GETTING ENOUGH VITAMINS AND MINERALS ON A VEGAN DIET

Many people worry about not getting enough nutrients with a vegan diet. In fact, a vegan diet is full of fibre and vitamins as well as
decreasing our body’s likelihood of getting various cancers, strokes, heart disease, osteoporosis, kidney stones and diabetes.

However, a vegan diet does still need to be planned properly to ensure maximum health, just as you would with any diet. Below you can
see the vitamins and minerals most people worry about not getting enough of with a vegan diet and where you can get them.

Zinc Protein Calcium Iron

RDA: Men – 11mg Women – RDA: 0.8g for every kilogram RDA: 500 – 800mg RDA: Men – 8mg Women –
8mg you weigh. But average is 18mg
55.5g for men and 45.0g for
women

1 cup oats – 6.2mg 100g cooked lentils – 23.8g 1 bowl of oats with fortified soya milk Bran flakes fortified with iron –
– 500mg 11.2mg
3tbsp hemp seeds – 1 cup oats – 12g
3.5mg 4-6 dried figs – 25mg 1 cup of white beans – 8mg
½ can of baked beans – 11.5g
½ cup of baked Calcium enriched soya milk 3 ounces of dark chocolate –
beans – 2.5mg Handful of hemp seeds – – 240mg 7mg
10mg
1 ounce cashews – Small handful of sesame 1 litre of water/ stew/ soup
1.6mg Cooked seeds – 168mg boiled with 1 ‘lucky iron fish’ – 4
pasta – – 7mg
1 ounce almonds – 0.9mg 8.5g Small handful of almonds – 72mg
 Small handful of peanuts –
6.1g
Notes: none Notes: many people believe
that you can’t get the
protein you need from plants
because very few plants are
complete proteins (have all 9
essential amino acids) while
most meat is.
Most plants have 7 or 8 of
the essential amino acids
which make up a complete
protein. However, because
all plants contain protein, by
eating a varied diet, it is
really easy to get complete
protein from one meal. For
example, a baked potato has
Note: calcium originates from plants
and would usually end up in cow’s milk
from the cows eating grass. However,
few cows eat grass nowadays and are
usually given a calcium supplement
which is where the calcium in their
milk comes from.
1 cup of boiled and drained
spinach – 6mg
1 cup oats – 3.5mg
Handful of hemp seeds – 2.7mg
Handful of chia seeds – 2.2mg
Handful of sesame seeds –
1.5mg
Note: non-haem iron (from
plants) is not as easily absorbed
by the body as haem iron (from
meat) but by adding vitamin c
rich foods to iron rich foods,
you can increase your body’s
ability to absorb the iron by two
or three times more. So simply
drizzling a bit of lemon or lime
juice onto your spinach, will
make a huge difference to how
much of the iron your body can
absorb from it.
all nine amino acids but is low
in three. By combining this
with baked beans, which are
high in the amino acids that
the potato is low in,
altogether a baked potato
with beans is a complete
protein.

Hemp seed, chia seeds and

quinoa are also examples of
vegan foods which have all
nine amino acids and are
therefore complete proteins.

It’s also worth noting that

many studies have shown
that excessive meat protein
is carcinogenic.
Selenium Iodine B12 Omega 3
RDA: 55mcg RDA: 140mcg RDA: 2.4mcg RDA: 0.5g

1 brazil nut – 68.91mcg
1 cup of oats – 28.9mcg
1 cup of cooked long grain
brown rice – 19mcg
1 handful of chia seeds – 15mcg
Dried wakame (seaweed) –
171mcg
2 medium potatoes – 120mcg
Bowl of strawberries – 13mcg
A supplement – 2.4mcg
Vegan margarine fortified with
B12 - varies
Soya milk fortified with B12 -
varies
1 teaspoon of flaxseeds/
linseed – 14.3g
1 handful of chia seeds – 28g
7 walnuts – 28g

1 cup of baked beans – 13mcg

1 cup of cooked
drained spinach
– 11mcg

Notes: none Notes: iodine is found in the Note: B12 is created by a

soil and sea. However, because
the vegetables and fruit we
consume now, are so fertilised,
it is harder to get iodine from
them and therefore, either
seaweed or a supplement is
recommended.
bacteria in the soil and
similarly to iodine, is hard or
impossible to obtain from fruit
and vegetables because the soil
is now so fertilised in which
they are grown. It is important
that you take a B12 supplement.
 Vitamin D
RDA: 400 IU (international units)

100g mushrooms – 110 IU

20 – 30 minutes in the sun

daily – 1,000 – 2,000 IU

Notes: none

So basically by eating lots of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, oats and beans, you can easily get all the vitamins you need from a vegan
diet. But that doesn’t have to be all you eat. You can still eat just as you did before by replacing meat with ‘soy’ meat, milk with oat/
hemp/ soya milk, yoghurt with coconut or soy yoghurt, cheese with vegan cheese and so forth. As long as you also ensure you have
seeds, fruit, vegetables, nuts and beans as well, and ensure you take a B12 and iodine supplement (most multivitamins have both of
these) you can eat similarly to how you have eaten in the past.

For an example of how easy it is to get all the vitamins and minerals you need, here is how much you can get from breakfast alone:

One bowl of porridge (Ready Brek original is vegan as are most oats) with some dried fruit of your choice (if you wish), a handful of
hemp seeds, a handful of sesame seeds and a handful of chia seeds with calcium fortified non-dairy milk gives you:

Protein – 35g (78% RDA for men and 63% RDA for women)

Iron – 9.9mg (123.75% RDA for men and 55% RDA for women)

Calcium – 668mg (83.5% RDA)

Zinc – 9.7mg (88% RDA)

Selenium – 55.9mcg (101%)

Omega 3 – 25g (5600% RDA)