Fourthly, I am kinda worried about health effects, especially on short-to-medium-term energy levels.
I’ve been mostly (~98%) vegan since 2013. This concern really surprised me, because the health benefits of eating plant based are clearly extraordinary in my view. It was actually the primary driver for me going from vegetarian to vegan, with concern for the farmed animals growing later.
I would say that the very short term effects (1-2 weeks) can be disruptive as the bacteria in your gut become re-selected from bacteria that feed on meat or dairy to ones that feed on fibrous foods—veggies, fruit, legumes, nuts etc. But the 2-weeks-to-rest-of-life health benefits are massive. Ranging from higher energy levels to prevention of many kinds of diseases, greatly lower risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, easier to lose/maintain weight… the list goes on. It does require actually eating more cruciferous and other veg, berries and other fruits, legumes, spices to etc. though and not just being a junk food vegan who eats cookies and crackers all the time. And you do need to supplement with vitamin B12 because this essential nutrient gets stripped from the fruits and veg when we wash them (and it is a good idea to still wash them).
Highly recommend exploring Dr. Michael Greger’s work (https://nutritionfacts.org/) if anyone is curious about health questions around plant-based/vegan diet. He’s an evidence-based/altruistic M.D. nutritionist and does great work separating out the quality nutrition research from ones with methodological errors, bias from funding sources etc. (I am in no way affiliated and his work as I understand it is not for profit.)
I’ve been mostly (~98%) vegan since 2013. This concern really surprised me, because the health benefits of eating plant based are clearly extraordinary in my view. It was actually the primary driver for me going from vegetarian to vegan, with concern for the farmed animals growing later.
I would say that the very short term effects (1-2 weeks) can be disruptive as the bacteria in your gut become re-selected from bacteria that feed on meat or dairy to ones that feed on fibrous foods—veggies, fruit, legumes, nuts etc. But the 2-weeks-to-rest-of-life health benefits are massive. Ranging from higher energy levels to prevention of many kinds of diseases, greatly lower risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, easier to lose/maintain weight… the list goes on. It does require actually eating more cruciferous and other veg, berries and other fruits, legumes, spices to etc. though and not just being a junk food vegan who eats cookies and crackers all the time. And you do need to supplement with vitamin B12 because this essential nutrient gets stripped from the fruits and veg when we wash them (and it is a good idea to still wash them).
Highly recommend exploring Dr. Michael Greger’s work (https://nutritionfacts.org/) if anyone is curious about health questions around plant-based/vegan diet. He’s an evidence-based/altruistic M.D. nutritionist and does great work separating out the quality nutrition research from ones with methodological errors, bias from funding sources etc. (I am in no way affiliated and his work as I understand it is not for profit.)