I spend a bit of time researching different things on the net & conversing on message boards and other things - as I find what I consider to be important & relevant information I will now try to put it up here...

Please email me with any additions or corrections!

NUTRITION

There are certain nutrients which vegetarians & vegans need to ensure they get enough of. Below is a list of the vitamins & other nutrients which seem to be of main concern...

PROTEIN - if you have adequate calories and a variety of foods each day, you can get pleanty enough protein. High-protein meals include vegetarian burgers, soy dogs, and cold cuts; as well as a legume (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) with a grain (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat bread). A more common problem is getting too much protein rather than not enough, so Protein is not usually a major concern for vegetarians or vegans.

VITAMIN B12 - RDA is 2.4 µg. - This vitamin basically comes from animal products so can be hard to get for some vegetarians & vegans... Some soy milks with B12 added are high in this vitamin. Most multi-vitamins or B-supplements contain pleanty more than enough. This vitamin can be stored in the body for years - the bad side of this is that deficiencies may not show up until a few years later...

RIBOFLAVIN (Vitamin B2) - ???? - 4 cups of SoGood soy milk.

CALCIUM - RDA 1000 mg -- a few cups of soymilk, calcium-set tofu, or fortified orange juice will be enough. green veges, seasame seeds, baked beans, almonds, and many other things are also high in calcium. 3 x 250mL serves of SoGood soymilk is 100% of RDA. vegans actually need less calcium than most people.

IRON - RDA 10 mg - Plant iron is slightly harder to take in than Iron from other sources. Vitamin C consumed at the same time helps Iron absorption. eg. dried apricots have both. However, just 1 cup of bran flakes, or 4 cups of pinto beans or chick peas, contain enough daily intake. Soy products are also excellent sources of iron. (Statistically vegetarians & vegans are not at any higher risk of iron deficiency than the general population.)

ZINC - RDA 15 mg - Should have at least this amount every day. Cereals, corn, peas, etc. contain pleanty of zinc. Nuts & seeds (eg. peanuts & cashews) also contain zinc.

IODINE - 150 µg -- Most people get this from iodized salt & commercially baked goods. If you don't eat either of these then it may be an idea to check out whether you are getting enough of this in your diet.

VITAMIN D (from the sun) -- 5 µg for under age 51 (Recommended: 20 mins sun, 3 x a week for light skinned ppl, up to 6 times this amount for dark skinned people). Fortified foods (eg. some cereals) & supplements also contain this vitamin.

FATS - Higher fat foods like soy products, nuts, seeds, nut and seed butters, avocados, and small amounts of vegetable oils (especially canola and olive) should be part of a healthy diet. These foods are especially important to help children meet nutrient and calorie needs. Vegans should be sure to include a daily source of linolenic acid (the omega-3 essential fatty acid). Vegans are recommended to get about 2.2 g for a 2,000 calorie/day diet. It is in walnuts (1.9 g/oz), tofu and soybeans (.8-1.0 g/C), canola oil (1.6 g/T), and flaxseed oil (2.2 g/tsp; do not heat or exceed 2 tsp/day).

It is easy to get pleanty of each of these on a good vegan diet without much trouble at all. If you think you may be lacking in one or more of these, supplement tablets are available for each...

See links page for more info...