Vegan nutrition encompasses the nutrients vegans require for a balanced diet. It is an important part of a vegan’s life, as it is the foundation for determining which foods should be consumed based on their lifestyle choices. Vegan nutrition usually refers to the intake and balance of nutrients throughout a day, and therefore is dually classified under dietary regimes and practices.

A vegan vegetarian diet of raw living foods is followed by a person who eats no meat, and no animal products; especially one who advocates a diet of only vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and grains as the proper one for all people for reasons of health or because of principles opposing the killing of animals for food. It’s been well documented through the years that vegetarians are healthier than people who eat meat. Vegetarians are less likely to be obese, or to have high blood pressure, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or colon cancer. They are also less likely to die from heart disease.

The first major advantage of a vegetarian diet is increased heart health. Vegetarians, on average, consume more nuts. Nuts contain “good” fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6. This promotes good heart health by reducing “bad” cholesterol and unclogging arteries. Vegetarians have lower blood pressure even when they eat the same amount of salt as meat eaters and exercise less. Many studies show that vegetarians have less instances of colon cancer, due in large part to the differences in the bacterial flora that is present in the colon. There are many factors in the vegetarian diet that contribute to better health. Vegetarians consume two to three times as much fiber as do meat-eaters, which has been shown to reduce cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and protect against colon cancer. They also consume more antioxidants, which are found in a wide variety of plant foods and protect cells from oxygen-induced damage and reduce the risk for heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and other diseases.

Vegetarians eat more isoflavones than do meat eaters. These compounds, found mostly in soy foods, are a type of phytochemical. Research shows that isoflavones may reduce the risk for prostate cancer and may improve bone health. Vegetarians also consume much less saturated fat and cholesterol than do meat eaters, resulting in significantly lower levels of blood cholesterol, decreased instances of heart disease and possibly for diabetes and cancer. And, since vegetarians do not eat meat, they are not exposed to heme iron, a type of iron found in meat that may increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. Vegetarian diets are naturally low in saturated fat, high in fiber, and replete with cancer-protective phytochemicals helps to prevent cancer. Large studies in England and Germany have shown that vegetarians are about 40 percent less likely to develop cancer compared to meat-eaters. In the U.S., studies of Seventh-Day Adventists, who are largely lacto-ovo vegetarians, have shown significant reductions in cancer risk among those who avoided meat.

In addition to concerns about our health, an equally compelling reason to choose a vegetarian lifestyle is moral and ethical concern about killing another animal for food. Often, even those who become vegetarians exclusively for health reasons experience a growing responsibility to protect the animals and wildlife of this planet. Raw, natural, and unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts provide a multitude of healthy perks. More and more information is becoming public that raises questions about how animals are raised, and what exactly is contained in their meat when it reaches the grocery stores. The planet as a food supplier works much more efficiently without excess production of meat for human consumption. It’s a greener form of eating. Eating a vegetarian diet, is also less expensive. Prime rib and filet mignon aren’t exactly cheap. When you look at things holistically, vegetarian lifestyles make a lot of sense.