What exactly is Vegan? And is it a health thing or an animal rights thing, or it depends like a vegetarian?

Answer 1

Just as people have different reasons for being a vegetarian, there are different kinds of vegetarians. Some people are vegetarians for reasons relating to animal rights, some are "picky" or health-conscious eaters, and some are vegetarians for religious reasons. Some of the different kinds of vegetarians are lacto vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarians, pesca vegetarians, and vegans. None of these types of vegetarians eat meat or poultry; pesca vegetarians are the only vegetarians that eat fish.
Lacto vegetarians are vegetarians that eat dairy products however, they do not eat eggs. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are like lacto vegetarians, except they include eggs in their diet. Pesca vegetarians eat everything that lacto-ovo vegetarians do but they also consume fish.

Vegans differ from all the other types of vegetarians as they eat only plant based foods and consume no animal products of any kind. The vegan diet is the strictest vegetarian diet. Vegans must plan their diets carefully to ensure they get all of the nutrients they need each day. Vegans are typically prone to deficiencies in protein, calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12.

Vegans can easily develop a protein deficiency because plant based proteins are incomplete proteins. Since the human body cannot manufacture all of the necessary amino acids to build proteins, we rely on food to supply our bodies with complete proteins. Animal protein sources are complete proteins as they contain all of the amino acids needed to build a protein strand. However, using a concept called complimentary proteins different plant foods can be combined to form complete proteins . Common complimentary protein combinations are grains plus beans or grains plus legumes. Rice and beans or a peanut butter sandwich are also complete proteins.

Dairy foods such as cheese, eggs, and yogurt are complete proteins, so for most of the other types of vegetarians obtaining protein is not too much of a problem. Vegans must consume nuts, legumes, and seeds in combination with whole grains or soy foods to form complete proteins.

Vegetarians can obtain calcium and vitamin D from milk, however, vegans can drink soy milk with calcium and vitamin D added. Tofu, broccoli, nuts, legumes, seeds, and some ready-to- eat cereals contain some calcium. Orange juice fortified with calcium is also available.

Although iron from animal sources is more easily absorbed by the body, vegetarians can obtain iron by combining a food high in vitamin C with an iron-rich food to help the body better absorb the iron. Tofu and broccoli, whole wheat bread or toast and an orange or orange juice, and spinach and tomatoes are some examples of good combinations.

Vitamin B12 is found only in animal proteins, so vegans need to eat cereals and vegetarian burgers that have B12 added. Adequate amounts of zinc are found in dairy foods, so all of the different kinds of vegetarians except vegans can obtain enough zinc from these. Seeds, nuts, tofu, legumes, wheat germ and bran are common sources of zinc for vegans. However, some vegans take a multivitamin that includes zinc, as it is more difficult for the body to absorb non-animal sources of zinc. Care must be taken to never exceed 100% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for zinc, as too much zinc can be harmful to the body.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure a Vegan is someone who doesn't eat anything that came from animals or is made from animals. It's like the extreme version of a vegetarian. A Vegan can't/doesn't eat any meat (obviously), eggs, cheese, milk (most dairy, actually I think. it kind of depends on the person), and foods such as that. I would think that it is more an animal rights thing than a health thing, but it could be a little bit of both.

Answer 3

A vegan is a person or animal that only eats and drinks things that don't come from animals or are animals in any way. It can depend like vegetarians, I am a vegetarian and so is my uncle. me for the cruelty and him for medical reasons. The only difference is that the ones for medical reasons eat fish.

Can I just point out the points above my answer are wrong, some more than others, this is because alot of people dont understand tham fully. It is probably not their fault as they are just telling what they think is true.

especially the one about them dying, they have feelings you know. Just because they care about what happens to the animal or are forced into being one to save their life. You cant tell them to die it is horrible.

Answer 4

You've got it right. It depends on the person just like a vegetarian. Although, I would venture to say that the vegan population has a higher concentration of the animal advocates than the health ones. I could be wrong in this.

Answer 5

A vegan is someone who doesn't eat animals or animal by-products (example cheese milk, any dairy products) which is the difference between vegans and vegetarians and it's for both animal rights and health

Answer 6

A vegan is a person who doesn't eat any meat or animal by-products, and in some cases, don't wear animal by-products(such as leather) either. Reasons for being a vegan vary with each individual, much like being a vegetarian.

Answer 7

Veganism is a moral stance that no other animal; cow, elephant or ant; is here to serve our wants or needs. Whether it is to feed, clothe, entertain us or experiment on. All of these things have non-animal alternatives.

Someone cannot be vegan for health reasons but they must be healthy to call themselves so. Someone that is unhealthy and calls him/herself vegan is harming animals by poor representation and is not vegan at all. Someone can use a computer, car, sugar,medicine or other things that aren't 100% animal free, but if they make a plant based diet look unhealthy, they are doing more harm than good.

Anyone can call themselves vegetarian for whatever reason, as long as they don't eat any animals whatsoever; from cows to chickens to fish to shrimp to ants. To call yourself vegan and not be opposed the exploitation of all conscious beings is a total contradiction.

Answer 8

Vegan = strict vegetarian (no meat or non fruit/vegetable at all)

Some do it as a statement against the killing of animals for food, and others believe there are health benefits.

Personally, I think you have to look to the longest lived people (as a group) to determine what is most healthy. The Japanese live longer, on average, than any other group. They have a diet heavy in fish/seafood, and low in fat.

Seems like a winner to me.

Answer 9

Vegans refrain from eating any animal product... meat, dairy, cheese, etc. The reasons for this can be for animal rights, health, religion, or any number of reasons, just like vegetarianism.

Answer 10

A Vegan is one who consumers products only from the earth. Nothing at all from animals, meaning no meat, no dairy, etc...Also, generally, vegans do not use any animal products at all (leather, animal tested products, et al). It is meant to be more of a health thing, I believe, but many are animal rights activists as well.

Answer 11

A vegan is a person who doesn't eat anything that comes from an animal or such...ex eggs,milk,cheese. and I guess it's a cross between the two (animal right or a health thing)