 minutes.
There are a few problems that come with being Vitamin D deficient. One of them is being fatigued and could result in you being tired all the time. A doctor could recommend taking vitamin D3 supplements if they know about your diet and you lack sunlight in your area.
Conclusion
Our bodies require different diets. Some are healthier than others as well. Becoming a vegan is a very healthy diet but it does have its downfalls as well. Just make sure that you get your daily nutrients then you cannot go wrong with your health.