Tag: Plant-based diets

Plant-based diets

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Healthy Vegan Diet – 7 Tips For A Healthy Long Life

Healthy Vegan Diet: Most of us turn vegan for the animals but when we think about our diet, we believe we are having a healthier alternative to an omnivorous diet, which is the case indeed! But there are a few things we still need to be careful about. Managing and controlling your diet is very important to get a fully balanced and healthy diet. This article will look at seven tips for living a healthy and long life as a vegan

Healthy Vegan Diet

1. Healthy Vegan Diet – Eat fresh

Buying fresh produce and eating non-processed food is probably one of the most important aspects of following a healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables bought fresh is much more likely to have higher nutrients and are more beneficial to you.

Always look for fresh food wherever you live, as it is always better to eat locally grown food for freshness and for the environment. There are various vegan recipes with all kinds of foods, so you should never be scared to try out fresh local stuff.

2. Drink plenty of water

This should be an obvious one, but drinking sufficient amounts of water and staying hydrated is one of the most essential things in a healthy diet. Our body is mostly water, so we need plenty of water in a day to stay adequately hydrated. Most doctors recommend 8-10 glasses of water a day, which equals about 2 litres of water. When you are working in the heat or exercising a lot, the water intake may need to be higher, so it can vary from person to person.

3. Ample amount of protein

We all heard it: “you won’t get enough proteins” or “where do you get your proteins from?”. While this is arguably the most overrated issue people think when they hear about veganism, you still do need to make sure you are getting the right amount of protein in a healthy vegan diet. Legumes such as Peas, lentils and beans are an excellent substitute for meat as these foods are rich in protein; there is also soymilk available which contains a similar amount of protein as cow’s milk. Nowadays, there are also many vegan meat substitutes that can provide a person with the recommended amount of protein in a day.

4. All types of foods

Being a vegan doesn’t mean that you are limited in your choices when looking for food. Finding vegan food has become even easier with many healthy and delicious options available in today’s day and age. Many researchers have found that eating vegetables of all colours and different types of legumes means that a person is less at risk of deficiencies and malnutrition. Different types of vegetables have different nutritions that they provide. Having a more balanced diet is much more important than eating all food items that might be considered most healthy. For example, foods such as Kale and Spinach are seen as very healthy foods everyone should eat, but eating other foods such as nuts and legumes are also important as they provide a different set of nutrition.

5. Healthy Vegan Diet – Vitamin B12

Vegans are more likely to be B12 deficient than people who eat meat. A lack of B12 is a leading factor for strokes later in life and is harder to find in vegan diets. However, the daily B12 requirement isn’t high and can be found in fortified foods, which some manufacturers include to daily consumption items. There are also supplements available that can provide you with the amount of B12 needed. In summary, make sure you’re taking it but rest assured this is just another overrated issue of veganism.

6. Ample amount of calories and empty calories

Eating the right amount of food is also important to receive all the calories you need for a day. It is more common for people who eat less to end up with vitamin deficiencies and feel weak. This doesn’t mean that you have to overeat; just eat enough. It’s also important to avoid empty calories such as sugar, as they provide close to no nutritional value. Instead of sugary foods, it’s better to go for naturally sweet foods such as fruits as they are much more healthier and more beneficial for you. Eliminating sugar completely isn’t necessary, but it should be avoided.

7. Regular exercise

Lastly, a part of every healthy diet is being regularly active and exercising regularly. Proper exercise helps you stay fit and is linked with less chance of heart disease. When exercising or working out, protein consumption is essential, luckily we know we don’t need animal products for proteins. On top of the health benefits, even the smallest amount of exercise, such as walking every day, has many health benefits.

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As Veggly grows further, make sure you stay up to date and read some of our success stories and messages from our users who found love from their Veg-Matches – all on this page here.

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Veggie guide: definitions of vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets

Nowadays we are in touch with a lot of diets that restrict the consumption of meat. So it is common to have doubts about veggie diets and their definitions. Here’s a veggie guide to help you out!

  1. Veganism

Opposite to what one may believe, veganism doesn’t fall into the “diet” category. According to the Vegan Society, veganism is: “A philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment.”

This definition was coined in 1988 and remains the one that we use to characterize the vegan movement today. 

The Vegan Society also points out four main reasons for going vegan. The first one being the will to not exploit animals, and excluding the use of any animal products is a way to not take part in that. The second is related to the health benefits that come from a vegan way of life and points out that by going vegan you are more likely to introduce healthier food options in your diet. The third one covers the positive environmental impact that the vegan diet has on our planet, it says that the most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint is by avoiding animal products. The last one explains that a plant based diet only needs a third the land required to sustain a meat and dairy diet, being a more sustainable option for the people and the planet.

  1. Vegetarianism

This terminology encompasses four categories that share the restriction of fish, chicken, meat and its derivatives from their menus, but they all have different characteristics:

  • vegetarian: has a plant based diet, but is not considered vegan due to only following the diet, not the lifestyle;
  • ovo-lacto vegetarian: consumes eggs, milk and dairy;
  • lacto-vegetarian: restricts the consumption of eggs, using only milk and dairy in their diet;
  • ovo-vegetarian: consumes eggs, restricting milk and dairy from their diet.

According to SVB (Brazilian Vegetarian Society), the main foundation of vegetarianism is ethics. Recognizing all animals as sentient beings comes with the acknowledgement that they do not exist to satisfy human interests. SVB also points out that the vegetarian diet has health and environmental benefits.

Apart from political and dietary motivation, there are also some religions that preach the nonconsumption of meat for karmic and spiritual reasons. We can see some examples of that in India, the country with the largest number of vegetarians, where 23% to 37% of the population follow some kind of vegetarian diet. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism are all religions that come from India and have the reduction of meat in their beliefs:

Hinduism: there are five motivations for the exclusion of meat from their diets. 

  • “The Dharmic Law Reason” follows Ahinsa, the law of noninjury. 
  • “The Karmic consequences Reason” explains that our actions have karmic responses, meaning that the pain inflicted by one who eats other creatures will eventually get back to them. 
  • “The Spiritual Reason” presents that to live in high consciousness one may not eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs.
  • “The Health Reason” discusses the benefits of the vegetarian diet.
  • “The Ecological Reason” explains that the planetary ecology improves from the nonconsumption of meat.

Buddhism: preaches compassion for all sentient beings, which may be expressed by nonviolence towards them. This has two interpretations, one being that Buddhists can’t take the life of any living beings, so they must follow a vegetarian diet. The other is that Buddhists can consume meat if the animal’s life wasn’t taken specifically for them. This is a matter of discussion between the followers of Buddhism.

Jainism: is the most strict form of “religiously-motivated diet regulation in the Indian subcontinent”. In order to escape the cycle of reincarnation, Jains also follow the principle of nonviolence (Ahinsa), which is regarded as the most significant of their religious obligations. They must be vegetarians, and some of them also embrace veganism. Additionally, they go by rules that minimize needless damage to plants, avoiding, for example, eating root vegetables, because doing so results in the death of the entire plant. Honey is also excluded from the diet. Due to the high number of insects drawn to the lamps at night and the higher concentration of microbes in food made during this time, strict Jains avoid eating and consuming foods that were made during the evening. The microorganisms are also the reason as to why Jains do not consume any fermented product.

  1. Raw vegan diet

Those who follow the raw vegan diet only consume raw and unprocessed food that hasn’t been heated over 45ºC. The raw foodists believe that cooked foods have lost their nutritional value, so they opt to eat unheated foods. In addition to raw fruits and vegetables, the followers of this diet also consume seaweed, seeds, nuts, sprouts, roots, and root vegetables. Juicing, blending, soaking, sprouting, and dehydrating are all acceptable food preparation methods for raw vegans. This diet’s advantages include improved heart health, weight loss, and a lower risk of developing diabetes.

  1. Fruitarian diet

The fruitarians have a diet that consists of up to 75% of raw fruit. It can be considered a strand from veganism, but it is far more restrictive. Aside from fruits, a smaller part of the fruitarian diet consists of consuming nuts and seeds. Some followers of this diet intend to have the original diet of humankind, others just do not want to kill living beings, including plants.

  1. Meat reducing diets

Flexitarianism or semi-vegetarianism: mainly follow a non strict vegetarian diet, only consuming some form of meat occasionally. The increasing popularity of this diet may be caused by health, environmental and animal welfare concerns. There is evidence showing benefits in relation to weight loss, metabolic health, and diabetes prevention on those who follow a semi-vegetarian diet.

Pescetarians: also follow a non strict vegetarian diet. The differential of this group is not restricting the consumption of fish or seafood.

Climatarians: are interested in reducing their carbon footprint, seeking a sustainable way of living and looking for alternatives that cause less damage to our planet. Which includes excluding beef, lamb, goat, unsustainable fish, air flown food and heated greenhouse grown food from their menus.

Don’t miss the Veggly Blog

As Veggly grows further, make sure you stay up to date and read some of our success stories and messages from our users who found love from their Veg-Matches – all on this page here.

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3 Reasons why a Vegan Diet is the Perfect Choice for Earth Day

Start a Vegan Diet on Earth Day! That’s the best thing you can do for your planet!

Today is the most important Earth Day in history. As the climate and biodiversity crises worsen across the world, we face a turning point for humanity: we either take action and fix the situation together, or continue causing the problems that brought us here.

Vegan Diet on Earth Day

So what can we do as individuals to help? Of course, there are many ways. You can switch your energy provider to a renewable supplier, stop buying fast fashion clothing, make sure you don’t have any investments in fossil fuels, or even buy an electric car. But there’s one thing we can all do that makes a big impact across the world, and it starts with our food.

Cutting out animal products from your diet makes an incredible impact. Here’s three reasons why (backed by science).

1. A vegan diet is the ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth

The largest ever scientific analysis in history (from the University of Oxford) revealed the terrible carbon and land footprint of animal agriculture. It explained how animal farming provides just 18% of calories but takes up 83% of farmland globally. But that’s just the land use, the emissions are worse than previously thought.

The study, published in the Science (one of the world’s most respected scientific journals), showed how even the ‘lowest impact beef’ was still much more damaging to the atmosphere than any plant-based food.

Beef X Tofu On Greenhouse Gases Emission

2. A vegan diet requires much less land and frees up space for natural carbon capture (trees)

Nature Sustainability (another world-leading scientific journals) published a report last year showing the incredibly positive impact plant-based diets can have on climate change.

You can check out the abstract/summary below, but here’s a brief version and explanation we have prepared:

This study revealed the huge ‘carbon opportunity cost of keeping livestock’.

That means there is a huge amount of carbon from the atmosphere that land could draw down/capture (using trees/plants etc.) if it were not being used for animal farming/livestock production. It also means there is an ecological opportunity cost – for example: the woodlands, wetlands, wolves, wild herbivores and thriving ecosystems the land could support if it were rewilded and turned away from animal farming.

Carbon Opportunity Cost of Animal Sourced Food

But how do we put this into simple terms so I can explain this point to my friends, family and colleagues?

Here’s our effort:

The research shows us that it is far better to use land for plants (e.g. trees, grass, crops) to draw down carbon from the atmosphere, rather than farming animals for meat/dairy etc.

The impact we can have by switching our food production to vegan diets is even larger than previously thought. The report from Nature explains how a shift to vegan diets could enable us to draw down over 500 gigatons of CO2e*… that’s an amazing 500 billion tons! This would give us an excellent chance of limiting global warming to 1.5℃. This might be the strongest argument of all!

3. Vegan diets are essential to protect biodiversity

A new report from British think tank Chatham House found that vegan diets are the best way to protect biodiversity around the world.

The report, titled Food System Impacts on Biodiversity Loss, highlights how animal agriculture/farming is a dangerous threat to most species currently at risk of extinction.

Clearing land to create pastures for farmed animals is the main cause of habitat loss across the world. Right now, the majority of all our crops are grown just to feed farmed animals to create meat (despite many people starving in the world).

The report says that a shift towards plant-based meats and dairy alternatives will certainly help the situation and help protect our biodiversity. Farming crops/plants/vegetables instead of animals takes much fewer resources, and saves a huge amount of land and water.

The report estimates that if the world switched to a vegan diet, over 75 percent of the world’s cropland could be repurposed. Much of that land can be restored to nature, and would provide habitat for wildlife (helping protect and restore biodiversity). You can read the full report here.

As you can see, from an environmental point of view, there are many excellent arguments in favor of a vegan diet for earth! Of course, there are clearly many other great reasons to leave animals off your plate (animal welfare, food resources, health etc.), but this one is very important.

So next time someone challenges veganism and asks you to explain it all, make sure you have this blog and those facts at the ready!

How can Veggly help you?

That said, we hope you don’t have to explain veganism all the time and you can find someone who shares your love of animals and our planet! As you know, that’s why Veggly exists!

To see some of our success stories and messages from our users who found love from their Veg-Matches, please see this page here.

And if you’re reading this, we encourage you to participate in this year’s Earth Day and make a positive impact in whatever way you can.

Don’t miss the Veggly Blog

So there you have it!

As Veggly grows further, make sure you subscribe to our blog and stay up to date with all of our announcements, other news stories, blog posts, and recipes.

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* CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) is a unit for measuring carbon footprints. CO2e is used to express the impact of each different greenhouse gas in terms of the amount of CO2 that would create the same amount of global warming.

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Why People Go Vegan?

Animal welfare tops the list, environment places second and health is third.

Why people go vegan?
The top reason for people making the switch to a vegan diet is animal welfare.

Veggly, the world’s leading dating app for vegans and vegetarians, has released new research revealing the top five reasons why people have chosen to go vegan.

Why people go vegan?

The survey of 8,500 vegans from across the world shows that the top reason for people making the switch to a vegan diet is animal welfare. Overall, 9 in 10 (89.1%) respondents indicated animal welfare was a key reason for cutting out animal products from their diet.

The second most popular reason was to protect the environment and combat climate change. Nearly two thirds of vegans (64.1%) listed environment as a motivating factor for making the switch to a vegan diet. This figure is likely to grow as the links between animal agriculture and climate change become more widely realised around the world.

The third most popular reason was health. Over half of vegans (53.16%) list health as a motivating factor for cutting out animal products from their lives. As strong evidence demonstrating the health benefits of vegan diets continues to build, this figure is also likely to grow.

Food conservation was the fourth most popular reason (15.9%) and cost/inexpensiveness of vegan diets was fifth most popular (6%).

Commenting on the research findings, Founder of Veggly, Alex Felipelli, said:

“There are many excellent reasons to go vegan, so we have found it fascinating to see which motivations are the most popular. We are very pleased to see animal welfare is number one as veganism ultimately gives a voice to the voiceless. At the same time, we can see both environmental and health reasons are strong factors as well. A vegan diet is clearly the best thing for the planet and your health, so it’s no surprise they are also popular reasons.”

Available throughout the world, Veggly is used in 181 countries. We have recently reached 1 million Veg-Matches.

Don’t miss the Veggly Blog

So there you have it!

As Veggly grows further, make sure you stay up to date and read some of our success stories and messages from our users who found love from their Veg-Matches – all on this page here.

Stay up to date with all of our announcements, other news stories, blog posts, and recipes. Please follow Veggly across our social channels:

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How to Properly Prepare Vegetables?

What’s the right way to chop and prepare vegetables and fruits to get the most from them? In this article, we give great tips on how to prepare vegetables for your vegan recipes.

There are a many reasons to go vegan or at least include more vegetables in your plate, including animal welfare, environment conservation, health and even sexual performance.

Couple Prepare Vegetables

Prepare Vegetables In Advance With Your Veg-Match

Home-cooked meals are fast becoming a luxury, with a study published in the Nutrition Journal showing that while in 1965, up to 95% of meals were prepared at home, by the start of the new millennium, only 72% of people were doing so.

The shift in gender roles, rising housing prices, and the need to pay off student loans are just a few reasons for this phenomenon, although any vegan will tell you that time management is key to enjoying healthy meals regularly. Of course, if you are busy, then you may struggle to come up with varied enough meals throughout the week.

By prepping vegetables the right way, you can ensure your produce retains the maximum amount of nutrients and remains in the best possible state for your vegan sautés, sandwiches, wraps, snacks and soups. By preparing your vegetables together, the process can be as much an opportunity for romantic connection as the meals themselves.

Don’t have a Veg-Match yet? Get Veggly and find yours now!

Investing In Quality Equipment

If you are vegan, then your shopping cart probably wields a host of colorful vegetables of all shapes, textures and sizes.

When prepping this produce, it is important to use the right utensils, since your slices or pieces should be uniform to ensure even cooking.

You should have a very sharp knife for shredding leafy vegetables like cabbage and lettuce, as well as good peelers and graters.

There are many fancy electric tools around that shred, slice and dice, but if you have a small kitchen, simply have a good set of knives for small, medium and larger vegetables will most probably suffice.

Wrapping Chopped Vegetables In Plastic

If you are concerned about the possible loss of nutritional value caused by cutting and prepping vegetables beforehand, know that there are good ways to slow down nutritional loss.

As stated by Dr. A Kader of the University of California at Davis, by wrapping cut produce in plastic, you can reduce nutritional loss to about 10% for Vitamin C, 7% for folate, and just 3% for beta carotene.

Keep the vegetables in your fridge, and keep them in airtight containers. Buy fresh, seasonal vegetables if possible so you consume food with the maximum possible nutritional content.

Choose The Right Vegetables To Prepare

Some vegetables – including broccoli and cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, celery, sweet potatoes, winter squash and zucchini – can last in an airtight container in the fridge four around three days.

Others – including eggplant, potato and avocado – oxidize, and are better prepped on the same day they will be cooked.

There are also specific hacks that work well for some vegetables. For instance, you can prepare potatoes a day in advance, placing them in a bowl of water and popping them in the fridge.

Freezing Vegetables

You may buy an extra large batch of vegetables that the two of you won’t be able to consume in a few days. If so, freezing is a good way to save your purchases. 

Those vegetables that freeze particularly well include peas, broccoli, green beans, squash and cauliflower. Greens like spinach also retain their texture when frozen, as do herbs.

Avoid freezing vegetables with a high moisture content (including lettuce, mushrooms, and cucumbers) as they can freeze up then take on a mushy texture when thawed.

If you are excited about prepping your vegetables for beautiful vegan meals with your partner, ensure you save as much money as you can.

You can achieve this! Freeze excess produce and prepare vegetables all at once so you are more likely to use them over the next few days. For freezing, concentrate on low-moisture vegetables, planning meals in such a way that you utilize high-moisture produce first.

Don’t miss the Veggly Blog

So there you have it! There’s no excuse not to prepare vegetables for your next date! 🙂

As Veggly grows further, make sure you stay up to date and read some of our success stories and messages from our users who found love from their Veg-Matches – all on this page here.

And to stay up to date with all of our announcements, other news stories, blog posts, and recipes, please follow Veggly across our social channels:

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How Veganism Combats Climate Change

Ever wondered if it’s real that veganism combats climate change? This research leaves no doubt!

Nature Sustainability (one of the world’s leading and most respected scientific journals) has published a new report showing the incredibly positive impact plant-based diets can have on climate change.

How veganism combats climate change

We’ve shared the abstract/summary below, but here’s a brief version and explanation for you:

This new study has revealed the huge ‘carbon opportunity cost of keeping livestock’. But what does that mean?

It means there is a huge amount of carbon from the atmosphere that land could draw down/capture (using trees/plants etc.) if it were not being used for animal farming/livestock production. It also means there is an ecological opportunity cost – for example: the woodlands, wetlands, wolves, wild herbivores and thriving ecosystems the land could support if it were rewilded and turned away from animal farming.

The carbon opportunity cost of animal-sourced food production on land

Veganism Combats Climate Change: How do I explain to my friends, family and colleagues?

The research shows us that it is far better to use land for plants (e.g. trees, grass, crops) to draw down carbon from the atmosphere, rather than farming animals for meat/dairy etc.

The impact we can have by switching our food production to plant-based/vegan diets is even larger than previously thought. The report explains how a shift to plant-based diets could enable us to draw down over 500 gigatons of CO2e*… that’s 500 billion tons! This would give us a fighting chance of limiting global warming to 1.5℃.

So there you have it! From an environmental point of view, this is the strongest argument in favor of plant-based diets we’ve ever seen!

Of course, there are many other reasons to leave animals off your plate (animal welfare, food resources, health etc.). But this one is impossible to ignore: the future of our planet depends on it. So make sure you have it up your sleeve next time someone challenges veganism/ plant-based living and asks you to explain it all: Veganism combats climate change and stops global warming!

Veggly is here to help

That being said… we hope you don’t have to explain veganism all the time and you find someone who shares your love of animals and our planet! And that’s why Veggly exists!

To see some of our success stories and messages from our users who found love from their Veg-Matches, please see this page here.

And to stay up to date with all of our announcements, other news stories, blog posts, and future partnerships, please subscribe to our blog and follow the growth of Veggly across our social channels:

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* CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) is a unit for measuring carbon footprints. CO2e is used to express the impact of each different greenhouse gas in terms of the amount of CO2 that would create the same amount of global warming.

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