Vegan Nutrition – How to Get All Your Required Nutrients from A Vegan Diet

Vegan Nutrition

It seems like it’s the latest trend to go vegan. However, it’s not just a trend but a full-on lifestyle change for many people. Going vegan is thought to be beneficial for the environment, your health, and animal welfare. As a bodybuilder or athlete, you may be concerned that if you take on vegan diet, you won’t be able to get all the nutrients you need from vegan foods. However, the idea that vegan nutrition is harder than regular nutrition isn’t entirely accurate provided you have the right supplements. Read on to find out how to get all your required nutrients from a vegan diet.

Iron

How can you get enough iron into your diet without the high intake of red meat that you’re used to? Luckily, it’s really easy for vegans to get iron from plant-based foods – likely much easier than you’d expect.

You need iron in your body because it is an essential mineral that is responsible for oxygen flow throughout the body. Iron is contained in haemoglobin which is in your red blood cells and takes oxygen from the lungs and transports it throughout the entire body. Without enough iron intake, you may find that you’re lacking red blood cells and that can result in anaemia. Symptoms of anaemia include dizziness, tiredness, and lack of energy.

Tofu, raisins, wheat, and broccoli are all fantastic plant-based sources of iron. Eating enough of these will stimulate your red blood cell production and avoid anaemia and the associated symptoms.

Vitamin B 12

A crucial vitamin that also helps with your red blood cell count is Vitamin B12. A regular intake of this helps keep your blood cells and nerves completely healthy.

A lack of Vitamin B12 can also cause anaemia due to its relationship to red blood cells as well. The type of anaemia stemming from a lack of Vitamin B12 is called megaloblastic anaemia. This can make you feel both weak and extremely tired, making it difficult to function as usual.

You can receive plenty of Vitamin B12 through intake of soymilk and Vitamin B12 fortified cereals. Some people also choose to take a supplement to ensure that they are getting enough.

Protein

As a bodybuilder or athlete, we’re sure that you already understand the importance of protein. But to recap, you need it to repair and build muscle tissue. It’s critical for healthy skin, bones, muscles, and more. If you want to function properly in the gym and get the gains you’re working so hard to achieve, you need protein.

A lack of protein can result in the weakening of your muscles, loss of lean body mass, and loss of function. It can also severely impact your immune system, causing you to get sick more often, and you won’t heal as quickly from wounds.

When looking at vegan nutrition, there are plenty of protein sources vegans can select from to get enough in their diets. These include soy milk, tofu, peanut butter, legumes, seeds and more.

However, you need to ensure that you are getting an intake of ‘complete protein’. This refers to a combination of protein types that provide all the nutrients you need to stay healthy. Different vegan proteins offer different amino acid profiles often lacking at least one of the essential amino acids. Essential acids are in fact essential, and almost all plant based proteins are inadequate. If you want a vegan protein supplement that you know contains a full essential amino acid profile, International Protein recently released a breakthrough product called Plant Power Complete Protein. This contains unique hydrolysed pea and mung bean peptides and a sustained release of pea and rice proteins that will give you energy for a long time. This brand new product is available from our website.

If you’d like to learn more about vegan or plant based proteins, then this is an excellent vegan podcast to listen to.