
Famous vegan blogger Virpi Mikkonen made a living from creating beautiful and delicious plant-based meals and sharing recipes on her Instagram page – which has amassed more than 165k followers.
But she’s joined a list of high-profile vegan influencers who have ditched the diet and blamed it for health issues.
Virpi has explained that she abandoned the diet as she believes it brought on early menopause – at the age of 37, which is earlier than the average age of between 45-55 years old.
She told the Daily Mail that ‘the vegan diet and my stressful lifestyle’ caused her health problems.
But Virpi was not only famous for being a vegan – she made a career from eating gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, meat-free and refined sugar-free.
Critics of the blogger say it was her ‘extreme’ raw diet which caused her illness, rather than veganism.


Illness
Virpi revealed she took a blood test as she was feeling ‘burnt out’. Results showed her follicle-stimulating hormone had skyrocketed, while she was also suffering hot flushes.
“I thought, what’s wrong with me? I am healthy, I exercise,” Virpi said. “I was really scared.”
Virpi has made a living from her vegan following, selling books and promoting products on social media.
But now she’s turned her back on the plant-based lifestyle following conversations with a Chinese medicine specialist who diagnosed a ‘yin’ deficiency.
The specialist said she needed to move away from the raw vegetables, smoothies and salads which made up the vast majority of her diet.
Ditched diet
She’s now switched to eating meat and eggs and said: “It’s amazing. I feel energetic, motivated. I’m sleeping better, the hot flushes and aching in my body have stopped.”
Her periods have now returned and she says eating animal products has been the main driver.
Speaking about veganism, she said: “It doesn’t work for everyone. It didn’t work for me.
“I was working a lot, I had produced four books in two years. It was crazy. No wonder I had burn-out.
“Some people need animal products for them to be healthy. No one diet is going to suit everyone.”
Vegans slammed the bloggers approach to quitting veganism on social media.



What do you think of Virpi Mikkonen’s decision to abandon veganism? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Bear Grylls ’embarrassed’ by past vegan diet promotes meat, blood, and bone marrow for better health
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 15th May 2023
“I’ve tried to listen to my body more, tried to listen to nature, and I don’t miss vegetables at all. I don’t go near them, and I’ve never felt stronger, my skin’s never been better, and my gut’s never been better.” Adventurer and TV presenter Bear Grylls has become a die-hard carnivore fan after admitting …
Pro-farming group mocks plant-based food truck for setting up a stall at horse trials
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 12th May 2023
A plant-based food business has sparked an online debate after a pro-farming page mocked it for doing no sales at a recently held horse event. Farmers Against Misinformation posted an image of a plant-based food van on Facebook and wrote alongside it: “The only food stand with no queue today at the Badminton Horse Trials.” …
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …
Continue reading “QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert”
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a …
Continue reading “QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?”
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …