Vegan eating: what's behind the trend?

Vegan eating – what's behind the trend?

In my work as a nutrition consultant, I notice that more and more people are interested in vegetarian and especially vegan eating. Vegetarian is nothing new – this way of eating is largely accepted in society, and even when you're out and about it usually isn't difficult to eat without meat and fish.

The vegan lifestyle – i.e. going one step further and consuming exclusively plant-based products – is currently experiencing a real "boom". Anyone who eats vegan doesn't eat animal products such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, dairy products and honey. The reasons for this are as varied and individual as people themselves: from ethical reasons to health and trend awareness, to allergies and intolerances to animal ingredients, everything is included.

Is vegan eating healthier?

Or is the opposite true in the end? The fact is: simply leaving out all animal products without replacement and not caring about suitable plant-based alternatives is definitely a bad idea. This already applies to vegetarian eating and becomes even more true with vegan eating. If you shy away from the effort, organisation and careful planning around food, you risk possible deficiency symptoms, which can make themselves noticeable in many ways. Clever combinations of foods are more important than usual, and supplementation may also be necessary.

Vegan eating is not automatically healthier: if, for example, "fast food classics" such as burgers, hot dogs, etc. are simply "veganised", there is not necessarily a nutritional gain compared with a traditional mixed diet.

Vegan eating. What do I need to watch out for?

If you want to eat vegan, you should first of all pay attention to the naturalness and wholesomeness of the products. A high proportion of fresh, unprocessed foods is ideally the basis. The high quality of the products (e.g. sufficient raw food) guarantees optimal bioavailability.

If you also deliberately include so-called "superfoods" in your daily meal plan, they provide an enormous amount of vital substances. Superfoods are foods that have an above-average content of nutrients and are therefore particularly beneficial for health. These include, on the one hand, well-established, familiar products such as avocado, beetroot, blueberries, walnuts and dark chocolate, and on the other hand, exotic, less well-known ones such as goji, acai and aronia berries, matcha tea, chia seeds, maca powder etc. These are popular ingredients for "green smoothies".

A plant-based diet can help prevent diseases of civilisation such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as it is usually lower in fat and salt. Cholesterol and saturated fatty acids are absorbed significantly less than with a mixed diet. The high intake of dietary fibre (from vegetables and wholegrain cereals) as well as plenty of fruit and vegetables (more secondary plant substances) can also have a positive effect on health.

Does vegan eating automatically make you slim?

This question often comes up in my nutrition consultations. Scientific studies on this do not yet exist. In principle, the rule is: animal foods are almost always higher in fat and calories than plant-based ones. However, eating vegan is no guarantee of a dream figure. Vegans can struggle with weight problems just as much as omnivores. Health-conscious vegans, however, often eat very consciously and consume less sugar, saturated fats and white flour compared with mixed-diet eaters. When it comes to your figure, a balanced, wholesome and healthy diet is important with every form of eating.

What needs to be watched especially on a purely plant-based diet?

If the plant-based diet is composed in a balanced way, it is indeed considered a healthy form of eating. Nevertheless, it makes sense to have your iron and vitamin B12 levels checked from time to time and – if necessary – take suitable supplements.

Suitable plant-based protein sources include legumes such as lentils, beans, peas, peanuts, lupins and chickpeas, preferably in combination with wholegrain cereals such as quinoa or amaranth. This increases the usability of the protein from foods and its conversion into the body's own protein. Tofu is especially popular as a meat substitute, but the amino acid profile of soy products is not optimal. Seitan (consisting mainly of wheat or spelt gluten) performs significantly better in this respect.

Plant oils such as rapeseed, walnut or linseed oil, as well as nuts and seeds, provide high-quality omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, attention should be paid to sufficient intake of the following nutrients: zinc (e.g. in nuts, oat flakes, wholegrain cereals), iodine (e.g. from iodised table salt and algae), calcium (e.g. in mineral water, green vegetables and nuts) and vitamin D (enough sunlight for the body's own synthesis).

My personal conclusion: anyone who lives strictly vegan would do well to acquire sufficient nutritional knowledge. The better the knowledge about nutrition, the smaller the risk of being affected by deficiency or malnutrition.

A personal note: when I'm asked why I eat vegetarian, I (a travel lover who constantly suffers from wanderlust) always answer with a smile with the same reply: because vegetarians and vegans are always the first to be served their meal on flights :-).