You may have seen this ad last week - Alicia Silverstone promoting the benefits of veganism for Peta. On the site, she says: “I’ve been vegan for 10 years, and it’s the single-most important and helpful decision I have ever made. Physically, the effect has been amazing. Once I went vegan, I lost the weight I wanted to lose, my nails were stronger, and my skin was glowing. I feel great, and I look better now than I did 11 years ago.”
I’ve been slowly transitioning from vegetarian (as in, eating eggs and dairy) to vegan (no animal products, not even honey) for the last few months. I have to agree, you lose weight really quickly and feel generally healthier. But you need to be so careful about getting all your right nutrients - protein and calcium, for instance. It’s really easy to be an unhealthy vegan and fall back on pasta and bread. But once you learn to love lentils and brown rice, tempeh and tofu, and soy cheese and soy yoghurt (it’s possible, I promise!), it gets a whole lot easier.
What takes more effort though is tracking down vegan clothes (no leather, no wool) and beauty products, although if you’ve had a look at the beauty aisles of your local Macro or health food store lately, you’ll see that cruelty-free beauty is starting to boom (two of my faves, by the way, are Aesop and Inika). Anyway, I hope I don’t come across preachy, that wasn’t my intention. I’ve always believed that everyone does their bit for society and the planet in their own way. But if you’ve ever toyed with the notion of trying veganism (for the record, I don’t believe in vegetarianism anymore - if you’re doing it for animal-loving reasons, you’re ignoring the fact that the dairy and eggs industries are basically as cruel as the meat industries), I can guarantee it’s more than worth the effort.
