I have had many people confuse a Whole Food Plant Based Diet (WFPB diet) with a vegan diet, thinking they are the same thing. They are not. A person that is following a WFPB diet is not necessarily vegan and vegans do not all follow a WFPB diet. Before I get into the differences between the two lifestyles I want to talk about their similarities and why they often get confused.

Veganism and a WFPB diet both focus on a diet rich in plant foods. And neither diet consumes any animal products. That means no eggs, diary, or meat. But this is where the similarity ends.

The Differences

#1 The Food Choices

A WFPB diet focuses on a diet made up of whole, unprocessed foods and consists mostly of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains with limited bread, pasta, and cereals. A WFPB diet excludes all oils and processed sugars and contains little to no salt.

A vegan diet may include more processed foods such as imitation meats and cheeses, or foods high in oils, sugars, and salt.

#2 The Lifestyle

A WFPB diet is only focused on the individual and what he or she eats. Someone who follows a WFPB diet may still wear animal skins, or use products containing animal products.

Veganism is much broader and many vegans, along with not consuming animal products, also do not support any industries that use or kill animals. Vegans do no use beauty products tested on animals, they do not wear animal skins, and they do not support industries such as zoos, aquariums, and circuses that use animals for monetary benefit.

#3 The Reason Why

A person following a  WFPB diet usually does so for health reasons, including sustainable and permanent weight loss, and healing diseases such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

A person following a vegan diet usually does so for environmental issues or animal rights more than individual health.

Although I believe in and agree with both lifestyles,

I advocate for a WFPB diet because I believe you are important and deserve to live a healthy, happy, disease free life.

I believe you deserve to look in the mirror and beam with pride at what you see. I want to help you reach your wight loss goals and reverse cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol!