In Western society, most people eat meat, eggs and dairy products on a regular basis. That being said, the vegan diet is slowly gaining in popularity. Could vegans have a health advantage over vegetarians and omnivores?

What Is A Vegan Diet?

Vegans are vegetarians that follow stricter rules. Like vegetarians, they avoid meat and meat products. In addition, they also avoid all other food associated with animals, such as eggs, dairy products, etc. You may wonder what is left to eat after you take away these foods, but there is plenty: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains (pasta, bread, crackers) and legumes. Contrary to popular belief, vegans can maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle without depriving themselves of any required nutrients except for Vitamin B12, which may or may not be present in sufficient amounts in the vegan diet.

Benefits Of A Vegan Diet

Vegans have lower cholesterol levels than meat eaters because of the significantly lower concentration of saturated fat and cholesterol in their diet. By avoiding meat, dairy and eggs, vegans stick to a cholesterol-free diet. If you are looking for an efficient way to reduce your cholesterol levels, you can switch your animal protein to plant protein.

If you are diabetic, you may be interested in talking to your doctor about switching to a vegan diet. The absence of cholesterol and lower fat intake combined with a diet rich in complex carbohydrates may help reduce your insulin intake.

The vegan diet is also dramatically higher in fibre than most diets because of the quantity of fruits, vegetables and whole grains that are consumed. Also, if osteoporosis is a concern, you should be aware that eating large amounts of animal protein leads to a depletion of calcium from your bones. You could consider replacing some of your animal protein with plant protein.

A study published in the June 2008 edition of the Complementary Therapy in Medicine Journal concluded that eating a raw vegan diet improved the mental and emotional quality of life of subjects. Anxiety and perceived stress levels decreased by 18.6% and 16.4%, respectively, while their quality of life improved by 11.5%.

Vegan Diet And Cancer Prevention

While cancer is not caused directly by food consumption, the food you eat affects your chances of getting cancer. Cancer can be described as DNA mutations that are inherited from your genes and/or acquired in your current lifetime. Food, pollution, tobacco and radiation are all external factors that affect your odds of getting cancer.

Research indicates that the intake of animal products correlates with the incidence of six common types of cancer in several countries: breast, intestinal, lung, lymphatic, ovarian and prostate cancer. In other words, countries that ate less meat and other animal products had lower cancer rates.

Similarly, there is also a correlation between the intake of plant related food and the incidence of cancer. This could be caused by the presence of phytochemicals in plants, which are known to protect against DNA damage, which sometimes leads to the formation of cancer.