Going Vegan or Vegetarian
Judy Seybold, MS, RDN, LD, CLC
Chief Nutrition Officer
Plant-based diets are growing in popularity. Many people seek the health benefits of a vegan or vegetarian diet, while others have concerns about the treatment of animals raised for food or just prefer to eat a more sustainable diet. Choosing a plant-based vegan diet is a healthy choice.
A well-rounded vegan diet is typically high in fiber and includes less saturated fat and cholesterol than that of meat-eaters. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a well-designed vegan or vegetarian diet can help prevent and treat chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. It is difficult to say exactly what the health benefits of eating vegan or vegetarian are for certain because most people who follow this style of eating also practice other behaviors associated with good health, including not smoking, exercising regularly, and not drinking excessively.
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a Vegan diet or a Vegetarian diet
A vegan diet excludes animals and animal products, so it does not include any meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, or eggs. It is also important to remember that animal by-products may be used in the processing of some foods. For example, some sugars are processed using bone char filters, so while animal products are not in the final product, they are part of the process. For this reason, vegans sometimes choose sugar cane produced from sugar beets.
Eating a vegetarian diet generally means a diet free of meat, fish, shellfish, and poultry flesh or meat. There are different types of vegetarian diets, ranging from lacto-ovo vegetarians that include dairy products and eggs to pescatarians who eat fish and seafood.
Key Attributes of a Vegan Diet
- Eat a Variety of Fruits & Vegetables: Choose a variety of richly colored fruits and vegetables – dark leafy greens, brightly colored berries, and a rainbow of bell peppers can all help provide a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and fiber to your diet.
- Utilize Plant-Based Proteins: Tofu, tempeh, lentils, peas, and beans all can provide a minimally-processed vegan source of protein. Nuts, seeds, and fortified plant-based milks and dairy substitutes are important to include in your vegan diet. The old-school advice of “complementary proteins” like combining rice and beans isn’t considered relevant anymore.
- Incorporate Legumes: Try for at least 3 servings of legumes a day – a group that includes protein and iron-rich plant alternatives.
- Choose Whole Grains: Whole grains provide vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients.
- Pick Good Sources of Calcium & Vitamin D: Vegans and other vegetarians who do not consume dairy products need to be mindful to get enough calcium and vitamin D in their diet. Calcium-fortified plant milks or orange juices, legumes, leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, okra, and tofu made with calcium sulfate are a good way to maintain calcium levels on this diet. Plant milks and orange juices are often fortified with vitamin D.
- Include Omega-3’s: DHA and EPA, two types of omega-3 fatty acids, are more challenging nutrients to work into a vegan diet since they are primarily found in fish. It is difficult for your body to make enough of these from other essential fatty acids, so supplements made from algae or choosing foods fortified with DHA are recommended for most vegans.
- Supplement B12: This vitamin is more challenging to include in a vegan diet since most sources are animal products. It is important to include some type of B12 supplement in your diet or include fortified cereals or soy products in your meals.
When eating out, more mainstream restaurants are widening their vegan and vegetarian offerings. Understanding how food is prepared in different ethnic foods is helpful to know the right questions to ask when dining out. Middle Eastern food is often a good alternative for vegans, and Italian, Indian, and some Mexican foods are relatively easy to navigate with just a few questions for your server.
With more people choosing plant-based diets, the food options available are exploding! Look for these hot trends:
- Cauliflower: The vegetable is taking center stage whether as an alternative to grains in pizza crust or rice, or as a center-of-the-plate star in grilled cauliflower steaks or sweet smoothies.
- Dairy Alternatives: Plant-based milks continue to explode in the marketplace, with oat and pea milks joining soy, rice, almond, cashew, and coconut milks as delicious alternatives for your smoothies and cereal.
- Mushrooms: Portobellos have long been used for their satisfying and meaty texture, but a wider variety of mushrooms are being adapted into vegetarian options beyond meat-free burgers and stir fries.
- Fast Food Options: The lack of convenient vegan foods when dining out and traveling is a problem that is starting to be addressed. More affordable vegan options are becoming available at mainstream restaurants. Vegan burgers are even exploding across fast-food venues.
If you are moving toward a vegan diet, you may occasionally want a juicy burger or a satisfying meaty dish while maintaining a plant-based diet. There is an ever-increasing variety of packaged vegan meats and meat substitutes available in grocery stores that mimic the flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, and appearance of their meaty counterparts. For example, there are plant-based burgers that are juicy like beef burgers and create a similar eating experience without the meat.
For help planning a vegan or vegetarian diet, work with a registered dietitian who can help ensure that your diet is both healthy and delicious. Well-planned vegan diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, from infancy through adolescence and through the adult years, including pregnancy and lactation.
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