Is a vegan diet healthy?

Question

soy milk, egg replacers, tofu ect. ect.

what are the benefits?

also is there such thing as soy cheese :|

hahaha please help :)

Answer 1

Yes, provide that you eat enough and eat variety of foods.

and eat foods fortified with vitamin B12 or take B12 supplements.

Answer 2

I would think that a non vegan diet would be healthier. Vegans diet the way that they do because they are not for eating animals or using post-animal byproducts. There isnt any benefits and if you want to be a vegan because you think that there are health benefits, dont. Only become a vegan if you strongly believe that you dont want to use animals.  

Answer 3

if you do it right, yes. i was doing it for about 6 months, then got pregnant so i went back to a vegetarian diet... but yeah.. its great.

Answer 4

yes they have the protein you need, so it's fine

=]

Answer 5

Yes it's healthy. I'm vegan and don't take supplements, but drink fortified soy milk and according to a dietician and a blood test, I'm healthy. There is such a thing as soy cheese. It's great on pizza. You can find soy cheese in supermarkets and health food stores. I found soy cheese at an organic market.

Benefits:  Apparently vegans live longer (on average), vegans are less likely to become obese and think about the benefits for the animals and environment.

Be careful to eat plenty of beans/tofu/spinach and other leafy vegetables because they are high in iron and protein. And drink soy milk or other non-dairy milk that is fortified with calcium and vitaminB12.

I think you should find some good recipes (try www.vegcooking.com, www.fatfreevegan.com and www.theppk.com)

Good luck =D

Answer 6

A vegan can definately be healthy if he/she is properly informed about nutrition....

Answer 7

Jezzzzzz man!!! HOW ABOUT A NICE BIG JUICY STEAK!!!!!!!! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM  

Answer 8

Like any diet, you need to balance it correctly, but yes. A vegan diet can be very healthy.

Soy cheese exists, but a lot of it is not vegan. "Natural cheese flavor" + casein = ew.

And you were right calling it a vegan diet, actually. Veganism is a cruelty free lifestyle (ie, no animal products in any aspect of life), someone with a "vegan diet" eats vegan food but may still use silk or honey-based body products, etc.

Answer 9

it is as healthy as you make it.  most people think that there isn't alot to eat whilst being vegan, and it's very untrue so you still need to work hard to maintain a well balanced diet, well even more so because we need to work to get all of our essential vitamins and minerals.  

there are lots of benefits to a vegan diet, alot of people are lactose intolerant just to different degrees so most people don't really notice it or show any symptoms, personally i don't think dairy prodcts are very good.  also, replacing these products with other things reduces cholestorol in the diet because there are no eggs, butter etc.   tofu has no cholestrol and it's high in protien which is something alot of new vegans worry about, it's also very low in calories too.  soy prodcuts have various health benefits and contain b-vitamins and omega 3 acids, they also are great for womens health too as they work well with hormones.  

and yes, there is such a thing as soy cheese although there are many brands and not everyone has a great taste, just like other soy products it takes a bit of getting used to and a bit of shopping around brands to find your favourite.  if your interested in the more health related side of the vegan diet and about where vitamins are comming from, what is healthy etc, i recomend going to your local bookstore and having a look through the vegan/vegitarian cooking section.  most vegan cook books that i have, or have read in store all contain a gread deal of information on health benefits, and how to maintain a well balanced diet.  

Answer 10

Soy milks, egg replacer and tofu are not just for vegan people and they are not a necessary part of the vegan diet.

A vegan diet can be just as healthy as any other balanced diet.

Here are some examples:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

You don't need any special vegan or vegetarian foods. Bread, pasta, cereal, rice, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies are all that you need. Anything else is just luxury.

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo

If you want to know why people become vegan, feel free to watch Earthlings if you're really interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhxKnys7R...