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Is it Healthy to be Vegan?

Capstone Proposal and Timeline

Gurleen Jammu

Career Life Post

Mr. Koshman

2017-09-18
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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................... 3
BACKGROUND and PURPOSE ...................................................................................................................... 3
BIG PICTURE ................................................................................................................................................ 4
RESEARCH ................................................................................................................................................... 5
EXPERIMENT ............................................................................................................................................... 6
PRESENTATION ........................................................................................................................................... 6
FINAL OUTCOME ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 8
Capstone Timeline ...................................................................................................................................... 9
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INTRODUCTION

I have always had an interest in nutrition and health. My family regularly focuses on fresh

meals that include mostly plant based ingredients. Although, I wasnt raised as a vegetarian or

vegan, recently I have been following a vegan diet due to my curiousness about it. However, I

have seen many controversial theories that argue whether a vegan diet is healthy due to the lack

of nutrients, vitamins and other important components we should be getting from our meals.

After following the lifestyle for a couple of months and doing research for this project, I hope to

discover the answer to this question. Depending on what the outcome of this project is, it could

influence my lifestyle heavily. This assignment will only be the beginning, as l look forward to

continuing my passion for nutritional sciences, by studying the topic in post-secondary and one

day possibly having a career related to it as well.

BACKGROUND and PURPOSE

I enjoy many areas of science, with a strong interest in nutritional sciences. My passion has

always been to know how the human body functions, so that I can have my body functioning at

its finest. I love to share the knowledge that I gain from my personal experience in nutritional

health with my friends and family as well. I want people to understand that there is a way that

they can enjoy being healthy. Therefore, as I stated above, this is the career path that I would like

to take. Its a topic that will always develop as time goes by, with new studies and information

being released every day. Thats why I know that I will never get bored of it, as there will always

be something new to learn or solve.

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From my personal experience of being vegan I have learned that following this diet can be

challenging in todays western society. However, having said that, Dr. Oz, who has a book

called, 21 Day Plant-Based Diet, stated that Veganism will be the single biggest movement in

2017, with an estimated 3.7 million Americans already living a strict vegan lifestyle. This

increase in interest is a result of motivation to help prevent disease, environmental issues, animal

suffering, and overall health. In my first week of being vegan I felt as if I could only eat

vegetables and fruits. However, now that I have practiced balancing my meals, and have

mastered the art of reading the ingredients on nearly everything, its much easier for me to eat a

wider range of foods. In my opinion, I have felt much healthier and happier since Ive been

vegan. The foods that I eat are lower in cholesterol and artificial ingredients, while also being

richer in fiber, potassium, and vitamin C and E. This lowers the chances of numerous diseases

like, cancers, diabetes, stroke, and many more. What I want to gain from my research while

doing this project is whether I can be a vegan for the rest of my life and still be consuming

enough vitamins, minerals, and fats, and other essential components that my body requires in

order to function properly.

The topic of nutrition can be controversial, as everyone has a different approach and

knowledge of it. A diet that is working for someone elses body may not be suitable for another

person. Therefore, I understand that Veganism is not for everyone. With this project, I want to

learn how being vegan can be a different experience for each individual. I will make my project

relatable to both females and males, with a wide range of body types. I hope that the research I

complete will not only benefit me, but others who get the chance to view it as well.

BIG PICTURE
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The research component of my project will take two months to complete, while the

experiment itself will take place for a week. There will be a blog that has daily posts about the

process of the program. After the vegan program is done, I will be putting all my information

together and creating a final blog post. On the side, just before the presentation, I will construct a

recipe book that will feature all the meals that I used within that week. This recipe book will be

available for my viewers to look at as I speak about my project during my presentation. It will

include ingredients, amounts, and some nutritional facts similar to what will be available on the

blog. The most difficult piece of my project is the research and planning, as that requires me to

teach myself new knowledge. Of course, I will use my passion for nutrition as a way to make the

research enjoyable, as well as a learning experience.

RESEARCH

I will do research that will help me compose a one-week vegan meal plan for myself and my

non-vegan family. Before I can choose the meals for my vegan program I must insure that

theyre well planned out. The planning process will simply be me gaining more knowledge on

nutrition. This will then help me understand what each meal requires in order for it to be

considered healthy. I will have to make sure that my family and I are getting the correct amount

of calories and servings for each food group, depending on our age and gender. Also, there will

be a section that goes more into detail explaining facts like, whether we are receiving all the

protein, nutrients and vitamins that we are supposed to. In order to accomplish this, I will be

taking advantage of online sources, books, and other people who have experience in this field.

All of this research will then be put into a formal paper and submitted.
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EXPERIMENT

The experiment will take place for one week, with my non-vegan family. My family is

composed of four people, including my ten-year-old sister, my mom and dad, and myself. It is a

challenge to cook a normal meal that all of us will enjoy as we have different food preferences.

Therefore, planning vegan meals for a week that are healthy and balanced, that everyone in my

family will accept will be an obstacle of its own. The meals will consist of breakfast, lunch,

dinner and snacks. I will create an online blog where I can post my day to day results from this

experiment, as well as include the research and recipes onto. However, the research on the blog

will only consist of some nutritional facts, like calories. The more detailed information will be

showcased on a separate research paper, as stated earlier. During the week, I will ask my family

how they think the meals taste and if they are able to replace their regular meals. Also, I'll post

how they felt at the end of the day, and overall how the program is working for them with their

lifestyle. In the end, I hope to figure out if a diverse family, with a busy lifestyle, can be healthy

and vegan.

PRESENTATION

My presentation will essentially be composed of three parts, which include my blog, recipe

book, and what I will be saying out loud. When I first get a viewer, I will explain to them about

my vegan program. For example, I will state to them why I chose this topic for my project and

what importance it has to me. After this, I will share the blog with them, so they can further

understand how the process unfolded. Then I will talk to them about how I was able to balance

the meals and what research it took me in order to successfully do this. As I speak about nutrition
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facts of each of the recipes, the viewer will be looking at my recipe book, so that they can get a

visual representation of what the food looked like once it was prepared. To conclude my

presentation, I will give the them some insight as to what the pros and cons are of a healthy

vegan diet. Of course, I will let them end the presentation with questions and comments. Overall,

I aim to provide the viewer with enough information and details about a vegan diet that they

could one day try it themselves.

FINAL OUTCOME

My goal is to successfully prove that a vegan diet is healthy and doable. I want to show

people that they dont have to shy away from being vegan just because someone told them that

they wouldnt be able to receive all the nutrients that they were supposed to. Veganism is an

efficient way to have a healthier lifestyle, as the option to eat most junk food is simply

eliminated. As a bonus, I will do my best to choose meals that are appetizing. This can hopefully

convey the message that a vegan diet can be a way for someone to give back to the environment

and their body, while still enjoying it.

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Bibliography

Von Alt , S. (2015, January 15). Veganism: Taking the World by Storm. Retrieved September
13, 2017, from https://www.mercyforanimals.org/veganism-taking-the-world-by-storm
Vegan Diet Increasing In Canada: 1 in 3 Canadians Eating Less Meat! (2017, June 03). Retrieved
September 13, 2017, from http://www.canfitness.com/vegetarianvegan-diet-increasing-in-canada-1-in-3-
canadians-eating-less-meat/
Duncan, E. (n.d.). Topic: Vegan and Vegetarian Diet Trends in Canada. Retrieved September 13, 2017,
from https://www.statista.com/topics/3262/vegan-vegetarian-diets-in-canada/
Microbiome. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2017, from https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/microbiome/
Marcus , E. (n.d.). The Ultimate Vegan Guide: Compassionate Living Without Sacrifice. Retrieved
September 13, 2017, from https://www.vegan.com/ultimate-vegan-guide
Try This Tasty Two-Week Vegan Meal Plan From PETA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2017, from
https://www.peta.org/living/food/two-week-vegan-meal-plan/
6 Science-Based Health Benefits of Eating Vegan. (2016, September 23). Retrieved September 13, 2017,
from http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegan-diet-benefits#section3
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Capstone Timeline
Expected Completion Date Project or Assignment Date Completed

Sept, 18 Capstone Formal Proposal

Sept, 19 Make Hypothesis
Oct,2 Do research on what each
meal should have included.
Ex: How many calories,
protein, vitamins etc.
Oct, 9 Choose recipes according to
the research.
Oct, 9 Show how the recipes contain
the certain components
needed in order for them to
be considered balanced.
(Basically, prove my
research)
Oct, 23 Complete a professional
research paper on all the
information that you have
gained on the nutritional
components of the one-week
vegan plan.
Oct, 30 Make a vegan blog, showing
all the recipes that I will be
using from day one to day
seven. Also include some
nutritional facts about the
recipes and why I chose them
Oct, 31 Make grocery list for all the
ingredients needed to make
the meals.
Nov, 4 Buy groceries.

Nov, 6 Prep meals.

Nov, 13 Do one-week vegan program

with family, while updating
the blog daily on how it is
going.
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Nov, 20 Do a concluding blog post

that explains how the process
went and what the pros and
cons were of the family vegan
program.
Nov, 20 Make sure the blog is ready
to present for the
presentation.
Dec, 31 Make a recipe book with all
the recipes that were used in
the program, to show others
during presentation.
Dec, 31 Poster on balancing vegan
meals: more of the research
portion.

Dec, 31 Prepare what I am going to

say and present for the
presentation.
Jan, 17 Presentation.