New Year, New You; and Why You Should Give Veganuary a go

Whether you are looking for a complete lifestyle change, wanting to improve your health, or simply looking for a challenge – there are multiple benefits to choosing a vegan diet this January, and maybe even making the switch permanently! Here are just a few of the benefits that you could enjoy if you give Veganuary a go:

1. Cutting down on your red and processed meat consumption can lower your risk of getting certain types of cancer – Cancer Research UK have a handy guide of what you should avoid where possible^[1]. Substituting these for veggie options, such as beans and lentils, or white meat, such as chicken or fish, can greatly benefit your health.
2. Eating a plant-based diet can help reduce your carbon footprint, as there is lots of evidence that plant-based foods require less energy to harvest and produce fewer emissions than their meaty alternatives. In 2022 the BBC ran an experiment^[2] to measure the carbon footprints of three different diets; vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous. The results showed that veganism had the lowest overall footprint, with vegetarianism a close second.
3. By committing to a balanced plant-based diet, you could actually end up getting a lot more nutrients than you do in your current diet. Several studies have reported that vegan diets tend to provide more fibre and antioxidants. Plant-based diets can also be richer in potassium, magnesium, folate, and vitamins A, C, and E^[3]. It is important to note, however, that plant-based diets can be deficient in other areas, and you will need to make sure you are always eating a balanced meal to get all the right vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.
4. You could shed a few pounds when you are on a plant-based diet. Vegan diets are quite fibrous, which means that you will be full for longer, and less likely to snack between meals. Research has shown that individuals consuming plant-based diets tend to have a lower BMI than those consuming omnivorous diets^[4].
5. Eating a plant-based diet is better for your wallet! A study by Oxford University^[5] revealed that swapping to a vegan or flexitarian diet could help to cut your food bill by up to thirty percent. You can swap out meat for protein packed alternatives like chickpeas, pulses, beans and lentils, and these cupboard staples are much cheaper than buying fresh meat.

Even without committing to going vegan full time, cutting out a percentage of the meat you consume can have great health benefits for yourself, and can help the environment too. Why not go meat-free a few days of the week? If you’re not sure where to start, why not check out our partners  Planty and Cookaway, where you can also get a discount, to start yourself on your vegan-curious journey.

[1] https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/diet-and-cancer/does-eating-processed-and-red-meat-cause-cancer

[2] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220429-the-climate-benefits-of-veganism-and-vegetarianism

[3] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegan-diet-benefits#get-more-nutrients

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466943/

[5] https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-11-11-sustainable-eating-cheaper-and-healthier-oxford-study