“WHY DID YOU quit veganism after 4 YEARS?”

I pursued veganism for four reasons— #1 To improve my health, #2 to protect the environment from factory farm emissions, #3 to alleviate animal cruelty and #4 to cleanse my spirit of the suffering I was consuming—from the bodies of animals who died harsh deaths. As an advocate of self-love and the idea that the love we give to others and the world is only as strong as the love we have for self— I prioritized my health as the #1 Reason for my switch to a plant-based diet. Towards the end of my fourth year on the Vegan diet, my body began to reject this eating lifestyle — (naturally, as I learned later that human beings are omnivores — meaning they need meat and plants to survive) —and I was faced with some serious health challenges that were weakening my livelihood. After becoming connected with some trusted healthcare professionals and mentors, a whole new world of information surrounding nutrition was exposed to me. I was taught about the importance of gut health and its correlation to mental health, diversifying your eating lifestyles, and the dangers of processed, imitation meats. Once I realized incorporating animal products back into my diet would save my health, (and it has)—I found more conscious ways to reintegrate animal products into my diet: This included sourcing from organic, antibiotic-free, sustainable farms that prioritize a healthy, loving life for the animals while they are alive and longer prayers over my food to express my gratitude for the animal’s sacrifice. Even though it was an emotional experience for me to purchase piece of salmon for the first time after four years of veganism, I knew to stay true to my health no matter whose ‘fad’ it went against as adjustments to new eating lifestyle should never be about but the effectiveness it has to heal your body. I knew that in order to inspire others to live a healthy lifestyle—I had to be truthful about the nature of our existence as omnivores, and implement that logic into my life by embodying that healthiest eating lifestyle I could possibly create for myself.