A vegan or plant-based diet involves a complete rejection of animal products - all types of meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products. Perhaps the first and foremost thing to remember when switching to this type of diet is that you don't have to give up everything at once. If you can't live without salmon steaks or scrambled eggs in the morning, try Flexitarianism, a flexible diet that deliberately reduces animal products in your diet. For starters, you can stick to one simple rule - for example, have vegan Mondays or daily vegan dinners. You can switch to a soft vegetarian diet when milk and eggs remain in the diet, and gradually reduce their amount in the diet.
According to statistics, vegans live longer than meat-eaters: a plant-based diet significantly reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases (according to various sources, from 29 to 42%), serves to prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, and reduces the risk of developing certain cancers, arthritis, dementia and kidney dysfunction. But veganism has its risks and pitfalls. Any diet should be balanced, especially if it involves a complete rejection of a huge group of foods.
Whatever type of food you eat, doctors recommend maintaining the proportions of a "healthy plate" in your daily diet: half of the diet - vegetables and fruits, a quarter - whole grains, another quarter - proteins. We can get the fats the body needs from vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, avocados and legumes. But the proteins should be monitored separately. Vegans may suffer from a lack of them, not because complete protein cannot be obtained from plant foods (this is just a myth), but because of an imbalance in foods.
Protein consists of amino acids - they are the building blocks of the body. The most vegetable protein is found in legumes (beans, chickpeas, edamame beans, tofu, and other soy products), lentils, nuts, green vegetables, and grains. Gluten is nothing more than a vegetable protein found in wheat and oat products. So oatmeal with nuts and berries for breakfast is more than a complete vegan dish.
Plants contain a huge amount of nutrients, but some vitamins and minerals remain in short supply. For example, vitamin B12, which is critical to health, comes from animal products. You can find vegan foods fortified with B12 - plant-based milk, cereals, pastas, but in natural form, this vitamin is almost never present in plants. This does not mean that vegans need to take B12 as a dietary supplement, but it is worth monitoring its levels in the body, and in case of a deficiency, consult a specialist and select the dosage together with a doctor.
Supporters of a plant-based diet should also monitor the level of vitamin D, omega-3 acids, iron, iodine. Omega-3 can be obtained from seeds and nuts, iodine - from iodized salt and seaweed, iron - from legumes and dark green vegetables.
Enjoy these plant-based breakfast recipes.
