With articles out there like this one from Donna Fish at the Huffington Post, it’s really important vegans help to educate others about what it actually means to live meat, dairy and animal-product free.

With a headline of “Help! My Daughter’s a Vegan” only perpetuating the false belief that veganism is unhealthy and nutritionally lacking, the media is doing little-to-nothing to dig up the real health facts. What results is an empty, uninformative article that flippantly suggests a meat based diet is superior to a vegan one. This, in fact, as many vegans know, is untrue.

Rather than me bang on about how a healthy vegan diet can transform lives in so many positive, healthful ways, I think it’s best I turn to Olympic athlete Carl Lewis on the transformation he experienced when he became vegan.

“Can a world-class athlete get enough protein from a vegetarian diet to compete? I’ve found that a person does not need protein from meat to be a successful athlete. In fact, my best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet. Moreover, by continuing to eat a vegan diet, my weight is under control, I like the way I look. (I know that sounds vain, but all of us want to like the way we look.) I enjoy eating more, and I feel great. Here’s my story.”