Plus, your guide to vegan protein.
A vegan diet is one of the healthiest ways to eat, and it's high in fiber and low in saturated fats.
It's also a great way to live more sustainably—vegan foods require less water and greenhouse gas emissions than a meat-based diet. A study by the World Wildlife Fund found that if everyone ate vegan just one day a week, we could save 1.8 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2050. That's equivalent to 25% of all emissions from global aviation in 2015.
A vegan lifestyle has increasingly become a hot topic in the health and wellness world. It's not just a fad—people are going vegan because they believe a plant-based diet is better for their health, wallets, and planet.
What exactly is a vegan diet?
A vegan diet only includes foods that come directly from plants: fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds. This means that vegans do not consume any animal products such as meat (including fish), dairy products, or eggs.
*Vegetarians avoid eating meat but still consume dairy products and eggs. Vegan meals are vegetarian, but not all vegetarian meals are considered vegan.
What about protein?
Generally, the average person needs to eat at least 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. To calculate this, either multiply your body weight in pounds by 0.36 or search an online calculator.
.36 x (your body weight in lbs) = grams of protein needed daily
You can get all the protein you need from plants—think beans, nuts, seeds, and grains—and still eat a balanced diet that provides all the essential amino acids your body needs to function optimally.
Here is a list of protein-rich vegan foods.
Better for the planet
For those of us concerned about climate change, choosing vegan is definitely an option worth exploring! A plant-based diet is better for the planet than one that relies on meat and dairy products, which require more resources to produce than plants do. Additionally, animal agriculture takes up 70 percent of Earth's arable land.
Soft-launch your vegan diet
Going vegan doesn't have to be a huge lifestyle change. And if you don't want to go full vegan (we don't blame you), simply replace a few meals per week. This small change will have a significant impact on the planet.
Here are 3 vegan meals you can try
The more people who consume plant-based protein, the more we can reduce our carbon footprint and help make a better world.
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