What is a Vegan Lifestyle
What is a vegan lifestyle? When we talk about veganism, many people hear the word “diet” as part of the overall conversation. After all, one of the most well-known aspects of the vegan lifestyle involves not eating meat or animal by-products.
However, by centering diet at the soul of the conversation, we might be doing a disservice to vegans. There’s far more to the veganism ethos than simply controlling what one puts in his or her mouth, and ignoring those facets of the vegan lifestyle denies its power.
If you’re thinking about going vegan or if you already consider yourself a vegan, it’s important to understand why you make specific choices as a consumer and human and why you choose to avoid things that other people consider commonplace.
No, you don’t have to become an academic scholar, nor do you need to tell everyone you meet about your vegan lifestyle. However, part of those movement involves living your values. Instead of just expressing them, you demonstrate them through what you do and choose not to do.
Let’s take a deeper look at the vegan lifestyle and what it truly means to those who practice it.
Mindfulness & Vegan
The Vegan Society defines the vegan lifestyle as “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.”
That’s pretty comprehensive.
Vegans lead with intent. They do their best to create a world, however small, in which no animals are harmed in service to humans.
And it goes far beyond diet.
Vegans have been behind many of the protests that lobbied against circus acts and other entertainment venues that force animals to perform for human entertainment. A circus has nothing to do with diet — unless you count popcorn and cotton candy — but everything to do with animal welfare.
Animals forced to perform for human entertainment often show no signs of enjoying the work or wanting to perform. Consequently, the trainers have to use pain to evoke the desired response from the animal.
The vegan lifestyle involves actively avoiding any practice that damages animal welfare or subjugates animals for our benefit as humans.A vegan lifestyle is a crede and a way of life that denounces the idea that other animals exist for our use. We were all put here for our own purposes, and animals other than humans contribute just as much as we do to our ecosystem.
Vegans believe that we can live side-by-side with animals rather than as “apex predators.” Instead of exerting dominion over animals, we can help them live their lives as naturally as possible.
The vegan lifestyle does involve diet. Vegans don’t eat meat, eggs, dairy, or any other animal by-product, including the honey that bees produce. However, it’s much more than that.
We know that animals are used to create many consumer products, from soaps and cosmetics to clothing. Vegans wear synthetic fabrics, for instance, instead of wool made from sheep, llamas, alpacas, and other animals.
It’s true that these animals aren’t killed for their fur. However, they’re terrorized during the shearing process, which they don’t understand, and left without their natural protection from the elements.
Just as the vegan lifestyle is about intent, it’s also about mindfulness. Before buying something at the store, a vegan considers whether or not it has had a deleterious impact on animals in any way.
Discover The Greatest Secrets Of The Mind And Reality That Will Get You Anything You Desire, Almost Like Magic!
Holding All Lives as Sacred
Holding All Lives as Sacred
One of the purest ways to embrace the vegan lifestyle is to ask yourself one question:
Are you willing to slaughter an animal yourself to feed your family when other alternatives exist?
If not, you’re a good candidate for the vegan lifestyle. You don’t want to slit a cow’s throat, boil a chicken alive, or gut a fish from head to tail. Consequently, you’ve separated the animal from the food in the supermarket.
A chicken breast doesn’t look like a chicken, so we’ve allowed ourselves to compartmentalize. Once you take a more holistic view of the world and realize that all lives are sacred, however, eating meat and animal by-products become repulsive.
Ancient cultures hunted animals because they often had no other choices. They lived in areas where crops couldn’t grow, for instance, so they had no other food sources.
Those peoples often prayed over the animals they killed — even revered them — and vowed to use their bodies in as many ways as possible to honor their unwilling sacrifice. Those people viewed all lives as sacred but were forced to kill to survive.
Anyone who has the ability to read this article doesn’t live in such circumstances. Other food choices exist, so honoring animals means not exploiting them for no reason.
How To Help the Cause
You’re excited about the vegan lifestyle. You’re ready to commit. So what do you do to ensure you live your beliefs and help spread the word about veganism?
Educate Yourself on the Vegan Lifestyle
Start by learning everything you can about the vegan lifestyle. The Sentient Media articles you’ve read are a great start. Learn about nutrition and healthy living, research ways to get the foods you love without harming animals, and find any supplements you need to make sure you meet your body’s requirements.
Practice Veganism
The vegan lifestyle is a practice. You might screw up. Maybe you find yourself out to dinner with friends and accidentally order a dish that has milk or eggs in it. Don’t beat yourself up.
Practice veganism. Learn how to read labels and ask questions. Before you travel, research vegan-friendly supermarkets or restaurants in your destination city so you’re not forced to scramble.
Take snacks with you on the go. Plain nuts, dried fruit, and similar foods are perfect for slipping into a pocket, purse, or briefcase. Carry water, too, so you don’t get dehydrated.
It’s not a coincidence that people who openly live a vegan lifestyle are also advocates for healthy living and good nutrition. They talk about hydration, exercise, sleep, and other aspects of a healthy lifestyle, too. Remember, it’s not just about diet.
More people are going vegan every day.
This evolution creates significant demand for consumer products that fit the vegan lifestyle.
Businesses, including factory farming operations and slaughterhouses, operate on supply and demand. If nobody wants to eat meat or animal by-products, those businesses would shutter their doors because they couldn’t justify continued operations based on demand.
Part of the vegan lifestyle means refusing to put dollars into the hands of people who would hurt animals in any way. As more people join the vegan lifestyle, vegans’ voices become louder and more difficult to ignore.
There So Much More To The Vegan Lifestyle Than Just the Healthy Food
Nobody can deny that vegan food is delicious. It’s whole, plant-based, and diverse, which means you can’t possibly get bored if you’re open to all the foods available to you.
However, the vegan lifestyle doesn’t revolve around food alone. As mentioned above, it’s an ethos or crede that leads people to live their values. Vegans know what they believe, and what they hold sacred, and they do their best to ensure that their behaviors mimic their hearts.
It’s important to understand the vegan lifestyle because it’s easy to say that you love animals and support their rights but to chomp down on an all-beef burger for dinner. It’s similar to an environmental activist driving a gas-guzzling car and drinking water from disposable plastic bottles.
When other people see that you’re living a vegan lifestyle, they might become curious. Most people don’t enjoy hearing lectures, but they emulate behaviors they admire and respect. That’s the key to turning your vegan lifestyle into a statement that spreads to those around you.
Let’s look at some of the most important beliefs behind the vegan lifestyle.
Displaying Personal Conviction Through Action
When it comes to living your beliefs, there are three stages:
- Belief: What do you believe and what do you value? Are you concerned about animal rights? Do you believe that animals shouldn’t be forced into human servitude? If so, those are concrete beliefs.
- Intent: The next stage involves what you want to do about your beliefs. Do you want to create a happier, healthier world for all animals? That’s your intent.
- Action: While intent is important, action matters more. What will you do with your intent? Will you adopt the vegan lifestyle?
When people talk about their beliefs and ideologies but act in direct opposition to them, others don’t take those people seriously. There’s a dissonance between belief and action, and intent is often the missing link.
When you’ve defined a belief for yourself, such as that all animals should be treated humanely, you then need to think about how that belief will manifest. What changes do you want to make? How do you want other people to treat animals?
From intent follows action. Once you create an intention, the next logical step is to act out that intention through your habits as a consumer and a human being.
The vegan lifestyle isn’t just about what you put in your mouth at mealtimes. It’s about how you show other people your beliefs.
Very few people will say they “hate” animals or want them to suffer. Nevertheless, omnivores outnumber herbivores by a significant margin.
There’s a cognitive dissonance between cuddling your cat right before digging into a steak or enjoying a bucket of fried chicken. Just because a chicken or a cow doesn’t look like your family pet doesn’t mean those animals don’t experience the same emotions and instincts.
All animals want to live. They desire to thrive with other animals of their own kind, form emotional bonds, care for their young, and protect each other from predators. By consuming animals and otherwise using them for our own benefit, we deny them those basic rights.
If you live a vegan lifestyle, however, you make a statement with every product you buy, article of clothing you wear, and piece of food you eat. Instead of just saying how much you love animals and wish the best for them, you’re contributing to their cause.
Reducing the Environmental Impact of the Animal Industry
Many of the industries against which vegans fight contribute to pollution, deforestation, reduced habitats for animals, and other things that impact animals’ lives. For instance, animal testing has become a huge strain on our resources, requiring huge labs in which to house and feed animals.
The same goes for dairy farms. These operations consume insane amounts of fossil fuels, contribute to contaminated soil, and introduce large amounts of ammonia into the environment. None of these things is healthy for humans or other animals.
The vegan lifestyle is directly tied to environmentalism. We want to preserve the earth for all creatures, including our own descendants. By selfishly farming the animals and resources without thought to the future, we contribute to a world far less hospitable than the one we enjoy now.
If you believe that we should reduce our carbon footprints and protect animals, the vegan lifestyle is the perfect way to live your beliefs and show that veganism is more than just a diet.
Embracing the Belief of “Doing No Harm”
We don’t have to hurt others to survive. Human beings have proved that through centuries of living on this earth; the fact that we still exist despite the innumerable ways in which we could destroy each other is proof positive of our destiny to live peaceably.
This doesn’t mean, however, that we should just do no harm to our fellow humans. We also have to realize that harming animals and the environment leaves just as obvious a stain.
Despite political and social divisiveness, we’re still a social species. Humanity has only survived because of our ability to care for one another, whether that means staying awake at night to make sure a predator doesn’t ravage our village or shouting a warning to a stranger who’s about to step in front of a moving car.
We’re also wired to bond with other animals. We domesticated dogs before any other creature, and for centuries, we’ve worked alongside canines in mutually beneficial relationships. Dogs enjoy working with humans, just as horses and many cats do because we care for each other.
The problem, though, is that many people pick and choose. If you embrace the belief that you should do no harm to another sentient creature, it’s impossible to separate dogs and cats from cows and chickens and fish.
Nutricion & Health
so..you started or are thinking about going vegan. Well done! Now that the first step has been taken and you have seen all the nice tasty inviting recipes and think I want to, we will now also talk about what is involved. It is important that you get enough varied nutritional values in the right way, I will continue on this page with nutrition tables, nutritional information and special tips and advice. I have used several sources for this to bring this to you in the most transparent way possible. Going vegan shouldn't be difficult, but transparent and fun. What could be more fun than having a delicious vegan lunch with your family in your garden, knowing that your house also contributes to the well-being of nature?
Enjoy reading!
Balancing Foodgroups
First of all,well-planned vegan diets contain all the nutrients we need to remain strong and healthy. When people go vegan, they often eat more fruit and vegetables, and enjoy meals higher in fibre and lower in saturated fat.
The table below gives you further ideas about how to balance your vegan diet:
Food group
- Fruit and vegetables (fresh, tinned, frozen or dried), including orange varieties and leafy greens
- Starchy foods – ideally higher fibre choices, such as oats, sweet potato, wholemeal bread, wholewheat pasta and brown rice
- Nuts and seeds, especially those rich in omega-3 fat
- Protein-rich foods, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, soya alternatives to milk and yoghurt and peanuts
- Calcium-rich foods, such as calcium-fortified foods and calcium-set tofu
Suggested intake
- At least 5 x 80g portions per day (30g for dried fruit)
- Every meal
- Daily
- Almost every meal
- Examples that could be included in your daily diet:
400ml of calcium-fortified plant milk provides about two thirds of the recommended daily intake for adults
100g of calcium-set tofu (raw weight) might provide about half of the recommended daily intake for adults
Vegan lifestyle guide
The tips below will help you to get the most out of your vegan lifestyle:
- Make sure that your diet contains a variety of fruit and vegetables – eat a rainbow!
- Choose higher fibre starchy foods, such as oats, sweet potato, wholemeal bread, wholewheat pasta and brown rice
- Include good sources of protein in most meals, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, soya alternatives to milk and yoghurt, or peanuts
- Eat nuts and seeds daily, especially those rich in omega-3 fat
- Eat calcium-rich foods daily, such as calcium-fortified products and calcium-set tofu
- Ensure that your diet contains a reliable source of vitamin B12 (either fortified foods or a supplement)
- Ensure that your diet contains a reliable source of iodine (arguably a supplement is the best option)
- Everyone should consider a vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter, and year-round supplementation should be considered by people who do not regularly expose their skin to sunlight, and those with darker skin
- Use small amounts of spread and oil high in unsaturated fats, such as vegetable (rapeseed) and olive oils
- Season food with herbs and spices instead of salt
- Drink about six to eight glasses of fluid a day
- Consider a supplement containing long chain omega-3 fats from microalgae, particularly for infants and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding
- Keep active
- Maintain a healthy weight, or lose some weight if it is above the healthy range
these are general guidelines about nutrition. If you have concerns about your diet, please talk to your doctor about seeing a dietitian. Discussing the use of supplements with a health professional will help to ensure that they are suitable for you.
All the nutrients without the animal products
Many people grow up thinking that animal products like meat and milk are essential parts of a healthy diet. However, well-planned vegan diets follow healthy eating guidelines, and contain all the nutrients that our bodies need.
Vitamins and Protein for vegans
1. Plant foods can provide all the essential amino acids. These nutrients are protein building blocks that cannot be made by your body. Ensure that most of your meals contain good sources of protein, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, soya alternatives to milk and yoghurt, or peanuts.
2. We all need some fat in our diets. A couple of fats are classed as essential because our bodies cannot make them. The essential omega-3 fat is called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). The essential omega-6 fat is called linoleic acid (LA). Omega-3 and omega-6 fats affect our immune system, brain, nerves and eyes.
If you are eating a varied and balanced plant-based diet, it is likely that you are consuming good sources of LA on a regular basis. These include hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts and soya spread. However, eating enough ALA may require more planning.
Include good sources of ALA in your daily diet, such as chia seeds, ground linseed, hemp seeds and walnuts, and use vegetable (rapeseed) oil as your main cooking oil. To meet the ALA recommendations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), you would need to eat about a tablespoon of chia seeds or ground linseed, two tablespoons of hemp seeds or six walnut halves daily.
3. Calcium is often thought of as a nutrient that helps to keep your bones and teeth strong. It is also involved in your nervous system, blood clotting and controlling your muscles. In the UK, the recommended intake for adults is 700 milligrams per day. You can get all the calcium you need from a vegan diet.
Vegan-friendly sources of calcium
Calcium-set tofu, calcium-fortified milk and yoghurt alternatives and soya and linseed bread fortified with extra calcium are particularly good sources of this nutrient. For example, 400ml of calcium-fortified plant milk - just under two cups - provides roughly two thirds of an adult’s recommended daily intake of calcium, and 100g of calcium-set tofu (uncooked) can provide half of an adult's daily needs. Other good sources of calcium include kale, pak choi, okra, spring greens, dried figs, chia seeds and almonds.
4. Your body uses iodine to make thyroid hormones. These hormones control how fast your cells work. In the UK, the recommended iodine intake for adults is 140 micrograms per day. Every vegan needs a reliable source of iodine in their diet.
Sources of iodine
There is no easy way of knowing how much iodine is in plant foods. Plant foods (apart from seaweed) may contain a low amount of iodine. The amount of iodine in a plant food varies depending on how much is in the soil the plant is grown in.
Although seaweed is a rich source of iodine, there are several reasons why it may not be the best option. The iodine content of seaweed is variable, and sometimes too high. Also, some types are contaminated.
Iodised salt is not a good option because public health authorities recommend that we cut down on salt.Another option is to use a plant milk fortified with iodine. Identify this type of product by looking for potassium iodide in the list of ingredients. Currently, most plant milks are not fortified with iodine.
5. The process of blood clotting requires vitamin K. This nutrient is also thought to play a role in bone health and the functioning of our kidneys.
There are different types of vitamin K. Our gut bacteria can make vitamin K1 into vitamin K2.
Where do vegans get vitamin K?
Vitamin K1 is made by plants. It is found in Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, broccoli, spinach, spring greens, spring onions and kiwi fruit. Make sure that your daily diet contains good sources of this nutrient. It’s a great reason to eat your greens!
6. Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in the world. The good news is that you can get all the iron you need from a vegan diet because there are lots of plant foods containing good amounts of this mineral.
Sources of iron
Good plant sources of iron include lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, cashew nuts, chia seeds, ground linseed, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, kale, dried apricots and figs, raisins, quinoa and fortified breakfast cereal.
There are lots of factors that affect the amount of iron your body can absorb from your diet. The most important factor is your body’s need for iron: more is absorbed when your body is short of iron, and less is absorbed when your stores are full. Tea, coffee and some substances in plant foods may make it difficult for your body to absorb iron. On the other hand, vitamin C increases iron absorption. Good sources of vitamin C include pepper, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kiwifruit, oranges, strawberries, pineapple, grapefruit and orange juice.
Avoid drinking tea or coffee with meals
7. Where do vegans get vitamin A?
Our bodies turn carotenoids from plant foods into vitamin A. This vitamin is required for growth and development, eye health and the normal functioning of our immune systems.
Sources of carotenoids
It’s important to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables, and vegans should include a really rich source of carotenoids in their daily diets, such as (orange) sweet potato, butternut squash, carrot or spinach. Dried apricots, kale, cantaloupe melon and spring greens also provide good amounts of carotenoids.
Medications & Vegan
Medications have to pass safety tests before they can be prescribed, and these tests are routinely carried out on non-human animals. Medications may also contain animal ingredients such as gelatin and lactose. In some cases alternative medications can be prescribed. However, they may be unsuitable for you or less effective, or they may have more side effects. In other cases there are no alternatives.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your concerns regarding animal ingredients. You can also read this blog written by a pharmacist for more information.
'As far as practicable and possible'
Vegans avoid using animals 'as far as is practicable and possible'. This definition recognises that it is not always possible to make a choice that avoids the use of animals. Sometimes, you may have no alternative to taking prescribed medication. Looking after yourself and other people enables you to be an effective advocate for veganism.
Vegan lifestyle products
Whether you’re just starting out with a vegan lifestyle or you’ve never known any other way of eating, knowledge is the key to successfully living out your ethics in every way. Gluten-free vegan diets are healthy, satisfying, affordable, and easy-to-follow. If you want to protect your health, treat animals humanely, and live in an eco-friendly way veganism is the way to go.
On this page you will find some daily use vegan tested products.
We add more new products every week,stay updated!
Examples of Vegan supplements
Super strength vitamin B50 complex
This convenient 1 per day vitamin B complex contains essential water soluble B vitamins that need to be replaced every day through diet as they can not be stored in the body
SugarBearHair Women's Multi -
Omega 3, Vitamin B12 en Vitamin C+D2 - Vegan Gummies
Vegan vitamin gummies for woman
Vegan High Strength Multivitamins & Minerals | Vitamin B12, D3 & K2 | 180 Multivitamin Supplement Tablets |Designed for Vegetarians Organic
Vegan gifts and presents
We have all had a moment and if not you will definitely experience that, it is your friend's birthday or it is Christmas and you do not know what gift to give. And because he / she is vegan, you would like to give them something vegan.
So I took the time to collect a list of nice gifts so that you have at least an idea of what is fun to give.
Have fun giving, then I will happily continue expanding the list!
I must confess that I have already half of the list delivered at home;)
Vegan Gifts
Dried Fruit Gift Basket
Delicious dried fruit Gift Tray comes on foldable Wooden Fruit Bowl
The multi-use Wooden Tray can be used as a Trivet or as a Fruit Bowl. An ingenious gift that will impress and excited all recipients!
Fullstar Vegetable Chopper
4 INTERCHANGEABLE BLADES let you julienne, chop and slice vegetables with ease. Built-in chop lid lets you cut foods directly into the 1.2L collection tray without the mess of a knife and cutting board. STORAGE CONTAINER lets you hold prepared vegetables in the Fullstar Vegetable Cutter until you are ready to begin cooking. This 7-piece set is destined to become the favorite among all your home kitchen tools.
The Body Shop Coconut Festive
- Coconut Shower Cream 250ml: soap free, made with Community Trade virgin coconut oil
- Travel sized Coconut Body Scrub 50ml: creamy, moisturizing exfoliant that reveals softer, glowing skin
- Travel sized Coconut Body Butter 50ml: helps condition, soften and smooth the skin
- Coconut Soap 100g: 100% vegan
- Mini Bath Lily
Angelina's Palace Round Shape Jewelry Organizer
Round Jewelry Case comes in top-grade vegan leather surface and satin lining,effectively protect your jewelry from damage and scratch.
Keeps jewelry organized while traveling,attending birthday or wedding party.This jewelry box is also a nice gift for your girlfriend,daughter,mother,teens,kids on any occasion, such as Valentine's Day, Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary.
The Ninja professional blender 1000
The 72 Ounce professional blender jar is perfect for making large batches of creamy, frozen drinks and smoothies for the entire family also perfect for large batches of delicious margaritas and daiquiris
Hamilton Beach Personal Blender
- Compact design and BPA free: great for home, office and travel with on the go portability
- Blend and go: blend and drink from the 14 ounce jar and lid which are both dishwasher safe
- One touch blending: makes great smoothies, shakes, baby formula, marinades, salad dressing and more.
Soy Candles Set Scented
Really Soy Candle: 100% Eco-freindly pure vegan wax & lead-free cotton wick, handmake, biodegradable, produce no black smoke & create a clean-burn
Vegan Products
Isabella's Clearly GLOW Kit
GLOW PREMIUM ACTIVATED CHARCOAL is a premium food grade activated charcoal with an extra fine surface area (low abrasiveness) so that it can quickly and effectively bind to the stains in your teeth and remove them. The result: visibly whiter and brighter teeth! Compared to other whitening powders, our GLOW provides immediate results and greater results with regular use. It's the best natural alternative to whitening strips, toothpastes, dental peroxides, bleach
Jujube Everyday Tote - Vegan Leather- Luminaire
This sleek, sophisticated bag is an elegant and timeless addition to our vegan leather collection. The interior is spacious and the textured sides keep this bag even when it is filled to the brim. Many interior pockets prevent the bag from falling out and the light-colored lining ensures that you can see all the way down. It is not necessary to protect or treat vegetable leather. Wipe it with a damp cloth if it is dirty. Luggage feet on the bottom keep the bottom of the bag as clean as possible.
WINNER OF 2020 * ORGANIC Hyaluronic Acid Serum High Dose & Vegan 50ml
FOR RADIANT, YOUNGER-LOOKING SKIN / VEGAN, ORGANIC & 100% ANIMAL FRIENDLY NATURAL FACIAL / Based on organic aloe vera instead of water (unlike other suppliers). Enriched with organic spirulina extract and organic rose water for optimal facial care - suitable for men and women and all skin types. The moisturizing serum can be perfectly combined with a day and night cream for the ideal care of your skin.
My Happy Planet 100% biodegradable baby wet wipes
99.9% purified water wipes - hypoallergenic - no alcohol, no smell - Vegan 12 packs (720 wipes)
THE PUBLIC OF ECO-WIPES ON THE MARKET: Our wipes are made from FSC-certified wood pulp and dispersible cellulose fibers. (They are essentially paper!) They contain 99.9% purified water (one of the purest wipes on the planet), apple fruit extract, plus 3 mild food grade preservatives to help keep the wipes uncontaminated.