Bez kategorii

If you’re on a vegan diet, thinking about starting this lifestyle or just want to educate yourself – you’re in the right place. Find out why vegans don’t eat eggs and how it affects their health. Let’s get started!

What is a vegan diet?

First, let’s start with the basics. What exactly is a vegan diet?

When we hear about any “diet” most often the first association that comes to mind is weight loss. We want to emphasize that the vegan way of eating has nothing to do with “magic miracle diets”, which are mainly aimed at losing excessive weight.

A vegan diet is a way of eating that excludes all animal products from the daily menu. Unlike a vegetarian diet, it is not just meat, but also all dairy products, eggs and even honey.
A vegan menu is based on plant-based products – vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, seeds and vegetable fats.

The basics of a vegan diet

In order to reap the many benefits of excluding all zoonotic products from the diet, every vegan should first ensure that the daily menu is properly balanced.

A vegan diet must provide adequate amounts of all essential nutrients. We mean not only proteins, carbohydrates and fats but also all vitamins and minerals. Is it possible to exclude zoonotic products from the menu? Of course, it is. However, it is necessary to approach the subject consciously and properly select and combine the products included in our meals.

How to bring protein into a vegan diet?

A topic of much controversy in the context of practising a vegan lifestyle is adequate protein intake. Sources of protein in the classic diet are mainly meat, eggs and dairy – that is, products that every vegan avoids by a wide margin.

Fortunately, all the information about plant-based products not being able to meet the body’s protein needs is MYTH!
With proper diet planning, it is possible to provide the body with all the essential amino acids that are key to building muscle and staying healthy.

The protein of plant origin is just as digestible as animal protein, but much of the controversy surrounding protein in a vegan diet is related to the insufficient amount of essential amino acids in particular plant products. However, this does not mean that the body will not be able to properly utilize plant protein. In order to prevent deficiencies, it is necessary to properly compose meals, take care to diversify the diet and combine plant products that will complement each other with missing amino acids. How to do it?

Combine legumes and grain products

Nuts and seeds are rich in protein, but also in fat. Combining them with cereal products or fruits ensures the provision of complete protein, as well as fiber and other nutrients.

Examples: muesli with nuts and fruit, salad with spinach, nuts and strawberries, yoghurt with pumpkin seeds and granola.

Consume soy products

Soy products, such as tofu, tempeh, soy milk or edamame beans, are rich in protein and provide all the essential amino acids. They can be eaten in various forms, as a side dish in salads or soups, spread on bread, or used as a substitute for meat or eggs.

Examples: Tofu and vegetables, soy milk smoothie, edamame salad.

Look for plant-based substitutes

You can go a step further and make composing meals rich in complete proteins easier. Thanks to properly selected ingredients, myEgg vegan eggs provide all the essential amino acids, so your body will assimilate them fully without any problems. The ingredients in myEgg include various sources of plant protein – hemp seeds and pea seeds. The amino acid profiles of these two sources complement each other and create a protein that replicates the protein from a chicken egg. Quick, tasty, healthy and vegan!

Remember that you can combine amino acids not only in the span of one meal but also from the perspective of an entire day’s menu. This will not affect the degree of protein assimilation and will significantly facilitate the planning of a full-fledged vegan diet.

Opt for variety!

Why don’t vegans eat eggs?

Referring to the basics of the vegan diet, which we described above, the answer to this question should be very simple – they are animal products. Period.

More than once a vegan has certainly ended a discussion in this way, with someone who tried to persuade him to return to a standard diet. Following the principles of the vegan lifestyle, at this point, the discussion should end, but rest assured – we have decided to elaborate more on the topic and raise many issues that affect the reasons for excluding eggs from the vegan menu. We hope to convince you (or if you’re a vegan – reassure you) that it really is worth looking for alternatives and substitutes for chicken eggs.

Why don’t vegans eat eggs? — 4 reasons to convince you

Eggs are one of the most popular dietary ingredients around the world. Although eggs are rich in many valuable nutrients, some people, mainly vegans, choose, to exclude them from their daily diet. Why don’t vegans eat eggs? Let’s take a closer look at this question.

Ethics and morality

For many vegans, the decision not to eat eggs stems primarily from ethical and moral concerns. The direction in which the farmed egg industry has developed can truly shock. We are equally horrified by the fact that there are still many people who are completely unaware of it. What’s behind the boxes full of eggs that you can so easily throw in your shopping cart?

First – eggs most often come from hens industrially raised in cramped cages without access to natural sunlight or open space.

Second – in many cases, these cages are so small that they do not allow the animal to change position or even the slightest movement.

We can read all sorts of markings on the eggs available in stores, which can inform us about the conditions in which the hens are raised. But thirdly – there are still many loopholes in the law that allow numerous lapses and irregularities in animal breeding. Giving up eating eggs is a way to protect animals and fight cruelty.

Health

Many people will say that eggs are rich in many valuable nutrients, which can include complete (standard) protein, vitamins A and D, selenium and choline. However, on the other hand, chicken eggs are also very rich in cholesterol. Cholesterol is a substance that, when its levels are too high in the blood, can lead to numerous heart diseases and other cardiovascular-related disorders, resulting in heart attack or stroke.

At the core of the vegan diet are fats of plant origin, and thus the outright exclusion of cholesterol consumption. Compared to those practising a traditional diet, vegans often boast much better control of lipid metabolism, and thus a much lower risk of cardiovascular disorders.
Did you know that you can enjoy the taste and nutritional value of eggs without worrying about cholesterol? Try our myEgg!

A well-balanced diet and plant-based alternatives

Vegans follow the principle that their diet should be balanced and based on plant-based sources of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Vegans have many alternative sources of protein that provide a range of nutrients in addition to the basic macronutrients.
Many plant-based products can replace eggs in a variety of recipes. The list starts with typical vegan egg substitutes and ends with bananas, chia seeds or flaxseed. Vegan cuisine is full of various alternatives to traditional dishes that usually contain eggs, such as omelettes, pancakes, muffins, cakes and other baked goods.

In the menu of the average Pole, eggs appear very often, and not diversifying the diet may be associated with a reduction in the intake of essential vitamins and minerals, which are certainly not lacking in a vegan diet.

Environment

There is no denying that plant-based alternatives are also more environmentally friendly than egg production. Raising poultry, including laying hens, requires large amounts of water, feed and energy. Egg production is associated with greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. Going further, it is not only the raising of hens itself that negatively affects the environment. Animals are fed with feed that is often produced in an unsustainable way, leading to even more greenhouse gas emissions. Giving up eggs is a way to reduce your carbon footprint and protect the environment.

Vegans who care about the environment tend to choose more sustainable food options. Vegan egg substitutes can provide the same amounts of protein and other nutrients, with a much lower environmental impact.

Be VEGAN — take care of your health and the environment

Still in doubt why vegans don’t eat eggs?

Excluding eggs from your daily diet can bring many benefits. Not only to you but to the entire planet. We hope we’ve managed to at least broaden your awareness of the benefits of eliminating chicken eggs from your menu.

If not, the final argument will certainly be the quality, taste and convenience of myEgg – be sure to give it a try, and you will certainly get rid of any doubts.

Inulin is a raw material that is most often extracted from chicory roots for industrial production. Inulin is a complex sugar belonging to the fructans. After starch, it is the second most common spare carbohydrate in the world of flora. It is found in more than 30,000 plants. Other examples of plants that contain high amounts of inulin are: Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, asparagus, salsify and dandelion root. In contrast, the most commonly consumed inulin-rich vegetables and fruits on a daily basis are onions, leeks, garlic, bananas, wheat, rye and barley. Inulin can also be produced by certain bacteria and fungi.

The history of inulin

The history of inulin dates back to the early 19th century. In 1804, Valentin Rose, a German pharmacologist credited with the discovery of baking soda, among other things, detected a peculiar substance in the roots of the oman (Latin: Inula helenium). In 1817, British scientist Thomas Thomson named this compound “inulin” after the Latin name of this plant. German plant physiologist Julius Sachs pioneered the study of fructans. In 1864, he detected spherocrystals of inulin under a microscope after precipitation with ethanol.

Inulin from chicory – a natural prebiotic

Prebiotics are food components that are resistant to digestive enzymes in the digestive tract. These substances positively affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth of beneficial bacteria in the colon. They differ from probiotics in that they do not contain any microorganisms, but only stimulants.

Inulin contains in its chemical structure fructose residues linked by β-(2-1)-d-frutosyl bonds. The human body does not produce enzymes that can cut such bonds, so inulin is resistant to digestion in the small intestine. Almost 90% of inulin passes into the colon and is metabolized by bacteria present there, which produce short-chain fatty acids. A systematic review by Le Bastard et al. analyzed nine randomized, double-blind clinical trials, and in all of them, inulin consumption was associated with a significant increase in the number of Bifidobacterium bacteria. Other concordant results included increases in Anaerostipes, Faecalibacterium and Lactobacillus and a decrease in Bacteroides.

In people with constipation, inulin intake was associated with a significant increase in stool frequency. This confirms the potential effect of inulin on the composition of the human intestinal microflora. A meta-analysis by Yurrit et al. showed that inulin supplementation of 20-40g/day significantly improved the consistency, hardness and transit time of stools in people suffering from chronic constipation. In turn, consumption of each 1g of inulin increased wet stool by an average of 1.5-2g.

Chicory inulin in the food industry

Inulin has found many uses in the food industry. The FDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has recognized it as safe and given it GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status. It is used in the bakery, meat, dairy, and confectionery industries in many products:

• Cereal products i.e. breads, pastries, breakfast cereals;
• Dairy products, i.e. cheeses, processed cheese, fermented milk drinks, pastes, ice cream, frozen desserts;
• Products with reduced fat or sugar content.

Due to its high fibre content and prebiotic effect, it is used in functional foods. Functional foods resemble conventional foods in form, but in addition to providing nutrients they benefit health.

The wide use of inulin is based on its technological and functional properties. It improves the texture of the product, as well as has a stabilizing effect. It also works well as a fat and sugar mimetic. The highly branched polymers of inulin are characterized by good solubility. They are capable of forming gel-like particles, thus changing the texture of the product thereby providing a fat-like mouthfeel. Short-chain molecules, on the other hand, improve taste, sweetness and are used as replacements for sucrose. Hence the widespread use of chicory inulin in “light” products, i.e. those with reduced sugar or fat content.

Sumamry

Inulin is a natural carbohydrate with a number of health-promoting and functional properties. It is a source of dietary fibre. As a prebiotic, it stimulates the development of normal intestinal microflora and helps with constipation. When added to food products, it can improve texture, and can partially replace fat and sugar.