Diet trends have been on the rise in recent years. An increasingly popular diet is one that eliminates all animal products. It is known as the vegan diet. This food choice may increase an individual’s overall health, as well as promote a greener planet. Whether you are looking to work on your nutrition, or want to join the fight to save animals and the environment, this change in your eating habits may be for you. However, becoming a teen vegan is not always easy. There are many things that you will need to consider before you try out this new lifestyle.

Becoming a vegan is no easy task. I would know. For three months this summer, I decided to try out this very different lifestyle, and to my disappointment, it was not as easy as I anticipated. For me, becoming a vegan was not to save animals, but because I wanted to try out something new. I wanted to experience this diet trend for myself, as it has been said to make you feel so much healthier. I have some friends who either were vegan, or still are, and I have always heard about how good they felt following their path of veganism. After hearing all of this positivity, I decided to give it a try. Long story short, being vegan was not for me.

I am not the only person to give up on this lifestyle. As a teen, becoming vegan can be very difficult because of the special precautions you have to take. Becoming vegan does not just happen overnight, and there are many things that you will have to be extremely aware of. As a growing teen, you need to make sure that your body receives all of the nutrients that it needs to stay healthy. Going vegan may cause complications as you will stop intaking many vital substances that you were previously exposed to. You may be lacking in important nutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamin D, protein, vitamin B12, and zinc. That being said, vitamins will become your new best friend as you become vegan, as well as various food sources. From cashew-yogurt to tofu, the contents of your fridge will drastically change.

Becoming a vegan as a teen may be very difficult because of the people who surround you. For example, when I became vegan, I found myself coming home to lovely home cooked meals that I could not eat because it contained meat and dairy. I often had to whip up something at 8:30 pm after soccer practice which quickly became tiresome. While eating out with friends and family, I was unable to eat anything because there were no vegan options. I found myself at birthday parties, not being able to eat the pizza and cake that my peer’s parents so kindly prepared for us. Yes, denying cake and pizza may not seem like such a bad idea, but becoming vegan is not meant to prevent you from eating these foods. Veganism means so much more than that, and I believe that more teens need to understand this.

Becoming a vegan is truly a commitment. I was not as educated as I should have been as I entered my vegan phase, which proved not to be very helpful. Veganism, while it is challenging, can also be extremely rewarding. That sense of being refreshed and cleansed of your environmental impurities will feel good. If you want to try it or think that this is the lifestyle for you, then by all means, go for it! Just remember to become educated about the real meaning of going vegan, as well as how to stay healthy as you make this huge change in your life. Being vegan has its benefits, and I encourage you to not give up like so many of us do. After all, if the world went vegan, we would have a much happier and healthier planet.