Are You a Virtuous Vegan?

Many people think all vegans were health-conscious people before they even began their journey, but that’s not always the case. Question is, though: what type of vegan are you? (NB: Definitions whole-heartedly tongue-in-cheek…)

Virtuous Vegan (aka WFPB Vegan)

Nothing passes your lips that hasn’t been lovingly prepared in your own kitchen from the freshest of local seasonal ingredients. Unsurpassable when it comes to food prep skills, virtuous vegans derive the most pleasure from knowing they’re nourishing their body and mind with every healthy bite. Granted, this has made them a little bit of a food snob. A super fan of vegan chefs who keep it “real”, you went vegan for the animals, not your own health. Agog at WFPB vegans’ dedication to wellbeing, and in disbelief that anyone would willingly put that much time into cooking (though you’ll happily watch the YouTube videos), you still want to be chowing down on tasty fries and a juicy-yetmeat-free burger or some sort of – erm – greasy goodness. Not for you the effort of a cauliflower rice gastronomic endeavour. The one who didn’t get the memo that veganism in not about shedding pounds or denying oneself any sensory pleasure at all, the starved vegan took the macrobiotic movement beyond a physical health reset and became a culinary ascetic fearful of all fats. Recognisable by iron-deficient dark circles under their eyes and a rather gaunt silhouette, their alternative versions are the raw foodist and the fruitarian.

Tip: Live a little every now and again and treat the family to that raved over vegan burger. Moderation works both ways, you know… Tip: In addition to adding a bit of lettuce and avocado to your preferred quick-and-satisfying meals, it wouldn’t hurt to cook from scratch upon occasion. Or go halfway and perhaps invest in an air-fryer… Tip: Come into the 21st century way of thinking when it comes to food. A “moment on the lips” is not a lifetime on the hips, but rather an actual life: take pleasure in what you consume and you’ll positively thrive. Life is too short not to seek enjoyment, and plant-based options are too delectable to go on like you have been…

Dirty Vegan (aka Junk Food Vegan) Starved Vegan (aka Vegan for weight loss)

Beautiful Bac-uns to Make at Home

So, bacon: along with cheese, one of the foods people seemingly have the most trouble giving up. Yet, essentially what they fear they’ll miss is simply that umami flavour. It might seem obvious to the plant-based awoken crowd, but bacon really doesn’t have to come from a pig or be unhealthy for the heart or cholesterol levels – not when that bacon is plant-based.

Here are just some of the myriad options for shaking up one’s concept of bacon. These “bacuns” should hit the tastebuds and provide some health benefits, too. Experiment and you might just find yourself becoming the next vegan social media culinary star…

Rice Paper Bacon Daikon Bacon Seitan Bacon Carrot Bacon Eggplant Bacon Banana Peel Bacon

While Vegconomist reported last year that companies like “plant genetics pioneer” NuCicer are developing non-GMO chickpeas even more chock full of protein (some 75% more, in fact), and thereby hoping to reduce the price of chickpea protein by half (and pocket-sizing the breeding cycle from 10 years to 24 months) – it’s clear there’s a lot more on the horizon for cellular agriculture, both vegan and omnivorous. NuCicer has been in development for a decade and plans to release the chickpeas next year. There’s sure to be an appetite, being “the third most widely grown grain legume” (and who can forget the shortage in shops in the first lockdown?), but even if not palatable for some, that chickpeas are a crop highly beneficial for nitrogen fixation and as a result improved soil health should certainly be news received with enthusiasm.

A recent FSA (Food Standards Agency) survey found that 60% of us (from teens to pensioners) are willing to try plant-based alternative proteins, while 34% of the UK population would be willing to try cultivated meat. The survey also found that cultivated meat as a concept is “off-putting”, while those who still shunned plant-based alternatives chose to do so because they derived pleasure from animal products. That pleasure principle was the focus of discussions when Ed Winters (aka Earthling Ed, newly published Times bestselling author of This is Vegan Propaganda with Penguin Books, and longstanding globally recognised vegan activist) was invited to take part in a debate on BBC Politics Live, hosted by Jo Coburn. Arguing whether veganism is a moral imperative or not with the LBC Radio presenter Nick Ferrari, Darlington Labour MP Jenny Chapman, and Conservative backbencher MP Andrew Rosindell, the debate highlighted concerns over farmers’ livelihoods and the freedom of choice. And that is to some extent why biodynamic regenerative agriculture can seem such a panacea – one which distracts from the fundamental ethic of avoiding exploiting animals for pleasure.

If a Welsh pub can go fully vegan for a month and decide to do it permanently after sales went through the roof (customers even driving from Scotland to sample The Queen Inn’s new menu in Cwmbran, South Wales), then perhaps that essential consideration of freedom of choice will find a natural plant-based conclusion after all. Just look at Nebraska, otherwise known as the “beef state”: The Independent has reported that peas and beans are becoming a competitive industry to cattle ranching in the state, as plant-based alternatives take off. The trend follows other heavily livestock focussed states like Montana and North Dakota, but in Nebraska it was sparked by Ingredion’s opening of a pea processing plant in South Sioux City last March. It is hoped that as more farmers turn to the crop the health of the soil will recover, too.

The Allergen Pea –A Cautionary Tale

There’s no doubt that peas have been the key to the worldwide rolling out of many protein alternatives, the industry working towards a well-fed human population in a sustainable future. However, peas are not a boon for everyone. A little while back, The Huffington Post wrote on the issues peas have caused for people with allergies as vegan and glutenfree options flood the market and the use of pea flour and pea protein becomes more commonplace. For, peas are a legume closely related to peanuts; and people with nut allergies can be allergic to legumes as well.

From cakes and biscuits to bread and plant-based milks, and even processed meats (but that’s another problem) – peas are seemingly inescapable these days unless one is living the WFPB lifestyle and making everything from scratch. This is a real risk factor for some, as food manufacturers and eateries are not legally required to state inclusion of peas in their products, not being governmentally recognised as an allergen.

While there might be little sympathy for those who lament not being able to buy highly processed ham slices and low-price pork sausages due to the products having been padded out with pea protein (and the purchase of which perpetuates cruel factory farming practices) – if someone wants to switch to a vegan diet and doesn’t possess many if any culinary skills, pre-made alternatives are very handy. But pea and lentil flour have proliferated as ingredients in pre-made foods. What’s more, pea protein is considered more allergenic than green or yellow peas in their whole state, as processing concentrates the protein strands which are to blame for an allergic reaction. Yet, under current law, “ingredients outside the top 14 [allergens] don’t have to be listed if they make up less than 2% of the product”. Often, pea and lentil flour can be lumped under the dubious listing of “vegetable fibre”.

Happily, there are a few companies – like Heck – which voluntarily label in bold their use of pea protein in both their omnivorous and vegan lines. That said, Heck’s founder, Andrew Keeble has advised they are looking to move towards using rice instead. Nonetheless, the global pea starch industry (yes, it really does exist these days) is expected to be worth $203 million [c. £150 million] by 2026.

Although pea farming ran into a bit of difficulty recently, with a drought in Canada resulting in a 45% reduction in production and overly wet weather in France ruining the crop, the appetite for the humble pea is quite something. As is its versatility: improving taste and texture, acting as a thickener and gelling agent in multiple foodstuffs… There’s now even a pea-based softgel that has been developed by Roquette as a vegan alternative to gelatine capsule medication. The uses, it seems, really are endless, but one should surely proceed responsibly and label up honestly for those with an allergy.

There has been negative press towards plant-based innovation, of course. Action on Salt announced at the close of 2021 that excessive levels of salt had been measured in meat alternatives that had been touted as “healthy”. In fact, it claimed that over 75% of alt-meat products were above recommended salt levels. Why does it matter? Because salt raises blood pressure, which in turn is connected with 50% of heart disease and 60% of stroke cases. Globally, over 2 million people die from excessive salt intake every year.

Nevertheless, plant-based alternatives offer just that: alternatives to exploiting and eating animals. With the UK now recognising prawns, lobsters, crabs, and squid and octopus as sentient beings, it’s no longer just land-based animals that are getting the consideration they should naturally be due. Yet, land-based animals are obviously not insignificant in positive environmental endeavours. Eating Better recently announced that The Wildlife Trusts had become a supporter of their campaign. A grassroots movement providing land management advice for avoiding pesticides and preventing those and other pollutants finding their way into nature both terrestrially and in waterways, The Wildlife Trusts (of which there are 46 in total) believe that “we need nature and nature needs us”: with some 850,000 members and 2,000 staff and 35,000 volunteers, it’s clear that an ethic of care is blossoming throughout the nation.

So, while some of us might have swapped out real eggs for vegan alternatives on the basis of concerns over animal welfare, while others of us now opt for plant-based prawns instead of actual crustaceans in order to protect endangered mangrove forests and thereby reduce the increased risk of flooding in multiple areas of the globe – diversity of reasoning and of praxis in a purposefully plant-based lifestyle mirrors a natural biodiversity we should never have come away from belonging to in the first place. Therefore, let the innovation continue apace.

We’ve all been there: having sat at our desks of an afternoon as the hands of the clock ticked closer to the end of the working day, contemplating what we’d make for supper (lunchtime sandwiches most times leaving not just a lot to be desired, but rather an empty space in the stomach; even in WFH schedules, sadly) – only to decide upon a tofu dish, relish the thought of that tofu dish all the way home, pondering which spices to employ in making it a rival to a takeaway, and then frustratingly (perhaps with a raised utterance of dismay) find that that pack in the fridge went off a week ago, its plastic cover puffed out and ready to burst as the tofu decays within, entirely uneaten…

There are worse things to come home to, granted, but for a more peaceful life and fewer stresses than necessary, here’s a little guidance on how to make that tasty tofu stick around for a while longer (though we can’t make any promises about making you remember it’s there):

Silken Tofu

The least pressed of the tofu options, silken tofu is creamily soft and due to its high water content tends to last about half the time of the firmest tofu choices. Like any tofu, silken tofu shouldn’t be open and left at room temperature for any longer than two hours. Otherwise, it will start to go off. Likewise, all tofu should be stored in the fridge to prolong shelf life. Soft Tofu should be handled similarly.

Firm Tofu

There is a school of thought that believes freezing tofu for later use actually improves its consistency and ability to absorb any marinade or sauce. The thawed ice crystals also create porous holes which means previously frozen tofu becomes crispier when air-fried. Be sure to remove as much liquid as possible and pre-cut the tofu before storing in an airtight container in the freezer for later (maximum 3 months). Medium tofu should be dealt with in the same way.

Super Firm Tofu

The tofu pressed the most, super firm tofu is the firmest and driest option, while also offering more protein than other types of tofu. Once open, this is definitely one tofu you want to be storing in water in the fridge, to prevent it drying out even more and becoming stale. As with any type of tofu, if the water becomes murky or yellowish and if the tofu starts to brown in the fridge, it has gone off (water should be clear and the tofu egg-shell white). Extra firm tofu is a similar option.

“E-h What?” E Numbers for Vegans Explained

It is all too easy to disregard a numbered letter, isn’t it? But if you dig beneath the surface, those E numbers lurking in the midst of lengthy ingredients labels are hiding a lot more than you’d care to know… Here’s a quick-guide chart to help you when out and about:

E101

Riboflavin

Also known as B2, the problem is it sometimes comes from animal sources. Otherwise, riboflavin is usually derived from plants and fungi.

Also known as carminic acid or carmine, E120 is a red pigment that comes from the shell of cochineal insects.

Used as – low and behold – an acidity regulator, lactic acid can sometimes be animal-derived, though is able to come both from plants and be synthetically produced.

Although normally come from soya or sunflowers, this emulsifier is sadly sometimes sourced from animals.

Usually a product of soybeans or palm, unfortunately glycerol can also come from rendered animal fat…

Used as an emulsifier, gelatine comes from the collagen in the bones and skin of animals (usually livestock, such as cows and pigs).

Pretty self-explanatory, beeswax is used as a glazing agent. We don’t know why either…

Also a glazing agent, this one comes from the resin secreted (never an appetising word) by Asian lac insects.

Yet another glazing agent, lanolin is literally the grease from a sheep’s wool.

An improving agent, this amino acid can be produced synthetically, but otherwise can come from duck feathers.

E120

Cochineal

E270

Lactic Acid

E322

Lecithin Emulsifier

E422

Glycerol Emulsifier

E441

Gelatine

E901

Beeswax

E904

Shellac

E913

Lanolin

E920

L-Cysteine Meet your new squeeze – Kallø’s game-changing organic stock pastes. Stirring things up with a whole new way to stock, Kallø stock pastes are the easiest way to naturally add a burst of flavour to your home-cooked creations. The versatile tubes of stock paste allow you to control how much or little you would like to use. A simple squeeze straight into the pan is all you need. No mess. No waste.

Available in three flavours – Vegetable & Mixed Herbs, Chicken & Rosemary and Garlic & Mixed Herbs – each paste is full of flavour and made with natural and high-quality, organic ingredients. The innovative new stock pastes are gluten and lactose free and fully recyclable. Kallø stock pastes are the ultimate kitchen hack for cooking fresh, flavoursome meals. Convenient, versatile and easy to use, stock pastes are perfect for scratch-cooking enthusiasts with a busy lifestyle. Just squeeze and stir into your recipes, or use as a speedy marinade for savoury traybakes. Simply delicious.

Kallø’s mission is to make eating natural and healthy food delicious and effortless, through a growing range of snacks and cooking ingredients.

The ‘Coronacoaster’ and Fatigue:

How Long Covid is Helping ME

Kate Weinberg, author of The Truants, wrote of her personal experience with Long Covid in The Times Magazine last year, describing the “strange bouts of powerlessness” and how exhaustion would strike “like a baseball bat to the back of the knees”. Thus, Weinberg endured ever being a potential victim to be flung into “the pit” of pain and fatigue, disorientation and loss of self again, and again. Told by her GP not to undertake more than 500 housebound steps a day for fear of setback in recovery, that road to wellness became a patience game, a case of mind over matter and a letting-go of established notions of time.

Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that the black dog of depression started to nip at her heels. Far from antidepressants being of help, it was instead breathing and mindset techniques that took the edge off the numb despair. Even nine months later, at the time of the article’s publication, Weinberg was not yet at her destination, but was connected more deeply to her body and its “reconfiguration”; had learned its warning signs and what seemed to “stir the hornets in the Long Covid nest”.

With some 2 million adults in Britain suffering similarly, and an estimated 41 million people globally, the reality of Long Covid is undeniable. This is not another Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) scenario, where it is for too long patronisingly put down to psychological factors, as those suffering from ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Myalgic Encephalopathy; the other name for CFS), fibromyalgia, and Lyme disease frequently are told. The main theories for Long Covid include “hyperactive immune response, viral debris, viral persistence, and auto-antibodies”. Research into mitochondrial failure saw Weinberg explore NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) deficiency theory a little more, which exhibits ultra-low levels of ATP, “the fundamental energy-carrying molecule that powers the body”. Thus far, she has been continuing with that approach.

Tiredness, of course, is nothing new in itself. Nevertheless, COVID-19 has focussed the spotlight on extreme fatigue like never before. Tiredness can be physical, it can be psychological (“coronacoaster” isn’t dubbed thus for no reason, with its eye-opening and out of the blue mood swings). Yet, Long Covid’s exhausting ways might provide a light in the darkness for those suffering from CFS, many of whom had been dismissed as hypochondriac work-shy fabricators in the past. Usually triggered by an acute infection, similar to Long Covid, CFS is a post-viral fatigue syndrome. It is not, as was once believed, simply a psychological condition or symptom of depression; nor is it a case of the 1980s glandular fever outbreak, with snide comments about “yuppie flu”. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is all too real. Indeed, one study found that 77% of ME sufferers had had a negative experience with doctors who thought they were simply “hysterical” anxiety disorder cases. Another survey of patient respondents found that 66% thought the emotional battle of getting a doctor’s diagnosis had actually worsened their condition. May 11th through 16th is ME Awareness week this year. It’s important to note, not least because the ME Association estimates that in the UK between 130,000 and 260,000 of us – both adults and children – are currently living with CFS. Otherwise known as ME, symptoms can be manageable or downright debilitating. From muscle aches and pains to brutal fatigue and brain fog so bad speech becomes slurred, and often extended periods of time have to be taken off work. Now a recognised neurological disease, ME can be so disabling that quality of life is shockingly lowered, some sufferers becoming not just housebound but bedbound and requiring 24/7 care.

To be clear, CFS is a chronic neurological condition with physical consequences, mainly associated with the nervous and immune systems. And it affects four times as many women as men. Women, after all, have two X chromosomes, as opposed to men with their XY makeup. The X chromosomes induce immune responses and so the female immune system is doubly prepared to respond to any threat, making it overreactive and sometimes self-attacking. Those women who already suffer from an autoimmune condition are particularly at risk.

Long Covid mirrors the debilitating fatigue of ME and its other symptoms. It also includes shortness of breath and, for some, a sense of smell does not return. What both conditions share in common is the possible scenario that patients will never get better. Fortunately, the government has invested £50 million into Long Covid research to try to find a cure and – if, as thought, the two conditions are as similar as they seem – it could mean light at the end of the tunnel for CFS sufferers, too. The key is finding the responsible antibody. Until that time, ongoing rolling out of boosters for the Covid vaccine (of whichever type) and continued hygiene protocols are still crucial in protecting against what is looking to become an endemic disease – despite alleviation of restrictions at interim points. And that remaining 28% of the population who have not had a single jab? They need to do so. Increasingly infectious variants have put paid to initial belief in herd immunity against Sars-CoV-2 (as has the tragic case of the Czech folk singer, Hana Horka, who thought deliberately getting infected wise for such a purpose). The global presence of the coronavirus (and its zoonotic transmission) means it will never just go away.

Furthermore, Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has questioned the unknown long-term impact of Long Covid: “We know that after the Spanish flu of 1918, people were getting Parkinson’s disease, which only became apparent about 20 years later. So, we still don’t know what the long-term consequences of this virus are”. In other words, though it seems self-evident, protection rather than infection is safest, in all respects.

Recovery Foods, the Plant-Based Way

Vegans were recently up in arms when it transpired that people recovering from Covid were being advised by a National Health Service online programme to heal their bodies with “meat, fish, eggs, and cheese” and to “hydrate” with dairy milk. Notably, the old established wisdom of five-a-day fruit and veg was lacking.

The advice is strangely uninformed and misplaced, given Covid’s suspected zoonotic origins. In fact, two studies have found a plantbased diet to be of use in lessening the severity of the virus. One study, published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health found that vegans were 73% less likely to suffer from the severest symptoms of Covid, while the second study was the “largest study to date examining the links between diet and disease”, according to Plant Based News. Indeed, the ZOE COVID Symptom Study looked at data from 600,000 participants and concluded that vegans were 9% less likely to catch Covid-19 in the first place, while omnivores whose diets were high in animal proteins were at increased risk of the virus’ severest symptoms. With this in mind, we thought it prudent to provide some plant-based suggestions for recovery, whether for yourself or for your loved ones:

1

Pulses

Vital for protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals – pulses can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes. From chickpeas to butter beans, from borlotti to kidney beans, pulses are the versatile protein provision extraordinaire for plant-based healing.

Probably the go-to protein grain (though a wild grass), quinoa is easily digestible as well as tasty – perfect for convalescence.

The theme of protein continues, but nuts and seeds also contain essential healthy fats (Omega-3s and Omega-6s), as well as many other vitamins and minerals.

Taking up the baton for healthy fat, avocadoes are a low sugar fruit that contain vital nutrients for recovery; particularly beneficial when appetite might be lacking.

Let’s be honest, any list stating plant-based foods for recovery would be a nearly endless naming of fruits and vegetables. The term “soup” therefore encompasses a plethora of cruelty-free, Nature-given (savoury) produce that when seasoned and boiled together in a pot come together to heal body and mind (and soul, too, only without the unnecessary chicken of the 1993-founded entertainment company title).

2

Quinoa

3

Nuts & Seeds

4

Avocadoes

5

Soup

Covid & the Brain: 6 Protective Measures

Covid-19 – attacker of our lungs, our hearts, our blood, our body entire (not to mention our lives). But what is no longer getting overlooked is Covid’s effect on our brains. With studies showing that many Long Covid sufferers complain of lingering brain fog six months and longer after infection, it is clear that the fight against the coronavirus isn’t a matter of immunity in the sense of flu only, but one of total body health and protection against the virus’ far-reaching effects, also.

What Sars-CoV-2 can cause is inflammation of the brain, known as Covid encephalitis. Indeed, a study published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences in 2020 found that nearly 13% of those who had Covid-19 with neurological complications could go on to develop some form of encephalitis. Given that with other viruses an occurrence of encephalitis can mean developing dementia or having a stroke later on, the danger is clear.

So, how best to protect the brain against an invisible assailant? Pretty much by bolstering it the same way you would against the advancing years:

1

Mental Stimulation is Your Rainy Day Exercise

Whether it’s a beloved sudoku (or its warrior version), a crossword (we envy those who can fathom a cryptic), or challenging a friend (or the computer) to a game of chess, a 2016 study in Brain Imaging and Behaviour found that mental stimulation – if enjoyable – helps to create new connections in the brain that protect against future memory loss.

2

Food for Thought

Functional nutrition is key. You literally want to be feeding your brain what it needs. Think not just dark green leafy veg (vitamin K, folate, beta carotene…) and berries (flavonoids), or beans and legumes (protein and fibre), but wholegrains (carbohydrates and fibre), and nuts and seeds (fats and protein) – and if you’re omnivorous you can do no better than oily fish (Omega-3s). All of these keep the brain’s blood vessels healthy and help prevent cerebrovascular disorders (such as stroke).

4

There's Wisdom in Friendship

Covid kept us isolated from not only our family, but our friends as well, the resultant loneliness more of a challenge than many other struggles with the lockdowns. A 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that even that brief sojourn behind closed doors might have increased our overall risk of cognitive decline later on, even to the point of dementia and Alzheimer’s. The reason being that humans are social creatures: we need to be connected with others of our kind. In this sense, Zoom and its ilk were a godsend.

5

Meditate for Mindfulness of Cerebral Matter

Meditation, with its long slow breaths and inward gazing, thoughts stilled and silenced, slows the heart rate, which in turn alters the tone of our blood vessels and subsequently reduces blood pressure. This results in better immunity, ameliorated blood sugar levels, and – importantly – an overall improved mood.

3

Exercise for Extra Brainpower

A brisk walk in the outdoors or a quick jog round the park doesn’t just benefit your heart health and circulation, the impact strengthening muscles and bones, but such exercise is brilliant for brain health, also. Daily exertion of this kind improves brain oxygenation and function. Meanwhile, a 2013 study published in PLOS One found Tai Chi to be an especially effective regime for brain health, given the need to memorise the sequence of movements.

6

There’s Sense in Some Serious Sleep

The benefits of proper shuteye are almost innumerable. Make sure you’re getting between seven and nine hours each night for full brain-protective effect. Your everyday thoughts, effectiveness of memory, and future cognitive health depend on it.