Because I’m vegan

Following on from my last post “Karen says I don’t get enough protein” I wanted to address another crazy assumption that people make: if anything happens to me, it’s because I’m vegan.

People say the weirdest stuff. For example, some family and friends who have known me my entire life seem to think that I’m pale and skinny because I’m vegan. You obviously don’t remember me being pale and skinny while I chomped down on McDonalds every weekend. Skinny is in my genetics (thanks mega parents!) and pale yellowish white is the colour I was born. Vegan or not, this is who I am.

Us vegans have to put up with you guys saying some really strange stuff.

Like when I got a super bad cold, people would insist it was because I was vegan. Yet, how come when a non-vegan gets a cold (which you guys do, don’t deny it!) then you only get told to have more vitamin C.

*NEWSFLASH*

I get lots of vitamin C!

OK now I’ve started, I can’t stop…

Last year I dropped a jar of doggy treats on my left foot and hurt my second toe really bad. It became big, black, misshapen and smelled (although the smell might have already been there). The nail came off a few months later. Then, about five months later, the big toenail on my left foot dropped off… Guess why? Because I’m vegan!

Nope, but that’s what someone actually said to me. Fortunately I’m a bit more rational than that and it’s likely that I hurt my big toe when I hurt my second toe.

I’ll keep you updated on the toe nail situation!

Veganism is sooooo nutritionally deficient that it must have caused other things to happen in my life too, stuff that happened even before I went vegan.

When I was six I had a groin hernia. I probably had it because I’m vegan now.

When I was eight I slipped over on a wet floor in a supermarket and bruised my hip. Now I think about it, I probably didn’t hurt myself because the supermarket floor was wet but more likely because I’m vegan now.

When I was nine I walked into a lamp post. I used to blame myself for not looking where I was going but now I realise that it wasn’t my fault back then, as it only happened because I’m vegan now.

If none of this makes sense to you then good! You’re seeing the light!

How about just accepting that a plant-based diet is as healthy as any other diet (probably healthier than most diets) and stop blaming a plant-based diet for the most random things that could happen to anyone, not just vegans. Otherwise I might start blaming your random ailment or accident because you ate animals at the weekend and see how you like it.

If you were previously convinced that veganism is unhealthy and bad for you, then it’s likely that you’ve been listening to the wrong people. If you’re now feeling slightly more open-minded and fancy a chat, get in touch here. We can share stories and laugh about irrational people trying to scare us 💚