Benefits of a Vegan Diet
The vegan diet is a form of vegetarianism that eliminates all forms of meat, eggs, dairy, and animal-derived products. Often, vegans also exclude any foods that use animal products such as white sugar and certain wines as ingredients. The diet includes vegetables, beans, grains, legumes, and fruits. There are many vegan-friendly products available in the market now including vegan substitutes for dairy products such as soy or almond milk, tofu and non-dairy yogurt.
Nutritional Value
If you manage to follow the vegan diet correctly, the diet enables you to consume more antioxidants, fiber, minerals, vitamins and nutrients. However, it is crucial that you compensate for the protein that those on carnivorous diet obtain easily from eating meat.
Disease Prevention
The vegan diet has repeatedly been associated to a wide range of health benefits. In addition, the diet has shown to not only regulate medical conditions but also to prevent various diseases. In comparison to plant-based foods, all forms of meats often contain more chemical toxins and parasites. Therefore, by eliminating meat and highly processed foods from their diet, veganism prevents diseases. Research findings indicate that people on the vegan or vegetarian diet report fewer instances of coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension and certain types of cancers. This could be attributed to the decrease in the intake of saturated fats and an increase in the intake of antioxidants, fiber and nutrients that vegans obtain from their diet.
Sustainable and Ecofriendly
Bearing in mind the strain that the production of meat and other animal products place on our ecosystem, a large shift to veganism can be an effective approach to protecting our environment and natural resources. Meat production requires large quantities of crops, feed, land and water to feed and raise animals, resulting in resource exhaustion, deforestation, animal cruelty and other negative outcomes. The vegan diet requires significantly lesser amounts of water and crops for sustenance.
Improves Athletic Performance
A significant number of renowned athletes, including tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, have switched to vegan diets. In order to gain optimum athletic performance through their eating habits, athletes are adopting diets that promote healthy levels of good-fat, mineral and vitamins over diets that emphasize protein intake. There is no one diet that fits people of all ages, fitness levels, medical conditions and requirements. However, there are several ones that may compromise athletic performance. Check out a complete beginner’s guide for more valuable information.
Benefits of Paleo Diet
The Paleo diet aims at returning to the way of eating during the Paleolithic era until 10,000 years ago when farming emerged. The diet eliminates dairy products, beans and grains and typically includes foods such as meats, nuts, vegetables and seeds that could have been acquired through hunting or gathering.
Eating Clean
Since the Paleo diet emphasizes eating as our ancestors did, people on this diet are more likely to consume foods that are free from chemicals, preservatives, and additives. The diet eliminates dairy products, beans, highly processed foods, sugars and foods with added
hormones or artificial ingredients. As a result, people following the diet tend to load up on nutrients and fiber by eating fish, meat, vegetables and certain nuts, fruits, and seeds.
Muscle Building
The Paleo diet helps feed your muscles and can aid muscle growth, giving you a leaner body structure. This is because the diet ensures a good amount of protein by relying greatly on meat. Fit bodies enable you to deal with stress better and go hand in hand with a wide array of health benefits.
Maintain or Lose Weight
According to several studies, the paleo diet can lead to huge improvement in health and even help you to lose excess weight. It is much easier to monitor your body weight since the diet requires you to eliminate highly processed foods and added sugars. The diet is high in protein and low in carbs and naturally reduces your calorie intake since paleo foods keep you feeling full, relatively longer than other foods.
Beneficial for People with Diabetes
Since the paleo diet involves eating natural foods and restricting processed foods, sugars and carbs, it has been found to be especially beneficial for people with diabetes. In addition to weight loss, the diet benefits people with diabetes by improving heart health, increasing insulin sensitivity, reducing inflammation and providing more energy.
No Need to Count Calories
One of the best things about the paleo diet is that it does not require you to counting carbs or calories through the day. The diet does not have a long list of complex rules and guidelines and is remarkably easy to follow.
The vegan and the paleo diet, both, have a lot to offer. It is necessary that you consider which caters best to your own needs. If chosen and followed correctly, watching what you put in your body can bring a ton of improvement in your health and fitness.