Common Vegan Deficiencies and How to Avoid or Overcome Them

Vegans often spend so much time advocating against animal cruelty, promoting environmental sustainability and basically focusing on all other aspects of the vegan lifestyle that we forget to pay attention to the most vital part of being vegan - nutrition! 

We sometimes forget to be mindful about our diet, consume vegan junk and fast food, while ignoring our body’s need for a balanced variety of nutrients. This can lead to health problems later on which detracts from the joy that comes with a vegan lifestyle. 

But then again, this is something that happens to everyone, not just vegans. At one time or another, we all lose sight of taking care of our own needs, especially when we’re so focused  on making the world a better place. It’s part of being human. 

The good news is that you can take steps to create more balance in your life and overcome this common slip-up. One way is to stay informed about the types of foods that one should consume in order to get the necessary nutrients for a healthy body. 

Below is a list of essential vitamins and minerals and the plant based sources for these nutrients. The list is excerpted from a medical journal article which was written by a Dr Winton J Craig of the American Journal of Clinical Research, titled “Health Effects of Vegan Diets”:

B12: 

‘Vitamin B12 is needed for cell division and blood formation. Neither plants nor animals make vitamin B12. Bacteria are responsible for producing vitamin B12. Animals get their vitamin B12 from eating foods contaminated with vitamin B12 and then the animal becomes a source of vitamin B12. Plant foods do not contain vitamin B12 except when they are contaminated by microorganisms or have vitamin B12 added to them. Thus, vegans need to look to fortified foods or supplements to get vitamin B12 in their diet. Although recommendations for vitamin B12 are very small, a vitamin B12 deficiency is a very serious problem leading ultimately to irreversible nerve damage. Prudent vegans will include sources of vitamin B12 in their diets. Vitamin B12 is especially important in pregnancy and lactation and for infants and children.’ To avoid B-12 deficiency, it is recommended that vegans should regularly consume vitamin B-12–fortified foods, such as certain breakfast cereals and B-12–fortified nutritional yeast (which you can mix in with other ingredients in smoothies), or take a daily vitamin B-12 supplement.  (Vitamin B12 in the Vegan Diet by Dr Reed Mangels Phd.; http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.php)

Calcium: 

To ensure adequate calcium in the diet, calcium-fortified plant foods such as ready-to-eat cereals should be regularly consumed in addition to consuming the traditional calcium sources for a vegan (green leafy vegetables, tofu, and tahini). Other foods that are high in calcium include broccoli, kale, almonds, and mustard greens.

Vitamin D:

“Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health, as well as in immune, nerve and muscle function. In addition, it may play a role in protecting against cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and depression.” (http://oldwayspt.org/programs/oldways-vegetarian-network/vegetarian-vitamin-d-food-sources)  To ensure an adequate vitamin D status, especially during the winter, vegans must regularly consume vitamin D–fortified foods such as rice milk, orange juice, breakfast cereals, margarines that are fortified with vitamin D, and plenty of sunshine. Where fortified foods are unavailable, a daily supplement of 5–10 μg vitamin D would be necessary.            

N-3 fatty acid: 

A vegan should regularly consume plant foods naturally rich in the n–3 fatty acid ALA, such as ground flaxseed, walnuts, fermented soy products, chia seeds, and hemp seed–based beverages.                                                                                                                                          

Zinc: 

Because of the high phytate content of a typical vegan diet, it is important that a vegan consume foods that are rich in zinc, such as whole grains (e.g. oats), legumes, nuts, seeds and soy products, to provide a sufficient zinc intake. Benefit could also be obtained by vegans consuming fortified ready-to-eat cereals and other zinc-fortified foods.                                              

Protein: 

Almost all foods contain at least a small amount of protein. Whole grains, beans, legumes, quinoa, nuts, tofu and seeds are all great sources of protein. A simple peanut butter and banana sandwich on 2 slices of whole grain bread contains 18-22g of protein. By eating a variety of plant based foods, a vegan diet can meet and exceed recommended protein intakes. For someone following a predominantly plant based diet, it is recommended to have an intake of 0.9 grams per kilogram of body weight. It should be noted that very active people may require more protein to support their level of activity. 

Multivitamin: 

Another tip would be to supplement your diet with a high-quality multivitamin. This will help to ensure that you aren’t lacking any nutrients, even if you’re not eating as well as you’d like to eat.

I hope that this list has helped at least one person to start travelling the road to better health. As you can see, one need only take simple measures in order to overcome some of the most common health deficiencies that can affect plant based eaters.