Thinking of being a vegan? We offer some useful tips

The concept of being a vege­tarian is not new in Nepal, a Hindu- majority country. Even though Hinduism does not explic­itly forbid meat-eating, the religion recommends ahimsa, or non-vi­olence against all life forms. (As does Buddhism, for that matter). At least of a third of all Hindus are vegetarians, according to various surveys in India. Perhaps a similar proportion of Nepalis refrain from eating meat. But what is new to Nepal is veg­anism, a lifestyle choice in which you consume only a type of veg­etarian diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products, and all other animal-derived foodstuff. Animal clothing is shunned too.

Saraswati Rashmi Shakya, 24, adopted a vegan diet when she learned about how animals are harassed and abused by humans. “Our education system never taught us about where the milk we consume comes from,” says Shakya. “I found out about it only when I was 20. Imagining a calf deprived of its opportunity to have mother’s milk traumatized me, and I decided to become a vegan.”

Shakya says even if one addition­al person becomes a vegan, over 100 animals a year will be saved from slaughter. “My only regret is that I didn’t turn into a vegan sooner.”

Durga Nath Dahal, a social activ­ist and the director of Nayajiwan Paropakar Samaj, an NGO, has long been fighting for animal rights and spreading the message of vegan­ism. “As a birthplace of Lord Bud­dha, we in Nepal should be try­ing to promote peace rather than violence by killing creatures that cannot stand up for themselves. As sentient beings, humans are supposed to look after them, and adopting a vegan diet helps this cause,” he says.

Others opt for veganism on health grounds. As vegan diets are naturally low in calories, they are effective at promoting weight loss, without having to actively focus on cutting calories. Many people prefer a vegan diet for this reason alone.

Ananda Baskota, 32, has been working out for the past few months to lose weight. “I have been following a vegan diet for past three months and I have already seen a significant change in my weight,” he says. “I’ll eventually go back to my non-vegetarian eat­ing habit, but for now vegan diet is helping me reach my desired health goals faster.”

By contrast, Jagdish Aarohi, 70, has been a vegetarian all his life and turned into a vegan four years ago after he found out about its health benefits.

A vegan diet reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, is par­ticularly effective at reducing blood sugar and helps prevent prostate, breast, and colon cancers. “My health has gotten much better after I turned vegan. I also feel more spiritually fulfilled,” Aarohi says. “It is no less gratifying to know that I save the environment and many animals.”

One common myth about veg­an diets is that they are poor in nutritional value and lack essen­tial vitamins. But that need not be the case. A vegan diet is by no means restrictive. There is a whole range of fruits, pulses, vegetables, legumes, and healthy fats that you can have to get all the needed nutri­tion (See the interview alongside).

As the number of vegans is increasing by the day, specific industries have cropped up to cater to them. Recently, a vegan dairy, Vegan Dairy Nepal, start­ed its services in Teku. It offers a wide range of vegan products like soy yogurt, almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, cheese spread, and vegan rasgulla in lieu of reg­ular dairy products. With grow­ing demand, restaurants have also started including vegan alterna­tives in their menu.

Being a vegan is not as hard and demanding as it used to be O