Vegan diet has many health benefits

One of the best decisions I have ever made was when I decided to switch my diet after 21 years of doing the same thing. What I was doing before was very unhealthy for me, at my heaviest I weighed over 320 pounds. I decided to change my diet after I realized I was going down a path of high medical bills and a short life.
There are many benefits to becoming a vegetarian or vegan. From the November 2009 issue of O Magazine, the article, “How Healthy are Vegan Diets?” by Dr. David L. Katz M.D. states that, “ the vegan or vegetarian diet can be one of the healthiest diets… you get plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and healthy oils while limiting calories, salt, sugar and harmful fats.”

I used to get extremely sick and never knew why. One day I was reading on-line about the steroids and chemicals that are fed to the animals we eat for faster growing and heavier dress out weights. My body wasn’t digesting the proteins from these animals which was the cause of my mysterious illness. I quit eating meat and animal by-products and with that I switched to a vegan diet.

Beans, nuts, and seeds are some of the easiest ways to get the protein you need without eating meat. The cattle at large beef farms are fed a diet of feed that is packed full of chemicals and steroids. The cattle never set foot on green grass and usually are knee-deep in feces. The conditions are better at private owned farms.. If you are going to have meat in your diet I recommend getting your meat more locally.

I lost over 100 pounds by just switching my diet. By switching my diet to vegan, I feel better, I sleep better, I have more energy and I saw a difference in my weight a couple months into the switch. I lowered my chances of diabetes and heart disease. I am already at higher risk for both of these diseases because they run in my family.

I did not have a hard time adjusting to being a vegan. It does get complicated when I go out to eat or go over to a friend’s house for dinner. I have to tell them I don’t eat meat or animal by-products because of my diet. I am always looking for new things to cook and try that don’t involve meat. Another thing that made it easy for me to transition to a vegan is that as a cook, I love creating new things with food.

Next time you eat something, think about where your food is coming from, how good for you is it really, how altered (chemically, etc.) it is, and how eating green can improve your health. I personally stand by my choice and the benefits of becoming a vegan. I feel ten times better than I have before.

-Dana Dubay, 24, is a Delta College Student. She has been a strict vegan for five consecutive years.