This Is What Veggan Means

2 minute read

Nope, there’s no typo in “veggan.” As you undoubtedly know, vegans (one g) are people who don’t eat any animal products at all: No meat, fish, dairy, eggs—even honey is off limits.

But veggans? They are vegans who eat eggs.

This movement within a movement appears to be gaining steam. A search for #veggan on Instagram yields more than 5,000 posts. Many are recipes, though some, as you might’ve guessed, are vegans ranting against veggans, usually in all caps.

Health.com: 12 Things You Need to Know Before Going Vegan

So what’s the story with veggans?

“As people become more interested and aware of how food affects both their health as well as the environment, plant-based diets, including veganism, are becoming more and more popular and mainstream,” Alissa Rumsey, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Yahoo Health. “Veganism may be appealing to people, but many find that it is too restrictive.”

So if you’re worried about getting enough protein, the veggan diet could be a better choice for you. Food writer Vicky Anne Hadley had been eating veggan for two years before she realized it was a thing. When the DailyMail quoted her in a story about the veggan trend, she explained to her Instagram followers, “I like the vegan diet but I work out a lot and want to get enough protein in my diet so I also sometimes eat eggs as I enjoy them.”

Health.com: 14 Best Vegan and Vegetarian Protein Sources

Of course, vegans argue that there are plenty of ways to eat protein without eating animal products—from chickpeas to quinoa to nut butters. But no matter how you get the essential nutrient, it’s fun to speculate about the next trendy group: #seagans?

This article originally appeared on Health.com

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