On being vegan

(Photos taken from The Vegan Dinosaur Facebook page)
(Photos taken from The Vegan Dinosaur Facebook page)

THERE is a lingering belief that the human body is designed to eat plant-based food products and that excessive and unhealthy consumption of meat may lead to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or cancer among others.

While some may limit their meat consumption to only a few servings per week, 32-year old Sahara Lara Casteel decided to go full vegan. Back when she was still an active member of the Greenpeace movement, an environmental activist encouraged her against the consumption of meat and other animal products as carbon emissions when raising and slaughtering these animals greatly harm the environment as well.

When she and her mother moved to Australia when she was a teenager, the veganism there was not yet practiced by a lot of people however there are a lot of restaurants and markets that are vegan-friendly.

Having been a vegan for 10 years now, Sahara said she feels really good and healthy about her body and that contrary to what most people think, she still gets ample amount of calcium and protein from plant-based sources. Instead of drinking dairy milk, she instead opts for almond and soy milk. She specifically asks for these types of milk when ordering at a coffee shop. In Davao City, she said she is just thankful that a few coffee shops had started to offer beverages and desserts for vegans. Even her cheese, she does on her own mixing together sunflower kernels, nutritional yeast, and turmeric to make it yellow. The result? Almost no difference to the actual dairy cheese we are familiar of from the supermarkets.

She added it was when she decided to donate blood to Red Cross Australia that she learned that veganism made her blood count high and stable. The staff was surprised with the results of her blood count test and encouraged her to continue with her diet.

“Before I became vegan, I notice I was more sluggish. Now I feel like I have more energy, I have higher energy levels, and I can work optimally. In the same way, I don’t gain weight as much as I would normally have it I hadn’t gone vegan,” said Sahara.

Aside from maintaining a no-meat diet, Sahara advises that doing yoga can also help vegans. “Yogis are mindful of their body and spirituality. Being is fuelling your body,” said Saharah who also shared that she also does occasional cycling.

It was in May 2, 2015, when she decided to put up The Vegan Dinosaur, a vegan restaurant that offers unprocessed vegan meals and beverages located at Ruby Street, Marfori Heights, Davao City. When she started, she would be lucky to have five customers a day, with the regulars being cancer patients who are now taking efforts to eat healthier meals every day.

“Being vegan is not a cure for everything. But it will definitely help a person stay healthy,” she said.

Saharah also wanted to make people understand that being vegan is not necessarily an expensive lifestyle and one can still be a vegan even with a limited budget. She suggested that Dabawenyos can explore the fruits and vegetables sold at Bankerohan market where these products are sold at very affordable prices. She also said there are eateries in the city that offer no-meat food meals.

“Being a vegan is not a fad, it’s not just a diet, it’s a lifestyle,” she said pointing out that her veganism is not only limited to the food she eats but for her choice of clothing, accessories, and cosmetics among others with the ultimate advocacy against harming of animals.

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