Is a vegetarian/vegan diet good? This is one of the most common questions asked by followers of a plant-based diet.

“Where do you get the protein?”

Vegetarian protein

The little known truth about protein is that most of us eat much more protein than our body needs. And how much is needed?

Recommended norms: 0.66-0.8 g / kg weight (for meat eater). For vegetarians, the norm is higher, since vegetable protein is absorbed worse: 1.2-1.4 g / kg, for vegetarian athletes – up to 1.8 g / kg.

Of particular importance is the amino acid lysine. It is known that it is low in cereal proteins, but more than enough in soy, tofu, pace, legumes, pistachios and quinoa.

Sources of protein for vegans: soybeans, legumes, nuts

Legumes are a very wide group of products:

• Black bean
• White beans
• Pinto Beans
• Chickpeas
• Peas
• Green pea
• Lentils
• Peanut

Whole grains, brown rice also contain a small amount of protein, but the leader among them is quinoa (1 cup boiled quinoa = 8 g of protein).

A large amount of protein contains the gluten product Seitan and specially prepared vegan protein powders.

A daily diet may include 2-3 servings of high-lysine protein foods, such as boiled beans ½ cup, soy milk (1 cup), peanuts (1/4 cup), or quinoa (boiled, 1 cup), tofu (100- 150 g), pistachios (1/4 cup).

Vitamin D for Vegetarians

Recent studies show that vitamin D affects health more significantly than previously thought. It is known that the level of D depends on how much it comes from food, and also on whether a person receives enough sunlight, since the vitamin is synthesized under the influence of ultraviolet radiation.

There are two forms of this vitamin – D2 and D3, D2 (ergocalciferol) is suitable for vegetarians. According to the recommendations of vegetarian nutritionists, if you do not receive enough sunlight (and that day when you do not receive) and do not eat enough vitamin-rich food, D should be taken as an additive: from 15 to 25 mcg per day (600-1000 ME).

Recommended Vitamin D2 For Vegetarians

• 0-12 months 400
• 1-70 years old 600-1000
• over 70 years old 800-2000

Note. A 2003 study by American doctors showed that femoral neck fractures in older women are even more dependent on D than on calcium.

Vegetarian Calcium

Children need a lot of calcium as long as they grow, but adults also need calcium, because their bones must also be healthy and strong! If you smoke, then the need for calcium increases, since in this case it is poorly absorbed. Besides the fact that calcium is needed to maintain bones, it is necessary for the normal functioning of blood vessels and muscles.

Recommendations for adults – 700 mg (minimum 525), for children and adolescents – 1000-1300 mg. If you are lactic and allow yourself dairy products, no problems should arise. Vegans need to make some extra effort. For example, in plant foods rich in calcium, add vitamin-enriched soy milk (1 cup contains 200-300 mg of calcium) or orange juice (250 mg). To get the required amount of vitamin from food, you need 3 servings of foods rich in calcium.

Here are some calcium-rich plant foods you can try: spinach, kale, white cabbage, soy milk, sesame seeds, tahini, broccoli, almonds, carrots, rice.

Important:

• If you drink soy milk or calcium-fortified orange juice, shake the bottle before use, as calcium has a habit of settling to the bottom.
• Calcium contained in chard and spinach is absorbed worse than in other leafy vegetables.
• Calcium supplements, if taken simultaneously with iron-rich foods, interfere with the absorption of iron.
• Recommended Calcium Intake: 700-1000 mcg

Vegetarian iron

British nutrition researchers have found that the iron level of vegetarians and vegans in the UK is on average no less than that of the general population. It turns out that on a vegetarian diet you can get enough iron. And this despite the fact that the bioavailability of iron contained in plant foods is less than in animal.

What foods contain iron? It is enough in tofu, lentils, spinach, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, dried apricots, raisins, peas, soy, chickpeas, hummus, oatmeal, and other legumes and grains. Some of these legumes contain lysine, an amino acid that helps iron absorption.

Vitamin B12 for vegans

B12 is a very important vitamin for a person who is involved in the process of blood formation and on which the activity of the nervous system depends. Vitamin B12 is responsible for the correct cell growth and reproduction of their genetic information and is involved in the secretion of important hormones.

There are a few things that vegans should definitely know about B12:

• There is not a single plant product (unless it is specially enriched) that has a sufficient content of this vitamin.
• Lacto-ovo-vegetarians get enough of it from eggs and dairy products if they are consumed regularly.
• Vegans can get some B12 from their fortified foods: soy and rice drinks, Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula, and breakfast cereal.

Note. Yeast should be stored in a refrigerator, away from light.

Our body is able to store B12 for a number of years, so if you have become a strict vegetarian recently, you have enough reserves of this vitamin.

The best content of vitamin B12 in the body is determined by measuring the level of homocysteine, methylmalonic acid and holotranscobalamin II in the blood serum.

With vitamin B12, it is better to play it safe and take it as an additive.

Vitamin B12-fortified foods should be stored in the refrigerator, away from light.

Recommended daily allowance B12

• 14+ years 25-100
• Pregnant 25-100
• Lactating 30-100

Iodine in a vegetarian diet

Some vegan nutritionists believe that iodine supplements should be included in the diet. This is explained by the fact that plant food itself is poor in iodine, their content varies in sea vegetables (kelp, for example, may contain an excessive amount of iodine, which leads to dangerous overdoses), and iodized salt can be consumed only in small quantities in view of that salt abuse is fraught with the development of several serious diseases. In addition, soy, flax seeds, potatoes and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and white cabbage) contain substances that are antagonistic to the absorption of iodine by the body, which, however, does not lead to the development of hypothyroidism (according to the study).

Recommended iodine intake for an adult: 75-150 mcg, every 2-3 days

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Vegetarian diets are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, but they lack omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Meanwhile, the latter are very important for the health of the cardiovascular system, brain and other body systems. Omega-3 acids (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are found in fatty fish, eggs, and marine microalgae, which means they aren’t or not enough in a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Recommended dosage of omega-3 fatty acids: 2 to 4 grams per day

It is recommended to include in the daily diet 0.5 g of alpha-linolenic acid in its raw form. For instance:

• 3 halves of walnuts
• 1 tsp ground flax seeds
• 1/4 tsp linseed oil
• 1 tsp rapeseed oil

Zinc

There is an opinion that in a vegetarian diet there is not enough zinc (plant zinc has a low bioavailability), but there are debates around the recommended norms. Good sources of vitamin are oatmeal, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grain bread, and multivitamin supplements.