| caffeinade said: If you are doing it to "become healthy" then No, not worth it. |
I'm curious why being healthier isn't a reason to go vegan? The preponderence of evidence, by more than a 2-to-1 ratio, shows that a whole-food, plant-based diet is the most healthy diet available. And the studies that suggest otherwise tend to be funded by vested interests (food corporations, dairy marketing boards, egg interests, etc.), whereas the studies concluding that plant-based diets are the most natural and the most healthy tend to be funded by charities, educational institutions, health agencies, and other groups that don't have as much riding on the results, which strengthens the argument of the plant-based side likely being the least biased one in this case. Sounds "worth it" to me.
| m_csquare said: You just need to consume more greens and less red meat. No need to go full vegan |
No need to go full vegan, but huge benefits to doing so if health is your goal. One study found that people who ate small amounts of animal protein had a 23 times increase in dying from diabetes than vegans, and those who ate a lot of animal protein had a 73-fold increase in the likelihood of dying of diabetes over plant-based groups. SOURCE: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/increasing-protein-intake-age-65/ And that's just looking at one risk factor. You see the same thing when you look at many cancers, at heart disease, and at many neurological disorders. Over the last several years, the science has become far more clear, despite the occasional daytime talk show to the contrary.
| ps_wiro said: I'm vegan and I made the decision for moral reasons. Being vegan isn't easy or cheap, I think if you want to live healthier just find a healthy diet. If you want to make a difference in the world by avoiding billions of animals dying in animal factory farms, then become a vegan. As for going vegetarian, you'll just have to give up meat, that's probably an much easier option. But in the end both are more about morally changing your diet, and not necessarily to live healthier but I for one try to. |
Being vegan may or may not be easy depending on a variety of factors, including your support system. Going vegan at the same time as a loved one, so that you create a support system for each other, makes it far easier. Doing it yourself, or doing it despite a lack of approval from your social group, that would probably be hard. My experience has been that being vegan is easier than being an omnivore, in part because my actions are in better alignment with my beliefs, and in part because of the stunning health and metabolism benefits.
However, you're wrong about it not being cheap. It's as cheap, or as expensive, as you want it to be. You can eat a whole food, plant-based diet, and cover all your essential nutrients, far cheaper than you can omnivorously. If you are a "junk food vegan" who eats a lot of tofurky (or other processed vegans foods) then it can be expensive, but that doesn't make veganism inherently expensive. I spend *way* less on a whole food, plant-based diet than I ever did as a pescetarian or as an omnivore, despite eating more food and getting a greater quantity and variety of nutrients in my diet. I went vegan because of the environmental concerns (animal agriculture is destroying our environment faster than any other factor, by several measures), but I stay plant-based because of the overwhelming health benefits.
Many people say they feel like they "have more energy" on this diet, or on that diet. But we actually have an objective measure of energy in the body, and it's called metabolism. Every study I've ever seen on the subject suggests that the more plant-based you are, the higher your metabolism goes (typically 10-15% higher despite making no other change to your lifestyle). It makes sense too, as you tend to eat more starches, and more food in total, on a plant-based diet.
