The Many Reasons for Going Vegan

While it’s true that there are many reasons for going vegan, most people who’ve made the switch have a top one or two reasons. Here’s my story about how I came to the conclusion going vegan was best for me.

There’s always a point during a conversation over a meal when I have to explain myself. It’s usually right after I order my meal, and the waiter asks me if I want any meat.

“No, thank you,” I always say, with a smile.

The waiter leaves, and I brace myself. Here it comes…

“So, why did you decide to go vegan?”

This is always a difficult answer for me. Don’t get me wrong. I’m very clear on why I eat the way I do. But my problem is, I don’t want to make anyone feel badly for eating the way they choose to eat.

So, I figured that, because HealthyHerMidlife is my “safe place” where I can be authentically and vulnerably me, I’d finally let all my unadulterated reasons out to play.

Reasons for going vegan: I’ve seen too much pain from poor health

So here’s the thing. If you read the About Me page, you’ll see I have worked for DECADES in the health and wellness world, both as a fitness instructor and as a managing editor of a health letter that summarized medical research. What I learned about how lifestyle — not genetics — plays the No. 1 role in predicting our health, combined with watching my loved ones get seriously sick, and in some cases die, from lifestyle diseases… let’s just say the decision was an easy one for me to make. For me, this was one of my biggest reasons for going vegan.

I watched my best friend of 37 years slowly die from Type 2 diabetes. She had kidney failure, heart failure, was losing her eyesight and lost a leg while her doctors tried, unsuccessfully, to save her life.

She was 50. This is not genetics.

🎥 Here’s a TedTalk about diet’s link to diabetes.

I watched as another close friend died from so many health complications including Lupus and COPD her medical record probably has a .gif of her doctor shrugging in it.

She was 58. This is not genetics.

My baby brother? He has multiple sclerosis. And my boyfriend? He has recently finished a battle with stage 3 colon cancer.

He was diagnosed at 49. This is not genetics.

🎥 Here’s a great video on diet and colorectal cancer:

It feels very much like everywhere I turn, someone is very, very sick. This is not genetics.

It’s just too sad

Watching my friends and loved ones suffer has been very emotional for me. I’m vegan primarily because the research is solid and irrefutable about this. There’s a lot of noise about high-protein this, low-carb that and all the low-fat things. But hardly anyone in the medical community will dispute the vegan diet as most likely the healthiest diet one could subscribe to. I mean, when was the last time you heard about somebody getting heart disease, diabetes, cancer or dying from eating too much broccoli? It doesn’t happen.

I don’t want to live that way – nor die that way. I don’t want my life massively shortened all because YOLO with bacon. It’s a solid NO for me. I intend to be the 100-year-old yogi practicing in the park every morning, thank you very much.

Reasons for going vegan: It makes me feel good.

Once I dropped the meat and dairy from my diet, I had:

• More energy, and no more wanting to take a nap after lunch
• Less premenstrual symptoms, specifically cramps
• Clearer complexion
• No more bloating
• A slight weight loss
• No more “chub rub!” if you know, you know

And now that I’ve hit menopause, I do have some symptoms (random crying episodes and minor hot flashes lasting less than two minutes). But, I find I experience these symptoms more after I’ve had a large meal or more than two glasses of wine. Regardless, feeling better was also one of my reasons for going vegan – and staying vegan – for me.

📖 Here’s the research on how a plant-based vegan diet can help with hot flashes.

This brings me to…

Reasons for going vegan: A plant-based diet appears to reduce the likelihood of getting breast cancer.

There’s actually a lot of research on this (pulled from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine).

How processed meats affect our breast cancer risk:

“Studies, such as the UK Women’s Cohort Study, show red and processed meat, such as hot dogs and bacon, can increase breast cancer risk. The Nurses’ Health Study II found premenopausal women who ate the most red meat had a 97 percent higher risk of a common type of breast cancer. The NIH-AARP Study involving nearly 200,000 women found a 25 percent higher risk for breast cancer in those eating the most red meat, compared to those eating the least.”

How dairy affects our breast cancer risk:

• One study of nearly 10,000 women found those who consume low-fat diets have a 23 percent lower risk for breast cancer recurrence. They also have a 17 percent lower risk of dying from the disease.
• A 2017 study funded by the National Cancer Institute and comparing the diets of women diagnosed with breast cancer to those without breast cancer found those who consumed the most American, cheddar, and cream cheeses had a 53 percent higher risk for breast cancer.
• The Life After Cancer Epidemiology study found that, among women previously diagnosed with breast cancer, those consuming one or more servings of high-fat dairy products (e.g., cheese, ice cream, whole milk) daily had a 49 perent higher breast cancer mortality, compared with those consuming less than one-half serving daily.
• Research funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Cancer Research Fund, found women who consumed 1/4 to 1/3 cup of cow’s milk per day had a 30 percent increased chance for breast cancer. One cup per day increased the risk by 50 percent, and 2-3 cups were associated with an 80 percent increased chance of breast cancer.

Makes you wonder… does milk really do a body good?

Basically, I’m vegan because I’m scared.

I’m scared the disease I see all around me every day will come for me, too. Being vegan by no means is a guarantee I’ll live a long, disease- and pain-free life, but I believe in giving myself the best shot at it.

I want to meet my great grandchildren some day. I don’t believe I can do that and also eat SAD, otherwise known as the Standard American Diet.

And life is way too short and precious for that.