Blog

[Edited and updated 1/1/20]

It’s New Year’s resolution time and maybe you or someone you know is resolving to adopt a vegan diet. But how do you do it so that the change will stick? It’s a big deal, after all, that encompasses a whole bunch of new habits.

Taking it one step at a time with a gradual transition to veganism is one way to ensure long-term success. For some people at least, it can be easier to maintain and build on small-step changes than to dive into a complete overhaul of your diet.

The concern about a more gradual approach is that people will make a few changes and then poop out. I’m sure that happens sometimes. But when you see how doable ... Read More >

My husband and I are big Costco fans. We love to nose around to see if they are carrying any new vegan products, argue over the wisdom of buying a 50-pound bag of sweet potatoes, and endlessly discuss whether we should purchase a home surveillance system so we can spy on our cats when we’re traveling.

One fun thing we don’t get to do is try all the freebie samples that the nice ladies in their plastic caps hand out. Once in a while we’ll score some chips and guacamole or—far less exciting—a slice of Anjou pear. But for the most part the offerings aren’t vegan. On the plus side, it saves ... Read More >

Note: this article is co-authored by Jack Norris, RD and Ginny Messina, MPH, RD and appears on Jack’s blog as well as this one.

Vegans typically have lower calcium intakes than other vegetarians and meat-eaters. But just how much does this matter?

The popular thinking has long been that it doesn’t matter much at all. According to the acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis, vegans experience smaller calcium losses since we don’t eat animal protein. The theory is that calcium is “leached” from bones to counter acidic conditions caused by animal protein.

It’s supported by studies that find higher levels of both calcium and acidic compounds in the urine when people are fed big doses of animal protein (1). This is also supposedly why hip fracture ... Read More >

The internet loves a good story on alleged health hazards of vegan diets. This week, it’s all about how vegan and vegetarian men have low sperm concentrations. The alarming research is from Loma Linda University, and it was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine(1).

Should you be concerned about the fact that the vegetarians and vegans in this study had sperm concentrations that were lower than those of the meat-eaters? I don’t think so for a number of reasons.

First, this research has not been published, and it may not yet have gone through any type of peer review. And the abstract is short on details that will be important in that review. Like whether or not the authors ... Read More >

In celebration of Vegetarian Awareness Month, the non-profit group Oldways interviewed me and my colleague Mark Rifkin, MS, RD, LDN to get some historical and practical perspective on vegetarian diets. Oldways, while not a vegan or vegetarian organization, promotes traditional plant-based food patterns for health.

I was especially happy to be teamed up with Mark for this interview. He and I bring some different perspectives to our work, but we agree on most of the important issues—in particular that nutrition guidance has to be based on current research, not personal belief and wishful thinking. (My favorite quote from the interview is Mark’s answer to the question about how we should respond to those who have questions about roles of fats, oils, and carbs in the ... Read More >

It’s sometimes hard to imagine what a vegan world might look like, given our dependence on animals for all sorts of uses. Convincing people to simply eat more beans and rice, and wear cotton and hemp will be a big part of it. But so might innovations for products and processes we can’t even imagine.

One of those innovations in the works is for Real Vegan Cheese, using the milk protein casein but without the input of a cow. It boggles the mind (or at least my mind) but biotech researchers are working on it right now in labs in Oakland and Sunnyvale, California.

If it works, the casein will be manufactured from plain old baker’s yeast and it will be completely vegan. (It ... Read More >

When I was collecting stories for Never Too Late to Go Vegan about how and why over-50 vegans transitioned to a plant-based diet, a response I heard many times was this: I wish I had gone vegan a long time ago. I get that. I was well into adulthood before I stopped eating meat, and then it was still some years before I went vegan.

I have had a heart for animals for as long as I can remember. I was always “rescuing” baby birds. (Those poor birds!) And feeding homeless cats. And crying over Wilbur’s potential fate.  And yet, I ate meat

Granted, it was a different time in the world. I did not know one person who was a vegetarian when I was ... Read More >

The most disheartening thing about the more public breakups with veganism is not just that they are public. I can understand that a popular blogger will want to tell her followers that she is no longer eating a vegan diet. I can see the value of telling your readers that you are dealing with health issues and are struggling with staying vegan. That you need to take some time to sort it all out. And that because of that, you’re going to stop blogging for a while.

But some ex-vegans are so determined to share their new meat-eating lifestyle. And to garner praise for their decision. The disclosure that they are now eating animal foods is usually followed by posts all built around the same ... Read More >

One of the big food stories this past week was Tom Philpott’s article in Mother Jones on almond milk. Philpott deplores the current popularity of almond milk because 1) It’s not an especially nutritious food and, 2) Almond-growing is not friendly to the environment. He says that it’s just a bunch of “ignorant hipsters” who have made almond milk a bestselling beverage.

It’s true that almond trees are thirsty plants. But, from an environmental standpoint, almond milk is still a better choice than cow’s milk. Philpott could have learned about this by reading an article in his own magazine.

I do agree with him on this point, though: Almond milk is not especially nutritious. An 8-ounce glass is the equivalent of about 4 almonds; the ... Read More >

JL and I are celebrating the first anniversary of the release of Vegan for Her with a pretty amazing giveaway.

First prize is a brand new Big Buddha “Arlene” rosette satchel, a signed copy of Vegan for Her, a Plant Plate refrigerator magnet and 3 notepads.

Two second place winners will receive a signed book, the magnet and three notepads.

Head over to the Vegan For Her website to enter. And yes, the contest is open to guys, too! All of these items make great gifts.