Well here we are in January 2020 and on the radio, in the news and on social media. The whole Veganuary debate continues.
Launched in 2014, the participation has increased year on year. Not just in the UK but on a worldwide basis. The Veganuary UK website has a great deal of information explaining why they encourage people to participate. Veganuary is actually a registered charity that encourages people to embrace being vegan in January. They hope people will continue throughout the remainder of the year.
Three key factors are confirmed as:
- Concern for animal welfare
- Concern for the environment
- For people looking to improve their health
Health benefits of being vegan
One of the factors listed above is improvement to health. Many participants of Veganuary want to try veganism to see if it actually will improve their health. There has been extensive research into how diet affects certain health conditions. It has been suggested that vegans are less prone to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.
What is food is classed as vegan?
Essentially vegan food contains no animal ingredients, even if a food product contains just 1% milk powder, it is not vegan.
Vegan food groups include:
- Vegetables
- Fruits and berries
- Rice, wheat, and other grains
- Beans, tofu, and tempeh
- Soy milk and nut milks
- Nuts and Seeds
- Vegetable oils
Taking the above information into consideration, even changing from vegetarian to vegan could be a massive step and therefore before you pledge to take part in Veganuary then you should maybe think carefully about the practicalities of becoming a vegan – even just for a month!
The Veganuary website offer a fantastic amount of help for people who want to join in, including a recipe guide showing vegan breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert ideas.
https://uk.veganuary.com/meal-of-the-day/dinner
If you have started the Veganuary journey or are embracing any other new year’s resolution that really could positively affect your health, the team at SMP Healthcare wish you the very best of luck.