Millions of vegans around the world have taken a huge step in an effort improve their well being, decrease inhumane animal cruelty, and maybe get close to some religious convictions and beliefs, or possibly all of these reasons. The decision to become a full-pledged vegan is very challenging for many. It is sustaining a given diet, particularly a healthy diet that is said to be the most demanding for most people. However, if you are thinking that it is hard to live without using things made from animal products, please think again. For you to make a permanent switch to a healthy vegan diet there are different factors that you should take into consideration.
A vegan lifestyle is free from all materials made from animal products such as meat, eggs, milk, cheese, genuine leather shoes, wool coat and even cosmetics that were tested on animals. The normal vegan diet forms the foundation for most vegan meals that are composed of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes and nuts.
Maybe one of the most important controversies facing the idea of veganism is the lack of protein in a diet. While some animal products are the common sources of high protein, vegans do not really need hamburger or steaks to have a rounded meal and especially protein. When we remove animal products from our meals, imagination regarding food preferences is very important so that we consume high levels of protein. When protein consumption is not enough, the body will burn our muscle cells for additional fuel energy. This will cause a slower metabolism and also slow increase of body fat.
The most common misconception about a vegan diet is that it is quite impossible to consume the required protein intake. Although animal products are high in protein we cannot easily have enough protein from a usual vegan diet. Fortunately, we really don’t need a high amount of protein to begin with. The recommended daily allowance for protein is 30 grams per 100 pounds of body weight. Suppose you weigh 150 pounds, you need about 45 grams of protein every day. This can easily be consumed with a vegan diet.
One of the blockages to obtain enough protein in a vegan diet is the insufficient amount of foods that are protein rich. High proteins can be found in animal products that can give our body with necessary nutrients such as amino acids. Surely, we can have incomplete proteins from fruits and vegetables but they are not enough. To get the proper protein supply, we need to eat non-animal products that are high in amino acids.
The following tips can help anyone who wants to acquire high level of protein while maintaining a vegan diet.
1. Eat different kinds of foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, berries etc.
2. Increase consumption of legumes and nuts because they are rich in protein.
3. Add soy products in your regular vegan diet. Soya products are high protein.
4. Avoid meals that are composed of fruits alone. Though, a vegan lifestyle is also composed of fruits, eating fruits alone does not usually beneficial to most people. You may experience some problems such as significant weight loss, dental plaques, mental and emotional imbalances and many more.
You should take note that there is no such thing as 100 percent fruit diet. You should take a complete set of meals with vegetables and grains.