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So I'm curious about a plant based diet for health purposes, and though the by-product of that step may be great for animal welfare, environment etc.

How committed should I be about products like Wine, or even egg based pasta or things that may contain small amounts of non-vegan products (as part of their ingredients, rather than "made in a factory that processes X").

I may still buy leather goods, or meat based dog food (for the dog!), so avoiding non vegan food on an ethical standpoint would be a bit of a moot point!

Is there a linear scale of health benefits the more animal products you cut down on? e.g. is a 99% vegan who eats an egg a week 99% as healthy as a 100% vegan.. Or does that egg screw you over and you're back to 50% as good.

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  • I'm voting to close your question as too broad since it asks generally "how unhealthy are non-vegan products?" Asking specifically about the health implications of consuming a single non-vegan food or category of food (eg dairy) might be off-topic here! But maybe you mean to ask something like how significant will the difference in health benefit be between a vegan and almost vegan diet? See Are there any studies that show differences in health benefits between a low meat eater flexitarian and other vegetarians types?
    – Zanna ♦
    Jul 26, 2017 at 5:27
  • Fair point.. I guess another way of looking at it is asking: is there a linear scale of health benefits the more animal products you cut down on? e.g. is a 99% vegan who eats an egg a week 99% as healthy as a 100% vegan.. Or does that egg screw you over and you're back to 50% as good..
    – Guy Bowden
    Jul 26, 2017 at 10:26
  • Ah ok, I see what you mean. If you can edit to clarify a little, that will be great. I'm retracting my vote as I can imagine suitable answers. Thanks :)
    – Zanna ♦
    Jul 26, 2017 at 11:34
  • I think this is too broad. There's no way you'll get an all-encompasing list of "this stuff is really unhealthy". You might manage a top-ten most unhealthy non-vegn foods list (at the top of which I expect you'd find a deep-fried mars bar or a twinkie-wiener sandwich), but I don't think you'll get anything exhaustive.
    – Pharap
    Aug 10, 2017 at 18:34
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    I think your blanket premise that a vegan diet is more healthy than a mixed diet is wrong. Too many factors go into what constitutes a healthy diet.
    – henning
    Sep 22, 2017 at 19:43

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First off: bravo for choosing to go vegan. This choice is absolutely great for animals and the environment!

There is a big difference between being vegan and being plant-pased, which I will try to simplify. Basically, being vegan doesn't necessarily mean that you're eating plant-based, and eating plant-based doesn't necessarily mean that you're vegan.

Plant-based diets are about eating as healthily as possible - which is what leads us to eat whole plant foods exclusively, and exclude animal products and processed foods. However, people who follow a plant-based lifestyle may still wear fur or attend circuses - which vegans oppose due to animal exploitation.

Veganism is about causing as little suffering as possible - which is what leads us to eat foods that exclude animal products. Vegans may consume non-healthy vegan or "accidentally vegan" processed foods, though, such as Oreos. Oreos are not a whole food and would not be considered plant-based.

If you want to protect animals and our planet, go vegan. If you'd also like to protect your health, go vegan and eat a plant-based diet focused on nutritious whole foods.

Happy Herbivore has a post that goes into more details.

I hope that helps!

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