vegan

If you're here because of the "drama", congratulations, I am too apparently. If you're also here with the position that a vegan diet is unhealthy in humans, I'm begging you for a toilet break's worth of your time. The contents of this post are wholly divorced from ethics or environmental concerns, are not here to "own you with facts and logic", and are focused solely on human health through the quoting of scientific literature. For as many of these as I can, I have provided links to the full text on the NCBI's PubMed Commons in the interest of transparency.

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• It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes [...] Low intake of saturated fat and high intakes of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nuts, and seeds (all rich in fiber and phytochemicals) are characteristics of vegetarian and vegan diets that produce lower total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and better serum glucose control. These factors contribute to reduction of chronic disease. —Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2016) ---
• Based on this systematic review of randomized clinical trials, there is an overall robust support for beneficial effects of a plant-based diet on metabolic measures in health and disease. —Translational Psychiatry (2019) ---
• In most countries a vegan diet has less energy and saturated fat compared to omnivorous control diets, and is associated with favourable cardiometabolic risk profile including lower body weight, LDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure and triglycerides. —PLoS One meta-analysis (2018) ---
• This comprehensive meta-analysis reports a significant protective effect of a vegetarian diet versus the incidence and/or mortality from ischemic heart disease (-25%) and incidence from total cancer (-8%). Vegan diet conferred a significant reduced risk (-15%) of incidence from total cancer. —Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (2017) ---
• The present systematic review and meta-analysis showed a 15% and a 21% reduction in the relative risk of CVD and IHD, respectively, for vegetarians compared to nonvegetarians, but no clear association was observed for total stroke or subtypes of stroke. In addition, an 18% reduction in the relative risk of IHD was observed among vegans when compared to nonvegetarians, although this association was imprecise. —European Journal of Nutrition (2023) ---
• Adequate intake of dietary fiber is associated with digestive health and reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, certain gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. According to consumer research, the public is aware of the benefits of fiber and most people believe they consume enough fiber. However, national consumption surveys indicate that only about 5% of the population meets recommendations, and inadequate intakes have been called a public health concern [...] The IOM defines total fiber as the sum of dietary fiber and functional fiber. Dietary fiber includes nondigestible carbohydrates and lignins that are intrinsic and intact in plants; functional fiber includes isolated, nondigestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans. Common sources of intrinsic fiber include grain products, vegetables, legumes, and fruit. —American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (2017) ---
• [R]ecommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, while decreasing saturated fat and dairy intake, are supported [for asthma] by the current literature. Mediterranean and vegan diets emphasizing the consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, while reducing or eliminating animal products, might reduce the risk of asthma development and exacerbation. Fruit and vegetable intake has been associated with reduced asthma risk and better asthma control, while dairy consumption is associated with increased risk and might exacerbate asthmatic symptoms. —Nutrition Reviews (2020) ---
• Over the past two decades, a substantial body of consistent evidence has emerged at the cellular and molecular level, elucidating the numerous benefits of a plant-based diet (PBD) for preventing and mitigating conditions such as atherosclerosis, chronic noncommunicable diseases, and metabolic syndrome. —Nutrients comprehensive review (2023) ---
• Consumption of vegetarian diets, particularly vegan diets, is associated with lower levels of plasma lipids, which could offer individuals and healthcare professionals an effective option for reducing the risk of heart disease or other chronic conditions. —Nutrition Reviews systematic review and meta-analysis (2017) ---
• After adjusting for basic demographic characteristics, medical specialty, and health behaviours (smoking, physical activity) in model 2, participants who followed plant-based diets had 73% lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.81) compared with participants who did not follow plant-based diets. Similarly, participants who followed either plant-based diets or pescatarian diets had 59% lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.99) compared with those who did not follow these diets. —British Medical Journal (2021) ---
• Current research suggests that switching to a plant-based diet may help increase the diversity of health-promoting bacteria in the gut. However, more research is needed to describe the connections between nutrition, the microbiome, and health outcomes because of their complexity and individual heterogeneity. —Nutrients systematic review (2023) ---
• [T]his systematic review shows that plant-based diets and their components might have the potential to improve cancer prognosis, especially for breast, colorectal and prostate cancer survivors. —Current Nutrition Reports (2022) ---
• Moderate evidence suggests that adhering to vegan diets for at least 12 weeks may be effective in individuals with overweight or type 2 diabetes to induce a meaningful decrease in body weight and improve glycemia. —Obesity Reviews systematic review and meta-analysis (2022) ---
• The data discussed in this systematic review allow us to conclude that plant-based diets are associated with lower BP and overall better health outcomes (namely, on the cardiovascular system) when compared with animal-based diets. —Current Hypertension Reports (2023) ---
• There are multiple benefits of a vegan or vegetarian diet [six listed, too long to quote here] in the management of CKD [...] —Journal of Renal Nutrition (2019) ---
• The present systematic review provides evidence that vegan and vegetarian diets are associated with lower CRP levels, a major marker of inflammation and a mediator of inflammatory processes. —Scientific Reports (2020) ---
• Evidence strongly suggests that plant-based dietary patterns that are abundant in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains with less emphasis on animal foods and processed foods are a useful and a practical approach to preventing chronic diseases. Such dietary patterns, from plant-exclusive diets to plant-centered diets, are associated with improved long-term health outcomes and a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Given that neurodegenerative disorders share many pathophysiological mechanisms with CVD, including oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular damage, it is reasonable to deduce that plant-based diets can ameliorate cognitive decline as well. —Advances in Nutrition (2019) ---
• [T]he current study presents evidence that plant-based diets, among which the vegan diet, have no effect on physical performance, including on strength/power performance. It is noteworthy that aerobic performance may be even benefitted by these diets. —British Journal of Nutrition systematic review and meta-analysis (2024) ---
• [H]igher adherence to plant-based dietary patterns, especially from healthy sources, may be universally beneficial for the primary prevention of T2D, CVD, cancer, and mortality. —Nutrition Journal systematic review and meta-analysis (2023) ---
• This umbrella review offers valuable insights on the estimated reduction of risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases and cancer, and the CVDs-associated mortality, offered by the adoption of plant-based diets through pleiotropic mechanisms. Through the improvement of glycolipid profile, reduction of body weight/BMI, blood pressure, and systemic inflammation, A/AFPDs significantly reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease, gastrointestinal and prostate cancer, as well as related mortality. —PLoS One (2024) ---
• In this community‐based cohort of US adults without cardiovascular disease at baseline, we found that higher adherence to an overall plant‐based diet or a provegetarian diet, diets that are higher in plant foods and lower in animal foods, was associated with a lower risk of incident cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular disease mortality, and all‐cause mortality. —Journal of the American Heart Association (2019) ---
• In this meta-analysis of prospective observational studies, we found that greater adherence to a plant-based dietary patterns was inversely associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. These findings were broadly consistent across subgroups defined by various population characteristics and robust in sensitivity analyses.—JAMA Internal Medicine (2019) ---
• Our findings suggest that a shift in diet from a high consumption of animal-based foods, especially red and processed meat, to plant-based foods (e.g., nuts, legumes, and whole grains) is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, CVD, and T2D. Thus, a change in dietary habits towards an increment of plant-based products appears to be important for cardiometabolic health. —BMC Medicine systematic review and meta-analysis (2023) ---
• Not only is there a broad expansion of the research database supporting the myriad benefits of plant-based diets, but also health care practitioners are seeing awe-inspiring results with their patients across multiple unique subspecialties. Plant-based diets have been associated with lowering overall and ischemic heart disease mortality; supporting sustainable weight management; reducing medication needs; lowering the risk for most chronic diseases; decreasing the incidence and severity of high-risk conditions, including obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia; and even possibly reversing advanced coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes. —The Permanente Journal (2016)

I previously called modern COP conferences oil and gas industries cosplaying social responsibility to delay, distract, and deny. Here's another example of what a @#$%show they are.

> Elsewhere in the video, Ghodawat and Plant Based Treaty’s scientific health advisor and campaigner Kimmy Cushman showed a menu being served at the conference. Among the dishes were a “vegan” salad containing cheese and a “vegan” toast with cream cheese. “Vegetarian” options included a chicken caesar salad and a salmon salad. One dish marked as vegetarian even included beef, which is regarded as the most environmentally damaging food product.

> Ghodawat confirmed to Plant Based News that general food options at COP are very meat-heavy. Most coffee stalls are also not serving plant-based milk, and those that do are charging extra for them. Stalls include a hot dog stand, Domino’s pizza, and a burger bar. “It’s absolutely horrendous,” Ghodawat said. “Words don’t do justice to the anger we’ve all felt.”

> This enabled him to take home two gold medals for his performance, bringing his total to 12 world titles after his first place at the European championships earlier this year. The Bulgarian athlete has also won a gold and a bronze medal for wrestling at a national level.

> Andreev told Plant Based News (PBN) that he has been vegan for over five years and vegetarian for nearly seven. He has previously said that he eats lentils and beans most days, along with rice, peas, potatoes, nuts, fruit, and other nutritious plant-based and whole-food ingredients, per Great Vegan Athletes.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22031243

> Summary > > A baby red panda named Roxie at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland died from “stress caused by fireworks” after choking on her vomit, just days after her mother’s sudden death. > > The incident, occurring around the U.K.’s Bonfire Night celebrations, has led to renewed calls for stricter fireworks regulations. > > A petition with over a million signatures urging restrictions on public fireworks sales was submitted to the U.K. government. > > Edinburgh recently implemented limited fireworks control zones, but animal welfare advocates argue for broader measures to prevent similar tragedies.

bizarre review of Dragon Quest Monsters for the Game Boy Color that veers off into strong vegan arguments about animal treatment.

Hey all,

I am looking for some good app to see if I'm getting all the nutrients that I need (protein, vitamins, iron, etc). So do you have some recommendations??

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21919918

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22280595

Fireworks are (often extremely) harmful to:

• Wild animals (especially birds)
• Pets
• People with PTSD and combat veterans
• People with asthma
• People with sensory issues (e.g. children with autism)
• People trying to sleep
• Surface- and groundwater quality

Even though those using them often justify that they don't care about the risk of damaging their own ears, eyes, brain, and extremities, fireworks also create massive negative externalities for the people and wildlife around them.

Be advised that some with milk powder are apparently still on store shelves, but these will eventually circulate through and be replaced with vegan ones.

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/52661

Hi sorry if this is offtopic but it's the only place I know and have access to that some people will understand and not just downvote me & start arguing, criticising or mocking me.

The vegan reddit is apparently the largest online community of vegans; it's definitely the largest and most supportive one I know of, and that means it's the only real safe space I have to talk about issues I'm facing with likeminded people, of whom I know none in real life. (There is also the Vystopia reddit which is often even more understanding, apart from a few non-vegan trolls showing up occasionally once they discovered it. And a few other subs). I used the vegan reddit community as an outlet and support network to deal with and get help and advice for what is basically extreme depression/sadness, anxiety & stress, isolation & loneliness related to being the only vegan I know, the hate and bullying I get from non-vegans, and the difficulty accepting the fact that most people are so cold and callous when the topic of veganism and animal rights comes up (not that I usually bring it up myself, believe me); or what could all probably be summarised by the experience of vystopia, which even most mental health professionals are not familiar with or trained in since ethical vegans are such a minority.

This community is the only place I know of now to ask questions, get help or just vent about the struggles of being vegan in a carnist, speciesist and largely anti-vegan society. However the problem is that this community doesn't have that many vegans using it, and from what I've seen there are a lot of carnist trolls (and just non-vegans in general) who "brigade" the posts even when someone says they're just wanting to talk to likeminded vegans. This happens on Reddit too but the community is big enough, with enough vegans using it, that those comments get largely drowned out and even when they don't, there will be supportive vegans there to defend you, defend veganism/the animal rights position, correct misinformation, etc. I think there aren't enough people using Lemmy in general, to the point that when someone posts in this community, it's one of the only posts on "all" (or whatever the equivalent is) and so sometimes it seems like the majority of people seeing/engaging with it are non-vegans and trolls and it takes a while for the vegans to get here. I hope this is slowly changing as this community grows, but I wonder if there is a way to limit a post's exposure to non-vegans by having it only show up in this community and not "all"?

Anyway I'm posting here because I have no way of posting to Reddit since I was banned sitewide for unknown reasons. I sent multiple appeals to be unbanned or at least request to know the nature of my ban, as well as attempting to think of what could have possibly gotten me banned and acknowledging those things & promising to never do them again (it's a small and stupid list of things that wouldn't realistically warrant a sitewide ban like posting a few animal rights messages in topical posts of non-topical subreddits, or accidentally voting twice on the same comment a few times when switching accounts and forgetting). It really doesn't make any sense. I've sent heartfelt emails explaining my position to different places but never any response. I don't think they even accept appeals anymore after a few months.

With this in mind, I've given up hope that Reddit would ever hear my case and unban me and let them post or comment (or even like anything) ever again. So I don't know what else I can do besides trying to circumvent the ban somehow because I'm desperate, I feel like a crucial support network has been cut off that I rely upon for mental health support in a world where nearly no one understands what we're going through. I've tried VPNs, Tor browsers, using different devices, new accounts of course, but somehow it always connects back to me via IPs, accounts, data trails or something and figures out who I am and bans any new account I try to create after a short period of time (less than a day, sometimes instantly).

Any advice would be much appreciated, and I know this isn't really the kind of community that would know what to do about this issue, but if I said it anywhere else, they would definitely refuse to help me unless I explained my reasoning, and then if I did they would just bully me and use it as an opportunity to diss veganism and tell me I deserve it for being vegan or whatever.

Hey all,

I am currently working on shifting towards a vegan diet. I have recently purchased a number of cookbooks from the thrift shop, most of them older cookbooks not centred around any specific diet, some of them based on a vegetarian, and one single one about vegan baking.

My reason for getting older cookbooks and ones focused on vegetarianism rather than veganism despite me trying to go vegan is because I've also been challenging myself to purely purchase second-hand goods whenever possible. This, when paired with my tight budget, has unfortunately made most vegan cookbooks too expensive, as the thrift shop I most often frequent, sells their books at a dollar a piece.

The one vegan cookbook I have has some suggestions for ingredient substitutions. For sour cream, it suggests using either 1 part soy yogurt, 1 part soy cream, and a splash of lemon juice as one option, and finely pureed silken tofu as another option.

My three questions are the following:

1. Considering that this cookbook is focused specifically on vegan baking, will these sour cream substitutes work as such in general cooking, or purely where sour cream is used in baking?

2. For the soy yogurt-based substitute, would oat or almond-based equivalents also work, or are there certain qualities exclusive to soy alternatives that other plant alternatives don't have that makes them most suitable as a sour cream substitute?

3.When shopping, are products labelled as "creamer" the same as products labelled as "cream"? I was only able to find the former at the supermarket.

Thanks for any and all help in advance, and I apologize if this isn't the community best suited for a question such as this. I've been especially curious as I have an older blender-centric cookbook from 1961 that has some vegetarian soup recipes with the only thing keeping them from being vegan being the inclusion of sour cream as a thickening agent.

I know I'm just some guy, but if you're a vegan in the US, I really can't underscore enough how catastrophic a Trump presidency would be for animal welfare. I imagine the demographic of vegans who are also voting Trump is near-zero, but I can also imagine the demographic of vegans staying home on election day is not insubstantial.

Trump has a history of deregulating factory farms and is comically misinformed about veganism. One of Trump's likely cabinet members is an insane carnist who eats bear corpses. The 2017–2021 Trump administration's environmental policy was (and continues to be) disastrous and likely led to the unnecessary suffering of billions of sentient animals – including the rolling back of the EPA's powers through SCOTUS appointments, heavily deregulating the fossil fuel industry, loosening restrictions on imported "trophies" of endangered animals, removing funding for the protection of endangered species, pulling the US out of the Paris Climate Accords, being a superspreader for FUD about important sources of renewable energy, deregulating animal agriculture, allowing the logging industry to run wild on protected forests, and I could go on.

Will a Harris–Walz administration fix animal agriculture? No. Is it likely it would at least try to make it slightly better? I would say so. Is it absolutely, 100%, beyond a shadow of a doubt going to be better/substantially less bad than a Trump–Vance administration? Yes. Not only that, but a 2025–2029 Trump administration would have much, much fewer checks on their destruction of the environment and of regulations against the abuse of animals than their first administration thanks to their prior dismantling of checks and balances.

Please, on November 5th or if your state is still doing early voting, get out there and keep that cruel bastard out of office, and vote downballot too for politicians who are going to be less hostile to animal welfare than Republicans. Human welfare is animal welfare, and that will be in better (not perfect or even nearly perfect) hands with a Harris administration. But moreover, a Trump presidency would be disastrous for non-human animal welfare both through the deregulation of agriculture and through immense damage to the natural environment. Veganism is the reduction of animal exploitation and cruelty by all means practicable, and that makes it our responsibility as vegans to get out the vote and shut this shit down. Trump has already shown us what he would do once, and we can't let him do that again. It's for the animals, and it's for your fellow human.

Edit: a list of just some of the environmental regulations rolled back.