Veganuary 🌱
We're ten days into 2019 now, which means people's New Year's resolutions are in full swing. While your typical 'get fit' and 'spend less' resolutions still remain very popular, there's one resolution more and more people are making, and that is to go vegan. Choosing the vegan life may seem daunting for some, with the prospect of cutting out meat, let alone meat products, from your diet seeming impossible.
This is where 'Veganuary' comes in. Veganuary is an organization which launched in the UK in 2014 with the aim of changing the public's attitude towards veganism. This charity campaign, now in it's 5th year, challenges people to try the vegan diet for a month. The end goal is, of course, to help people make the switch permanently. Since the movement first began, participant numbers have doubled every year, with a total of more than 250,000 people in 193 countries signed up to now.
With vegan options becoming cheaper and more widespread, it's never been easier to make the lifestyle change. But what exactly are the benefits of going vegan? As well as protecting the animals themselves and helping the environment by cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions, there are a number of health benefits of a vegan diet.
1) It can help you lose excess weight
Going vegan can lead to a reduction in the number of high-calorie foods you consume. You may end up replacing such foods with high-fiber alternatives that are not only lower in calories, but they'll keep you fuller for longer!
2) It's linked to a lower risk of heart disease
Eating more nuts and whole grains, both prominent components of a vegan diet, and eliminating dairy products and meat, will help improve your overall cardiovascular health.
3) It can reduce pain from arthritis
The switch to a diet wholly based on probiotic-rich foods has been found to significantly decrease symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
4) It can help lower your cholesterol
By cutting out any food that comes from an animal, you're eliminating all dietary cholesterol from your diet.
For those of you who use a lack of vegan-based recipes as your excuse, the campaign's website has a multitude of them to help you out! Your TTG Girl Gang are going to give it a try next week, and depending how we get on, for the rest of the month also! Why not make the switch yourself, and let us know how you get on.
The TTG Girl Gang x
