Veganuary – What are the benefits of the plant-based lifestyle?

Veganuary is here and more than 500,000 people are giving this plant-based diet a try right now. Wondering if you should give it a try? Here’s everything you need to know about switching to the plant-based lifestyle.

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In the New Year we often find ourselves inspired to wipe the slate clean and start being the healthiest versions of ourselves. I’m sure you have already heard about Dry January, but another way to kick off your 2022 health goals is Veganuary.

Veganuary is an annual challenge run by a UK non-profit organisation which involves eating more plants and cutting out animal products for the first month of the year. According to Veganuary, in 2021, over 580,000 people signed up to the pledge. Wondering if you should give it a try? Here is everything you need to know about the benefits of switching to the plant-based diet.

Are there health benefits of going vegan?

Participants from Veganuary 2021 did notice several health benefits which encouraged them to keep going on with the diet – In a survey carried out by Veganuary, 75% of those not staying vegan have said they would be reducing their meat consumption by 50% or more and 93% of people surveyed said they would try Veganuary again.

While it varied from person to person, some of the most common benefits reported included weight loss, reduced cholesterol and blood sugar levels, improved digestion and clearer skin.

Eating less meat has also been shown to reduce the risk of strokes and high blood pressure. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also ranked consumption of red and processed meat, alongside smoking, as a major cause of cancer.

What about the environmental benefits?

While health benefits of going vegan can be more difficult to calculate, the environmental benefits are much more obvious; according to Oxford university, going vegan is the single biggest way you can reduce your environmental impact on our planet. Using the Vegan Calculator , you can see that just one month on a vegan diet saved:

  • 124,917 litres of water
  • 84 sq.m of forest
  • 543kg of grains
  • 273kg of CO2
  • 30 animals

Your local Morrisons Daily, Marks and Spencers and Iceland stores are supporting the vegan diet

If you are thinking “what the heck am I going to eat?”, then no worries. We’ve got you covered in our Morrison Daily, M&S and Iceland stores. We love giving you food options which are tasty, convenient and exciting. This trend continues this Veganuary with range our plant-based options. Whether you’re vegan, veggie or flexi, our selection is continuously growing within our stores.

Or why not check out Morrisons Vegan Recipes or Marks and Spencer’s Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes online? You will find a collection of tasty recipes which are ever so easy to make.