Written by Medically reviewed by Kimberly Lucas, RD on May 9, 2020 —
Last updated on March 25, 2021 at 02:34 pm
What are the benefits & risks of a vegan diet? Vegan diets have exploded onto the food scene. Once only thought of as the domain of animal activists, people are now recognizing the many health benefits of a vegan diet.
Whether you’re looking to improve your overall health, lose weight, or make more eco-conscious decisions, a vegan diet has a range of benefits.
However, as with any diet that considerably restricts what you eat, it’s important to know the risks. A vegan diet can be safe and beneficial, but it isn’t for everyone. It is important to know all the benefits and risks before starting.
What Is a Vegan Diet?
A vegan diet aims to exclude any foods or products that come from or are produced by animals. A typical vegan diet excludes the consumption of foods like meat, dairy, and eggs.
Because veganism excludes animal products, most vegan diets center around plant-based foods such as grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
Vegan diets can easily be customized, and you will often find that individuals allow different foods into their diets.
For example, some vegans will exclude honey from their diets as it is made by bees, but others will consume honey because its collection doesn’t result in animal harm or exploitation.
There is a stereotype that vegans only eat salads, and while vegetables do play a large role in a vegan diet, vegan cooking has come a long way in recent years.
Many vegan products on the market today could easily be confused for meat or dairy products, and vegan alternatives to milk, cheese, and even mince are easy and delicious ingredients to add to vegan recipes.
Veganism can also be more than just a diet, and many vegans think of it as a lifestyle that aims to reduce the exploitation of animals.
Some people following a vegan diet will also choose to exclude animal products like leather, hygiene products that contain animal ingredients, and cosmetic products that have been tested on animals.
Fundamentally, veganism is a philosophy that aims to reduce animal suffering by reducing the consumption of products that require the use of animals, as much as reasonably possible.
What Are the Benefits of a Vegan Diet?
Switching to a vegan diet means that you will most likely be increasing your intake of vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds in order to replace the animal products you have eliminated.
It is possible to follow a vegan diet and eat unhealthy foods (Oreos are vegan), but since people often adopt a vegan diet for health purposes, they usually aim to consume whole, plant-based foods.
Many foods consumed on a vegan diet are rich in vitamins and minerals that the body thrives on, and so it’s no surprise there are a range of health benefits associated with following one correctly.
Research tells us that vegan diets can also increase your fiber, antioxidant, and carotenoid intake and help to reduce cholesterol levels, which is a primary risk factor for many diseases, such as heart disease (1, 2).
Vegan foods also tend to be high in vitamins A, C, and E and important minerals like magnesium, iron, and folate (3).
Overall, the benefits of a vegan diet largely come from the fact that excluding animal products helps to increase your intake of nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains.
1. Lowers the Risk of Disease
Since vegan diets promote increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods, individuals who follow a vegan diet tend to consume less saturated fats and cholesterol (4).
High saturated fat consumption and cholesterol levels are both risk factors for a range of diseases, and research shows that consuming a vegan diet may help to lower your risk of disease.
A 2014 cohort study investigated the effects of vegan and vegetarian diets on health and found that a significant benefit of a vegan diet is its ability to protect from a range of diseases (5).
The study analyzed data from three study cohorts and found that following a vegan diet can offer protection from hypertension, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular mortality.
Veganism’s protective potential from type 2 diabetes is especially exciting. A vegan diet has been found in multiple studies to reduce blood sugar levels (6, 7, 8).
In fact, research has shown that a vegan diet may reduce blood sugar levels more significantly than following the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association guidelines (9).
One of the most impressive potential health benefits of a vegan diet is that it may be able to reduce your risk of certain cancers.
This is thanks to the increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and soy products, which have all been linked to increased protection against different cancers (10, 11, 12).
Certain animal products such as red meat and especially processed meats have been associated with an increased risk of cancer, so another health benefit of a vegan diet is that it restricts your consumption of foods that may increase your risk of developing cancer (13, 14).
2. Weight Loss
One of the significant benefits of following a vegan diet is that it can help you lose weight. A vegan diet often results in reduced consumption of saturated fats, which can help protect from disease, and also contribute to weight loss (15).
Vegan diets have been found to be useful in both preventing weight gain and promoting weight loss and are thought to be a viable obesity treatment option (16).
A vegan diet is so impressive for those looking to lose weight that one study found it was more successful at inducing weight-loss than a calorie-restrictive diet. Plus, vegan diet participants in this study were allowed to eat to the point of satisfaction.
Restrictive calorie diets can result in disordered eating patterns and an unhealthy relationship with food while vegan diets may offer a safer and more effective weight loss option (17).
It is important to point out that overall health should be the goal of any diet choice, and if you experience weight loss on a vegan diet be sure to stay in a healthy weight class.
Losing weight can lower many health risk factors, so if you want to move into a healthier weight class, following a vegan diet could be a viable option.
3. Environmental Benefits
While veganism is often associated with people who want to protect animals, environmental protection is another reason why more people are turning to vegan diets.
A vegan diet can have a positive impact on the environment because of the huge effect the food industry has on environmental health and climate change.
It’s estimated that around 15-30% (18) of greenhouse gas emissions can be traced to the food sector, so it’s important to make informed and environmentally conscious food decisions if you want to reduce your environmental impact.
Eating a vegan diet is a significant way to reduce your environmental impact, because of its focus on plant-based foods and the elimination of animal protein.
Animal protein has a much more critical impact on the environment, and the production of animal protein uses more land, energy, and water when compared to plant-based foods.
For example, it takes about 100 times more water to produce animal protein than it does to produce an equal weight of grain protein (19).
The environmental benefits of a vegan diet are even significantly more impressive than that of a Mediterranean diet, which reduces red meat, poultry, and dairy and focuses on the consumption of vegetables, seafood, and grains.
One study found that vegan diets are more environmentally sustainable, with the Mediterranean diet’s global warming potential being almost double that of a vegan diet (20).
What are the Risks of a Vegan Diet?
While there are many health and environmental benefits of following a vegan diet, there can also be some risks.
It’s important to do your research when adopting any restrictive diet such as a vegan diet. Due to its restrictive nature, you may find you have trouble getting adequate amounts of certain nutrients, it may be difficult to stick with the diet, or you may struggle to maintain healthy cooking habits.
However, by putting in a small amount of effort to ensure you supplement any essential nutrients, maintain a healthy level of calorie consumption, and inform yourself about easy and healthy at-home or dining options, you can ensure your vegan diet is safe, effective, and beneficial.
1. Risk of Deficiencies
Since a vegan diet excludes all animal products, one of the risks is that you may experience some nutritional deficiencies. Certain nutrients, like calcium and omega-3 fatty acids, are predominantly found in animal products.
Calcium is found in high amounts in dairy products, and omega-3 fatty acids are largely found in fatty fish. Being on a vegan diet, you can get your calcium from plant-based milk alternatives very easily.
Lacking these nutrients can have serious consequences: for example, calcium plays an important role in blood circulation and bone health, and omega-3 plays a key role in brain and heart health.
Another nutrient that can also be lacking in a vegan diet is vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is largely found in animal products such as beef, liver, chicken, seafood, and eggs. On a vegan diet, you can access B12 in yeast products such as yeast flakes or extract.
Vitamin B12 is an important nerve-supporting nutrient that helps to maintain brain function, protect bone health, and manage mood disorders (21, 22, 23).
It is clear that there could be serious consequences from lacking such a significant nutrient, and B12 is only found in significant levels in certain types of vegan-friendly nori, mushrooms, or in B12 fortified plant-based milk or grains (24).
These deficiencies are one of the reasons that anyone who wants to follow a vegan diet must research the appropriate foods that can replace what has been eliminated from a non-vegan diet.
2. Adherence
As with many restrictive diets, one of the main risks of a vegan diet is struggling to follow it.
Removing foods that are common in most people’s diets like meat, cheese, milk, or butter can be a drastic change, so many people may find that they struggle to adhere to the rules of a vegan diet. If you don’t follow the diet well, you might not see the significant benefits.
One of the main difficulties in adhering to a vegan diet can be eating out. While there are restaurants that focus on vegan foods and vegan cuisine is expanding, you may struggle to find vegan alternatives at many restaurants.
The lack of vegan options means that you may feel excluded from many dining options, feel socially isolated, or be forced to order a meal you’re not interested in. Most diets are hard enough to follow without the added struggle of dining isolation.
While the benefits of a vegan diet can be substantial, if you struggle to adhere to it, then you are unlikely to experience any of its effects as you may be on and off the diet frequently.
Wavering adherence can also have negative effects on your mental health as you struggle to meet your dietary goals and feel that you are often failing.
3. Vegan Junk Food
While veganism can be a healthy dietary routine full of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains, this is not always the case. The rising popularity in veganism has brought many new vegan products to the market.
This increase is largely beneficial to those following a vegan diet; however, this market gain has also led to the proliferation of vegan junk food, such as
- Vegan cheeses
- Burgers
- Pizzas
- Ice cream
- Cake
- Cookies
These vegan forms of junk food are now readily available at supermarkets and fast-food chains.
People on a vegan diet can often struggle with adherence, and these junk food options offer a quick and tasty meal option that still fits within veganism’s restrictive rules.
These foods can be high in fats and sugars, meaning they may minimize many of the health benefits commonly linked to veganism.
If you consume enough foods that are high in saturated fats or sugar yet are still vegan, you may actually experience weight gain or an increased risk for certain diseases (25, 26).
This is particularly concerning considering that many people who follow a vegan diet do so for the health benefits associated with it.
Weight loss is primarily determined by the number of calories you consume. While a vegan diet generally helps with weight loss, this tends to be due to consuming satiating whole, plant-based foods.
Consuming calorically dense vegan junk food can cause you to gain weight just as easily someone eating animal products.
How Can You Follow a Vegan Diet Safely?
While there are risks of a vegan diet, it is still possible to follow a vegan diet safely.
Nutrient deficiencies, for example, can be combated through appropriate supplementation or by simply increasing your consumption of certain foods.
While calcium is found in non-vegan dairy products, there are many vegetables that contain high amounts of calcium, such as leafy, dark-green vegetables like collard greens, bok choy, and kale.
Vitamin B12 can be found in vegan-approved foods such as certain mushrooms, and it is often added to vegan milk.
Consulting your doctor about your nutrient levels while following a vegan diet is the safest way to ensure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.
Adherence can be a harder risk factor to solve, and the social restrictions of a vegan diet can increase your risk of not following the diet.
However, doing some research into your local vegan-friendly restaurants or finding interesting vegan recipes can help you to become more informed and help you to integrate a vegan diet into your life.
Monitoring your food intake is a simple way to ensure you’re not consuming excessive saturated fat through vegan junk food.
Focusing on vegan recipes and foods that use more whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits as opposed to artificial cheese or meat will help you to reduce your saturated fat intake.
Is a Plant-Based Diet Better than a Vegan Diet?
Different diets naturally get compared to one another as people want to know which is the best option for them.
Plant-based diets are often compared to vegan diets due to their similarities, but when it comes to which is better for you, it largely comes down to your preferences.
A vegan diet can offer a lot of benefits; however, it isn’t for everyone, and many people may find that a plant-based diet is a better fit for them.
Because of its less restrictive nature, people struggling to stay on a vegan diet may find they prefer the flexibility of a plant-based diet and are more successful at sticking to it.
With a plant-based diet largely focusing on plant-based foods, you are likely to receive similar health benefits to a vegan diet as you reduce your saturated fat intake and increase your consumption of a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Yet a plant-based diet adds in more flexibility with what you can eat.
However, if animal ethics is the main reason you want to follow a vegan lifestyle, a vegan diet may be a better option than a plant-based diet due to its total exclusion of animal products.
The Bottom Line
With proper management, a vegan diet can be safe, healthy, and even help to protect you from certain diseases.
But while research tells us of the many benefits of a vegan diet, it isn’t for everyone, and its restrictive nature means that a plant-based diet may be easier to follow for many.
If you are considering a vegan diet, start slowly, and do your research to ensure that you set yourself up for success.
A plant-based diet can be a better alternative for the majority of people, as it provides many of the same health benefits as a vegan diet, without the heavy restriction that comes with it.
