From belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Gillian Killiner of 121 Dietitian answers frequently asked questions about a vegan diet
Is a well balanced vegan diet healthy?
This is a big question! Yes, a vegan diet can be created to be healthy. It does take a certain amount of planning and knowledge of what you need to include daily. You also need to understand the fundamentals of what is healthy.
It is easy to fall into the trap of visiting the endless aisles in the supermarket and picking up the packaged vegan food and living off this thinking this is better for you. I see this all the time in my clinics, not only clients who have become vegan, but coeliacs, keto, low carbs. Most packaged foods are a no-no.
I would be asking the question what do you consider to be a well-balanced diet? Everyone’s needs vary so this may not necessarily be correct for that individual due to lifestyle factors, mass-farming methods, activity, health, genetic variations, and lack of knowledge. Eating a balanced vegan diet from a textbook you may still fall short of key micro and macro nutrients.
Vitamin B12, iron, vitamin D3, omega 3, iodine and calcium would be the main vitamins and minerals being missed, but all macro and micronutrients can be incorrectly consumed.
Vitamin B12 is found in animal produce, if wishing to consume with food you can add 1-2 tbsp of nutritional yeast to a meal or you can consume fortified B12 foods.
Iron again is easily absorbed from animal produce but when consumed in a vegan diet from spinach, nuts, peas, pulses, lentils, raisins, and iron-fortified cereals, additional consideration to this absorption is required.
Calcium supplements or drinking teas and coffees or eating high phytate foods like wholegrains can block iron absorption. Additional vitamin C rich foods can assist.
Vitamin D3 is not only a vitamin but a hormone and is required for multiple actions in the body. It is difficult for all populations especially in the northern hemispheres to achieve a sufficient intake from diet alone so safe sun usage and supplements would be necessary.
Omega 3 is an essential fat that we need for multi-cellular and brain function. Oily fish is the main source so a vegan would be needing to consume nuts, seeds, avocado and oils or a supplement.
Iodine is found mostly in animal proteins and seaweed, essential for thyroid function. Insufficient levels can lead to hypothyroidism, soy milk, potatoes, seaweed, and prunes provide iodine in a vegan diet.
Calcium is essential for heart, muscle and bone health. Non animal based sources include — tofu, tempeh, seeds, green leafy vegetables like sprouts and peas.
Bar the expected, are any other food groups a problem?
All food groups when eaten in incorrect proportions can lead to longer term health issues, weight gain, depression, poor sleep, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease...
This can occur if a vegan has limited tastes or makes poor food choices. It is easy to get up and go to bed eating junk food vegan or non-vegan.
A good example is the explosion in the last few years of fast-food companies selling vegan options including burgers, ice creams etc. When I qualified 25 years ago, vegans were considered as a minority group eating beans and rice and a bit wacky!
The fundamentals of any eating plan are to choose good quality, colourful foods, providing sufficient proteins, healthy fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals, fatty acids and antioxidants.
Would you recommend vegans taking supplements or can all vitamin/mineral intake be ingested through food?
Not all but many people will need to supplement with key nutrients as they will find it difficult to achieve all they need from a vegan diet. Again, I see problems daily with clients/patients assuming if they are taking a high dose multivitamin and mineral supplement it is like an insurance policy so that they can eat and drink what they like.
Unfortunately, this is far from true, and I have had some unfortunate referrals for patients with liver damage due to incorrect supplementation.
I am a supplement specialist and require blood testing to ensure the correct levels are achieved for each individual before selecting the best most natural nutrient in supplementation form. Monitoring of these supplements is also required to ensure not too much or too little is consumed.
Is it possible to get adequate amounts of protein?
Yes, you can meet your average protein requirements following a vegan diet. It can be difficult for some people to do this, and I do see this frequently in clinic in which patients are resorting to multiple vegan protein shakes to make up sub-optimal nutritional choices.
This is not ideal and can be an unhealthy way to live. A certain amount of additional protein from shakes can assist if you have high metabolic needs due to muscle mass, size, activity.
Picking powders that are as natural as possible is preferable.
Vegan proteins come from multiple foods and include tofu, tempeh, seitan, quinoa, nuts, seeds, pulses, beans, lentils, grains, vegetables.
See 121dietitian.com for more. Speak to your doctor before beginning a new or different regime.
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