This is the second half of our Vegan Myth Busting series. We hope you found the prior post helpful. Do you have any questions, or have you been asked a question that you would like an answer to? Let us know, and we will do our best to get your answer. Now we’ll jump back into some popular vegan myths to bust!
How easy is it to find vegan food? This is getting easier all the time! Now when I frequent my local grocery stores, there is a wide selection of plant-based milk, the organic produce section seems to be growing, and there are more and more novel foods that I see— things like dragon fruit, jackfruit, star fruit, etc are all seen quite often when I am in the stores. I try to make a point of trying something new each week. In fact, my diet now has SO much larger variety than it ever did when I was eating the SAD. Yours can too, and you may be surprised by how much you CAN eat!
Dried beans, lentils and grains are easy to find in most markets and if you purchase from the bulk bins, you can get only as much as you need so that there is no food waste. Another win!
Can athletes be vegan? Absolutely! In fact, some very high performing athletes have gone plant-based for the benefits this provides. Plant-based diets have a positive effect by improving blood flow, which decreases recovery times and improves performance during grueling workouts. Many have seen an overall better energy and feeling of wellness.
If this diet works for Olympic athletes, ultramarathoners, professional race car drivers, football, basketball, tennis, and soccer players, bodybuilders, weightlifters, mixed martial artists, surfers, skaters cyclists, and triathletes, it can work for you too, no matter your level of fitness. Just start where you are, and build from there.
If you are an athlete and are still skeptical, watch the movie Game Changers (available on Netflix and many other places), and that might just change your mind!
Can I lose weight on a vegan diet? This is really individual. Turns out with my current diet (I eat a whole foods, plant-based diet without oils or added sugar as much as 90% of the time), I can eat more, and because of the magic of calorie density, I have LOST weight— all without being hungry or feeling deprived! I really maximize my vegetable intake, and also make sure I am eating a serving of whole grains and beans or legumes or starches such as potatoes.
Eating a WFPB diet means you will likely be eating a larger volume of food. However, because there are far fewer calories in plant foods than in meat, dairy, eggs, fish and processed foods, you will consume fewer calories. This is called calorie density. Calories are less dense in plant foods, therefore you can eat more of them, yet still, take in fewer calories. Being able to get healthier without feeling constantly hungry or deprived is a big bonus with this way of eating. The fiber in a plant based diet can keep you full for longer, so you may find you snack less. Despite the fact that the food we eat can account for approximately 80% of weight loss, we all need a regular exercise program. So while we cannot guarantee weight loss, if you avoid the “accidentally” vegan junk food and highly processed foods, in addition to having a regular exercise program, weight loss is definitely possible.
One thing that can help with this is the purchase of a Fitbit if affordable. These activity monitors come in a variety of different price points. They can be set to remind you to stand and walk throughout the day, encouraging you to get more steps and if you are competitive, you can even set up challenges with friends during the week. If this isn’t possible, simply walk a couple of miles daily, and be sure to stand and move frequently throughout the day. Perhaps stand up and walk around your home during each of the commercial breaks while watching TV. The main goal is to just MOVE. Humans aren’t built to be sedentary, and things start breaking down when we are sedentary.
Here is an interesting concept that Dr. Michael Klaper described on the Plant Strong podcast I was listening to this morning on the way to work that I hadn’t heard before in these terms. He was describing osteoporosis is not a calcium deficiency, but that bones are like muscles, and when you don’t use them, they start to break down, or atrophy if you will. He said that if you start to exercise and use your muscles and bones, the body will naturally start to fortify them, strengthening them for you.3 I hope you find this as interesting as I did!
Is a vegan diet healthy? This is highly dependent upon the choices made. A whole foods, plant based diet is healthful in that it is naturally lower in fat, high in fiber, and the foods are as close to grown as possible (i.e. they are minimally processed). Just be aware that if something says it is vegan, this does not mean it is healthy. Reading ingredients and nutrition labels has become a common practice, and I do this even with products that I purchase regularly to be sure a new ingredient hasn’t been sneakily added since the last time I purchased it. This becomes easier and easier with practice. You too can become a label ninja! This is a skill that will serve you well.
Stay away from foods that have high sodium content. Look at the label, and the number of calories in a serving. Then look at how many milligrams of sodium are in each serving. If the milligrams of sodium is larger than the number of calories, this is a sodium-rich food and should be avoided.
If you can read all the ingredients and there aren’t any weird chemical names, this is a good sign. Avoid foods with coconut oil and palm oil in them (I avoid oils in general, but this will depend on your preferences, and where you are in your journey). Did you know coconut oil is a more saturated fat than lard?! Yikes! Bulletproof coffee? No thanks, I’m good!
What nutrients might I be missing on a vegan diet? A WFPB diet is rich in phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. Much richer than the SAD. You will need to supplement with vitamin B-12. This nutrient is found in soil, and even those on a SAD will need supplementation oftentimes if their levels are checked.
Vitamin D is another nutrient that most people, (plant-based eaters or not) are deficient in. Vitamin D is important in allowing calcium into bones to keep them strong. It can be supplemented, or during warm weather, you can go outside for some sun exposure for 20 minutes or so to keep your levels up. For those of you who are on statin medications to lower your cholesterol levels, having your vitamin D level optimized can reduce your risk for myalgias or muscle and joint pains that are a common side effect of statin medications. This can make it easier to tolerate these meds if you do need them to reduce your cardiac risk.
Iodine is another important nutrient to obtain, either from consuming sea vegetables, or by adding kelp granules to your meals as a salt replacement to keep your iodine levels up, and this is especially important for those with thyroid disorders.
You don’t necessarily have to take supplements. Vitamin B-12 and vitamin D are often in supplemented foods, and along with sea vegetables you could potentially get all you need from diet alone.
Pregnant women will need folate, which is found in dark green leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, peas, and grains.
Iron is also a concern for some people. The non-heme iron found in plants is easily regulated by the body to prevent iron overload. It is found in dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, lentils, beans and whole grains. Greater heme-iron (found in animals) intake is associated with higher rates of diabetes and stroke.4
Resources:
- “Flashback Friday: Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?” YouTube, uploaded by Michael Greger M.D. FACLM, 5 Apr. 2019, nutritionfacts.org/video/flashback-friday-do-vegetarians-get-enough-protein.
- Delimaris, Ioannis. “Adverse Effects Associated with Protein Intake above the Recommended Daily Allowance for Adults.” NCBI, ISRN Nutrition, 18 July 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4045293
- Esselstyn, Rip. “Plant Strong.” Audio blog post. Episode #10: Dr. Michael Klaper – Get Off Your ‘Buts’. Apple Podcasts, 5 MAR 2020. Web. 6 MAR 2020.
- Greger MD FACLM, Michael “The Sfety of Heme vs. Non-Heme Iron.” NutritionFacts.org, creator of content Michael Greger MD FACLM, Volume 25, Nutritionfacts.org, 06/05/2015, https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-safety-of-heme-vs-non-heme-iron/
We hope this info helps you to see how easy eating plant-based can be. It does not need to be complicated, nor difficult. It is a healthful, compassionate and conscientious choice. Imagine having increased energy, better sleep and feeling overall better– not due to a medication, but rather what you put in your body. If you liked this post, please share it. And, as always, let us know what other questions you may have.
In case you missed it, you can find Part 1 of our Vegan Myth Busting Series here.
