It is no secret that veganism has had a bad reputation for as long as we can remember. However, for the first time more are turning to a vegan or plant-based focused diet. Why? Is that a stupid choice to make?
Let’s take a look at the stats.
In early 2020 Google Trends data showed that UK, Australia and Israel hold the three top spots where veganism is most popular. US fell 12th on the list. As Covid-19 hit, the Trade group ‘Plant-based Food Association’ found sales of plant-based food increased by 90% during pandemic buying in mid-march.
In addition to the stats above, UK Plant Based news reported that they had an increase of 40% British based vegans in early 2020 signed up, which is equivalent to three percent of the population in the UK.
Fast-forward to Veganuary 2021, a campaign that was headlined on social platforms, such as Tiktok, and Instagram. The campaign reached a million-sign ups. Fuanalytics reported that January 2021 surpassed records as the most tweeted/hashtaged month for #veganism #reduction #plant-based diets and other animal-friendly diet changes.
It’s obvious that the vegan trend is on a rise. That begs the question, are vegans stupid?
Some of the smartest people in the world were vegans, such as Ben Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Ghandi, Rosa Parks and Isaac Newton. They all lived on a plant-based diet, and didn’t have any trouble using their brains for good.
Aside from the fact that many vegans has reported numerous health benefits of going vegan, if you’re still not convinced it’s the smartest choice. We’ve looked at some of those benefits below.
- The World Health Organization linked processed meats, like bacon and ham, to cancer.
- American Heart Association did a study which showed that non-meat eating diets lowered all cholesterol levels.
- American Diabetes Association studies showed that after 22 weeks, the vegan group lost an average of 12.8 pounds (5.8 kg). This was 134% more weight than the average weight lost in the ADA group. The vegan diet lost greater weight and improved their blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
- Arthritis (Clinton, C. M. et al.) study, found that whole-food, plant-based vegan diet improved symptoms in participants with osteoarthritis.
- British Journal of Rheumatology claimed that a probiotic-rich, raw vegan diet appears to positively change gut flora and decrease symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, compared with a standard omnivorous diet.
Going vegan, or even partly vegan is stupidly smart.