Deficiencies

[_Andreas_]

What I should be looking out for, just to check I got all this right:
B12 (supplements)
Vitamin D(supplements, sunshine)
Vitamin K(supplements)
Vitamin E(Avocados, nuts, broccoli, supplements)

Iron (Spinach, tomatoes, parsnips,supplements)
Calcium (fortified milk, almonds, apricots, grapes, supplements)
Protein (lots of sources, take shakes for building muscles)

Anything I missed?

[emmabee69]

iodine (seaweed sources, fortified milk and other products)

Oh a note on calcuim brocolli has a high amount , so does kale

[Dave Noisy]

Zinc (pumpkin seeds)

I wouldn't worry about E or K.

Watch out eating spinich and chard, it's got oxalic acid, which inhibits calcium absorption...raisins are another good source of iron however. (And some chocolate..yum!)

Protein is a non-issue as well, unless all you're eating is sugar and vegetable oil...in which case you've got bigger problems. ;)

[_Andreas_]

[quote="Dave Noisy"]

raisins are another good source of iron however. (And some chocolate..yum!)
/quote]

Ah sorted, live off them already. If grapes are a good source of calcium are raisins as well? Actually looking at some figures I think I need to eat 2kg of raisings to get my daily calcium

if anyone is searching stuff up www.thinkvegetables.co.uk is pretty handy

[abbie]

Neck some spirulina for iron! I had trouble keeping my levels up but am now pumping on the stuff. Great also for potassium, and also calcium, chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, sodium, and zinc.

Pretty good stuff, if you can stand it!

[Muay Jin]

A vegan multi-vitamin?? problem solved.

[Dave Noisy]

Ah sorted, live off them already. If grapes are a good source of calcium are raisins as well? Actually looking at some figures I think I need to eat 2kg of raisings to get my daily calcium :shock:

if anyone is searching stuff up www.thinkvegetables.co.uk is pretty handy

Sorry, raisins are a decent source of iron, not calcium.

Raisins over grapes because they're more 'concentrated'.

Make sure you get organic tho, grapes have one of the highest concentrations of residual pesticides of all fruit.

[beforewisdom]

Get yourself a reliable guide to vegan nutrition, go through each nutrient and make sure you are eating things that have them.

Vegan Outreach's starter kit is written by Jack Norris, a registered dietician and it is free, as well a brief:

http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack/

He also runs Vegan Health, also brief, also free and also containing reliable information:

http://www.veganhealth.org

[ha]

strive for the wholefoods vegan approach over the white bread, coke and plastic sausage angle.

[Bear]

I agree about the whole foods. Very important. And as Dave Noisy said, organic is best with all foods, especially grapes and berries.

Best of luck.

[aardvarkboy]

defiecinecies,my ar$. Eat a lot and you'llbe alright.

Sproutred mung beans ... respect!

[J]

I'm ... somewhat sure that as opposed to the usual animal products diet the only thing you need to worry about more is B12 and to a lesser extent Vitamin D, calcium and possibly iron.

What this means is that IMO everyone really should take a B12 supplement (preferably liquid)(and don't rely on fortified foods), almost everyone should take a Vitamin D supplement in the winter, and people should make sure to eat healthy stuff like broccoli, beans, etc to get adequate calcium and iron. For some women especially iron is more of an issue and if that is the case, then they should make sure to get some vitamin C simultaneously to increase iron absorption.

It isn't actually too hard.... I suppose some people don't get adequate fat in general... So make sure to eat some nuts/seeds. Hummus goes really well mixed with broccoli.

[lucy bevan]

Everyone seems to have different opinions on this , so here are mine but don't shout if i miss something out.

B12 must be got from several portions of fortified foods a day or supplementation

Iodine is only found in a few vegan foods i.e. seaweed or fortified foods so if you don't eat these i'd supplement.

Calcium is a bit of a sketchy area as far as supplementation goes as a low fat diet helps bioavailability and the lower protein and higher alkalinity of vegan diets improves conservation of calcium. Also the body adapts to lower calcium intakes by increasing the rate of absorption, provided Vit D is sufficient. However as previously stated high oxalate or phytate in the diet from foods such as spinach or swiss chard impairs bioavailablity.

Vitamin D supplementation is generally not necessary if you get 5-15 minutes of sunlight exposure a day during spring, summer and autumn(fall). This provides adequate vit D over winter months. However, if you do not, or are dark skinned/Asian you may benefit from supplementation as Asian people have been found to have a blunted response to exposure to sunlight.

Selenium - research on this nutrient varies, some studies show vegan diets to be deficient, others not. Brazil nuts, other nuts, seeds, soya beans, mushrooms, grains and bananas are good sources so if you eat these you should be fine, if not supplement.

Zinc intake is usually similar to or higher than omnivores but is also inhibited by phytates. vegan sources include wholegrains, lentils, seeds, almonds and oats.

Iron- Pulses, wholegrain breads and cereals or fortified cereals are good vegan sources of iron. If eaten daily and with foods or drinks high in Vit C(glass of Orange juice, mango etc) and without foods/drinks containing tannins, oxalates and phytates(tea, spinach etc) which inhibit Iron absorption, iron levels should be OK.

Omega 3 fatty acids- linseed/flax seeds, hemp seed or walnuts or oil, sweet potatoes, soya beans, pumpkin seeds are good sources and help to balance omega 6's to omega 3's. Also using olive, rapeseed or soya oil rather than sunflower, safflower or corn oil helps.

Hope this helps a little

[erske]

Iodine is only found in a few vegan foods i.e. seaweed or fortified foods so if you don't eat these i'd supplement.

In Sweden most salt is enriched with iodine! is this not the case in other parts of the world?

[lucy bevan]

No Uk salt isn't. This is a snippet from the Vegan Society.
"Iodine is typically undesirably low (about 50 micrograms/day compared to a recommended level of about 150 micrograms per day) in UK vegan diets unless supplements, iodine rich seaweeds or foods containing such seaweeds (e.g. Vecon) are consumed. The low iodine levels in many plant foods reflects the low iodine levels in the UK soil, due in part to the recent ice-age. About half the iodine consumption in the UK comes from dairy products. In the US iodised salt is widely used and some other foods are fortified with iodine. In Canada all table salt is iodized. The UK has no iodine fortification strategy for plant foods or salt".