“It can be extremely alienating,” says Nadiah Lim, 25, who just turned vegan three months ago.

A vegan doesn’t eat meat, eggs, dairy and all other animal by-products such as honey and ghee. Some of them abstain from wearing animal products too, such as leather. In Singapore, there are very few vegans, with food bloggers Ashley Chow (VeganAsh) and Luke Otter (HungryAngMoh) to name a few.

Turning vegan in meat-loving Singapore -- and during the Hari Raya season no less -- was the biggest hurdle for her so far, she told Yahoo Singapore, during a recent interview at vegetarian and vegan restaurant Create Healthy Lifestyle at Fortune Centre on Middle Road.

Every year, Nadiah's Muslim family gathers at her aunt's place to feast on festive dishes such as Rendang and Sambal Goreng, all of which contain meat. Even the vegetable dish, Sayur Lodeh, contains shrimp paste.

As a result, Nadiah couldn’t eat most of her aunt’s delicious food anymore.

“It was very upsetting for me and I think that was the hardest hurdle that I've gone through since becoming vegan. But ever since that, I feel more determined to be a vegan,” said the undergraduate, who is pursuing a psychology degree at Northumbria University in Newcastle. She returns to Singapore during the four-month summer holidays.

Her parents have been very supportive of her new lifestyle, and are slowly learning to get used to it. For example, they are mindful of her new diet when buying back food for her.

This year, Nadiah feasted on “veganised” Hari Raya dishes she prepared herself such as Tempeh Rendang and vegan Sayur Lodeh (no shrimp paste).

Many vegans choose this lifestyle because they are against animal cruelty. However, that wasn’t how it all started for Nadiah.

View photos Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant Create Healthy Lifestyle at Fortune Centre. More

From vanity to animal cause

Before turning vegan, Nadiah was trying all sorts of diets to lose weight. She grew up overweight and was forced to join the Trim and Fit (TAF) club in secondary school.

The diets she chose never worked and some had led to more weight gain. The Atkins diet - a low carbohydrate diet programme - she once was on turned into a “disaster” because she ended up piling on more pounds, she said.

Eventually, she discovered a vegan diet online, which is widely perceived to be the “healthiest diet ever”, Nadiah said. Through her research, she learned more about the ethical reasons why people take on veganism.

“On the second or third day of being a vegan, I was watching a documentary called “Earthlings”. It’s about animal cruelty and abuse as well as factory farming that’s happening around the world,” Nadiah explained.

She feels most strongly for the cows that have been ill treated at dairy farms.

“They artificially inseminate the cows, because they have to be pregnant and give birth in order to produce milk. So they ‘rape’ the cows, and when their babies are born, they are taken away from them so that we can have their milk,” she said.

“It was so horrible, I felt really guilty,” said Nadiah, who sometimes tries to engage her parents in conversations on animal cruelty too.

‘It’s a joy to be vegan’

“It’s a joy to be vegan,” she said.

These days, she eats a lot more than before, feels healthier, and is more creative with her food. She also finds out more about the origins of her food before consuming them.

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