![\"Go](\"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/pnr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/11\/vegan-300x195.png\")
It\u2019s World Vegan Month, and as the PNR\u2019s only vegan, I thought I would take the opportunity to post about this little known celebration.\u00a0 It has always struck me as odd that World Vegan Month should fall during Thanksgiving, a holiday renown for the consumption of vast amounts of turkey and ham. But then again, the vast majority of Americans are not vegan.<\/p>\n
What are vegans? MeSH<\/a> defines them as \u201cpersons who avoid consuming animal products or animal-derived substances, such as MEAT; EGGS; or HONEY. Some vegans also refrain from using animals or animal products in any form or for any purpose, such as in CLOTHING or household goods.\u00a0 (Year introduced: 2016).\u201d It is quite telling that this subject heading was just added in 2016. Veganism and plant-based eating are becoming a \u201cthing.\u201d More and more research is pointing to the benefit of eschewing animal products and adopting a diet that is organic, plant-based, minimally processed, and easier on the environment. According to the Permanente Journal\u2019s \u201cNutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets<\/a>,\u201d research shows that plant-based diets are cost-effective, low-risk interventions that may lower body mass index, blood pressure, HbA1C<\/sub>, and cholesterol levels. They may also reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases and lower ischemic heart disease mortality rates. Physicians should consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients, especially those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity.\u201d \u00a0<\/sup>And that’s saying a lot, considering the fact that physicians haven\u2019t been known for racking up a lot hours of nutrition education in medical school<\/a>. \u00a0<\/sup>The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has recently published a position paper on vegetarian diets<\/a> and it also highlights the mounting evidence for adopting this lifestyle, including the environmental sustainability of diets rich in plants, as opposed to resource depleting animal products.<\/p>\n The plant-based movement is growing. The Plant Based Food Association and The Good Food Institute recently released new data which indicates an 8.1 percent growth in plant-based food sales<\/a> since last year. And Baum and Whiteman, an international food and restaurant consultant, called plant-based dining 2018\u2019s trend of the year<\/a>. More and more meat free choices are becoming available in local groceries and restaurants. No longer are we relegated to eating from just the salad bar.<\/p>\n Thinking of giving this vegan thing a try? Keep in mind that you can be just as unhealthy a vegan as an omnivore<\/a>. Potato chips and soda are vegan, after all. For guidance on vegetarian, including vegan diets, MedlinePlus<\/a> offers a variety of useful links. And as I mentioned above, PubMed now includes a MeSH term for this dietary practice. In addition to NLM links above, I\u2019d like to offer some additional resources that I have found both useful and evidence focused.<\/p>\n NutritionFacts.org Happy Healthy Long Life: A Medical Librarian\u2019s Adventures in Evidence-based Living The Vegetarian Resource Group It Doesn\u2019t Taste Like Chicken My own journey towards veganism started many years ago when I decided to experiment with a vegetarian and then vegan diet. Over the years, I shifted back a forth from vegan to lacto-ovo-vegetarian to pescatarian, but it was the reccurrence of an autoimmune disorder I had suffered from in my early twenties that convinced me to return to a plant-based, minimally processed diet. Both my family physician and my rheumatologist were in awe of how quickly my dietary choice lead to a remission of my symptoms, and a return to normal health. I\u2019m vegan to stay.<\/p>\n While I don\u2019t necessarily expect you to skip the turkey or ham this Thanksgiving, I do hope this post will give you some food for thought. I also hope you will add your comments below if this post has encouraged you to explore plant-based eating further, or if you\u2019ve already decided to become an herbivore. Happy Thanksgiving! But please, don\u2019t pass the Tofurky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s World Vegan Month, and as the PNR\u2019s only vegan, I thought I would take the opportunity to post about this little known celebration.\u00a0 It has always struck me as odd that World Vegan Month should fall during Thanksgiving, a holiday renown for the consumption of vast amounts of turkey and ham. But then again,… Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16012","post","type-post","status-archive","format-standard","hentry","category-health-observances","category-regional-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16012"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16018,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16012\/revisions\/16018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nhttps:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.happyhealthylonglife.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.vrg.org\/nutshell\/Polls\/2016_adults_veg.htm<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/itdoesnttastelikechicken<\/a><\/p>\n