In the worlds of bodybuilding, fitness or general activity, one thing stands true – protein is required to build muscle, maintain muscle mass and help you recover.
That's why you see so many gym fans guzzling whey shakes and munching cooked chicken breast or packets of beef jerky post workout!
The thing is, you've been lied to. The idea that you simply can't build muscle without meat is, well, a fabrication, and it's time to toss the meat free rumours in the mincer.
2016 was the year of the vegan with an estimated half a million vegans living in Great Britain, more than triple the number of vegans a decade ago. 2017 saw a sharp rise in fitness fans and gym enthusiasts embracing the lifestyle too, and it's not so they can stand around the water cooler and brag to their office pals.
Rather science has shown that following a vegan diet will slash your type 2 diabetes risk by one fifth! It's also been linked to a reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, plus it's thought it could be the key to building lean muscle.
How? Although vegans don't get their protein from "traditional" sources, vegan protein – plant based protein – is believed to up the body's glucagon activity, which simply means there's more control over your insulin levels.
But just why are vegan snacks like Battle Oats Choc Chip Cookies so popular now?
The Benefits
We've already listed some great health benefits to going vegan, but let's talk about the snacks themselves…
Vegan snacks like Battle Oats Choc Chip Cookies often contain fewer saturated fats than their non-vegan counterparts making them ideal for those of you looking to lose weight.
This is because they do not contain dairy or other fattier non-vegan ingredients.
They're also relatively high in fibre, which is great news for your digestive system! In fact, one Battle Oats Choc Chip Cookie contains a huge 8g of fibre compared to the usual 3g normally found in a regular cookie.
You can often find that vegan snacks are lower in calories, which could lead to an increase in fatigue, but if you balance it right you should be able to negate this.
Finally, vegan snacks tend to contain more micronutrients than non-vegan snacks due to the vast array of ingredients used to create them!
From dates to pea protein and everything in between, the people behind vegan snacks use a myriad of ingredients to create tasty munchies both vegans AND non-vegans love.
Which brings us to why, although it may be trendy to be vegan at the moment and science somewhat backs to idea that plant based proteins are better for muscle building, vegan snacks are so popular…
They taste great!
It really is that simple.
The Trendsetter
Everyone seems to be jumping on the vegan bandwagon, from Beyoncé to Joe 'Monk' Coleman, the vegan lifestyle is everywhere you look.
Sometimes non-vegans find themselves eating vegan snacks just because they happen to be there and taste great without even knowing about the environmental or health benefits.
In fact, vegan snacks play directly into the ideal of clean eating, so it's not unusual to see their popularity spike over dairy packed, processed foods.
Many would assume this to be a fad, but here at Muscle Food, we're not so convinced.
In an age where overall health is becoming more important, rather than people merely looking to build mountains of muscle, choosing cleaner, sugar free yet delicious snacks just makes sense.
And considering you can enjoy delicious cookies like Battle Oats Choc Chip Cookie, which has a massive serving of +10g of plant based protein per cookie, the notion that vegan snacks can't contribute to lean muscle is a pure myth.
The full vegan lifestyle trend may come and go for some people, but as long as vegan snacks continue to taste great and contribute to an overall healthier existence, then you can expect to see more of them on your supermarket shelves for many years to come.
