Adopting a plant-based diet is becoming increasingly popular as a sustainable approach to better health and well-being. Following a well-planned vegan diet can be healthy with potential benefits. However, you won't automatically be healthier just by cutting out meat. Just like any diet, it's important to get enough of the right nutrients. You need to ensure you're getting enough fluids and protein while avoiding too many high-sugar and fatty foods. You may find that you need to take vitamin supplements when following a vegan diet. Therefore, it's important to pay special attention to your nutrient intake as a vegan because it can be difficult to get enough of the vitamins and minerals that are usually provided by animal products.
Understanding Veganism and Its Nutritional Implications
The vegan diet is similar to vegetarianism in that you avoid eating animal meat. But, vegans also avoid eating or using any animal product including dairy, eggs, honey, or animal-based gelatin. Reasons for following a vegetarian diet vary but include health benefits. To get the most out of a vegetarian diet, choose a variety of healthy plant-based foods. These include whole fruits and vegetables and whole grains. At the same time, cut back on less healthy choices, including sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juices and refined grains. Keep in mind that the more foods you cut out of your diet, the harder it can be to get all the nutrients you need.
Key Vitamins and Minerals for Vegans
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B-12 is necessary to produce red blood cells and prevent anemia, a condition in which the body doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. This B vitamin helps produce blood cells. But B12 is hard to find in plant products as it's mainly in fish, shellfish, meat, and dairy products. Vitamin B-12 is found almost exclusively in animal products, so it can be difficult to get enough B-12 on a vegan diet. Even vegetarian diets fall short on B12. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may go undetected in people who eat a vegan diet, because the vegan diet is rich in a vitamin called folate that can mask vitamin B-12 deficiency. This vitamin cannot be obtained naturally in a diet without animal foods. If you don't eat meat, dairy products, or eggs, you will need to take a daily supplement, or consume foods fortified with B12 consistently. The only scientifically proven way for vegans to reach these levels is by consuming B12-fortified foods or taking a vitamin B12 supplement. B12-fortified foods commonly include plant milks, soy products, breakfast cereals, and nutritional yeast. Some plant foods seem to contain a form of vitamin B12 naturally, but there’s still debate on whether this form is active in humans. What’s more, no scientific evidence supports depending on unwashed organic produce as a reliable source of vitamin B12. Nutritional yeast only contains vitamin B12 when fortified. However, vitamin B12 is light-sensitive and may degrade if bought from or stored in clear plastic bags. It’s important to keep in mind that vitamin B12 is best absorbed in small doses. Thus, the less frequently you ingest vitamin B12, the more you need to take. This is why vegans who are unable to reach the recommended daily intake using fortified foods should opt for a daily supplement providing 25-100 mcg of cyanocobalamin or a weekly dosage of 2,000 mcg. Finally, your ability to absorb vitamin B12 decreases with age. Therefore, the Institute of Medicine recommends that everyone over the age of 51 - vegan or not - consider fortified foods or a vitamin B12 supplement.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is another essential vitamin for everyone. Vitamin D also plays an important role in bone health. It helps your body absorb calcium and supports bone growth. Your body does produce vitamin D itself if you’re exposed to sunlight. The sunshine vitamin may be obtained through regular exposure to sun (about 5 to 30 minutes a couple of times per week); fortified foods like orange juice, dairy products, or plant-based milk; oily fish such as salmon and tuna; and mushrooms exposed to light. People who don't eat enough fortified foods and have limited sun exposure may want to talk with a health care provider about vitamin D supplements. You can consider a supplement if you fall short. Vitamin D deficiency is a problem among vegans and omnivores alike. Vegans unable to maintain normal blood levels through fortified foods and sun exposure should consider taking a supplement.
Calcium
Calcium helps build and maintain strong teeth and bones. This mineral helps strengthen your bones and keeps them healthy. If you're a vegetarian, you can find abundant calcium in dairy products such as low-fat, plain yogurt. Milk and dairy foods are highest in calcium. Dark green vegetables are good plant sources if you eat enough of them. Examples include turnip and collard greens, kale and broccoli. Other options include calcium-enriched and fortified products. To get enough calcium, make sure to eat soybeans, dark leafy greens, and fortified alternative milks or juices. Try to get two or three servings per day of calcium-rich plant foods and consider taking a supplement if you fall short. Vegans consuming too little dietary calcium should consider taking a daily supplement. This is especially important for those getting less than 525 mg per day.
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Iron
Iron is important to red blood cells. Iron is important for producing new blood cells and carrying oxygen throughout your body. Dried beans and peas, lentils, enriched cereals, whole-grain products, dark leafy green vegetables, and dried fruit are sources of iron. For more iron in your vegan diet, eat beans, broccoli, wheat, and tofu. But the body doesn't absorb iron from plant sources as easily as animal sources. So the recommended intake of iron for vegetarians is almost double that recommended for nonvegetarians. To help your body absorb iron from plants, eat foods rich in vitamin C at the same time as you're eating iron-containing foods. Vegans not getting enough iron from their diets should consider fortified foods or a supplement. However, overly high levels can be harmful, and iron supplements are not recommended for everyone.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
These important fatty acids support your heart and brain function, and you can find them in flaxseed meal or flaxseed oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, canola oil, soy oil, walnuts, ground flaxseed and soybeans. Vegetarian diets that do not include fish may be low in two types of omega-3 fatty acids called DHA and EPA. Some evidence suggests that taking in EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may lower the risk for heart disease. Also, these two omega-3s may be important during pregnancy for fetal development. Research on other health effects of EPA and DHA varies. Vegans tend to have lower blood and tissue levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Therefore, they may benefit from supplementing with EPA and DHA.
Iodine
Thyroid hormones are made partly of iodine. Getting enough iodine is crucial for healthy thyroid function, which controls your metabolism. Thyroid hormones help control the body's metabolism and play an important role in muscle growth. Iodine can easily be added to food by using iodized salt. Seafood and dairy also are sources of iodine. People who do not eat seafood or dairy may be at risk of iodine deficiency if they do not use iodized salt. Iodine deficiency can lead to the thyroid getting bigger as it tries to meet the body's need for thyroid hormones. When that happens to the thyroid it's called goiter. Vegans are considered at risk of iodine deficiency, and studies report that vegans have up to 50% lower blood iodine levels than vegetarians. Vegans not getting enough iodine from seaweed or iodized salt should consider taking an iodine supplement.
Zinc
Zinc helps the body make proteins and grow cells. Like iron, zinc is not as easily absorbed from plant sources as it is from animal products. Fish, including crab and shrimp, are sources of zinc for pescatarians. Cheese and yogurt are sources of zinc if you eat dairy products. Plant sources include whole grains, soy products, lentils, beans, nuts and wheat germ. Vegans unable to reach the zinc RDA should first focus on adding zinc-rich foods to their diets. Those with low blood levels of zinc should consider taking a daily supplement.
Protein
While it's not a vitamin, it's important to get enough protein in a vegan diet. Protein helps keep skin, bones, muscles and organs healthy. Eggs and dairy products are good sources, and you don't need to eat large amounts to meet your protein needs. Good sources of protein include ingredients like beans, soy products, nuts, seeds, and cereals (oats, wheat, rice). Eating a variety of plant-based foods throughout the day also can provide enough protein.
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Multivitamins for Vegans: A Convenient Option
As a vegan, or mostly plant-based eater, you may benefit from supplementing your diet with a few key nutrients. Generally speaking, vegan diets tends to be naturally low in a few nutrients. These include vitamin B12, vitamin D, long-chain omega-3 fats and iodine. Getting these nutrients from food is more advantageous than getting them from supplements. However, it will lack all the other nutrients beans will offer. Multivitamins may feel like an easy alternative to taking several pills each day. Nutrients sometimes compete for absorption. For instance, high calcium levels in a multivitamin can reduce iron absorption. Many multivitamins provide superdoses of nutrients. Levels may be too low for some nutrients. In sum Vegan diets are naturally low in certain nutrients. Multivitamins can help fill some of the gaps. Which nutrients to supplement will depend on various factors. For instance, your age, life-stage, and the quality of your diet.
There are plenty of vegan multivitamins on the market. However, they do vary in quality. I used to prefer taking individual supplements over multivitamins. That’s because individual supplements make it easier to take the exact dosage you need of each individual nutrient you need, while forgoing the nutrients you don’t need. That said, multivitamins are often cheaper than individual supplements. Taking a multivitamin rather than single supplements can also help reduce the amount of pills you need to take each day. Over the last few years, I’ve discovered a few multivitamins that would offer me the right combination and amounts of supplements I’d otherwise take individually. And that, without containing all sorts of other nutrients I don’t necessarily need. Therefore, I’ve since come around to the idea of multivitamins.
Choosing the Right Vegan Multivitamin
Here are a few criteria’s to keep in mind when evaluating the quality of a vegan multivitamin (or any other vegan supplement):
- Check the label: Make sure it includes the nutrients that are more difficult to get on a vegan diet. For more information on the vitamins and minerals I’m referring to as well as the daily recommended amounts needed, check out my vegan supplements article.
- Avoid iron, unless truly needed.
- Avoid superdoses: Pick a multivitamin that provides only up to the daily reference intake (DRI) of each nutrient listed on the label.
- Double-check whether your multivitamin has been independently tested.
- Minimize additives and fillers: Try to pick a multivitamin that has as little additives and fillers as possible.
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