Vegan Diet
A vegan (vee-gun) is a person who is a “strict vegetarian who eats no animal products, dairy and eggs” and does not use any products that come from animal such as leather, silk and so on. Vegans eat no butter and no cream. Instead vegans exclusively consume vegetables, beans, lentils, soy and soya products, fruits, grains, seeds and nuts. People who suffer from liver disease should steer clear of soy and any soy products. For protein consumption a vegan diet or strict vegetarian diet includes nuts, seeds, soy, lentils and beans. For carbohydrates, a vegan diet plan must include starchy vegetables such as potatoes and grains and for fat consumption it was oils, nuts and seeds.

A vegan diet also espouses the lifestyle of a person who refuses to use animal products for clothing and other types of purposes. Vegans will not wear animal skins and they abstain completely from meat, poultry and fish, as well as eggs, honey, animal gelatin and dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream. Anything that is made of bone, fur, leather, fur, silk, wool, pearls, feathers, coral, sponges, nacre and any other products that derive from animals.

A survey done in 2002 showed that four percent of Americans are vegetarians while five percent are self-professed vegans. Approximately 0.25 percent of the United Kingdom follows a vegan diet and lifestyle while The Times estimates that there are approximately 250,000 vegans presently residing in Great Britain.

The word vegan comes from the word vegetarian and came into existence in the year 1944 thanks to Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson who together founded the United Kingdom Vegan Society because they were bothered because the vegetarian diet allowed for the consumption of dairy products and they wanted a stricter definition. They took the first three letters of the word vegetarian and the last two to create the word “vegan.” Shrigley and Watson consider being vegan as “the beginning and end of vegetarian.”

As far as a vegan diet or a vegetarian diet is concerned, there are low carb vegetarian diets as well as a variety of different types of vegetarian diets. Check the Internet for vegetarian diet suggestions and to learn more about the vegetarian diet pyramid.