What are the advantages of being vegan?
All vegetarian diets, especially the vegan diet, have health advantages that include lower dietary intakes of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein and higher intakes of fiber and several nutrients including vitamins A and C. Vegetarians have been associated with lower Body Mass Index (BMI), decreased incidence of ischemic heart disease, lower blood pressure, and lower cancer rates than meat-eaters. Several major health agencies, including the American Institute for Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association, recommend a diet that is heavily plant-based. Can a vegan diet meet my nutritional needs? Yes. However, being vegan is more complicated than just avoiding meat and eating fruits, vegetables, and grains. To maintain good health a vegan must meet their nutrition needs with careful planning. Studies show some vegans have lower intakes of nutrients that are high in meats or dairy foods, including of vitamin B-12, vitamin D, calcium, zinc,
