The Mediterranean Vegan

Low-fat diets are sometimes touted as the healthiest way to eat, but that's an old-fashioned idea. It's also bad activism on behalf of vegan diets. Even people who are strongly motivated often find it difficult to eliminate animal products from their diet. So why make it harder with additional restrictions on fat?

A Mediterranean-style vegan diet is one that is likely to appeal to many more people than a low fat regimen. It offers a chance to eat healthfully, humanely, and deliciously. Mediterranean diets are based on grains like pasta, rice and bread, fresh vegetables and fruits, and legumes—and also nuts and seeds, olives and olive oil. A little bit of good-for-you fat like olive oil intensifies flavors in foods and helps create appealing texture. Cooking with moderate amounts of oil can actually help you eat more healthfully since it improves the flavor of nutritious foods like vegetables and beans.

Fat also makes meals more satisfying. Some research shows that adding moderate amounts of fat to menus helps people achieve long-term weight loss. It also improves blood lipid values. And nuts and seeds are also healthful foods that contribute nutrients and phytochemicals to the diet.


Roasted eggplant; chickpeas baked with garlic, olive oil and tomatoes; creamy hummus in pita pockets; and pilaf flavored with dried fruits and toasted nuts. These are some of the wonderful foods that make Mediterranean diets among the most healthful in the world. And they are vegan!

Be An Effective Vegan Advocate: Take a Calcium Supplement

Some recent research has shown that vegans have lower calcium intakes than omnivores and that they have a higher risk for bone fractures.

That's bad news for vegans. It's also bad news for farm animals. Anything that makes a vegan diet look inferior is likely to convince more people to eat animal foods.

So what can you do about that? Some vegans choose denial. They say a vegan diet is better for bone health and they cite old—usually outdated—research to prove it. Many vegans cling to the unproven belief that those who eat plant diets need less calcium. Theirs is a misguided effort to prove that vegan diets are better—and in the long run it risks health and creates bad PR for vegan diets.

Now, it may very well be true that calcium needs are lower for those who don't consume animal products and it could also be true that the government's calcium recommendations are higher than what most people need. But until we have definitive information about this, why take a chance? It makes better sense to err on the side of caution.

The issue here is not omnivore versus vegan diet. There are plenty of omnivores with inadequate calcium intakes and weak bones. And it is certainly easy to plan a vegan diet that provides plenty of calcium. Despite the title of this article, it certainly isn't essential that you use supplements, either. You might choose to get all of your calcium from natural sources like leafy green veggies and beans. Or you can use fortified foods like soymilk, orange juice and calcium-set tofu. But if you aren’t getting enough, make up the difference with a supplement. It is always better for farm animals when vegans are healthy.