Not necessarily. First, bear in mind that the term vegan specifically refers to the absence of animal products (such as eggs, butter, milk, or honey) among its ingredients. However, a processed good is always a processed good. Just because it says “vegan” on the package, it doesn’t mean it is healthier. This is especially true if the product is made with refined flours, sugars, and vegetable oils.
To illustrate my point, let’s compare two chocolate cake recipes, one vegan and other regular. In the vegan batter, we use: all purpose flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, vegetable oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water. The regular chocolate cake calls for: all purpose flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk. You may have noticed that most of the ingredients are the same in both recipes; the difference is that in the regular cake you have animal products (butter, eggs, and milk).
Unless you suffer from food allergies, I don’t see how the vegan recipe can be considered healthier than the regular one. Actually, the regular chocolate cake may even be more nutritious since it provides more protein and calcium. The bottom line is before you spend more money on vegan products, check the ingredient list and compare the food labels. This way you can make an informed decision instead of just going with the trend.
Carla Torres is an AIF Master Trainer based in Rhodes, NSW. Her mission is to promote exercise, proper nutrition and healthy habits as a way to empower individuals to make decisions leading to better quality of life.