According to veginout.com, twenty-five percent of all adults in the US suffer from a mental condition that could greatly affect productivity and mental agility. These conditions include but are not limited to depression, anxiety, and other stress-related conditions. The same website reports that a study into the link between diet and wellbeing found vegan and vegetarians to have better mood profiles in general, and to be less susceptible to mental health issues such as depression compared to their meat-eating counterparts.
The benefits of a vegan diet in a nutshell
Vegan diets tend to be rich in nutrients and vitamins, and low in fats, additives, and carbohydrates. These have obvious benefits for weight and obesity control but also improved immunity, blood-sugar levels, and blood pressure.
Fries and empty carbohydrates stimulate the same pleasure centers in the brain as hard drugs, making it hard for so many people to ditch living off diets excessively high in sugar and fats.
A vegan diet, properly implemented, is heart and bone optimal and also significantly reduces the risk of cancer.
Excellent sources of calcium are vegan figs, kale, spinach, black-eyed peas, tofu and turnip greens. For improved memory, recommended foods are cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. In fact, people who had high concentrations of this in their diet were found to have superior memory to those who did not.
There’s no need to worry about milk substitutes either. Almond milk, soy milk, and vegan cheese are becoming more and more readily available on food retailer shelves everywhere. Great sources of protein include all the bean, tofu and legume variety of vegetables such as lentils.
For a hearty supper, think Indian lentil spice balls, butternut and cumin curry, lentil biryani or vegan pizza topped with croutons, nuts, pumpkin seeds and your favorite pesto. The myth that vegan diets are for rabbits, not satisfying or just plain bland and boring is just that – a myth – especially when you consider the myriad delectable examples of great vegan options out there.
Moringa – a must-have
It doesn’t get better than plant-based supplements either. The world is catching on to Moringa, a superfood used in south-east Asia for eons. Moringa is packed with more nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants than almost anything else known to humankind.
It’s also a fantastic source of protein and amino acids, which makes it mandatory for any vegan diet as amino acids are only found in animal-based foods. Research has shown that Moringa improves general well-being, mental focus, aids weight loss, lowers blood pressure and evens out blood-sugar levels, amongst its other many benefits.
Given that a carefully implemented vegan diet can work wonders for mind, body, and soul, making your plate ‘ leafy greener’ may be just the answer if you want to be on top of your game.
There is no shortage of inspiring, easy and creative meals to enjoy, either. And as for dessert, isn’t everyone’s favorite vegan treat those lovely cocoa beans and their wondrous transformation into chocolate?! Rhetorical but true.
