Decoding the myths around vegan food and fitness

From fnbnews.com

By Sonal Bermecha

Indians are changing their food habits with the world and adopting vegan cuisines as a better option to live a healthy life. It has been seen that people are replacing meat with healthy vegan food as an alternative. Vegan consumption in India is picking up the pace and increasing rapidly day by day as the awareness of a healthy diet reaches the people. The pandemic also helped people to think about the advantages of healthy food and turn towards veganism. Vegan means abstaining from utilising animals or their products as food. Another reason people are switching from animal products to a plant-based diet is that animal-related food habits are causing great harm to our planet. At the same time, eating animal or dairy products also gives rise to a greater possibility of getting diabetes, types of cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Many studies around the world have also confirmed that meat-eating leads to a higher death rate and is one of the causes of cancer. The increase in awareness of this information is allowing more people to have a plant-based food diet. Many people who have become vegan recently or those who want to start eating vegan food have, one way or another, some assumptions regarding this new food diet. There are also some myths spread about vegan food. There is a lot of speculation and mythical elements added when it comes to eating vegan. They are mostly related to health and assumptions about whether these types of diets fulfil enough protein intake to become a nutritious meal for a healthy body. Here are a few myths along with their facts that are present in the food industry today: Myth: Vegan is a high-cost food Fact: When it comes to vegan food, there is a myth that it is a high-end food habit that is only for rich people. A typical vegan diet consists of veggies, fruits, rice, whole grains, and legumes that are inexpensive. These vegan food ingredients are easily available anywhere, and they are a lot cheaper compared to expensive animal products. There is a catch in this scenario: if people buy more ready-to-eat or a specific vegan brand of food, then it is likely that they will have to pay more for that food. Myth: Vegan food does not contain healthy nutrients Fact: People are fixated on getting protein only from animal food products. But they do not have the knowledge that many plant-based ingredients such as broccoli, spinach, lentils, oats, nuts, quinoa, seeds, tofu, and beans have enough protein to sustain a healthy human body. Studies around the world have proven that red meat intake leads to diabetes, colon cancer, heart diseases, and unhealthy overweight condition. The fact about the animal-based protein is that the animals’ intake of plants shows that the protein is in fact gained from the plants. Myth: Dairy products cannot be replaced with vegan food products Fact: There is a myth that surrounds dairy products and is also encouraged by many in the society that dairy products such as milk help bones to become stronger. In reality, dairy products are the carriers of calcium which is the reason for bone strength. Calcium is not limited to bone strength, it also helps in many healthy body functions such as muscle contraction, blood clotting, blood pressure, and sending signals to nerves. This makes it necessary for every vegan to intake calcium properly. When it comes to taking calcium from vegan food products there are sources available like spinach, soy-based foods, figs, beans, chia, lentils, peas, sesame seeds, almonds, and turnips that help to boost calcium in the food intake. Myth: Vegan means a strict diet Fact: When we try to go away from our habits that are too comfy and habitual, it becomes painful to leave and change yourself, in this case, your food habits. Many people are accustomed to eating certain foods and they cannot separate themselves from the tasty cuisines. But it is very easy to switch to plant-based eating and get the same taste from vegan food. As people are turning more towards vegan food, many recipe options have emerged. This has allowed a transition for animal food product users to vegan food without losing the same taste they used to have previously. The most powerful motivation to become vegan is to get balanced nutrition from plant-based resources to nourish a healthy mind and body. As more awareness is spreading globally, Indians too are thinking about their food habits and changing from animal-based to vegan food diets. Veganism is replacing animal food products with plant-based products. Climate change and various cardiovascular diseases are also allowing people to choose vegan food and become responsible for our planet and their overall health. The new way of eating lifestyle has also given room for speculations and assumptions such as vegan food is costlier than animal-based products or it lacks healthy nutrients or dairy products cannot be replaced or being vegan is a very hard task to accomplish. These myths around veganism are getting busted as people are accepting and getting to know more about the vegan diet and vegan food products. (The author is founder, Sante Spa Cuisine)

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