Did you know veganism can lower your risk of chronic disease? Chronic diseases can interrupt your daily lifestyle and hinder your normal activities. That’s why whenever possible, taking active measures against chronic disease will save you a lot of pain and suffering. You want to avoid the physical, mental, and social issues that can arise. When I first learned that chronic diseases are less likely for vegans, I had to look more into this. I wanted to see what chronic diseases veganism could prevent and why it reduces your risk of getting them.
This is a significant finding because chronic disease lowers the quality of your life over the long term. On top of coping with chronic illness, an estimated 25% to 33% struggle with depression due to getting a chronic disease, according to WebMD.
Key Takeaways
What are the Chronic Diseases That Veganism Lowers the Risk Of?
The analysis conducted took in the results of studies from over 20 years. Researchers examined the results of more than 50 studies and published what they found in PLOS ONE.
Their analysis found that veganism reduces the risk of several serious chronic diseases like ischemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer. Plant-based diets, including vegan and vegetarian diets, had a clear link to lowering the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
When they looked at the research, they found that even those who hadn’t gone fully vegan or vegetarian could still reap the health benefits over the long term.
Matthew Landry, one of the review authors and an assistant professor at the University of California, said that plant-based diets can prove beneficial even when you take small steps. Even reducing your meat consumption by one or two days out of the week can give you these health benefits.
Now, I know a lot of vegans here probably eat vegetables daily, but the point of pointing this out is that even that small amount of eating vegan once or twice a week has health benefits. How many more benefits does it give when you eat a vegan diet every day?
Not all vegan diets were created equal. Dr. Walter Willett, a professor from the University of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that these benefits weren’t as realized when the vegetarian diet was primarily based on starches and sugar.
Why Does Veganism Lower the Risk of Chronic Diseases?
The lower risk of the chronic diseases mentioned above may have to do with the fact that veganism reduces many of the risk factors that lead to the chronic diseases mentioned. For example, it lowers your weight, reduces your bad cholesterol, and lowers your inflammation.
Let’s look at this closer. Veganism won’t always lower your weight. When you do lose weight from vegan diets, you do it because of the lower calorie intake. If you’d especially like to lose weight from a vegan diet, look for foods high in fiber. Examples of foods high in fiber include:
One study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that aiming for as little as 30 grams of fiber daily could help you lose weight, improve your insulin response, and lower your blood pressure.
Next, let’s look at the risk factor of bad cholesterol. High cholesterol results in an estimated 2.6 million deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). One Harvard study found that those on the vegan and vegetarian diets had an average drop in LDL cholesterol (i.e. bad cholesterol) of 7%, 10%, and 14%.
When bad cholesterol accumulates in your veins, it can cause stroke, heart disease, and cardiac arrest. The Harvard study also found that vegan diets often had more healthy unsaturated fats.
To put that into perspective, unsaturated fats can lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, which is one of the chronic diseases.
Finally, let’s take veganism and how it lowers your inflammation. Vegan diets have a reputation for lowering inflammation in a variety of ways. Prolonged and excessive inflammation has been associated with chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, and some types of cancers.
Many vegan foods have antioxidants in them like vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. All of these nutrients help to neutralize oxidative stress, which is a key contributor of inflammation, and it has also been linked to chronic diseases.
“How good it is to be well-fed, healthy, and kind all at the same time.”
— Henry Heimlich (Inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver, Also a Vegetarian)
Vegan Foods That Can Lower Your Risk of Developing Chronic Diseases
In general, you want to eat a well-balanced vegan diet that includes many types of fruits and vegetables because this will ensure that you receive the most nutrients.
I’ve highlighted some great vegan-friendly herbs, foods, and spices that can help you to prevent chronic diseases:
You want to keep a good variety here when you eat them because each of the foods mentioned serves a different purpose. For example, cherries fight chronic diseases because of the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in them. They combat oxidative stress, which is linked to chronic disease and premature aging.
Red onions, on the other hand, may help you to prevent type 2 diabetes and some types of cancers. Onions contain chemicals that are believed to help fight cancer. Researchers believe that quercetin has a positive effect on it by reducing the blood vessels that feed cancer tumors.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Hopefully, you see how veganism can help you reduce your risk of getting chronic diseases. It works by reducing some of the key risks that contribute to chronic diseases like weight gain, bad cholesterol, and inflammation. While being healthy, it also has a positive impact on the environment and reduces the suffering of animals.
One thing to be aware of with it is that you can’t just eat vegan and expect to be healthy. You still have to watch what you eat. Even being vegan, you should always remember to look for healthy and nutritious vegan meals.
“The question isn't can they reason nor can they talk, but can they suffer?
— Jeremy Bentham
