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Vegan Diet – The Rules

Vegan does not have to be healthy at the same time. Because a vegan diet can also be quite unhealthy – just like any other form of nutrition. It all depends on how you implement them. If the vegan diet is practiced correctly and if you pay attention to the 15 rules for a healthy vegan diet, then it is the healthiest diet of all time.

The vegan diet

Anyone who lives and eats vegan does not use anything that comes from animals – no meat, fish and honey, eggs, dairy products, and leather. Skin and hair care products as well as cosmetics are only used if they are free of animal components.

For everyone who has eaten and lived “normally” up to now, vegan nutrition initially poses a certain challenge. However, thanks to the numerous vegan cookbooks and vegan guides that the market now has to offer, vegan nutrition is no longer a problem at all. Whether for vegan athletes, vegan mothers, vegan children, vegan raw foodists, or vegan mere mortals, there is extensive information and recipes for individually tailored vegan nutrition for everyone.

However, not all information relates to a HEALTHY vegan diet. Because just as there are so-called pudding vegetarians among vegetarians, there are junk food vegans among vegans. They love fast food and ready-made products, pastries, baked goods, sweets, and sweetened soy desserts – and simply live according to the motto “mainly vegan”. She is not particularly interested in whether her diet is healthy.

Did you know that our cooking school from the Zentrum der Gesundheit will start in winter 2022? Be trained by vegan cooking professionals – online, of course, and cook the most delicious vegan meals from now on: wholesome, rich in vital substances, healthy, and amazingly good!

Any diet – whether vegan or not – must be carefully planned

However, the majority of vegans are very health-conscious people. You want to be vegan AND healthy. If you are one of them, then our 15 rules will help you to optimize your vegan diet and make it healthy all around.

Of course, not only a vegan needs certain rules. Every diet – if it is supposed to be healthy – has rules that must be fulfilled. Otherwise, the diet in question will very quickly become unhealthy, no matter what kind of diet it is – whether low carb, raw food, high carb, whole food, home cooking, or whatever.

So if you just eat vegan without paying attention to a HEALTHY and BALANCED vegan diet and without taking the individually required dietary supplements, then it is possible that a deficiency in vitamin B12, iron, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, or similar.

It’s not much different for omnivores (people who eat an omnivorous diet). Anyone who does not pay attention to a HEALTHY and BALANCED mixed diet and does not take the individually required dietary supplements will develop a lack of fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, magnesium, chlorophyll, and secondary plant substances faster than he would like. In addition, a lack of vitamin D, iron, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids is very widespread, especially in mixed-eating circles – and this is when the omnivorous diet is supposed to be so balanced and “species-appropriate”.

The 15 rules of a healthy vegan diet

A vegan diet can be designed without any problems in such a way that it provides everything that people need. To ensure that no nutritional mistakes are made, you will find the most important rules for a healthy vegan diet below:

Rule #1 – Vitamin B12 in the vegan diet

The first vital substance that is usually mentioned in a vegan diet and that vegans could be deficient in is vitamin B12.

Rule #2 – Omega-3 fatty acids in the vegan diet

Since vegans are known to eat neither fish nor omega-3 eggs, many supposed nutrition expert fears that vegans could suffer from a lack of omega-3 fatty acids, which is particularly unfavorable when it comes to a vegan pregnant woman. Their need for omega-3 fatty acids increases from 250 mg EPA/DHA (for non-pregnant people) to 450 mg daily. How are you supposed to consume this amount with only a vegan diet?

Because flaxseed oil, hemp oil, and chia seeds provide copious amounts of the short-chain omega-3 fatty acid ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), but not the long-chain and biologically more active forms EPA and DHA. The human body can partially convert the ALA into EPA and DHA. However, the conversion rate varies from person to person – and in the worst case, it can also be very low.

However, studies have also shown that vegans in particular have a particularly high conversion rate and their omega-3 value in the blood is therefore often comparable to that of meat and fish eaters.

Rule #3 – Iron in the vegan diet

Iron – as many still believe – is mainly found in meat and more. Many have also been convinced that spinach is not as rich in iron as was originally claimed. Both are wrong. Iron is by no means primarily found in animal products, and spinach and many other green leafy vegetables are a super source of iron.

Rule #4 – Zinc in the vegan diet

When it comes to zinc, some people immediately think only of meat and milk. Not even close.

Rule #5 – Iodine in the vegan diet

With Jod, seafood and fish are immediately in the foreground again, but vegans don’t eat them. But there are still many other sources of iodine that a vegan can use without having to rely on animal foods or having to resort to dietary supplements.

Rule #6 – Calcium in the vegan diet

Calcium – the favorite mineral of milk and cheese lovers – is also often the focus of discussions about nutrient supply in vegan diets. Apart from the fact that the officially specified calcium requirement is probably far too high and all the calcium losses through the urine that are commonplace in meat and milk, i.e. protein-heavy diet, has long been taken into account, the calcium requirement can be wonderfully reduced with a vegan diet cover.

Rule #7 – Protein in the vegan diet

Studies show that vegans are well supplied with macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, and proteins). It should also be borne in mind that the protein requirement is very likely to be lower than is commonly assumed.

Since proteins are not only found in animal foods but in every food – whether animal or vegetable – there is no need to fear a protein deficiency in a vegan diet.

Of course, the protein content in vegetables is lower than in meat, but since you eat a lot of vegetables in a vegan diet, vegetables are still one of the important sources of protein.

If you want to further increase your protein supply – whether because you are an athlete or you are in a recovery and regeneration phase or simply do not have the time to put together your diet carefully – then you can switch to a plant-based protein powder made from rice, peas, hemp or lupine, which by the way is also a very good dietary supplement for athletes who eat normally. In addition to mostly animal proteins, the usual protein powders contain a large number of superfluous and unhealthy substances (flavors, sweeteners, colorings, thickeners, synthetic vitamins, and much more) that are not contained in vegetable protein powders.

Rule #8 – L-carnitine in vegan diets

Meat is particularly rich in L-carnitine. That’s why vegans are at risk of an L-carnitine deficiency, one hears occasionally. However, L-carnitine can also be produced by the organism itself. And even if some sources claim that the body’s own synthesis is too low, so that one must in any case take in additional L-carnitine with food or via a dietary supplement, the typical L-carnitine deficiency symptoms alone show that vegans are less likely to are affected by such a deficiency as normal eaters.

For example, being overweight is an indication of L-carnitine deficiency, as well as diabetes, cardiovascular problems, liver diseases, chronic fatigue, and increased susceptibility to infections. However, most of these symptoms are known to occur less frequently in vegans than in normal eaters.

Studies also show that vegans are by no means predestined for an L-carnitine deficiency. All you have to do is ensure that the organism is supplied with the building blocks it needs to build up L-carnitine: the amino acids lysine and methionine, iron, folic acid, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and vitamin C. But everyone needs these nutrients Man – whether he lives vegan or not.

Rule #9 – Vitamin D in the vegan diet

Vitamin D deficiency affects large parts of the population and therefore has almost nothing to do with diet. The commonly listed food sources of vitamin D are milk and fish. The vitamin D content of milk and dairy products is higher than that of other foods that do not contain any vitamin D at all. In relation to the vitamin D requirement, however, the vitamin D content of dairy products is also very low.

The requirement for vitamin D in this country (CH, D, A) is officially 20 µg (= 800 IU) per day. Interestingly, however, scientists recently found out that this low recommendation is based on a calculation error, while the actual requirement is much higher, namely at almost ten times the value: at 175 µg (= 7,000 IU).

Yogurt, for example, provides around 0.1 µg of vitamin D, whole milk 1 µg, and some types of hard cheese around 3 µg of vitamin D, which is precious little given the stated requirement and hardly makes a difference.

Therefore, studies that claim that those who drink milk have a higher vitamin D level are a little surprising. If you look at the studies, you quickly see that the vitamin D level can have nothing to do with the milk here either. For example, in 2014, researchers wrote that children who drank milk had higher vitamin D levels than children who drank plant-based drinks.

If you look at the values, you can see that the milk children had a 25(OH)vitamin D3 level averaging 81 nmol/l, and the other children who did not drink milk had a 25(OH)vitamin D3 level of 78 nmol/L. So the difference is minimal and not relevant. It was also interesting that a third group – children who drank both milk and herbal drinks from time to time – had values ​​of 76 nmol/l. If the milk were decisive, then its values ​​should have been between the values ​​of the other two groups.

Fish are significantly better sources of vitamin D. They provide between 2 and 22 µg of vitamin D – which represents a wide range. Here you have to know which fish actually has relevant vitamin D values ​​(around 20 µg). But who eats herring, eel, or sprat every day? Because many other types of fish – such as tuna and mackerel – only provide 4 to 5 µg of vitamin D.

Animal foods are not really helpful when it comes to vitamin D.

From the vegan food sector, however, there is one food that can not only provide you with natural and purely vegan vitamin D but also with relevant amounts of the vitamin: mushrooms!

Of course, not just any random mushroom from the supermarket will help here either. The mushrooms must be sun-dried. But that can still be done at home after buying mushrooms. After only two days of sun, mushrooms contain over 40,000 IU of vitamin D, so even small amounts of these mushrooms are sufficient to cover the vitamin D requirement.

Rule #10 – Vitamin B2 in the vegan diet

Sometimes attention is also drawn to vitamin B2, which is said to be deficient in a vegan diet. It is important for nerve health and takes care of energy metabolism. Vitamin B2 is also involved in iron metabolism.

A lack of vitamin B2 makes you tired, and listless and leads to eye and skin problems (redness, itching, and tears in the corners of the mouth).

Since vitamin B2 is mainly found in meat and dairy products – so it is often said – vegans run the risk of an undersupply of this vitamin.

The daily requirement of vitamin B2 is 1.2 to 1.5 mg.

For example, if you now look at the vegan menu that we suggested in our article How to fix zinc deficiency naturally, it not only provides you with sufficient zinc but also around 1.6 mg of vitamin B2.

However, this plan should of course be expanded depending on your personal energy needs, since it only provides about 1,300 kcal, which is not enough for most people.

So if you now eat other foods or larger portions of the suggested dishes, then you will of course consume even more vital substances and thus, even more, vitamin B2.

Vitamin B2 is therefore not a vital substance that vegans would be deficient in. On the contrary. There are enough vegan foods that contain relevant amounts of vitamin B2. The foods listed here are among the best plant-based sources of vitamin B2 (per 100g):

  • Almonds: 0.6 mg
  • Mushrooms: 0.45 mg (fresh, only half from the can)
  • Dill: 0.4 mg

However, the vitamin B2 requirement (like the requirement for almost all vital substances) can increase under certain conditions, e.g. B.

  • if you are ill
  • if you have chronic bowel problems
  • during pregnancy and lactation
  • if you smoke
  • if you have thyroid disease or diabetes
  • if you take the pill or do hormone replacement therapy during menopause

The requirement also increases with an increased fat content of the diet.

In some cases – for all people, whether vegan or not – a dietary supplement that provides an extra portion of vitamin B2 can therefore make sense.

Rule #11 – Vitamin K2 in the vegan diet

Vitamin K1 is found in abundance in plant foods, but vitamin K2 is not. Therefore, the vital substance is repeatedly listed as an anti-argument against vegan nutrition.

While vitamin K1 is primarily concerned with regulating blood clotting, vitamin K2 is said to be responsible in particular for preventing calcium from being deposited in the blood vessels and instead directing the mineral to the bones. Vitamin K2, therefore, ensures healthy bones and healthy blood vessels.

If vegans were actually threatened by a vitamin K2 deficiency, the majority of all vegans would have to suffer from bone loss and arteriosclerosis after a few years. But that is not the case, which is because the organism can independently convert vitamin K1 into vitamin K2. This happens in the tissue where the vitamin is needed.

In order for this conversion to take place, there must of course be sufficient vitamin K1, but this will not be a problem with a healthy vegan diet with lots of vegetables and salads. Because vitamin K1 is found in particularly high amounts in green leafy vegetables, herbs, legumes, and cabbage. Below you will find a table with the vitamin K values ​​of some particularly good vitamin K sources (per 100 g):

  • Kale 800 µg
  • Parsley: 350 – 800 µg
  • Brussels sprouts 200 – 500 µg

The officially specified requirement for adults is 90 to 120 µg of vitamin K, although it can be assumed that the actual requirement is higher. Otherwise, vascular calcifications and the associated cardiovascular diseases would not occur so frequently in non-vegans.

However, as the values ​​are given above show, it is not difficult to achieve a multiple of the required values ​​with a vegan diet.

Furthermore, since up to 90 percent of the K1 present can be converted to K2 when needed, there is also no need to ingest foods with K2.

If you are looking for a vitamin K2 supplement, make sure it is menaquinone-7. While menaquinone-4 is a vitamin K2 from animal sources, menaquinone-7 is a microbially produced vitamin K2.

Conveniently, menaquinone-7 is also the form of vitamin K2 that appears to be the most bioavailable—as a 2012 study found, in which menaquinone-4 supplementation failed to raise vitamin K2 blood serum levels; Menaquinone-7, on the other hand, did this quite significantly.

Rule #12 – Soy in the vegan diet

One reads and hears more and more often that vegan meat substitutes in particular are not healthy at all. In particular, soy is described as the stuff of the devil, hazardous waste, poison, etc. However, this character assassination is almost entirely at the hands of those who want to boost the consumption of meat and dairy products.

There are hundreds of studies cited as evidence that soy is harmful. The overwhelming majority of these studies were not carried out with tofu or soy drink or any other food made from soybeans, but with isolated, concentrated, and high-dose individual substances from soybeans, which were usually administered to rats or mice. In the rarest of cases, these test animals are healthy. These are often genetically modified animals that are born without an immune system, which are then infected with tumors or have their sex organs removed to simulate menopause. No wonder, then, if negative results come to light here.

At the same time, however, there are at least as many studies (again with isolated individual substances) that certify these excellent effects. And this is exactly why isoflavones from soybeans came onto the market as a dietary supplement many years ago.

So you can pick out the studies that suit your personal opinion.

However, in a healthy vegan diet, capsules with isolated, concentrated, and high-dose isoflavones are not eaten. You eat tofu instead or drink a glass of soy drink – a huge difference! Because the soybean does not only consist of isoflavones and certainly does not contain the amounts of isoflavones that are commonly used in experiments.

However, studies that have been carried out simply with people eating tofu are rare – and when they are, the results are very positive. It is all those vegan studies that show that a plant-based diet (which also contains soy products) has enormous health benefits. Also, while vegans who eat soy products are generally healthier than regular eaters, soy may not be toxic, as the meat-eater front is so fond of claiming.

Rule #13 – Seitan in the vegan diet

Seitan, on the other hand, is actually not very healthy for many people. It consists of 100 percent gluten, the controversial protein found in particular in wheat. We have already reported a lot about gluten and its health disadvantages, e.g. e.g. here:

  • Gluten clouds the senses
  • Gluten fuels autoimmune diseases
  • Six signs of gluten intolerance

However, if you tolerate gluten well and do not suffer from gluten intolerance (note, gluten intolerance is not the same as celiac disease!), then you can of course eat a seitan product occasionally without any problems. However, we recommend using spelled seitan as it does not contain the potentially harmful properties of wheat.

However, when it comes to vegan ready-to-eat meat products, always keep in mind that many are very heavily salted, may contain questionable fats and food additives and, as is usual with ready-to-eat products, are heavily processed overall. Therefore always buy seitan and soy products in organic supermarkets and not in conventional shops.

Organic manufacturers at least pay attention to high-quality ingredients and the organic origin of the raw materials and avoid avoidable additives.

Rule #14 – Not too much grain

Anyone who eats a vegan diet easily runs the risk of suddenly eating a lot of grain products. Because meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products are now gone and are often compensated for by the increased consumption of baked goods and pasta.

But that is neither healthy nor necessary. Instead, eat more vegetables, including starchy ones like potatoes, yuca, sweet potatoes, corn, and green peas.

If you eat cereals, choose products made from gluten-free cereals such as millet, rice, and corn (polenta) or from the pseudo-cereals quinoa, canihua, amaranth, and buckwheat. Low-gluten oats are also an extremely healthy and filling food.

Instead of bread, for example, rice and lentil pancakes or Mexican corn tortillas taste delicious. Other alternatives are many low-carb bread recipes that use nut and almond flour and purely plant-based protein powder.

Instead of regular noodles, you could try legume noodles (red lentils, chickpeas, or mung beans), which are delicious and can be made al dente. Chestnuts are also a wonderful side dish in autumn.

If you then reach for “normal” bread and “normal” pasta, then always choose the whole grain variety. Also, only buy bread from organic bakers and choose – wherever available – bread and baked goods made from spelled, emmer, einkorn, or other original types of grain. Because wheat is now so overbred that it is no longer well tolerated by many people.

Rule #15 – Choline in the vegan diet

It is repeatedly claimed that vegans are at risk of developing a choline deficiency. We report on a supposed nutrition expert who warned against a vegan diet for this reason. (It eventually turned out that she was a member of a meat-eating initiative.)

Choline is a component of lecithin and is found in many foods – both animal and vegetable. Vegetable foods that are particularly rich in choline are almonds and sunflower seeds, as well as peanuts, legumes, and whole-grain products.

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Written by Micah Stanley

Hi, I'm Micah. I am a creative Expert Freelance Dietitian Nutritionist with years of experience in counseling, recipe creation, nutrition, and content writing, product development.

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