Veganism has been around for ages, but it only got its name and traction in the past few decades. In recent years it has become something everyone’s heard of. Some would say it’s radical, some would say it’s dangerous. Because of those people, we’ve all heard a lot of myths about veganism that aren’t necessarily true.
No matter whether you’re a vegan or not, you’ve probably heard some “downsides” of veganism, such as:
- veganism is expensive
- where do vegans get their protein?
- veganism is sooo restrictive
I’m here to walk you through 5 myths about veganism that aren’t true. I hope they’ll help you understand why veganism isn’t as bad as some try to portray it.
Vegans don’t get enough protein
One of the biggest misconceptions about veganism is that vegans don’t get enough protein. You’d think this is totally 2010 stuff, but people still don’t get it. Meat and dairy and eggs are supposed to be the main protein sources, but tell me, where do animals get their protein from? Plants.
Of course, we’re not cows or pigs or chickens and we can’t thrive on grass, but we can thrive on other plants. There are highly nutritious protein sources that are 100% plant-based and will fill you up and keep you healthy. Here are some of them:
- legumes – soy, beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, and even peanuts (yup, they’re legumes and very rich in protein)
- nuts – almonds, cashews, walnuts
- seeds – hemp seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds
- grains – buckwheat, quinoa, spelt, teff, amaranth
- tofu, seitan, tempeh
- algae like spirulina
- vegetables – broccoli, spinach, brussels sprouts, potatoes, sweet potatoes
- fruits – blackberries, mulberries, bananas, nectarines, guava
I’ve written a list of a few products under each category that are the richest in protein. Essentially almost all food contains protein. The ones with the most protein are legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, and minimally processed foods made of those (like tempeh, tofu, and seitan).
To be honest, there is a “problem” with plant protein that’s very easy to solve. Proteins are chains of amino acids. There are 20 amino acids in nature, 9 of which are essential. It means our body cannot make them itself and we have to get them through diet. Animal protein is a complete protein because it contains all 9 essential amino acids. Plant protein is known as incomplete protein as most plant protein sources lack one of the 9 amino acids.
That is a problem if you’re used to eating 5 different foods on repeat. But it is not a problem if your diet is diverse and you get multiple sources of protein daily.
Combinations that provide complete protein
Soy is known to be a complete protein though, so anything made of soy is complete on and of itself. We’re talking edamame, tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy yogurt, soy cheese, soy “meat”, etc. Other protein sources with complete protein are quinoa, buckwheat, hempseed, pumpkin seeds, blue-green algae.
Apart from the foods that contain all 9 amino acids, there are combinations of food that will provide those, too:
- chickpeas and bread (i.e. hummus sandwich)
- beans and rice (burrito, anyone?)
- nuts and grains (wholemeal toast and peanut butter)
- beans and nuts/seeds (salad with kidney beans and sunflower seeds)
- lentils and grains (dhal with barley)
You don’t have to eat all of these every day and there are other combinations with which you can diversify. All you have to do is eat the rainbow.
It’s that easy!
This is a hummus sandwich. You can find a recipe here.
Veganism is restrictive and the food is boring
If you go vegan to lose weight and you just think about all the calories you need to cut I bet you veganism is hella restrictive. But if you look at veganism from a different perspective, veganism offers a lot.
In fact, veganism is not only for those who want to be healthier. There are many reasons why someone would want to go vegan. You can do it for the animals, which is the most wide-known reason. You can do it for the planet. You may want to do it for the future of us all. Or do it for health reasons.
Nowadays, you can get vegan options on every corner so saying vegan foods are inaccessible is totally outdated. The best option is still to choose whole foods, but if you want a burger and fries, you’re welcome to have those. Vegan versions, of course. You can get practically anything. Burgers, nuggets, schnitzel, chick’n strips, vegan tuna, vegan eggs … And that’s just on the unhealthy side.
Eat the rainbow
Knowing your way around the food, you can make almost anything from scratch from whole foods. I mentioned in the previous section that the solution to complete protein is to diversify. A vegan diet is not boring as long as you diversify. The colours of plant foods are inspiring, to say the least.
As soon as you learn about all the foods you can have you’ll realize that veganism is not restrictive at all. In many cases, people realize they’re eating more diversly than before they went vegan. Veganism opens up a new world of foods you might have never heard of.
Additionally, your tastebuds will change and you’ll develop a taste for foods you might have thought boring before. Suddenly, many foods become delicious, giving you even more options.
Colourful bowls are one of the fastest and most nutritious meals. Find a recipe for this rainbow buddha bowl here.
Vegan food is expensive!
Do you know what’s expensive? Processed foods. Vegan or not. Processed foods like sweets, pre-made meals, and fast food are expensive. Whole foods are not.
Veganism is expensive if you keep buying vegan nuggets and sausages and ice-cream. But if you choose fruits and vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds instead, you’ll see that veganism is actually not expensive at all.
Opting for whole foods is not only more budget-friendly but is also a lot healthier. Making meals at home is one of the most budget-friendly things you can do. You can find a bunch of simple and tasty recipes on my blog and many other vegan blogs out there. If you’re a busy person, take time to meal-prep once a week. Colourful healthy meals can be made in no more than 30 minutes or even less. You can make filling and satisfying meals for less than 1€ per portion.
Veganism is not more expensive than a “normal” diet that contains animal products. It may even be less expensive! If budget is your problem, then going vegan might be your solution.
You’re welcome to surf through my blog and find recipes like this taco recipe.
Being vegan is unhealthy
If someone goes vegan and only eats burgers and fries and chocolate, that is surely not healthy. But I don’t think that person ate anything else when they weren’t vegan. In that case, vegan fast food is still better than non-vegan.
It’s been proven many times that a plant-based (a.k.a. vegan) diet lowers inflammation, helps fight cancer, lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and even fights mental illness. There are many more benefits of a vegan diet from the smallest things like helping with acne and constipation to resolving serious conditions like chronic diseases.
That is if you choose whole foods. And one should always choose a predominantly whole-food diet. A predominantly plant-based diet has been proven again and again to help with all kinds of conditions. I will not go into details, but you can check this site (the founder is a medical doctor dr. Michael Greger), or check out dr. Neal Barnard or this site (Dr. Michael Klaper) for more articles and research on the topic.
WHO (world health organization) has also declared a vegan diet to be healthy for people of all ages – from babies to people at 80 or 90 or even 100. So much proof and people still doubt it.
Veganism is propaganda
I’ve heard this a couple of times during the past few months and it always makes me laugh.
Propaganda noun “ideas or statements that may be false or present only one side of an argument that are used in order to gain support for a political leader, party, etc.” (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries)
Propaganda is therefore something lobbies and political parties use, right? There is not one single vegan lobby in the world. There are no vegan parties and no vegan politics. But there are meat and dairy lobbies.
Have you heard of the meat and dairy lobby interfering with European Parlaiment, asking them to prohibit using words like “burger, steak, milk, yogurt, etc.” for non-dairy products? They also succeeded (read about it here) – you can read “oat drink” or “fermented coconut cream” or “plant-based disc” on packaging. That’s propaganda and lobbying right there.
Which is which
If veganism was propaganda, it would not have been pushed back so fiercely. In fact, it would be pushed onto us from all corners of the world just like dairy is for example. Or fast food. If you go deeper into the topic you might find that politicians and all governmental organs avoid veganism and discussions about it. Veganism is something that causes disruption because it puts lobbies in jeopardy, not because it is propaganda on its own. Dairy and meat industries are supported by governments and tax money which is why animal products can be so cheap (if you look at all the resources and the money used to raise animals and then the prices in the stores, it just doesn’t add up). Veganism puts that money flow under the question mark. No wonder they wish to stop veganism by all means.
No, veganism is not propaganda. In fact, it’s called propaganda to keep people away from it. Which is in a way meat and dairy propaganda. Because more people choose to go vegan, fewer people choose to buy animal products. That’s less money in the pockets of the biggest lobbies in the world, including farmaceutical. Do you have a feeling this is much bigger than you thought? Well, it just migh be.
Hot-dog sausage? More like vegan hot-dog stick.
Final words
I hope you understand now that veganism is not a boogie from the closet that will come eat you in the night. There’s a lot more to it than I wrote in this article, but all the aspects would take up a book, not just one article. Debunking 5 myths about veganism that aren’t true was fun, but there are many more to touch upon. Let me know in the comments which one bugs you the most!
Veganism should be a conscious informed choice. Look at it from different perspectives, do your own research, ask around, listen to podcasts, talk to people who’ve been vegan for a while … and then choose what’s best for you. If people had the information that is available on the topic, I think most of them would choose to go vegan yesterday.
I’ve been thriving on vegan diet for the past four years. Before I went vegan I tried different diets in order to heal my skin condition (you can read all about it here) and nothing helped except veganism (not even dermatologist’s pills and creams). I dropped all the misbeliefs about veganism and decided to ignore the myths and do it my own way. It remains one of the best decisions of my life.
In ayurveda they say: “When diet is out of order, medication is of no use. When diet is in order, medication is of no need.” The food we eat can be our medicine or it can be our poison. What will be yours?
0 Comments