Why vegan?

Lack of certain b vitamins. It is very hard to get certain B vitamins on a vegan diet especially B12 which is only available in animal products. Vegans will have to compensate with B12 fortified foods.

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Low in iron. Heme iron is the easily absorbed iron needed for anaemic people which is only found in red meat. Non heme iron is fine for people with normal iron requirements but if you are anaemic it will not suffice.

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High in carbohydrates. Insulin sensitive people will have a hard time watching their weight when on a vegan diet due to the fact most of the foods you contain will be high in carbohydrates.

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Cheap. Wholegrains, fruits and vegetables are some of the cheapest foods you can find.

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Promotes healthy digestive system. The high fibre, high water content of the vegan diet helps feed your gut bacteria with what are known as prebiotics. Prebiotics are what probiotic bacteria feed on which are types of fibre found in fibrous fruit and vegetables.

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Abundant in micronutrients. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamins and minerals. Vegan diets have a large consumption of fruit and vegetables meaning a large consumption of micronutrients.

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High fibre. Fibre has many benefits from digestion to lower cholesterol levels. Vegan plant based diet is choc full of fibre from fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and legumes.

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High in sugar. Since sugar is vegan (except for honey) overconsumption is common as vegans looking for a pleasurable meal will turn to either salt or sugar to make up for the lack of animal fats in a meal. Sugar isn’t filling as well so it is easy to overconsume.

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Ethically benefits environment and animal welfare. The main tenet of a vegan diet is reducing the carbon footprint we make on the planet and treating animals how they want to be treated. Even when animals are farmed humanely, which is very rare that they are, they are still being killed or drained for our pleasure.

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Eating out becomes laborious. These days it is easy to find vegetarian meals but the many hidden ingredients in foods means many professionally made foods are not vegan. For instance a lot of white sugar is not vegan because they use carbon from the bones of animals to bleach it.

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