How Going Vegan Helped Me Survive Chronic Liver Disease

Meet Aaron! Aaron Calder guest blogs for The Skinny Food Co and opens up about his chronic liver disease diagnosis and how going Vegan impacted his health.

February 2022 will mark my 6 year vegan anniversary and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it! I went from vegetarian to vegan after watching a couple of documentaries “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” and “Forks Over Knives”.

As a vegetarian I thought I was super healthy and my diet was cruelty-free but it was far from the truth. The documentaries opened my eyes to the health benefits of a plant-based diet and after doing my own research I thought I’d give it a go for a couple of weeks to see if I felt the benefits.

I was almost certain I couldn’t live without cheese and that I’d become unwell from the lack of protein and other vital nutrients we are led to believe we can only get from meat and dairy. I’m also very fussy with food and expected to get bored by eating a restricted diet.

After a slow two weeks, a couple of mistakes (why do they put milk powder in everything?) it got easier and I was hooked and there was no turning back. I didn’t miss cheese or eggs and found you could turn almost any meal vegan.

A new diet had me experimenting in the kitchen and “Aaron Calder Vegan” the vegan blogger was born. I started posting on Instagram and my following took off and inspired me to try more unique recipes.

I’d been suffering with chronic liver disease since 2012 and after just a few weeks on my new diet I started to notice I had more energy, my moods improved, I was losing excess weight, my hair and nails grew thicker, skin clearer and I was more alert.

After a routine check-up with my specialist they couldn’t believe my test results. My blood pressure and cholesterol were perfect and my liver was functioning better than ever.

This made me even more determined to stick to the diet. In the 5 years since that original check up my liver health has gone from strength to strength and scans have showed massive improvements with my cirrhosis. As I was feeling so good I joined the gym in April 2021 and have been almost every day. This was something I never thought would be possible due to my diagnosis.

Most people think vegans live off lentils and salad but the choices are now limitless. I love a cooked breakfast of scrambled tofu (tastes like egg) on sourdough toast, waffles and pancakes.

The Skinny Billionaire Shortbread Syrup goes perfectly with pancakes, waffles, porridge and helps keep me on track with my calories. I’m a bit of a coffee addict and you can’t beat a filter coffee made with barista oat milk and Skinny Cookie Dough Syrup.

For lunch I tend to have a smoothie/shake where I blend as many nutrient dense foods as I can to drink. This is almost always a mix of oats, banana, protein powder, wheatgrass, spirulina, ginger, turmeric and seeds.

When I need a snack I’ll have a cereal bar or peanut butter on toast. Dinner is my favourite meal of the day and I’ll have something different every evening. Dinner ranges from Buddha bowls, pasta, burgers, pizzas, steak and chips (yes vegan steak exists), burgers, stir-fry's and curries.

What I love about a vegan diet is when I make each meal not only are there many different ingredients that I can use, from beans, tofu, lentils to mock meats and they are normally always healthier. I avoid using processed foods and stick to wholegrains and lots of fresh veggies.

I love to treat myself with a slice of one of my cheesecakes which I make with creamed cashews and dark chocolate. I also make a mean chocolate cake which I’m told is better than a regular cake made with eggs and dairy.

I always tell people that going vegan is one of the best choices I ever made, just by changing what I eat has a huge impact on my health, environment and of course animal welfare. Why not try it for a couple of weeks and I bet you’ll never look back like me.

Follow Aaron

Instagram: @aaroncaldervegan

Website: https://aaroncaldervegan.com/

YouTube: Aaron Calder Vegan