Veganism for Beginners – The Ultimate Lowdown on Going Vegan

Are you planning on going vegan? Feeling veg-curious? Or simply looking to learn more about a vegan diet?

Then you’ve come to the right place!

Once upon a time we were in the same position.

We had questions like what do vegans eat? Is being vegan expensive? What supplements do I need to take?

And with an abundance of information, it can be confusing to say the least.

In our vegan beginners guide, we’ll walk you through all the vegan basics, answer questions you might have, and share our best tips for vegan beginners.

Jump to:

• What Does Vegan Mean?
• Vegan vs Plant-Based vs Vegetarian
• Is Being Vegan Expensive?
• How To Get The Most Vegan Bang For Your Buck
• What Do Vegans Eat?
• Vegan Foods and Animal Substitutes
• Tips to Help Vegan Beginners Get Started
• Vegan Supplements
• Best Vegan Cookbooks for Beginners
• Benefits of a Vegan Diet

We'll start our veganism for beginners guide with the basics, covering the term vegan and what it actually means.

Veganism is a lifestyle that seeks to minimize and exclude animal suffering in every way possible.

This is most commonly done by excluding all animal-derived foods from one's diet. That includes all types of meat (and yes, chicken and fish are meat), dairy products, honey, and eggs.

However, veganism is about much more than diet.

As mentioned, a vegan seeks to exclude all animal products from their life.

This means that veganism extends further than food. 

For example, a vegan doesn’t wear leather, feathers (or down), suede, fur, silk, wool, or use any products tested on animals.

Naturally, a vegan also avoids any setting where animals are being abused and used for entertainment such as zoos and circuses as well as activities such as taking horse -drawn carriages, swimming with dolphins, or riding elephants.

In other words, a vegan does not discriminate against species whether that be a dog, human, cow, pig, sheep, fish, or bird.

In addition to veganism, there are a few other diets and lifestyles that also exclude certain or all animal products. The two most common are the plant-based diet and vegetarianism.

• Plant-Based

A person eating a plant-based diet also excludes all animal products from their diet.

However, unlike a vegan, someone eating plant-based is usually driven by health reasons and not necessarily by ethical reasons.

This generally means that they are stricter with what they eat and try to eat as healthy as possible, avoiding processed foods while mainly eating a whole foods plant-based diet (WFPB).

That being said, there are many vegans who eat a WFPB diet, and there are many that follow a plant-based diet that embrace veganism for the animals.

In many cases, depending on who you're talking to, the two terms can be used interchangeably.

• Vegetarian

A vegetarian does not consume any type of meat, including fish and chicken, for ethical reasons just like a vegan.

However, they tend to still eat dairy and eggs and might also use non-vegan products and clothing.

Vegetarianism can also differ from person to person.

For example, some vegetarians might eat dairy but not eggs, and others might eat eggs but not dairy.

In addition, there are people that exclude red meat and chicken from their diet but still eat fish and other seafood. These people are usually referred to as "pescatarians" and are not vegetarian.

B12 must be supplemented on a vegan diet.

Vegan food is naturally low in B12 which is an essential vitamin that all humans need to survive. In fact, it is very dangerous to become B12 deficient.

We used to get plenty of B12 from the soil but due to higher sanitary standards in food production, our vegetables are now depleted of it.

That being said, many meat-eaters and vegetarians also don't get enough B12.

Because of this, it is essential for every vegan to supplement with B12 on a regular basis.

The easiest way to do so is to take a B12 supplement. We prefer this brand but there are several other brands selling similar products.

Also, there are vegan products that are fortified with B12 such as soy milk and nutritional yeast, but it’s not really enough to sustain a healthy level which is why it's always recommended to use supplements.

In addition, we recommend that all vegan (and non-vegans) supplement with Vitamin D.

Like B12, vitamin D is an essential vitamin for humans that we naturally absorb from sunlight. Unfortunately, many studies have shown that most humans are vitamin D deficient which can lead to an array of health issues.

Our point is that any vegan that wants to live an optimal life should take B12 and Vitamin D on a daily basis.

Note that finding vegan vitamin D is a little harder than finding B12 since many Vitamin D products are derived from sheep wool.

Lately, we have been using this vegan vitamin D.

Lastly, let's look at the 3 main benefits of going vegan.

1. Ethics

As a vegan beginner, you will be embracing a compassionate lifestyle, and you will be able to enjoy the benefits of a clear conscious.

Every day, you will choose compassion over cruelty, and your day to day actions will help make the world a better place.

According to PETA, a vegan can save as many as 100 animals every year.

2. Health Benefits

There are a number of health benefits associated with a vegan lifestyle.

Many heart diseases can be treated by a strict whole foods vegan diet, and every year hundreds of people reverse and completely recover from type 2 diabetes.

It’s also impossible to have high cholesterol on a vegan diet since your body creates its own cholesterol and any access comes from animal products.

Note: We are not health experts and are only sharing information we’ve heard from doctors and experts.

To learn more about the health benefits of a vegan diet, we suggest you check out Dr. Michael Greger’s book How Not to Die, the movie Forks Over Knives as well as Dr. Collin Campbell's The China Study.

Also, always consult your physician before switching your diet if you are suffering from health issues.

3. Environment

Did you know that the dairy and beef industry are responsible for more greenhouse gases than all of the world’s cars combined?

And did you know that we are overfishing our oceans to the point where the will be more plastic than fish in our waters by 2048?

The best way to combat this is to switch to a vegan lifestyle.

In fact, the easiest and quickest way to minimize your negative footprint on our planet is to become vegan.

In other words, a vegan lifestyle will not only benefit you but everyone who inhabits this planet.

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