I thought I would write this post, so you can get to know me a little better, and understand or maybe relate to why I have chosen to make this blog.
Hi I’m Holly Jade.
‘The Little Blog of Vegan‘ sparked after becoming aware of plant-based diets, and my love for animals.
I was inspired to make this life change after I became unwell a few years back and was told I have food intolerances. The intolerance’s I have are wheat, gluten, yeast, high sugars & dairy milk, which for me ( as I love varying my food) really sucked!
I would suffer from daily symptoms, and I would be afraid to eat out in restaurants and around the family. This went on for quite a while.
In school it was very tough for me to eat around people because I was eating different to them and at that time, I thought I was the only person with intolerance’s to food, and I was quite embarrassed. I didn’t really understand why it was me who had them and not any other member of my family.
After struggling with my intolerance’s, I was frightened to try new foods and was very stubborn on what I chose to eat. I would eat the same thing, day in day out to protect myself from feeling poorly and in pain.
I was booked in to see a dietician at my local hospital, which I was very apprehensive about because I didn’t know much about what they did.
I was put on the fod-map diet for about 6 months. The fod-map diet helps to reduce symptoms by excluding fermentable carbohydrates from your diet. The idea being that you can re-introduce the excluded foods at a later date with hopefully fewer symptoms.
This diet really helped me and I would definitely recommend it to others struggling with intolerances!
Through becoming vegan, I have found a new interest for healthy eating and different types of food, which I would have never have known about otherwise.
Recently I have had a blood test done for food intolerance’s ( york test) this test is rather expensive and I would only recommend it if you are having symptoms because it’s very accurate. This test was to confirm any intolerance’s I have so I can exclude the troublesome foods. I have slowly introduced some of the foods (eg sugar, small amounts of wheat and yeast) which *touch wood* have been okay for me so far.
I noticed the condition of my hair becoming dry and thinner than it would normally be which concerned me greatly!
I read about having your hair analyzed for intolerance’s, mineral and vitamin deficiencies so I thought I would give it a go. It was also cheaper than the blood test,so that was good. It was really straight forward. All I needed to do was to send 6 hair samples off in the post and within a few days I was emailed the results. This was really useful as it showed similar intolerance’s to my blood test, but also showed that I was deficient in several amino acids and a few vitamins. This showed me that I was low in protein in my diet which made sense because my hair was suffering.
Being vegan its hard to get a substantial amount of protein unlike meat eaters. This is because there is more protein in meat, fish, dairy products and poultry than vegetables, grains, soya…Ect. So I had to really look at my diet to make sure I was getting enough of what I needed.
The main deficiencies that a vegan diet can have are:
- Protein
- Iron
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin A+D
- Zinc
- Calcium
This is one of the reasons I created the little blog of vegan. I hope it helps *you* viewing my blog but it also is helping me write it.
I have found new foods and grains for example:
- Pea protein
- Flaxseeds
- Chia seeds
- Hemp, which I swear by for my daily meals. I find these supplements very versatile as I can add them in to most foods I make, and I know that I will be getting the goodness, nutrients, and vitamins my body needs ( and on a plus side, they dont have any taste)
I have a pet and have always loved animals and being around them ever since I can remember. I have grown up with dogs, cats, rabbits and fish.
When I was younger, I used to eat chicken and occasionally turkey (only at Christmas). All my life my mum and sister have been keen vegetarians which I thought was weird and didn’t understand why they didn’t eat meat like me and my dad.
This is something I shared with my dad until recently when I watched a documentary on animal cruelty. It really made me think about what I was eating, and it was really disturbing and upsetting for me, so I decided then and there, that I would no longer eat meat or dairy. It was very sudden. I am also strict to myself about wearing leather, fur, suede.
I hate the thought that an animal had been harmed unnecessarily for a human’s benefit but that’s different for everyone.
Choosing to be vegan can be an easy choice but you have to make sure you get everything you need from your diet in order for your body to grow and be in tip-top condition. I am enjoying the benefits so far. I have lost weight, I have more energy during the day and my skin is also healthier. My hair is now recovering from that period of time when I was deficient in protein.
I want my blog and story to reach out to people and help with different vegan options.
Thank you for reading my story and I hope it will inspire you to adapt your thoughts on healthy eating.
Come with me on this journey and we will discover all of the delicious vegan treats that lie ahead.
