I was thrilled to be able to attend my second Vida Vegan Con, one of the best planned conferences I have ever been to and one filled with vegan bloggers from all over the world. This was the third (and the final) Vida Vegan Con and was held in Austin, Texas.
I will undoubtedly write more about Vida Vegan Con and wanted to start with one of the sessions I attended. Matt Ruscigno has a Master's in Public Health and is a Registered Dietitian. He is a rock star in my book. We need to know how to get and stay healthy while loving veganism, and people like Matt make that possible.
His session was about looking at the science of being vegan. It was fascinating and I could have listened for hours. I took notes, and would like to share a few nuggets of wisdom that I learned. What I am sharing here is what I got out of his talk. I want to make that clear as just because this is what I got from the talk doesn't mean I got it right!
Matt let us know that there is very little research that compares vegan and omnivore athletes. I have learned while trying to get healthier that research in vegan nutrition is key.
One of the several things he mentioned that really struck me, and mentioned a couple of times, is the phrase "what we do most often matters most". Love this. For me it means it I eat healthy most of the time, forages into vegan junk food and desserts aren't that bad. Yes, at times my life has been the opposite when eating healthy was not common! I have thought about this a lot and really want to focus on doing more around fitness and nutrition so that when I decide not to work out or decide to grab two cartons of ice cream, it's not such a bad thing.
Remember that I am not a dietitian. I do try to pay attention to what people like Matt have to say.
Matt also talked about that there is no one right way to discuss nutrition and science. That sure was a relief!
He also mentioned that adding one food to your diet is not going to drastically change your health. I sure needed to hear that. What I am trying to do is to make eating lots of fruits and vegetables part of my norm.
One of the most important things he said was to not exaggerate in regards to veganism and nutrition. Be realistic and be careful with using nutrition as the gateway to veganism.
What Matt gets when at the market? Leafy greens. Whole grains. Berries. Red cabbage. Quinoa. Lentils. Kale.
Check out more about Matt here.
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