What Is A Vegan Diet? What Are The Benefits Of Being Vegan?

What Is A Vegan Diet? What Are The Benefits Of Being Vegan?
12 May 2009

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149636.php
[Click on above to see an interview with Carl Lewis - really good!]

Being a vegan is definitely more of a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than a diet. A vegan does not eat anything that is of animal origin. Vegans will not use animal based products for clothing, or any other purpose. A person can become a vegan because of ethical reasons involving animal rights, for environmental factors, or for better health. According to Wikipedia, approximately 0.2% to 1.3% of the US, and between 0.25% and 0.4% of the UK populations are vegans.

This article is part of a series called What Are The Eight Most Popular Diets Today?.

Veganism is seen as a subset of various possible vegetarian diets/lifestyles.
What is the difference between Veganism and Vegetarianism?
Some people may disagree with the meaning of vegetarianism. The general interpretation is that a vegan will not consume any foods of animal origin, not even honey, while a vegetarian might consume eggs (ovo-vegetarian), or dairy (lacto-vegetarian). Another general interpretation is that Veganism is a subdivision of Vegetarianism. However, some vegans say that the only true vegetarian is a vegan. According to the Medilexicon medical dictionary, a vegan is "A strict vegetarian; one who consumes no animal or dairy products of any type". Virtually all vegan societies also add that a vegan does not use products that come from animals, such as leather, wool, down, cosmetics, or products which have been tested on animals.
The three main reasons people adopt veganism are health, environmental, and animal rights

To read the full article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149636.php