There are many different vegan diets out there and many ways to stay healthy. Here is a breakdown:
Raw Vegan: Someone who eats 100% raw food! No breakdown of macro-nutrients. They eat plenty of nuts, seeds, greens, and fruit. This diet is great for those who enjoy the creativity of raw food, making everything from Raw Tacos to Raw cakes and snacks!
High Raw: Someone who eats majority raw, adding one cooked meal a day usually at dinner. This is not the same as Raw Til 4 as they have many strict guidelines. This is a more relaxed lifestyle for those who want to transition from a cooked vegan diet to a Raw Vegan diet. The focus is to eat a variety of raw food, and enjoy the best of raw & cooked vegan foods!
The 80-10-10 Diet: This is a lifestyle book written by Dr. Douglas Graham. It is a 100% RAW diet, focused on Organic, Raw, Whole, Plant foods. It is a complete lifestyle for mind & body, which includes meditation and exercise. He does not allow cooked food, added sugar, starches, garlic, coffee, etc. on this lifestyle. His focus is on cleansing the body using raw whole foods, practicing proper food combining, and mono meals. He does promote eating a large variety of colors and vegetables to ensure proper nutrition. He does not advocate ANY supplementation like B12 shots or vitamins.
High Carb Vegan: Eats approximately 80% of it's calories from good quality carbohydrates, raw or cooked. This can be confused with The 80-10-10 Diet by Dr. Douglas Graham, but it is not the same. Dr. Graham does NOT advocate eating ANY cooked food, added sugar, eating dates as a meal, or eating ANY starches. Although the macro-nutrient breakdown is the same, or very close. This lifestyle focuses on high energy, high quality foods which reduce cravings.
Raw Til 4: This is a very specific eating lifestyle created by Freelee from 30BananasADay. It is focused on eating high carb/raw until 4pm, then having a large cooked meal. This diet is strict and has many rules, like tracking every calorie and staying at a minimum of 2000 for women. This is a breakdown of macro-nutrients of 90-5-5, or 80-10-10. This lifestyle does promote B12 shots, but no other supplementation.
30BananasADay: This is a 'raw' lifestyle that many people confuse with The 80-10-10 Diet, though it is not the same. This is a breakdown of 90-5-5, staple foods include bananas and dates. This lifestyle allows coconut sugar and Stevia drops to help sweeten food. There is little focus on variety or greens or any other vegetables. There are strict guide lines of calorie counting, 2500/women 3000/men, using cronometer. Also this lifestyle uses smoothies as meals, unlike The 80-10-10 Diet which focuses on eating whole foods (fruit/veggies in their natural state). Many 30BAD members drink banana/date smoothies as meals. This lifestyle does promote B12 shots, but no other supplementation.
Vegan: Vegans focus on eating a balanced diet of plant foods including raw/cooked/processed options. There is no break down of macro-nutrients. This is a diet for those who want the freedom to eat whatever they want (plant-based) including Tofu, almond milk, coconut ice cream, desserts, etc.
Acid/Alkaline Diet: This is a diet focused on health, creating an alkaline environment in the body. The average person (SAD Diet) eats majority acid forming foods which breeds illness and disease. The goal of this lifestyle is to eat 80% Alkaline foods and follow proper food combining rules for optimum digestion, and 20% acid forming foods. This is usually a vegan diet, high raw, but some chose to still consume flesh (which I DO NOT recommend). An Acid/Alkaline Diet can help heal, increase energy, and improve digestion! This is also great for those who are athletic as it can help improve performance! This lifestyle dos not promote ANY supplementation as vitamins, supplements, and powders are acid forming and can do more harm than good.
There are many lifestyle options out there, it is important to research and understand what each one entails and pick one or 5 that work for you! There is NO perfect vegan lifestyle or diet, for everyone, you MUST do what feels best for you! I follow a mixture of a few! I eat High Carb, High Raw, Acid/Alkaline and The 80-10-10 Diet. I do a mixture of all 4 as I find all have great benefits. Keeping my fat low 10% (and under) has really helped improve my mood, reduce PMS, and increase my energy. I don't focus on exact calories, just on eating lots of fresh raw food, keeping my diet at 80% alkaline and 20% acidic. I try to EAT most of my food versus drinking too many smoothies. I don't enjoy drinking my meals...though a smoothie on the go is a great option!
No comments:
Post a Comment