What Are You Not Allowed to Eat If You’re into Veganism?

Vegan Lifestyle Secrets: What Not to Eat & Do

First of all, it’s great that you want to learn about veganism and its diets.
But before I tell you about foods and drinks that you are not allowed to eat as a vegan, I have to explain all plant-based diets.
You can see why veganism is more ecologically thoughtful after you read the differences between plant-based diets.
I’m a vegan myself, and I can guarantee you that everything that’s written in this article is based on true knowledge and experience.
Right off the bat, we will talk about what plant-based means, and then we will get to plant-based diets and their differences.

Plant-Based

Based on common sense you should be able to realize that “plant-based” means based on plants.
A food or a diet is plant-based when the majority of it is based on plants, or even all of its ingredients are plants.
Now, we have to refer back to one of our previous articles where we talked about the exact meaning of plant-based and its unwritten rules, which takes us back to “What is Veganism” article.
In that article, we wrote:
“Most websites and vegan magazines claim that plant-based means every food in the diet is without meat, and there is no way of having even a little bit of it.
In contrast, it is really obvious that they really stand up for that fact.
But as of 2021, a contributor of Harvard Health Publishing, which is the medical school of Harvard University, wrote a blog and stated that plant-based or plant-forward eating patterns focus on foods primarily from plants and it doesn’t certainly mean that you can’t be a vegetarian or you must be vegan and you can never eat dairy or meat.
So, in conclusion, we are going to say that because of mixed opinions, there isn’t a one-way theme for plant-based diets.”

Plant-Based Diets

Plant-based diets vary from one to another, and the main difference is the thought process behind them.
But as a whole, it can be said that plant-based diets are great and suitable for everyone.
Here is Harvard University scientists’ take on plant-based diets:

“Plant-based or plant-forward eating patterns focus on foods primarily from plants.
This includes not only fruits and vegetables but also nuts, seeds, oils, whole grains, legumes, and beans.
It doesn’t mean that you are vegetarian or vegan and never eat meat or dairy. Rather, you are proportionately choosing more of your foods from plant sources.”

PCRM.org website also adds:

“A plant-based diet consists of exclusively plant foods, including fruit, vegetables, grains, and legumes, and avoids meat, dairy, and eggs.
Plant-based foods are full of fiber, rich in vitamins and minerals, free of cholesterol, and low in calories and saturated fat.
Eating a variety of these foods provides all the protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients your body needs.”

Let’s put people who follow plant-based diets into categories.

Vegans

A vegan is someone who supports veganism and follows a vegan diet.
A vegan diet is definitely the most plant-based diet because it’s completely based on plants, contains no kind of animal meat and does not contain animal products.
Vegans don’t eat any kind of animal meat, nor do they consume any animal product.
Vegans stay away from the meat of animals because they don’t want to kill animals.
And they don’t consume animal products, unlike the vegetarians.
There are a whole lot of reasons for not eating animal products because they believe that eating animal products still manages to lead to the killing of animals in an implied way.
Did you know that eating eggs also leads to animal killing in a certain way?

Every year,7 billion male chicks are killed by companies that produce eggs.

Do Vegetarians Eat Eggs
You might ask why?
The short and quick answer is that male chicks are useless for the egg companies since they can’t produce eggs.
Although every chicken is going to be killed in the end by the meat industry, baby male chicks go through that process way sooner because they have no benefit for the company.
Plus, their meat isn’t useful for the company, relying on the fact that they are male.
The worst part of their fate isn’t just about being killed; the harsh truth is the way that they are killed.
Baby male chicks are being killed in the cruelest way possible.
Egg companies kill them in the most inhumane way by gassing, electrocution, and suffocation.
That’s why vegans don’t eat eggs and that was just an example of foods they avoid eating because it still leads to animal killing but in an indirect way.
The main difference between vegetarianism and veganism is in having animal products in the diet.

Vegetarians

A vegetarian is someone who follows a plant-based diet that is mostly based on plants, which means that plants are their number one food priority.
So, Do vegetarians eat meat?
Vegetarians don’t eat any meat, which supports the fact that they don’t want to consume any kind of animal meat because that leads to animal killing.
In simple words, they don’t want to kill animals in order to meet their food needs.
But that doesn’t mean that they don’t eat animal products.
Vegetarians eat dairy products and there are so many different kinds of dairy products, which means that they can eat milk and whatever is made of milk.
A few examples would be all kinds of yogurt, cheese, and cream.
There are other animal products like eggs and honey.
In conclusion, vegetarians eat animal products because they claim that eating animal products doesn’t affect animals directly or they say that it won’t lead to animal killing.

Pescatarians

A pescatarian is someone who chooses to eat a vegetarian diet, which means plants and dairy, but also eats fish and different types of seafood.
Healthline website explains their diet as a largely plant-based diet of whole grains, legumes, nuts, and healthy fats, with seafood playing a key role as a main protein source.
Also, most of them also eat dairy and eggs.
Pescatarians claim that their diet is eco-friendly because it reduces climate impact since the carbon footprint of it is much less than the carbon footprint of raising land animals.
Speaking personally, I feel like pescatarian diets are nonsense.

Why Plant-Based Diets Are Healthy

As you can see, plant-based diets are good for the environment and the climate since they are eco-friendly, but also, people who follow plant-based diets are healthy.
In my view, plant-based diets are the best diets in the world, and I really believe that the best plant-based diet is the vegan diet.
I’ve been vegan for more than 5 years, and I never had any sort of dietary or nutritional problems.
Even when I had a blood test, doctors were amused by the fact that I had no deficiencies.
Sure, every diet might have some sort of disadvantage, but even at times when I felt like my meal plan was kind of incomplete, I went to get bloodwork to see if there was any deficiency and I never had any problem.
Even if your diet lacks of some macronutrients or you have vitamin or mineral deficiency, you can fix that problem with dietary supplements.
By taking the dietary supplements that you need, you will easily fulfill your diet.
The meal plan is a big deal, too.
A lot of people just tend to eat whatever food they like and they don’t even care about the nutrient density of the food.
The moral of the story is to eat based on a meal plan that is written by a doctor or a nutritionist.
All the information above was based on my own personal experience of being a vegan for years.
For now, let’s keep personal opinions away and take a look at what legitimate health and food websites say about plant-based diets.
Here are two of them.

• First one is from MD Anderson Cancer Center.

“A plant-based diet strengthens your immune system to protect you against germs and microorganisms.
A healthy immune system is essential for reducing your risk for cancer because it can recognize and attack mutations in cells before they can progress to disease. Plant foods reduce inflammation.”

• Next one is from Harvard Health Publishing.

“Plant-based diets offer all the necessary protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals for optimal health and are often higher in fiber and phytonutrients. However, some vegans may need to add a supplement (specifically vitamin B12) to ensure they receive all the nutrients required.”

Now, it’s time to get deep into veganism.

How Many Vegan Diets Do We Have?

As I said, vegans don’t eat animal meat, neither do they eat animal products.
But for now, we will give you more detailed information.
There are different types of vegan diets and we will name drop a few of them below.

• Vegan keto diet

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet.
Keto diets are mostly known as diets that are very rich in protein because they contain lots of animal protein. However, there are vegan keto diets too.
People who follow vegan keto diets try to base their whole diet on healthy fats by eating high-fat vegan foods like avocados, nuts, and seeds.

• Raw vegan diet

Raw vegans are people who tend to only eat raw plant foods.
Uncooked fruits and vegetables are the main foods in a raw vegan diet.
Nuts and raw sources of fat are also a part of a raw vegan diet.
Raw vegans stand for the fact that foods that must be cooked are not made for them and because of that, they try to eat uncooked foods.

These two diets are the most famous specific vegan diets.

Also, keep in mind that these diets are restricted vegan diets and you don’t have to actually choose them because you can just go vegan by avoiding animal meat and products.
These diets are specifically made for people who have allergies to certain foods or other health problems or even people who have different food preferences.
There are other vegan diets by that order.
Like diets that are low in a certain macronutrient and high in a macronutrient.

What Not to Do if You Are Vegan, Rules Every Vegan Should Know

So, the basics are not consuming any form of animal meat or product.
It’s time to break down the prohibitions into a list.
These are the foods that you aren’t allowed to eat if you are vegan:

These are the foods that you can’t eat if you are vegan.
Although the list doesn’t look very long, you should know that these were mostly animal meat and you should’ve known that they are prohibited by common sense.

Plus, foods or snacks that contain any of those things that were mentioned above are prohibited.
A great example would be cake.
Vegans don’t eat cake because it contains eggs and milk.
Instead of non-vegan cake, they would go for a vegan cake which has almond milk and other vegan ingredients.
Other things of that nature are pancakes and jelly.
Pancakes are prohibited in vegan diets because of the milk and jelly, which are prohibited because of gelatin.
Gelatin isn’t vegan at all because it is extracted from animals.
Another banned product is casein.
Vegans don’t eat casein or anything that contains casein because it is non-vegan.

Ice cream and other dairy products such as butter and yogurt are prohibited in vegan and raw vegan diets
Vegans do not eat bird eggs or bird meat.
Also, any product that contains animal derivatives or animal production is sourced in vegan and raw vegan diets.

We have convincing reasons for not eating and any prohibitions in this diet; it is better to read here:

• Do Vegetarians Eat Eggs
• Does Vegetarian Mean Dairy Free?
• Can vegans eat chicken? Reasons + Alternatives
• Can Vegetarians Eat Seafood?

The next table is about prohibited drinks in vegan diets.

The reason that those drinks can be non-vegan is because the products might have been used in the filtration process.

What can vegans not eat? Vegan Prohibited Food List

Vegan Alternatives

Back in the day, people were like what are we supposed to eat if we can’t eat meat and that was their reason to not go vegan.
And other people loved meat so much that they couldn’t take it out of their diet.
Nowadays, there are so many different vegan food recipes and there are colorful lists of them in every category.
Moreover, there are loads of vegan alternatives for people who don’t want to cut out meat.
And the best part about it is that there are alternatives that are much healthier when they taste exactly like the real meat versions.
So, there is no excuse for the fact that some people won’t like the taste because that issue is completely gone.
We have written a couple of articles about vegan alternatives to popular foods before on our website.
You can access those articles by just checking our feed.
The most complete one is actually about vegan/plant-based chicken nuggets that are completely plant-based.

Which is healthier: Plant-based Chicken Nuggets or Real Chicken Nuggets?
In that article, we also compared them to real chicken nuggets, plus we recommended some of the best vegan chicken nuggets that you can purchase from local stores.
There are so many other vegan alternatives to popular non-vegan foods and products, such as almond milk, which is vegan, vegan yogurt, vegan steak, vegan sausages, etc.

Veganism Wrong Assumptions

Many people assume that everything that comes with a vegan tag is healthy, but the real thing is that sometimes those products can be too pricey or even unhealthy.
Because some vegan products are unhealthy owing to the fact that they are ultra-processed.
Another wrong assumption is about the start of a vegan diet.
Some people feel like they are kind of sick on the first week of being vegan and because of that, they give up!
But the untold fact is that their bodies are in the process of getting rid of the toxins.
And the reason behind that is because of consuming animal meat for a long time.
The other wrong assumption is about smoking.
Smokers don’t show interest in going vegan because they think that vegans aren’t allowed to smoke.
Despite the fact that most vegans don’t smoke, smokers who want to go vegan can simply help the environment by not throwing their cigarette filters in nature.

As I said, veganism is more than food restrictions. It is about changing your personal life and habits.
The first step to change in awareness and get out of the matrix cycles of life is to choose a new attitude and lifestyle.
Leather, fur, silk, and wool are products of animal exploitation and torture, and vegans do not use these products.

Other Prohibitions of Veganism

First off, I have to assure you that in this article, we are not trying to show veganism bad or just talking about prohibitions.

Veganism is a lifestyle, and because of that, it isn’t just summed up in food.

Veganism is actually about being kind to yourself and other creatures.

Other prohibitions of veganism are more about actions.

Owing to the fact that the only thing that has to be on your mind is the earth and its future.

With that mindset, every environment-related decision that you are going to make has to be in favor of nature and animals.

As we always said in our articles, the main theme of veganism is to put a stop to the killing of innocent animals.

By that logic, you should always avoid decisions that come with inappropriate outcomes.

An underrated act of some vegans is that they don’t go to restaurants that serve animal meat, even though they want to eat something vegan there due to the musty smell of meat.

We have talked about other acknowledgeable acts by vegans in one of our previous articles.

This is what we wrote in one of the articles:

On average, vegans are the ones who smoke less and drink less and they tend to have a better lifestyle and care about what they eat without hurting animals and, in the end, saving the earth.

The reason that vegans are more accurate and careful with their decisions isn’t just based on the fact that they want to be healthier.

Vegans are most likely to participate in campaigns that save our planet.

You might have heard of slogans like:

“Save the earth, save the future”

Vegans, particularly, are the pioneers of these campaigns and even if they’re not, they at least participate.

These were other examples of acknowledgeable acts by vegans that are not related to food.

Unwritten Rules of Veganism

We have some sort of rules in the vegan community that we refer to them as unwritten rules.

They are called unwritten rules because if people violate them, it won’t be a big deal, mainly because it doesn’t directly affect veganism.

Note: These rules are like a bonus and some of them have no connection with animals, but we have put them here because veganism is a lifestyle, and our goal is to be healthy and make the world a better place.

• Only buy clothes from vegan clothing brands.

Vegans follow other moral policies, like not wearing clothes that are made from animals.

A brand that is so popular in the vegan community is the Mavi brand, and you can support other vegan brands by just buying clothes from them, too.

Not only do vegans try to avoid killing animals for clothes, but they also try to choose unique brands that have sustainable and eco-friendly materials.

• Stay away from alcohol and drugs.

• Quit smoking, or don’t throw cigarette butts in the nature.

• Don’t go to any zoo or circuses.

As a vegan, you must not go to any place where animals are being tortured for entertainment.

In the vegan lifestyle, we prohibit activities that involve the exploitation of animals, such as circuses, zoos, aquariums, etc.

• Try to adopt animals rather than buy them.

This is a really big deal; instead of following the cycle of buying animals and treating animals like products, try to adopt a pet.

• Make vegan foods if you are organizing a party.

• Don’t ever consider buying non-vegan foods or animal products even if you are buying them for someone else.

• Don’t go fishing.

• Don’t judge someone because of their diet.

• Don’t be hard on new vegans.

• Support worldwide peace

• Stand against racism

• Don’t throw garbage in the nature.

• Don’t cut down trees.

• Only buy cosmetics that are vegan and eco-friendly.

• Don’t support brands that are not vegan.

These actions can really help you to reach your ideal lifestyle even if you aren’t vegan. However, if you are vegan, following these rules will literally make you a better vegan in different aspects.

Final Words

The message behind this article wasn’t just about showing the products and foods that you aren’t allowed to eat if you are vegan; we tried to give you valid information about vegan diets by demonstrating the fact that there are better alternatives for prohibited foods in vegan diets.

Also, we really wanted to make you understand that veganism is a lifestyle and it is definitely more than a diet. And by going vegan, you will save not only yourself but also other creatures and the environment.

Hope this article answers your questions.

Please give me feedback in the comments and let me know if you have anything in mind

Amir