Get Ready for 'Veganuary': What it Means for you and Your Health

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It's expected that after a lot of feasting that happened during the holidays, a lot of people will make a New Year's resolution to shed those added pounds. A new campaign could help such people fight the fat.

A campaign called “Veganuary” has been inspired by this “overzealous” end-of-the-year meat feasting, Medical Daily reported. This campaign, which has already run for three years now, “aims to reduce the suffering of animals by inspiring and supporting people across the globe to go vegan.”

The new fad of avoiding fish, meat and meat by-products has been a growing trend, most especially because of some high-profile personalities that are advocating for it, The Guardian informed.

Some people who are committed vegans include Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, while some who have tried going vegan in the past include former president Bill Clinton and actress Anne Hathaway.

Veganuary organizers report that they are expecting a huge number of people to join. It had 3,000 participants during the first year and about 12,800 during the second. This year, they are expecting at least 50,000 to join the challenge, with at least half of the participants deciding to stay vegan after the month ends.

The organizers also claimed that those who decided to go vegan are primarily motivated by a growing concern for the treatment of animals, only followed by health and then the surrounding environment, which is also greatly affected by the production of meat and meat by-products.

“We ask about motivation when people sign up to Veganuary and, for the past two years, animals are the primary reason by a large majority, with health coming second, and the environment third,” Clea Grady, marketing manager of Veganuary, said.

Being a vegan or going on a vegan diet has its own benefits. According to The Vegan Society, some of these benefits include increased energy, younger looking skin and eternal youth. Of course, eternal youth is just an exaggeration but still a great comparison to the health benefits of eating a lot of fatty and salty food made of meat and meat by-products.

Although some might argue that eating plant-based foods alone will not guarantee that a person will get all the nutrition that he/she needs, the Society stated that planning good plant-based diets will ensure that an individual will get all the protein, iron, calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals necessary, while staying away from other dangerous, sickness-causing elements such as saturated fat.

What do you think of the vegan diet? Do you want to take part in the Veganuary challenge? Pitch your opinions in the comments section below.