Veganuary - What's All the Fuss About?

Veganuary is a not-for-profit organisation which runs a campaign every January encouraging people to make a pledge to try eating a vegan diet for the month. An estimated 300,000 people took part in Veganuary in 2019, and veganism has grown by at least 350% in the last 10 years. Alongside veganism, the flexitarian and pegan (paleo-vegan) diet have also risen in popularity, and taking part in Veganuary can be like a reset button for these ways of eating post-Christmas-excess. 

Why Are More People Going Vegan? 

There are a whole host of reasons as to why people are looking to reduce their meat consumption, including animal welfare, costs and environmental concerns. A true vegan lifestyle means choosing to forego all animal products, from your clothes and toiletries to your car and home furnishings. With animal cruelty and zero waste being big points on the ethical agenda in the media for a while now, both these points are ticked by eschewing animal products in materials and beauty products which may either contain animal products or be tested on animals. 

Are There Any Issues to Consider When Going Vegan? 

Some say that vegans are not able to get adequate quantities of protein as well as vitamins and minerals through their diet. Whilst it is always best to seek the advice of a nutritionist or health professional before changing or supplementing your diet, here are the products that our experts recommend to vegans and vegetarians time and time again: 

Vitamin B12 - vegetarians and vegans are more likely to be deficient in vitamin B12, an important vitamin involved in many bodily processes, including protein metabolism, red blood cell formation and keeping the nervous system healthy. Just one spray of Garden of Life mykind Organics Vitamin B12 Spray delivers 500mcg of Vitamin B12 as Methylcobalamin. Organically flavoured with delicious raspberry extract and no added sugars. 

Vitamin D3 - in the UK, UV exposure without sunscreen from March/April time to September for half an hour a day can help naturally increase your vitamin D levels. Garden of Life mykind Organics Vegan Vitamin D3 Spray offers a high strength supplement - 1000iu - in a highly absorbable, biologically active form of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Delivered in a lipid base of organic pumpkin seed oil and organic cranberry seed oil for better absorption. 

Iron - found in two forms, heme (animal-source) and non-heme (plant-source), the latter is not as easily absorbed by the body so it is recommended that vegans aim to eat almost twice the RDA of iron through their plant-based diet. Try adding some Shredded Coconut to your cereal or porridge in the mornings, your smoothies and shakes, or just snacking on it 

Zinc - there are few plant sources of zinc, and those that do exist often contain phytates, a group of antioxidant compounds which bind to certain minerals, including zinc, thus inhibiting absorption of it. Vegans should aim for one and a half times the RDA of zinc in their diet. Try adding some Cacao Powder to your diet. Sprinkle on drinks and desserts or blend in shakes. 

Calcium - without dairy in the diet, it may be difficult for vegans to reach the RDA of calcium. Some calcium can be found in green leafy vegetables including cabbage and okra, as well as nuts. Garden of Life Plant-Based Calcium offers a whole food calcium formula that includes plant-sourced magnesium, vegan vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 as MK-7 from fermented natto.

Protein - whilst animal products contain all the essential amino acids in one place, plant-based diets can sometimes be lacking in some of these key building blocks. This is why variety is important in a vegan or vegetarian diet: you need to eat a broad range of foods to get the full spectrum of amino acids. Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein Powderis made with 13 raw sprouted proteins, delivering 22 grams of protein and contains all the essential amino acids. 

As is always the way, a well-varied diet is key to making sure you get optimum nutrition. When cutting out a food group, or two food groups in the case of veganism, eating a diverse assortment of fruit and vegetables, with a broad spectrum of colors - eat the rainbow - is a good place to start, along with a variety of properly prepared legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, for protein; seaweed, one of the few plant sources of DHA; nutritional yeast, which is a vegan source of vitamin B12, and sprouted and fermented plant foods, to help combat antinutrients and increase the amount of beneficial nutrients within these foods. Supplementation should support, not replace, a balanced diet.