Veganuary Check-In
Congratulations, you’re over halfway through the Veganuary challenge!
How are you finding it? What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced so far?
Veganuary is often how people launch their vegan diet and it’s a fantastic achievement if you’ve managed to cut meat, dairy, eggs, and fish out of your diet, or even just reduce the amount you eat! A vegan diet, when researched properly, is not only great for your health and wellbeing, it’s also the single biggest thing you can do to reduce your impact on the planet.
Benefits of a vegan diet:
· Healthy weight loss – a vegan diet can make it considerably easier to lose unhealthy weight and reduce the risk of obesity (Source)
· Improved mood – Research shows that a vegetarian diet can improve your mood and have a positive effect on your mental health (Source)
· Less risk of disease – Some research has linked vegan diets with lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and lower rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer. (Source)
· Improved athletic ability – new research has found that switching to a diet centred around plants can yield significant performance advantages providing optimal fuel, increasing blood flow, making muscles more efficient, and speeding recovery by lowering inflammation. (Source)
· Balancing hormones – Hormones such as oestrogen can be responsible for causing breast cancer if levels become too excessive. A New York study found levels of oestrogen can be increased by animal fats. (Source)
If you’re losing motivation, you might want to remind yourself of why you’re taking the Veganuary challenge – read on….
According to an Oxford University study, published in the journal Climatic Change, meat-eaters are responsible for almost twice as many dietary greenhouse-gas emissions per day as vegetarians, and about two and a half times as many as vegans.
The research found that the diets of people who eat more than 100g of meat per day (equivalent to a pack of playing cards), generate 15.8 pounds of carbon-dioxide equivalent (CO2e) each day, whereas vegetarians and vegans are responsible for 8.4 pounds and 6.4 pounds of CO2e, respectively. The study indicated that the dietary greenhouse-gas emissions among meat-eaters were between 99-102% higher than those of vegans.
If you’re trying veganism as a way of cutting your carbon emissions, reducing your water consumption, or the amount of trees cut down in the name of the food you eat, you might want to check out the Vegan Calculator! This website shows you how much CO2, water, trees, grain, and animals are being saved by going vegan. Click here to give it a try!
Vegan Inspiration
We recommend checking out these lot for the best vegan recipes and drool-worthy food…
Vegan duo Henry Firth and Ian Theasby cook up incredible recipes using whole foods and healthy sources of protein. You can also catch their brand new cooking show on ITV1 Sunday mornings at 10:30am.
Blogger Angela Liddon is well known for her indulgent vegan sweet treats, often made in a healthier way than you’d expect – a great excuse to try out some vegan baking this weekend!
Gaz Oakley is a 26-year-old using his cooking skills to encourage people to try veganism. He has some great meal prep ideas if you like to get super organised on a Sunday night!
Other ways to get involved with us this Veganuary
It’s World Chocolate Cake Day on the 27th January – have you got any new vegan chocolate cake recipes you want to share? Tweet a link to the recipe you’ve found or a photo of one you’ve made and tag us in it! (@SustWomen)
Share your vegan wins! We want to hear about the benefits you’ve found from trying veganism; maybe a new recipe you’ve fallen in love with or you’ve reduced the amount of waste your kitchen produces. Let us know on Twitter!