Of late, a number of people are shifting focus toward a vegan diet to take care of their health, as well as the environment. “A vegan diet is a part of vegetarianism that excludes meat, fish, eggs, poultry, dairy products, and honey. A healthy vegan diet is also devoid of processed and refined foods like artificial foods with additives and olive oil,” G Prakash, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jindal Naturecure Institute, had told indianexpress.com earlier.
But, can there be any harmful consequences of veganism? According to nutritionist Anjali Mukerjee, all forms of diets have their pros and cons. “It is important to identify if a particular diet is suitable for you and your body type. With that being said, it is equally important to follow the diet in the correct manner,” she wrote on Instagram.
The expert went on to share three important things that you must keep in mind when considering becoming vegan. Take a look
Overconsumption of carbs
Most people who follow a vegan diet, tend to eat a lot of carbs, Mukerjee explained. “That is not very good for Indians because we are prone to type 2 diabetes if we consume too many carbs.”
Overconsumption of processed grains
“Since veganism allows vegetarian foods and grains, people end up eating a lot of processed bread, pasta, and noodles which is not necessarily healthy if you are a vegan,” the nutritionist said. Watch out for your consumption of such processed grains.
Your gut’s tolerance to certain types of pulses
Highlighting that a lot of pulses are recommended in a vegan diet, she said that “there are people who do not respond well to pulses like rajma, chhole, whole pulses”. While these pulses are healthy, they do contain lectins – plant proteins that can cause leaky gut, increase gut permeability, and lead to autoimmune disease.
According to the expert, if these factors are taken care of properly, there will be no harmful consequences of a vegan diet on your health.
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