Vegan Myths Busted.                 

All Vegans Are Healthy – This is far from the truth. Lots of vegans eat vegan junk food, sweets, etc. and don’t pay attention to what they are putting in their bodies. As I have stated before, variety is key. Become aware of the nutrients in what you are eating and make sure you get lots of them. You can find the nutrient values of most foods simply by Googling the “name of the food and nutrient value” in one search. Alternatively there is a free app available at cronometer.com where you can input your food and track your nutrition. So far, a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet is the only diet that has been shown to stop AND reverse heart disease and diabetes.

Vegan Eating is a Diet – Vegan eating is not a diet, it is a lifestyle choice. As a vegan, I do my very best to eat nothing that is derived from an animal. I don’t wear leather, I don’t eat honey, eggs, fish, chicken or oysters and my furniture is made of cloth and wood. There are many degrees of veganism and some people can be very militant about it. I’m not as I prefer to educate, rather than condemn. My theory is that it is easier to attract flies to sugar than it is to get them to vinegar!

Vegans Need to Take Vitamin B12 Supplements Because They Don’t Eat Meat – Though B12 is found in meats, it is actually created by a bacteria found in animals stomachs. It is even recommended that all people over the age of 50 should supplement with B12 whether they eat meat or not! Vegans can get B12 from nutritional yeast, fortified nut milks and other foods however when in doubt, there are plenty of Vitamin B12 supplements available. You can’t take too much so even if you think you are getting enough from your food, a supplement won’t cause any harm.

Without Dairy Products, There is Not Enough Calcium in a Vegan’s Diet – Calcium can be found is so many vegetables I won’t list them here but usually green vegetables provide the most amount of calcium. Cooking them will often increase the value mostly because they shrink or compress so we eat more and plant based calcium is more absorbable by our bodies.

A Vegan Diet Will Make You Weak – Contrary to popular belief, there are many vegan athletes in the competitive world of sports. David Carter, a 300lb football player with the Arizona Cardinals is living proof of this. John Joseph is a 54 year old Ironman triathlete, author and the punk band, Cro-Mags front man and Venus and Serena Williams, tennis stars, have been vegan for over four years. The list goes on; simply Google “Vegan Athletes” to find more.

A Vegan Lifestyle is TOO Expensive – To the contrary, eating a plant based diet is actually cheaper than a meat based one. Staple foods are pound for pound cheaper than meat and fish and are readily available. Some examples are grains, potatoes, beans or legumes and bananas and in my opinion, organic foods have more flavour.

Vegan Diets Are Boring – With our ability to research the internet now, there is never a shortage of vegan menus and recipes. Thanks to more and more people exploring veganism, the creative cooks in the world share their recipes on line to the masses. Vegan Cookbooks can be found in the Cooking section of any bookstore or library. If you think plant-based diets are boring, you need to do more research.

Susan Hollingshead is our resident vegan. Susan has been a vegetarian for 20 years, and a vegan for 3. She has researched both lifestyles extensively and is constantly exploring new recipes, add her own twist. She is a long time Spud customer, and now our very own resident vegan blogger!