Veganism might have benefits

Last week was the healthiest week of my life.

I was vegan for a week.

Veganism is more than a diet - it is a way of life.

According to the Web site vegan.org, a vegan "is someone who, for various reasons, chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians choose not to use flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals."

Some popular reasons people have for following a vegan lifestyle include animal rights, environmental issues and health benefits. Usually it is a combination of those reasons, and often others.

"I read about how animals are confined, mutilated and slaughtered on factory farms and in slaughterhouses," said Freeman Wicklund, director of campaigns for Mercy for Animals, in an email. "Then I saw sick and injured animals on factory farms languishing untreated with broken bones, large bloody growth[s], and puss and blood filled infections. I believe in respecting one's neighbors, and factory farms and slaughterhouses violate this ethic, so I choose to live as a vegan."

Wicklund has been vegan for 20 years.

Holli Kendall, a PhD student in Rural Sociology, also cited animal rights as one reason behind her veganism.

"I tried at first to obtain 'humane' meat, but realized that there really is no such thing," Kendall said in an email. "[I] decided it would be easier to just not eat it at all."

Vegans are often concerned about reducing their negative effect on the environment as well.

"Going vegan is also a significant way to reduce our ecological footprint," Richey said, citing the Web site earthday.net/Footprint. Veganism saves resources and reduces waste, he said.

How Veganism affects health

"More and more mainstream medical journals are publishing the linkages between the high consumption of animal products and diseases of the human body," she said. She gave the examples of osteoporosis, heart disease and colon cancer.

"The positive aspects [of veganism] include not eating the saturated fat that usually comes with meat of any kind. So one lowers one's cholesterol intake dramatically," said Katy Kram, a licensed and registered dietitian. Lowering the intake of saturated fat, cholesterol and trans fat, which happens in a healthy vegan diet, can help reduce the risk of heart disease, Kram said.

However, there are negative aspects of a vegan diet as well.

"Some vitamins like B-6 and B-12 and Vitamin D... we find primarily in animal products in our diet," said Jackie Buell, Ph.D, who is also the director of sports nutrition at OSU. "So it's a risk for [vegans] to be possibly deficient in those nutrients because they're not getting animal products."

Vegans also need to make sure they are getting enough protein in their diet. Buell said the concept of complementary proteins is something very important to pursuing healthy veganism. Buell said there are nine essential amino acids, and the only way humans can get them is by eating them. Grains are deficient in some essential amino acids, so by combining different grains at once, they will compliment the deficiencies of the other and create a complete protein.

Examples of complementary proteins are beans with bread or a flour tortilla with rice.

Another negative aspect of veganism was mentioned by both dietitians. Buell and Kram said that people with eating disorders often say they are vegan, to disguise their avoidance of foods such as meat and milk.

"I deal a lot with people who have eating disorders, and some young women, especially, can find it as an excuse to simply eliminate a whole food group," Kram said. "They don't eat, they don't get enough protein in, or enough calcium-rich food because they think, 'Well I'm just going to call it vegan' and it's a good excuse to stop eating a whole bunch of food. And that's not healthy, that's not going to support their health; it's going to tear their health down."

However, for those who choose to follow a healthy vegan diet, they can be "as healthy, if not healthier being a vegan than being a carnivore," Buell said.

Eating a variety of foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes is an important factor in a healthy vegan diet.

"I eat a varied vegan diet composed of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds," Wicklund said. "Then I add a bit of ground flax seed to my morning oatmeal for the omega-three fatty acids, and take a B-12 supplement."

How to find vegan-friendly food

"The worst vegan food is that prepared by someone who has no idea what vegan food is-like when I am forced to go to a mainstream restaurant and ask for something to be 'veganized,'" Kendall said. "It seems that most restaurants equate 'vegan' with 'tasteless,' or assume that I am ordering vegan because I am on a 'diet' and so try to give me fat-free sugar-free options. I wish restaurants would realize that vegan food does not have to be boring and tasteless and that even non-vegan diners can appreciate healthy, tasty food choices."

"The vegans I know appreciate good food and are loyal customers to grocers and restaurants that try to meet our needs," Richey said.

A helpful Web site for finding local vegan-friendly restaurants and grocers is VegOhio.com. For vegan or vegetarian students, menus for campus dining services are available at diningservices.osu.edu, and items are marked if they are vegan, vegetarian and/or low fat.

Several examples of local vegan-friendly grocers include Clintonville Community Market, Raisin Rack, Wild Oats, Sunflower Market and Whole Foods.