Author Rasha Rehman / Category Sustainable Living / Published: Aug-15-2019
vegan millennials
Veganism and Millennials
Is Veganism sustainable? How does Fitness pal work? What is Paleo diet?
The health and fitness industry is growing and so are the number of people asking these questions. With millennials being more likely to engage in discretionary spending and social media, this group is more susceptible to health and fitness trends like fitness apps, high intensity interval training, veganism. But is this doing more harm or good to our well being? Are millennials gulping heaps of green juice because they know its benefits or just because Instagrammers are doing it?
Out of the many emerging vegan, diary free, and gluten free restaurants and cafes in Toronto, Sweet Hart is the latest one. Alexandra Courts and Julia Hart launched the vegan and gluten free café in Kensington Market less than a month ago.
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"I think a lot of people who aren't [vegan] are very curious to try out these options. A lot of people I find now are interested in what plant-based means and what you can do with these ingredients," said Courts.
Plant-based diets are an emerging diet alternative that is easier to digest.
"There's a lot of documentaries that are coming up that promote the benefits of a plant based lifestyle not only on the human body but the benefits for other living beings and for the world in general."
Health and fitness documentaries like Cooked and Fittest on Earth series are readily available online and on Netflix. These documentaries are a hybrid of healthy eating and physical fitness that can be practiced off screen and in the gym.
According to personal trainer at Ryerson University’s Recreation and Athletics Centre (RAC), Evan McCabe, there is an increase in students seeking personal training.
"Students are realizing that they will see faster results if they invest in themselves and seek help from an industry professional to teach them how to properly reach their fitness/health goals," said McCabe.
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Brand ambassadors, YouTubers, and public figures are popularizing high intensity workout regimes, fitness apparel, aesthetic training, and certain diets on social media. But do they work for everyone or just themselves? Ryerson graduate and RAC personal Jennifer Kennedy was influenced by YouTubers to try out different diets.
"I've tried like all the different eating trends- I've been vegan, I've done the paleo, I've done the raw food but like I find that nothing really sticks unless it like really fits with your lifestyle,” said Kennedy.
And these diets are tough. Location and accessibility to whole foods is essential for maintaining vegan and paleo diets. Veganism is abstaining from products and foods that are animal derived. Paleo diet refers to consuming whole, unprocessed food that of which our ancestors have consumed.
“There's so much more information out there now that we know but the amount of information we have can be overwhelming and stressful," said Kennedy. "I feel like there's a lot more stress around young people these days. Younger generations have the benefit of exposure and information that helps them engage and maneuver through these trends. What matters most is whether we understand and know the benefits and consequences of the trends we choose to engage in as opposed to doing it because everyone else is.
Rasha Rehman"Communication lead by day and media entrepreneur by night; Rasha is a passionate Toronto-based journalist. Adopting nutrition and fitness habits and striving to make a positive impact on the environment keeps Rasha going."Aug-15-2019
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