Eating in a way that is described as vegan means not eating any part of animal products or anything derived from animals, including dairy, honey, eggs, meat, and more. This is also often a lifestyle change where many vegans try to avoid animal cruelty and animal derived options in other areas of life like products for beauty, clothing, and so on. But what actually are the benefits and drawbacks when considering an option like this? Well, we’re here to help anyone that is wondering that. Here are some of the pros and cons of being vegan.
Pro: Mindful Eating
Eating in a more restricted way like vegan or vegetarian diets can actually be linked with more mindful eating and living, as you have to think more about what you put into your body than you would without that restriction. Mindful eating has its own very long list of benefits for the mind and body as well. And you’re not only mindful of your own eating, but of the environment as well in this type of diet.
Con: Eating Out
Especially if you live in a smaller town or region, eating out can become difficult to near impossible for someone eating vegan. While there are beginning to be more available options in fast food chains and other restaurants it is certainly a slow climb, and it’s not perfect. You are often signing up for a risk of eating something that may not be entirely vegan or having to ask a lot of questions to ensure this isn’t the case.
Pro: Varied Eating
Something that has been linked with a multitude of benefits for our longevity and health is eating a variety of foods. It can prevent allergies to certain food groups, improve mineral and nutrient content in our body, reduce specific food cravings that you may not want, and so on. Eating vegan means you will experience a great deal of new foods and varied things you probably wouldn’t normally try.
Con: Diligence and Deficiencies
In any dietary change, you have to be incredibly cautious and mindful of your body’s needs while transitioning as well as long term eating the new diet. Staying vegan requires diligence in your food choices and heavy attention to your nutrients like protein, important vitamins, and more. If you don’t do this, you could suffer deficiencies that will wreak havoc on your body and mind which are worrisome.
Pro: Can be Cost Efficient
Before you get angry and say “but veggies are expensive!” consider this: meat, seafood, and convenience options for eating are expensive. They are. You can spend many dollars per meal, and with three meals a day it adds up quick. Vegan options can be more healthy on cost, simply because they reduce those higher price things like seafood or meats. And many staples of a vegan diet are easy to buy in bulk and cheap.
Con: Social Drawbacks
If you have friends and family that don’t follow a similar eating pattern, upkeep of a social life can become stunted for those adhering to this choice. Much of our social lives revolve around eating or drinking, which is a degree harder when having heavy restrictions on what you can eat. It definitely won’t collapse all of your friends or family interactions, but it can be a lot more difficult especially at first.
Whether you need to weigh out what you could be missing out on or struggling with as already following veganism, or you need to know these concepts to weigh out a decision on whether or not to follow this path, or anything else in between; this list of pros and cons of being vegan can help you to learn something new about a lifestyle like this and what comes with it. You always have to sign up for some drawbacks when making a huge life change like going vegan, but understanding what you could be signing up for is important to make the choice best for you and your health.