The Vegan

A vegan diet requires some creative planning. A real effort must be made to use grains and legumes to yield high-quality protein and other key nutrients in meals especially when used with infants and children. Then, if energy needs are satisfied, protein needs should also be met. Including a wide variety of protein sources should provide all amino acids needed for a high-quality protein diet. The essential amino acids deficient in one food protein are supplied by those of another protein source consumed at the same meal or the next. For example, many legumes do not provide enough of the essential amino acid methionine, and cereals are limited in lysine. When a combination of these two foods is eaten, the body is supplied with adequate amounts of both amino acids, so cereals and legumes complement each other.

Purchasing some vegetarian cookbooks will simplify the task of menu planning. They provide numerous ideas for imaginative and nutritious ways to use plant foods. The vegan diet must also include good sources of riboflavin, vitamins D and B-12, calcium, iron, and zinc. A typical ready-to-eat breakfast cereal provides a good start in meeting those needs. Riboflavin can be obtained from green leafy vegetables, whole grains, yeast, and legumes, part of most vegan diets. A major source of riboflavin in the typical North American diet is milk, which is omitted from the vegan diet. Vitamin D can be obtained through regular sun exposure and fortified margarine. Otherwise, a supplemental source of vitamin D should be considered.

The vegon should find a reliable source of vitamin B-12, such as fortified soybean milk or ready-t-eat breakfast cereals and special yeast grown on media rich in vitamin B-12 occurs naturally only in animal foods, although plants can contain soil or microbial contamination that provides at most trace amount of vitamin B-12. Because the body can store enough vitamin B-12 deficiency is mental dysfunction; a prolonged deficiency can lead to irreversible nerve damage. Excess blood concentration of homocysteine has also been noted in vegans who underconsume vitamin B-12. This can lead to other health problems. Therefore, vegans need to be careful prevent a vitamin B-12 deficiency.

To obtain calcium, the vegan can drink fortified soy milk or fortified orange juice and consume calcium-rich tofu (check the label) or other calcium-fortified foods, such as certain ready-to-eat breakfast cereals and snacks. Green leafy vegetables and nuts also contain calcium, but the calcium is either not well absorbed or not very plentiful. Calcium supplements are another option.

For iron, the vegon can consume whole grains, dried fruits and nuts, and legumes. The iron in these foods is not absorbed as well as that found in animal foods, but a good source of vitamin C token with these foods modestly enhances iron absorption. Thus, a recommended strategy is to consume vitamin C with every meal that contains adequate iron-rich plant foods. Cooking in iron pats and skillets can also add iron to the diet.

The vegan can find zinc in whole grains, nuts, and legumes, but phytic acid and other substances in these foods limit zinc absorption. Grains are most nutritious when leavened, as in bread, because this process reduces the influence of phytic acid.

Of all these nutrients, calcium is the most difficult to consume in sufficient quantities. Special diet planning is required, as even a multivitamin and mineral supplement will not supply enough.

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