Willow
  • Menu
  • Events
  • Affiliates
    • Anixi
    • Beyond Sushi
    • Coletta
    • City Roots
  • About
  • Order Online
  • Gift Cards
  • Menu Menu

Is a Vegan Diet Healthy?

/in Press /by clickgiant

More and more people are turning to a vegan diet because it’s generally accepted as healthy. But is it really? Keep reading to find out the benefits of a vegan diet and how it can impact your health.

Willow serves vegan dishes with innovative preparations. Learn more below, and visit us today for dine-in, delivery, or takeout!

Order Online

Health Benefits of a Vegan Diet

Here are five ways a vegan diet can benefit your health:

Rich in Nutrients

Many people have a hard time believing that you can get all the nutrients you need from eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other plants. But the truth is, plants are great sources of protein, calcium, iron, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

May Decrease Risk of Cancer

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, one in three cancers are linked to diet. But their research also shows that a vegan diet can lower your risk of developing cancer by 15%.

May Decrease Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

More than 100 million people in the United States have diabetes or are likely to develop it at some point in their life. Luckily, research from PLOS Medicine shows that following a vegan diet can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by more than 33%.

May Decrease Risk of Heart Disease

A vegan diet is the definition of heart-healthy. According to a 2014 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, vegans have a 42% lower risk of dying from heart disease. Vegans also lower their risk of high blood pressure by up to 75%!

May Decrease Risk of Obesity

Compared to other diets, people who eat a vegan diet have a lower body mass index or BMI. Of course, if you eat a lot of highly-processed vegan foods, it can lead to weight gain.

Are Supplements Necessary on a Vegan Diet?

No matter how you choose to eat, most diets lack some nutritional element. While a vegan diet can be healthy and rich in many vitamins and minerals, vegans may need to supplement with certain nutrients to avoid deficiencies:

  • Vitamin B12 prevents nerve damage and protects the heart. It’s naturally found in dirt, and because animals eat dirt, it’s also found in animal products. Some vegan products are fortified with B12, but supplementation may be needed due to the body’s ability to absorb it.
  • Vitamin K2 regulates calcium deposition. It ultimately reduces bone loss and the rate of osteoporosis. It’s only found in a few plant-based foods, specifically fermented foods like sauerkraut, kombucha, and kimchi.
  • Iodine is important for healthy thyroid function. The only plant foods with high iodine levels are iodized salt and seaweed.
  • Omega-3 Fatty Acids can be broken down into three different types: ALA, EPA, and DHA. All three are critical to your health, but DHA is particularly important for your brain. Flax seeds and chia seeds are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Zinc is necessary for immune function and repairing cells. This mineral is present in beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds, but it may be difficult to absorb due to their phytate content.

A Word on Vegan Junk Food

Just because a food is vegan doesn’t automatically make it a healthy option. In fact, if you eat a lot of overly-processed vegan foods, it’s almost as bad as the Standard American Diet.

For example, let’s compare a regular hamburger with an Impossible Burger. The hamburger is full of cholesterol, saturated fat, heme iron, and other ingredients that may be harmful to your health. So in this case, the Impossible Burger is better for you. But if you compare it to a vegan bean burger made from whole foods, the Impossible Burger wouldn’t be the healthier option because it contains high amounts of salt, sugar, saturated fat, and other additives. 

Although meat alternatives of your favorite junk foods are helpful when transitioning to a vegan diet or even for an occasional treat, a vegan diet that consists of mostly whole, plant foods is better for your long-term health.

Visit Willow in NYC!

A vegan diet is healthy when you make the right food choices. If you’d like to try some delicious vegan cuisine in NYC, stop by Willow today! Our restaurant at 199 8th Avenue serves vegan comfort food with upscale plating. You can also place pickup or delivery orders online! We look forward to serving you an outstanding meal.

Order Online

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://willownewyork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/tomato-2776824_1920.jpg 506 1000 clickgiant https://willownewyork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Willow-Logo-final-e1607973495828.png clickgiant2021-03-18 18:21:452021-03-18 18:23:44Is a Vegan Diet Healthy?

Recent Posts

  • Vegan Apple Juice at Willow in NYC
  • Honeydew Juice at Willow in NYC
  • Cucumber Juice Recipes from Willow in NYC
  • Vegan Sticky Toffee Cake at Willow
  • Vegan Fried Chicken Recipe

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021

    Categories

    • Press
    • Uncategorized

    Location

    Contact Us

    Hours

    Join the Team

    Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest information regarding our menu and promotions.

    FAQ

    Blog

    Affiliates

    © Willow. All Rights Reserved. |
    Try the Best Vegan Dessert in NYC at Willow 7 Best Vegan Protein Sources
    Scroll to top

    ReservationsOrder OnlineGift Cards

    Cookie and Privacy Settings



    How we use cookies

    We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

    Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

    Essential Website Cookies

    These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

    Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

    We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

    We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

    Google Analytics Cookies

    These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

    If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

    Other external services

    We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

    Google Webfont Settings:

    Google Map Settings:

    Google reCaptcha Settings:

    Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

    Other cookies

    The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

    Privacy Policy

    You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

    Privacy Policy
    Accept settingsHide notification only

    Affiliates



    Hours

    Sunday – Thursday
    11:30am – 9:30pm

    Friday & Saturday
    11:30am – 10:30pm

    Location

    199 8th Avenue,
    New York, NY 10011

    Get Directions

    Contact Us

    (212) 929-2889

    info@willownewyork.com