The vegan diet is becoming more and more popular…it was rare to hear about someone who was on a vegan diet until the China Study came out in 2005 and then it really gained momentum when a leading medical doctor published the book “How Not to Die“. The book basically recommends a varied plant and wholegrain diet to treat all common diseases. Oh and that documentary – The Game Changers

Macrobiotic Vegan Diet

You can ensure a typical vegan diet is macrobiotic, by avoiding all artificial sweeteners and preservatives, by eating whole foods and sourcing organic food locally.

Benefits of a Vegan Diet

Compared to the average western diet, a typical Vegan Diet has the following benefits:

– Higher in fibre

– Reduced risk of heart disease

– Higher in vitamins, especially vitamins A, C and E

– Higher in minerals such as magnesium

– Reduced risk of developing certain cancers (pretty much all of them)

– Phytochemicals in organic fruits and vegetables are linked to decreased in oxidative stress- important for athletes looking to avoid burn out and overtraining

– Vegan diets also tend to be cheaper. Compare the price of an organic chickpea curry, to the price of an organic chicken curry, for example

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Negatives of Vegan Diet

– Constantly explaining to people why you don’t eat meat – nightmare with the grandparents and mother-in-law at Christmas

– EPA, a constituent of omega 3 is hard  to obtain on a strict vegan diet. You can use algae oil however.

– Vitamin B12 can be hard to obtain in optimum amounts unless supplemented – arguably the same for people on a ‘normal’ diet anyway though.

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To summarise the books & research written about vegan diets…a whole food organic vegan diet significantly reduces the risk of all of the most common causes if mortality and illness, when compared to a typical western diet. It can be tricky to get enough EPA, b12 and iron and a right bastard to explain to old people and bodybuilders.

Some may argue that the health benefits come mainly from the lack of junk food, sugar and factory farmed meat, rather than the elimination of all animal products itself. Either way, there is undoubtedly a link between vegan diets and reduced risk of a great number of diseases.

One of the main issues with the meat & animal products consumed in a normal Western Diet, is the amount of anti-biotics and hormones used to produce massive quantities of meat, unnatural amounts of milk etc at minimal expense. Food Inc was a documentary which brought this to the attention of many people:

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Vegan Diet & Athletic Performance

More & more athletes are moving over to a vegan diet. One of the pioneers of this shift away from protein drinks and Lucozade was ultra-marathon runner Scott Jurek.

The argument against vegan diets used to be that the quality of protein required, was difficult to obtain but thanks to the number of hemp products now on the market, this is no longer the case. Hemp, nuts and quinoa are great sources of vegan protein.

Athletes have traditionally focused on the periods before, during and after training and competition, and ignored the need for a base of good health with a diet rich in nutritious whole foods.

The vegan diet has begun to reverse this trend, consuming a nutritions foods everyday, which reduce inflammation and aid recovery & adaptation.

If you are a vegan MMA fighter, you should focus on getting protein in your diet, as even hemp & quinoa are not as bioavailable as the protein found in meat i.e. you need more protein per day as a vegan.

Nutritional yeast is a great food to add to your savoury dishes too. It’s still worth supplementing B12 and iron though.

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Vegan Diet Shopping List

Everything should be organic if possible. Many vegans & veggies try and grow lots of food themselves…we’ve only ever had success with rhubarb so far – that stuff doesn’t stop growing…

Vegetables

Asparagus
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Sugar snap peas
Tomatoes
Bell peppers
Avocado (think this is actually a fruit, buy some either way)

Salad Stuff

Mixed bags of salad
Baby kale
Baby spinach
Romaine
Butter lettuce
Leaf lettuce

Frozen Stuff 

More Broccoli
Extra Asparagus
Even more Spinach
Corn
Peas
Carrots

Protein Sources

Anything non-GMO Soya (the counter argument to eating lots of soya by the way, is the phytoestrogen content

Hemp seeds
Almonds – and DIY Almond milk
Nut butters
Quinoa
Lentils
Tempeh
Sprouted-grain bread

Carbohydrate Sources

Brown Rice
Oats

Fresh Fruit

Apples
Pears
Kiwis
Oranges
Grapefruit
Lemons
Peaches
Plums
Nectarines
Bananas
Raspberries
Blackberries
Watermelon
Apricots
Grapes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Olives (technically a fruit)

Supplements

Hemp protein powder (handy if you’re travelling, otherwise blend hemp seeds for wholefood goodness)

Algae oil (for EPA)

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*Obviously remove or replace honey and fish oil to make these smoothies vegan!)

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Vegan Fighters

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Hungry on Vegan Diet?

There’s a lot of people who start a vegan diet and complain they are hungry.

Make sure you get enough protein from hemp and quinoa.

Your body might be craving micronutrients, try nutritional yeast, a b12 and iron supplement.

Is Diet Coke Vegan?

There’s also loads of monthly searches about diet coke being vegan – apparently – yes it is vegan – although I wouldn’t recommend it as part of a healthy vegan diet.

Is Dr Pepper Vegan?

Yes – Dr Pepper is fine for vegans to drink

Vegan diet for vitiligo?

There are some anecdotes or reports of a vegan diet, helping vitiligo. A whole food diet, can potentially cure lots of autoimmune conditions, compared to a standard western diet.

There is some useful info on diet and vitiligo here – https://vitiligosociety.org/living-with-vitiligo/

The general idea, appears to be, to eat a diet the lowers inflammation – so gluten and dairy free may help some people – but always speak to your doctor or dietitian first.

The ketogenic, may have some benefits too, emphasise on “may” – again, speak to a professional before making huge changes to your diet.

Question for anyone with vitiligo… from keto