Vegan Diet
A fully plant-based diet excluding all animal products, chosen for health, ethics, or environment.
What Is It?
A vegan diet excludes all animal products — no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey. It relies entirely on plant foods: vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. While often motivated by ethical or environmental concerns, a well-planned vegan diet offers significant health benefits.
How It Works
All nutrition comes from plant sources. Protein is obtained from legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and whole grains. Healthy fats come from nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils. Key nutrients like B12, vitamin D, omega-3s, and iron require careful attention through fortified foods or supplements.
Benefits
- Lower risk of heart disease
- Reduced risk of certain cancers
- Lower body weight on average
- Improved blood sugar control
- Lowest environmental footprint of any diet
- Reduced animal suffering
✅ Foods to Eat
- •Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, black beans, tofu, tempeh)
- •Whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, oats, whole wheat)
- •Vegetables (all varieties)
- •Fruits (all varieties)
- •Nuts and seeds (walnuts, flax, chia, hemp)
- •Plant milks (soy, oat, almond)
- •Nutritional yeast
- •Seaweed and algae
🚫 Foods to Avoid
- •All meat and poultry
- •Fish and seafood
- •Dairy products
- •Eggs
- •Honey
- •Gelatin and animal-derived additives
Sample Day
🔬 Scientific Evidence
The EPIC-Oxford study following 65,000 people found vegans had 19% lower rates of heart disease. The Adventist Health Study-2 found that vegan men lived on average 7 years longer than non-vegetarian men. However, B12 deficiency is common without supplementation, and bone health requires attention to calcium and vitamin D.