Adopting a vegan diet has never been more popular, with over an estimated 3.5 million of us Brits shunning meat and other animal derived products. You only have to go on Instagram to see just how popular this plant based lifestyle now is, as more and more accounts feature carefully styled photos of droolworthy vegan fare – quite frankly it’s enough to convert even the meatiest of carnivores!
If you’d have asked someone a few years back why they were a vegan the chances are they would have cited their love of animals and that they, quite literally, couldn’t stomach the idea of animals being treated unfairly and then killed purely to feed us humans. And whilst for some this is still a good reason, thanks to our greater understanding of the world around us and with more information so easily accessible, the greatest influence of veganism is now down to environmental factors. Whether it’s in an attempt to reduce carbon footprint or to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we care more about the state of our planet than ever, and veganism is very much at the heart of it.
Then there’s the health aspect to it, because providing you follow a vegan diet that is rich in nutrients and includes a balance of everything your body needs, then actually it can do wonders for weight, cholesterol and blood pressure control.
And then of course, there’s the ‘because it’s the thing to do’ factor. I mean if everyone else is vegan then heavens forbid you miss out, right? As fickle as it sounds, I guarantee you there are people out there who are only vegan because it is the latest food trend and they want to be seen to be ‘fitting in’ and being fashionable.
But putting all of these reasons aside, there’s one thing the vegan diet can do that many people don’t even consider.
Help With Food Allergies
Yep that’s right, changing to a vegan diet could be the solution to helping you discover what it is that’s giving you those tummy pains, making you feel bloated, or just generally feeling unwell. I mean sure, it could just be that’s the way you are, but what if you’ve been ‘putting up’ with some of these symptoms and you’ve had enough of feeling rubbish? It’s got to be worth a shot right…
Food intolerances and allergies are a difficult thing to diagnose, and usually involves eliminating certain food types from the diet over a stretch of time to test whether that particular food is the culprit.
Common food allergies include:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Wheat
- Soy
- Fish
- Shellfish
You’ll notice that the majority of the items listed above are animal derived products.
Can you see where I’m going with this?
Yep, if you were to switch to a vegan diet for a while, it would be interesting to see whether you were still experiencing some of the allergic symptoms.
But perhaps you’d like an answer sooner than that, which is where a Basic Vegan Test Panel test from HealthLabs could come in handy. This quick blood test will tell you whether you are allergic to 18 common meat and dairy products, including cheese, cow’s and goat milk, chicken, beef, egg yolk and white, gelatin and tuna among others, in a matter of a couple of days. And because this method uses a blood sample it means there are no unnecessary allergic reactions being caused throughout the process, which can often be the case with skin prick tests.
Once you have the results you can then make the tweaks you need to your diet to help you feel more comfortable and enjoy eating again. And hey, if that involves embracing a plant based life then lucky you, because there are so many fantastic recipes out there that don’t require animal based products, that you’ll wonder why on earth you ever ate meat in the first place!
Healthlabs.com are offering a 25% discount off all of their vegan testing when using the exclusive coupon code: ARTOFHEALTHYLIVING
*collaborative post
