Everyone thought veganism would be a phase for me, myself included at times. But, ten years later, I’m still plant-based and more committed to the lifestyle than ever. From better skin, to increased energy levels, it’s transformed my understanding of beauty and wellness and unintentionally prompted a holistic approach to healing.
What Prompted the Transition
Anyone who has experienced a mystery ailment knows the stress and anxiety it causes. After months of chronic headaches that my doctors couldn’t explain and that only painkillers could relieve, I took matters into my own hands. Even at just 15, I knew that if medical tests couldn’t pinpoint a specific cause, there must be some underlying lifestyle change that could solve the problem.
With the consultation of professionals, I began to experiment with different dietary changes to see if anything would magically cure my headaches. Gluten free, refined sugar free, pescatarian (at this point I forget everything I tried) but finally veganism worked. Since then I have never had another one of those headaches. Then, after learning about the dark reality of animal agriculture, and its devastating environmental impact, my choice was cemented for my personal health but also ethical and moral compass.
My Plant-Based Journey
In the beginning it wasn’t easy. You don’t realize how much of the Standard American Diet depends on meat, dairy, eggs, and other animal by-products until you cut them out. Not to mention, when I went plant-based in 2015, it was just the beginning of veganism’s mainstream popularization. Non-dairy alternatives were nowhere near as good as they are now (I would like to scrub my memory of all unmeltable cheese and rubbery Tofurky) and even as such few grocery stores and restaurants carried them. It was an inconvenience that was a blessing in disguise as I was forced to gain a deeper understanding of food, food nutrition, and its integral role in beauty and wellness.
I spent my free time researching the best foods to reach my nutrition requirements and experimented in the kitchen until the diet became second nature. If I made it myself, I knew it would be 100% vegan. Trust, over the years many a server has reassured what I was ordering was vegan only to return later with apologies and admission of oversight. An unexpected revelation was the connection between how certain foods would make me feel in the moment and over time. Whether I was training for a track meet, recovering from a cold, or prepping for an event where I really wanted to feel and look my best, I learned what I ate was the biggest determining factor in how I could present myself both physically and energetically.
Through documentaries, independent research, and consultation with my gardening grandparents, my view of food transformed from just sustenance to our most powerful tool to heal and prevent illness. Now, when people ask about my skin or appearance, I largely attribute it to following a whole foods, plant-based diet for the past ten years. Yes, serums and treatments are nice but the best skincare in my opinion is what you put on your plate and how you take care of your body. That is one of my biggest qualms with the beauty industry today. It’s much more difficult to look and feel your best when living a healthy lifestyle requires unlearning so much of what is central to our food and wellness infrastructure.
Building A Sustainable Plant-Based Lifestyle
Not All At Once
Do as I say, not as I do. I changed my diet overnight and never looked back but I wouldn’t recommend that to most people. Slowly eliminating non vegan foods allows you and your body to adjust to the changes without too much of a shock. If anything, when people express interest in becoming plant-based, I first tell them that they don’t have to go all in. Even just swapping a few meals a week is better than trying to change all at once and failing. The pressure is unnecessary and often works against you.
Track Your Nutrition
As long as it is mentally and emotionally healthy for you to do so, I recommend tracking your food in an app like Cronometer when you first begin to get a better sense of your overall nutrition metrics. Ten years in, I know what foods I need to achieve all of my macro and micro nutrient requirements but this is something I had to learn over time.
Prioritize Whole Unprocessed Foods
You would be surprised by the unexpected processed foods that are vegan (no Oreos do not contain real cream). While these are tasty on occasion, processed foods aren’t great for you whether you follow a plant-based diet or not. Not only are whole foods more nutritionally dense both in regards to vitamins and fiber, they are also cheaper and more accessible than fake meats and other animal product alternatives.
Go International
American and European cuisines are not the most vegan friendly but broadening your palette will afford you more options. So many cultures inherently center plants in their cuisines in ways you might not expect. Some of my personal favorites are Asian cuisines like Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai, and also Ethiopian, Mediterranean, and Caribbean. You don’t have to go to a strictly vegan restaurant to eat out well.
Adjust and Supplement As Needed
This is the case for any diet, as it is difficult for most people to get all of their necessary nutrition from food alone. You should consult with your doctor and get bloodwork done to see where their are gaps in your nutrition. Personally, I take a multivitamin with B12 and Omega-3 supplement for overall well-being, energy, and fatty acids. For the past year and a half I have been taking the Mela Vitamins Daily Essentials and the iwi Omega-3 Capsules, which are algae-based and more bio available than fish oil.
Additionally, plant-based doesn’t work for everyone and restricting yourself to a diet out of moral or ethical obligation can be detrimental to your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. There are so many reasons people may need to introduce animal products whether for health related reasons like pregnancy or an illness or cultural isolation. You might try going fully vegan and realize that simply cutting back on animal products is more sustainable.
Beauty starts from within, not just what you eat but how you treat yourself. What started as a desperate search to end chronic headaches, turned into a lifelong commitment to eating well and centering a holistic approach to beauty and wellness. Even if you don’t switch to being plant-based, taking a more intentional approach to your food can teach you so much about yourself and how best to ensure longevity.