Vegan diet: how does it work?
Veganism is a philosophy of life, based primarily on an ethical ideal and aimed at fighting the exploitation of animals. For this reason, the vegan diet is a plant-based diet, free of all animal foods such as meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.
People who adopt veganism in their lives, contrary to what many think, eat very well and in a varied way and nothing monotonous. Vegans eat any type of plant food origin, such as cereals, fruits, vegetables, tubers, vegetables, roots, mushrooms, seeds, among others.
Many people confuse a vegan diet with a vegetarian diet, know the main differences:
- Egg-Lacto-vegetarian: it does not eat meat, but it consumes foods of animal origin (milk, eggs, and honey, for example).
- Lacto-vegetarian: it does not eat meats and eggs, including products that use eggs as an ingredient.
- Strict vegetarian: DO NOT EAT anything that is of animal origin.
- Vegan: DO NOT CONSUME anything that is of animal origin, either in food, clothing and other aspects of life.
Compared to vegetarian diets, vegan diets tend to contain less saturated fat and cholesterol, and more dietary fibre. Vegans tend to be leaner, have lower serum cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The vegan diet can supply most of the nutritional needs of vegans through the proper intake of vegetables and manages to supply all the necessary protein through beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, among others.
To know if the vegan diet is balanced, it is important for the vegan to follow a nutritional approach with a nutritionist that can adapt the diet and can supply all nutritional demands.
It is important for the vegan to take regular laboratory tests to evaluate the deficiency of some vitamins, which may require the ingestion of fortified foods or supplementation.
At the Britzke Nutrition Clinic in London, we have specialized professionals to help vegans and vegetarians and we conduct blood tests to assess the deficiency of key vitamins.
For more information about the tests contact us by phone or WhatsApp: + 44 742 -864-4457