Focusing on health has never been so important. From Dr Sebi's teachings to sustainable living, the average person is finally becoming more conscious to the world around us, including our bodies.
Vegang, an online blog run by Azita Edwards championing everything natural. Providing a resource of places to eat, go to recipes, where to source produce, including details on plant based events.
What is the backstory behind Vegang? How did it come to be?
I turned Vegetarian in 2009, I had never enjoyed eating meat, the idea of where it came from never sat well with me. I was brought up in a typical Iranian household, Iranian meals are heavily meat based, my dad used to own a butchers and I used to work in a delicatessen so was around meat a lot and from those experiences it was putting me off.
When I moved out of my parents home I became Vegetarian, I gradually became Vegan, after my children I was officially Vegan. I educated myself further, tried to find things online but unfortunately at the time veganism wasn't as popular as it is now, and that inspired me to start Vegang as a place I can share information and learn from others. Creating a space of positivity, community and information, being open and welcoming to others who are curious about veganism, including vegans and non vegans. Doing things such as Places to eat, reviews, taste testing, fun challenges, recipes, places to shop etc basically everything vegan but in my own twist.
I am Iranian, my husband is Jamaican, I started really getting in to cooking when I cooked for my family, my mother in law inspired me hugely as she taught me a lot of classic Jamaican dishes, those seasoning and flavours are a massive influence in a lot of my cooking. A big part of Vegang as well is to do with family, health and wellbeing. After being diagnosed with Lupus I have been on my own healing and wellness journey and share any information I pick up and learn.
What are the health benefits of veganism?
There are a lot of health benefits when it comes to Veganism but only if you do it properly, you need to eat a balanced and healthy diet, just because it is labelled vegan doesn't mean it is automatically healthy. Eating processed and junk food is still crap, vegan or not.
Do your research properly and make sure it is from reliable sources, I usually do quite a few videos with nutritionists and health experts that give us tips and facts. I would also say from my experience it is so important for vegans to supplement, mainly B12, personally I also would take Vit D and C. You can find vegan multivitamins that would have all the essentials in too.
Do you have advice for someone living on low income, who wishes to become a vegan?
Budget and plan ahead, there are so many online blogs and articles on how to save money. Try to shop around to see where is best for prices and offers. Ideally stock up grains and pulses, fresh fruit and veg cheaper to buy seasonal. Buying reduced items is good for saving.
There are also apps called Olio where you can giveaway or collect unwanted and extra food, this app is made to prevent food waste. Another good app is Too Good To Go which again is designed to reduce food waste where restaurants and shops give a lot of food away for cheaper, such as Planet Organic would give away a bag of meals for £3. The only thing with it is you don't know what you get until you pick up and you can only pick up during certain times of the day, usually nearing their closing time.
I try to share as much information as I can about shopping vegan, I visit farmers markets, shops, stalls and share all that info via my social media.
Can you recommend any books for a novice?
My favourite books are:
Llaila O. Afrika - African Holistic Health
Aqiyl Aniys - Alkaline Plant Based Diet
Aqiyl Aniys - Akaline Herbal Medicine
Susan Smith Jones Phd - The Healing Power of Nature Foods
Russel Simmons - The Happy Vegan
Michael Greger - How Not To Die
T Colin Cambell - The China Study
- Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal
- Super Clean Super Foods
- Eat Better Live Longer
- Healthy Healing Food For Your Family
A few documentaries I recommend are:
- What The Health
- Cowspiracy
- Forks Over Knifes
What are your thoughts on Dr Sebi teachings?
I am very much for it, I have done it strictly in the past when I got Lupus, I did a six month juicing and raw alkaline diet and it made a huge difference. I felt so healthy and energised and my skin was glowing. I do believe it works and encourage others to look in to it.
Are there any philosophies or advice on well-being you would like to share?
I would say invest in your health and wellbeing, I think everyone takes their good health for granted until something bad happens. Your first home is your body treat it with the love and respect it deserves, invest in your future, any abuse you give your body will come back and hunt you in later years.
Physically try to exercise, what ever your body can manage, be it going to the gym, swimming, walking, yoga or even stretching, try do something daily. Drink plenty of water, have fresh fruits and veg, raw is better then cooked. I try to keep a holistic approach to healing as much as I can, I use CBD to manage my joint pains, magnesium to manage muscle pains. Be good to your self in every way, mental health is just as important as the physical, as stress contributes to sickness, work on ways to manage stress. I meditate, pray, say affirmations, I have a law of attraction journal which is perfect to manage all those things, I highly recommend you get one.
All in all be good to yourself, don't rush yourself to change, take things in your own time, but try to make better choices and see what changes work better for you. Not everyone is the same, something that works for someone may not work for others, begin your journey and find a balance.
All images courtesy of Azita Edwards - Vegang Website: https://vegang.blog/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vegang_z/