Vegan vs. Vegetarian, is there a difference? Being vegetarian or vegan means more than eating a carrot or cucumber. It’s a lifestyle. I’ve been vegan for so long, and proud to say I have no arthritis in my body. I was a vegetarian bodybuilder in my younger years, and I never competed professionally. When I was a kid, I ate out of our organic garden. I would sit in the garden and chat with the beans, tomatoes, and garden fairies. Also, as a child and shopped with my mom, I would say, “all the foods in the store have chemicals.”

When I turned, vegetarian, organic markets didn’t exist and finding healthy food was a challenge. Eating organic is easy with Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and other local markets and farmers’ markets, eating healthy is no longer challenging. It’s proven that over-processed foods with little nutrient value cause disease and illness.

If you consider changing from a meat-based to a plant diet, do it gradually. The nutrients often forgotten in changing diets are Vitamin B-12 and certain amino acids. Amino acids give us protein, and they are the building blocks the body needs daily. Supplementation is often necessary while changing diets.

Vegan vs. Vegetarian

A vegan is someone who doesn’t use any animal products. It’s a stringent diet of plant-based foods and products. This would mean no leather goods, no leather seat covers, and no leather purses or shoes. A vegan doesn’t eat any fish or eggs or drink milk, or eat milk products like ice cream. Baked goods often have hidden animal products like lard. Even the capsules for supplements are made from gelatin derived from pork.

A vegetarian was the original description of a vegan. A vegetarian now is someone who abstains from animal food and lives exclusively on vegetables, with eggs, milk and fish. Vegetarianism is the most lenient of all the no-animal product categories now.

If you need assistance with diet changes, send me an email, and I would be happy to help you convert to a better diet. Email-info@kumarainstitute.com