What is Veganuary?

Veganuary is an initive to get people to try becoming a Vegan in the month of January, this is to help it become more visible and encourage more and more people to switch to being Vegan.

It is reported in 2017, more than 50,000 people signed up for Veganuary and it is said that 2020 even more people could pledge to become Vegan.

It is reported the main reason for becoming Vegan is for health, although a large percentage is due to animal welfare.

Vegan means that you do not eat foods that come from any animals, this includes dairy products such as eggs and butter.

You need to ensure that you are eating the right items to provide yourself a diet that includes the right vitamins and nutrients, we have tried to help with a question below.

For a healthy vegan diet, you need to ensure you are getting the right vitamins and nutrients, for a healthy vegan diet you need to follow the list below:

– You need to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg per day
– To get some protein, make sure you include beans and pulses within your diet.
– Drink plenty of fluid and it is recommended to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day.
– Have dairy alternatives such as Soya Milk and Yoghurts
– Include meals which have potatoes, bread, pasta and rice. Its always best to choose wholegrain options where possible.
– Choose unsaturated spreads and oils, but eat in small amounts.

Should you believe you ar emissing out on vital vitamins, you can by health supplements from health shops such as Holland & Barrett.

If you are pregnant and you are vegan, you need to ensure that you get enough vitamins and minerals for your child to develop.

This also includes whether you are breastfeeding.

More information can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/vegetarian-and-vegan-mums-to-be/

Non-vegan’s get most of their calcium from dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt. But it is possible to get this from other foods. Calcium is needed for strong and healthy bones.

Sources of Calcium for vegans include:

– Dried Fruit such as raisin, figs, dried apricots and prunes.
– Brown and White Bread (UK Law)
– Fortified Soya, Oat and Rice drinks.
– Calcium-Set Tofu
– Tahini
– Sesame Seeds
– Pulses
– Green leafy vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli.

Vitamin D is required by the body to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These help keep bones, muscles and teeth healthy.

Good sources of Vitamin D include:

– Exposure to sunlight
– Fortified spreads, unsweetened soya drinks and breakfast cereal.
– Vitamin D suppliements from Health shops.

An ideal vegan diet needs to cover various vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, viatmin D, iron and vitamin b12.

More can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-vegan-diet/

Meat free Monday’s is an ideal way to contribute to awareness of the detrimental environmental impacts of industrial fishing and animal agriculture.

The initive was launched by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009 and is a not-for-profit organisation, it encourages people to have one meat free meal day per week, aiming to have at least one plant based day per week.

It is a great start for many people who don’t want to commit to full time vegetarian.

Due to an episode of the UK TV series QI, it raised awareness that avocado’s may not be an option for strict vegans.

This is because Bee’s are needed to cultivate avacados along with the long distances on trucks that avocados spend on the road.

The Vegan Society have argued the point and claim that avocado’s are still in fact suitable for Vegan’s, this is because Vehan and Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude cruelty to animals for food, clothing and any other purpose.

Bee’s naturally pollinate the avocados and not forced to undertake this process.