A Balanced Vegan Diet in 3 Easy Steps

Cinzia Cuneo April 4, 2017 Health, Vegan, Vegetarian

Veganism is increasingly on trend, just look at the number of vegan restaurants and shops opening their doors. This “extreme” version of vegetarianism forbids the consumption of any product containing animals or animal derivatives. That means no meat, gelatin, dairy, eggs, or honey. Some adepts don’t even wear animal products, so no wool or silk clothes, or leather accessories.

From a nutritional point of view, a vegan diet can certainly bring adequate nutrition, with all the important vitamins and minerals the body needs, but there is a risk of deficiencies. Planning is important when you embark on this type of diet, in order to ensure you’re eating the necessary nutrients for optimum health.

1. Eat enough protein

Photo: “Quinoa”, Rose224, ©

Vegans need to replace their animal sources of protein with vegetarian sources such as:

• Soya and soya products: tofu, tempeh, edamame, enriched soya milk
• Legumes: lentils, peas and beans, chickpeas, etc.
• Meat-free alternatives: vegetarian mince, or veggie ground, also known as “meat-free”, found in veggie-burgers and veggie-dogs.
• Wholegrain cereals: quinoa, buckwheat, spelt, barley.
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, etc.

People used to focus heavily on protein complementarity—the importance of having legumes and cereals in the same meal in order to obtain all the necessary amino acids. We now know that it’s easy to do, even if you eat cereals at a different time of day.

2. Make sure you get all the necessary vitamins and minerals

The vegan diet contains plenty of fiber, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals, but it can result in some deficiencies if it isn’t well planned. The following nutrients are worth keeping an eye on:

Vitamin B12

It is only found in animal products or enriched foods like:

• Enriched soy, almond or rice milks
• Nutritional yeast
• Enriched meat-free products: vegetarian mince, vegetarian burgers (make sure your read the label)

Without enough enriched foods, vegans might need to take a B12 supplement.

Vitamin D

There aren’t many vegetarian sources of Vitamin D, except the following two:

• Soft margarine
• Enriched soya, almond or rice milk

In practice vegans should take a Vitamin D supplement. The sun is also a source of Vitamin D, of course. However, for most of the year, the sun’s rays are not powerful enough to enable us to produce enough vitamin D for our needs. That’s why vitamin D supplements are recommended. Vegetarian vitamin D supplements also exist.

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Author

Cinzia Cuneo

Cinzia Cuneo, founder of SOSCuisine.com, never wanted to neglect the quality of her food. She shares her special expertise to make good food quickly and without complications!