Vegan vs Non-Vegan supplements – The unspoken myth
Tuesday 16th November 2021
Vegan alternative food products are sometimes criticised in the media by different professionals in the sector[1] and sometimes are considered worse than non-vegan. However, vegan diets and plant-based products are gaining popularity every year. Only in 2021, 825 new vegan products and menus were launched for Veganuary[2]. This is because Vegan diets are associated with many health benefits due to their low content of saturated fat, cholesterol and contain more dietary fibre.
The Vegan versus non-vegan Myth
Nevertheless, the fact that vegan alternatives are sometimes criticised can drive people to think that vegan solutions are not as good as traditional ones. This misconception has been translated to the food supplement industry, making to think to the society that vegan food supplements are not as good as non-vegan. This is far from the truth!
Supplementation can be key
In any case, when moving to a vegan diet, supplementation is recommended to avoid the risk of certain deficiencies, especially if this has not been planned well, as the NHS recommends[3]. It is important you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your diet at all stages in your life. Overall, vegan diets tend to have a higher content of fibre, folic acid, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium. However, not consuming products from animal sources can increase the risk of certain deficiencies of vitamins B-12 and D, calcium, and long-chain n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids[4].
Breaking the myth
AvaCare wants to break all myths regarding vegan vs non-vegan supplements to prove that vegan supplements are as good as non-vegan supplements.
The first reason is the advancement of technology. Thanks to technology development, we can source nutrients from different foods and create products with these active ingredients that have been condensed, so you can help your body by taking the recommended daily dose you need of each nutrient in one go.
Secondly is efficacy. This is a myth that can be easily broken while comparing non-vegan food supplements with vegan alternatives. AvaCare products compete on efficacy with non-vegan alternatives, often surpassing them, whilst providing the recommended daily allowance of each active ingredient.
The last myth is that vegan supplements prices are excessively higher than non-vegan alternatives. Today’s economies of scale due to vegan becoming ever growing in popularity, allows companies that want to develop vegan products to offer them at more sensible prices than in the past. AvaCare has worked on their RRP, so we can offer a high-quality product making excellent nutrition more available to everyone.
Case in Point – Omega 3 Vegan alternative
One of the examples of high-quality and effective Vegan alternatives is the Omega 3 from Algae oil we use in our products. This is a rich source of EPA and DHA alternative to fish oil, which Omega 3 actually comes from the algae they eat. This Omega 3 from Algae oil is also a more sustainable alternative because using algae doesn’t contribute to overfishing.
So are vegan supplements a good option to supplement your vegan diet?
Vegan products can absolutely be even better than non-vegan alternatives and that the misconception around vegan solutions are far from the truth. AvaCare makes high quality products suitable for everyone. For this reason, we have registered all our products with the Vegan Society to demonstrate to our customers that we have worked on meeting the criteria from an internationally recognised organisation. AvaCare’s directors all agree, “there’s no strong reason not to be vegan these days, vegan should be the normal standard”.
Find our full range on the product page of our website
https://avacare.co.uk/shop/
Reference list
[1] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200129-why-vegan-junk-food-may-be-even-worse-for-your-health
[3] https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/vegetarian-and-vegan-diets-q-and-a/
[4] https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/5/1627S/4596952
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