Vegan Life Experience

  I decided to switch from being vegetarian to vegan to see if it would improve my health. I was struggling with depression, anxiety, obesity, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Initially, I was eating a lot of vegan junk food and I only noticed an improvement in my anxiety levels. Once I got used to eating a plant-based diet and had a good variety of healthy recipes to use, I largely ditched the highly processed foods and that’s when I started to lose weight, experience reduced levels of pain, increased energy and improved mood. I did also stop drinking alcohol, which I sure helped. I’m now a healthy weight and my health issues are managed without any medications. A vegan diet may not always be a silver bullet, but I do think it can make a big difference. Perhaps part of it is that when you care enough about yourself to put mainly good, natural food in your body, then you’re likely to look after yourself better in other ways too. I am very happy to live without eggs and da...

I realize most documentaries show the worst of the worst and not all slaughterhouses run the same but I still saw what I saw… it still happened to those animals and happens everyday… I’m unable to remove the images from my mind.? Feeling those feelings opened a new door to an unknown world. Those same familiar feelings from years before, but with a higher level of understanding and compassion. After the documentary ended, I sat there for a while. Stunned. Numb. Confused. Then came the sobbing. Then the thinking about what our world has come to.  Then feeling disgusted with society. Disgusted with myself as well, that I had been so ignorant and oblivious to what was happening behind slaughter house walls but mainly behind big corporations. That the big name meat and dairy brands are powerful, full of lies and are absolute experts with their marketing and labeling. That for the most part, there are no happy cows or free-range chickens (unless you have a chicken coupe in your backy...

My feelings of hesitation and weariness towards animal products are all too familiar. Ever since I was little, I remember struggling with this internal conflict… especially towards meat. Family dinners and gatherings always included meat, always. Meat was the “main staple” and we didn’t have any vegetarians in the family. My brother and I drank cow’s milk with dinner every night while growing up, because milk has “calcium” and that is what you are supposed to drink in order to grow big and strong, right? Well, that is what most parents are led to believe.  Although cow’s milk is meant for baby cows like breast milk is meant for infants. Weird to say (or write, rather)… but when you think about it, the concept just makes sense. The word “vegan” never came up until one of my elective classes during college at Purdue University. Animal Ethics. I chose this class not realizing the sadness it would entail, and the emotions it would stir up. My professor was 100% vegan in every aspect...

Veganism has been a transformational journey for me. A journey about compassion and also a journey about pain. It still hurts me so deeply to see all of the sufferings in the world. At the same time, it warms my heart that people are becoming more open to this lifestyle and saving animals as a result. Besides this friction between pain and joy, they’ve been some other significant learnings since I became vegan almost three years ago. In this post, I’ll be sharing my honest experiences and lessons of what it’s like to be vegan. This is not a post about glorifying veganism. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  I think many vegans are so focused on putting themselves in the best light in an attempt to inspire others to make the change. I get it. This very blog is a prime�example of that. However, there’s also value in absolute honesty in what it’s really like to live a vegan lifestyle. It’s refreshing to see the challenges and what you could potentially expect. Note: since publish...

The number of people cutting down on meat and dairy, or cutting these foods from their diets entirely, has been rising over the last decade. The number of vegans in the UK, for example, quadrupled between 2006 and 2018, according to research by The Vegan Society. One common motivation for shunning steak and stilton and going vegan is the promised health benefits. The vegan diet is generally considered to be higher in fibre and lower in cholesterol, protein, calcium and salt than an omnivorous diet – but there are still misconceptions and concerns around cutting meat, fish, eggs and dairy completely from our diets.   One common concern is whether a vegan diet provides enough vitamin B12. B12 helps prevent nerve damage, and is found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy, but not in fruit or vegetables. It's recommended that adults consume 1.5 micrograms of the vitamin per day. “A B12 deficiency can lead to neurological symptoms such as numbness, and it’s irreversible if the deficiency...