Vegetarianism has a long and difficult history. In Russia, the first societies of vegetarians appeared before the revolution. The Bezuboiniki printed magazines, established restaurants, and controversially with the most famous doctors of their time. Among the most famous people of pre-revolutionary Russia, who gave up steaks and cutlets – Ilya Repin and Leo Tolstoy, who actively instilled among their followers the doctrine of the “human” attitude towards animals and their lives.
Today, vegetarianism is firmly established and is one of the most popular non-standard eating systems in the world. And vegetarianism has appeared in many forms and variations – from lacto-vegetarianism (refusal of meat, but not milk), to a raw food diet (consumption of only non-thermally processed vegetables and fruits).
One of the strictest forms of vegetarianism is veganism or veganism – refusal to consume any protein of animal origin. Simply put, such a food system taboo not only meat, but also any dairy products, eggs and fish in any form.
Veganism is becoming more and more popular every day.
Someone becomes vegan simply because they feel sorry for animals. Someone wants to become slimmer and healthier. Everyone’s motives are different, but we are sure that anyone who wants to drastically change their diet and give up vegetable protein should know what will happen to their body when switching to veganism.
The first few weeks you will feel energized. Avoiding processed meat and eating more vegetables and fruits will dramatically increase your body’s levels of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
You will feel an improvement in digestion. But it can also happen that you start to worry about gas, colic, bloating, and even irritable bowel syndrome. This is due to the fact that you will be consuming a lot of fiber and carbohydrates, which the body is not used to handling in this amount.
But everything, most likely, will work out, you just have to wait out the transition period. There will be many more beneficial bacteria in your gut to help speed up your metabolism.
In three to six months you will notice how your skin condition improves. The body will have more water from vegetables and fruits, and it will flush out all toxins and toxins from the body.
By this time, however, your vitamin D stores, which you have accumulated over the years of eating meat, will run out. Lack of this vitamin will put you at risk for heart disease and cancer. In addition, the low level of this substance in the body provokes the development of migraines and depression. Teeth without this vitamin will also get worse.
The level of iron, zinc and calcium will also drop. Hence the conclusion – a balanced vegan diet is initially unthinkable without food additives and vitamin complexes. That is why, before joining the ranks of vegans, we advise you to consult your doctor so that he selects the right drugs.
After 6 months your vitamin B12 levels may become critically low. Symptoms of a lack of this substance are shortness of breath, memory impairment, exhaustion, tingling in the hands and feet.
If you don’t take supplements or vitamins to balance your diet, your bones won’t thank you either. Mineral reserves in them will literally be “eaten” by your body. The enamel of the teeth will become thinner and may even begin to crumble.
Of course, some vegetables, such as broccoli, contain calcium. and in others – B12. But if you don’t formulate your diet and take supplements with almost medical accuracy, you will soon experience acute nutritional deficiencies in your body.