Talk to me ...
Health benefits ?
What are the downsides ?
Expensive ?
Do you supplement ?
Interested
Been vegan 8 years now, health benefits include the fact I'm still alive.
There's a lot of talk around better recovery times in sport, increased energy etc. It's super hard to measure because everyone's different - don't get sucked in by the documentaries that make out you will become like Wolverine or some kind of super human by exercise and going vegan. But I imagine there's some science in there?
Downsides - I guess the start; learning to look at the backs of stuff and then sighing when you find out something has milk powder in it. EDIT - this gets loads easier over time, after a year or so you get to almost have a 6th sense as to what might be okay. When they changed the law so that allergens had to be in bold, this got easier.
Obviously 8 years ago the landscape was very different and eating out was very much a planned endeavour - ask for a vegan pizza at Pizza Hut and you'd get a bowl of olives. Now, so many places cater.
Weird or over top people who base their entire personality around a lifestyle choice and talk down to others I personally find a bit of a downer.
Constant questions from work colleagues or "banter" I've gradually got used to over the years and to be honest I'm a gobshite and have an answer for everything. But could be a downer for some people. I generally won't even bring it up, but people will notice and you will get asked the same questions over and over again.
8 years ago it was cheap. Obviously now, the landscape has changed, options are more readily available so you don't have to go home and cook a pinto bean curry before you go to the pub. Companies and businesses are taking advantage of the fact it's become a "trend" so to speak, so some of them charge a premium for tasty treats. You can do it cheap if that's what you want to do.
Don't try and live solely off the fake meat type things - you will maybe die
whole grains, beans, nuts etc are your friend. That's not to say you can't get some of the Richmond kev Keegan sausages, but try and vary it.
I get B12 supplements and multivits and that's it, don't have any health problems. Not sure if I need them, just habit.
I didn't really notice a difference, but I was vegetarian before I went vegan. I did notice a difference in having better energy levels and feeling like I needed to sleep less when I went veggie.