When people exclaim they’re vegan, it’s almost with the same self-righteous pride that people exclaim, “I’m vaccinated”. Good for you, just don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back. Of course this doesn’t apply to all vegans. But I’ve heard and seen it enough for it to have made quite the impression.

Research from 2016 found that 8% of Black Americans identified as strict vegan or vegetarian, compared with only 3% of all Americans. A 2019 Gallop poll found that one third of POC reported cutting down on meat, compared to one fifth of their white counterparts. And Black Americans are almost three times more likely to be vegan or vegetarian than other Americans.

Research has shown that by adopting a vegan lifestyle, the risk of obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers are lowered.

In 2018, The Office of Minority Health found that African Americans were 1.3 times more likely to be obese compared to whites. African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the US. About 4 out of 5 African American women are overweight or obese. In 2018, African Americans were 30% more likely to die of heart disease than whites. Black Americans are also 40% more likely to have high blood pressure and less likely to have it under control.

If Black Americans are more likely to be vegan which is shown to lower the risk of obesity and premature death, why are Black Americans also more likely to be overweight, obese and die of heart disease?

Blacks are doing vegan all wrong. Going vegan has become a fad, just one more thing to keep up the the Jones’s and not be left out the loop. It’s now become trendy to be a vegan. A status symbol of sorts. It’s not the cure for our declining health if we still overeat, and eat overly processed foods with ingredients that are just as harmful as meat. It isn’t working for us if we still have the worst health outcomes out of all groups in America. It’s not working if we’re still prematurely dying from completely preventable diseases and our quality of life continues to deteriorate.

The number one issue with veganism is the over consumption of heavily processed food and the lack of intermittent fasting. Vegan bacon, impossible burgers, fake fried chicken. These products are filled with artificial ingredients and are genetically engineered. They don’t promote health. Vegans still eat from the time they wake, until they go to bed, rarely fasting which doesn’t provide their body the opportunity to heal, repair and regenerate.

I am not a vegan by definition. However, I do not eat pork, beef, eggs, or drink cow’s milk. I will still eat chicken and fish on occasion. I intermittent fast daily. When I do eat, the goal is to always eat food as close to the earth as possible and to avoid meat and it’s by products. I consider myself a “Clean Eater”

There are two guidelines to adhere to as a Clean Eater:

• Eat food as close to its natural state as possible
• Eat food with minimal ingredients that you recognize and can pronounce

Check out the ingredients for a plant based “ground beef”

Based on the ingredients, I would avoid eating this even though it’s not made from a cow. I don’t recognize and can barely pronounce half the ingredients. But if I was vegan, this would be acceptable.

I do think it’s admirable and worth applauding to give up meat. In fact, I think we all should! But it has to be done the right way. To give up one vice in exchange for another is what most vegans do. Same enslavement, different master…so I say ,Ok, you’re vegan…AND? Truth be told, if you don’t intermittent and extended fast, don’t eat enough food from the earth, and eat too much food from a box, what is the point. As Hov said, “men lie, women lie, numbers don’t”.

Kathleen holds several certifications in the Health and Wellness arena; Holistic Nutritionist, Nutrition and Wellness Consultant, Yin Yoga Instructor, Vaginal Steam Facilitator, and Death & Mourning Doula. She is an Intermittent Fasting Guru and Radical Self-Healing Advocate. She has written over 100 blog articles and 7 self-published books. To learn more about Kathleen click HERE