Something I have been wanting to address for a long time is that fact that I am vegan. I feel that there are so many stereotypes and myths when it comes to vegans. I want to take this opportunity to say my piece about what is true and false about what I have heard and just explain why I have made the decision to live this way. I haven’t been vegan for as long as many others, but I think I have learned a lot since making the decision to embrace this lifestyle.

Often when people think of vegans, they think of hippies or crazy activists or unhealthy people who eat nothing but lettuce. I am none of these things and most vegans I know aren’t either. You don’t have to be an extremist in any way to be a vegan.

I guess I will start by explaining that there are many different types of vegans. There are the people who do it for the animals as more of an ethical stance. By this I mean, they morally will not eat any animal products. This includes meat, dairy, eggs, honey, and even things like gelatin which are surprisingly made with animal products. I completely respect this stance. However, I am not that strict. I don’t have any meat, dairy, or eggs either, but my main reason is simply for my health and well-being. Eating a vegan diet makes me feel good and energized.

I have also heard people say that vegans are always tired and lack energy. This may be true if their diet consist of solely processed foods or if they are limiting their calorie intake dramatically. If you eat a well-rounded vegan diet, you can be completely healthy and even more energized than someone who eats animal products.

That brings me to one issue that absolutely drives me nuts. So many people have it in their heads that there is no way for vegans to get enough protein in their diets. This is completely false. There is protein in so many things! Basically all vegetables have protein, along with nuts, seeds, legumes, and tofu. As an active person, I sometimes supplement my diet with plant-based protein powder after I work out. This is completely optional (and something non-vegan athletes do also). I often only do it while I am at school because I don’t have the resources to the same nutrition I may at home. There are so many ways to get enough protein on a vegan diet or even a raw vegan diet.

Which brings me to what a raw vegan is. I have heard people claim that they thought vegans didn’t eat any cooked food. In general this is false. Vegans can eat anything cooked or raw as long as there are no animal products in it. However, there are raw vegans who eat only raw foods. In most cases, this would include raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. This is probably the most pure diet you can live on as it is simply a raw, plant-based diet. Despite that, it may not be the healthiest for everyone. Raw foods are notoriously difficult for your body to digest especially in large quantities. If this diet works for you, that’s awesome, but living on a plant-based, vegan diet can be just as beneficial.

Now, I realize the term “plant-based” vs. “vegan” may confuse some people. In general, all people on a plant-based diet are vegan, but not all people on a vegan diet are plant-based. Simply put, there are many of what I call “vegan junk foods”. These are packaged foods that happen to be vegan, but are actually no healthier for you than regular junk food. These can be anything from vegan hot dogs to Oreos. Living off of these as a vegan will not benefit your body. However, if you live off of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes, in my opinion, you will have a healthier lifestyle.

Another issue I would like to address is that I am not here to convince everyone to be vegan. I think it would be awesome if more people in the world embraced the same lifestyle I do. Just like how as someone who loves to run, I think it would be awesome if everyone discovered how wonderful a thing running can be for you and your health. That doesn’t mean I want to shove it down everyone’s throats though. I do care about the animals and although it is not the main reason I live the way I do, the longer I have embraced this lifestyle, the more I have come to realize the truths of the industry.

I learn more and more about how the animals are treated and about how our food is processed and it continues to push me away from both animal products and processed foods. Many people can understand the industry and continue to eat the products, which I completely understand. When I was eleven, while I was eating a hotdog someone told me what was actually in a hot dog that you buy in the supermarket. I was disgusted for a second and then I finished the hot dog and continued to eat meat for the next seven years.

Our world has the capacity to separate the animals we see along with the process we know is happening behind closed doors from the food that we put in our mouths. And I’m not just talking about the treatment of animals. I am talking about the lack of health standards for our food. It is a real issue and that is one of the main problems I have with eating animal products.

Beyond that, I have read and seen so much information about how a healthy, plant-based, vegan diet can simply benefit your health in amazing ways. If you have ever seen the documentary “Forks Over Knives,” you know what I’m talking about. Switching from the standard American diet to a vegan diet can cause you to not only lose weight, but obtain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

One last thing I want to address is this: a vegan diet can actually taste good and does not have to be depriving! I will admit, as a college student, I struggle with this diet sometimes at school. There are simply not as many options there as I have at home and I do not have the same access to a kitchen to make myself the healthy meals I really want. I do sometimes feel like I have been banished to the salad bar. However, there are plenty options as long as I understand what is good for my body and can be creative with my resources.

So if you take anything away from this article, I hope it is not that I am trying to shame anyone for their own lifestyle or for their lack of understanding of mine. I simply hope that I can help inform people about the different ways or fueling your body, so we can all make an informed decision for ourselves no matter what that might be.