Anyone can be a vegan

Is a vegan diet healthy and nutri­tionally complete?

A vegan diet contains plants such as vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits and foods made from plants. As veg­ans don’t eat foods that come from animals, including dairy products and eggs, there is a risk of deficien­cy of Vitamin B12, Omega 3, Vita­min D, calcium, iron and protein. But you can have enough of these nutrients by consuming the right vegan food.

Where do vegans get their protein from?

Soy products such as tofu, tempeh, and edamame are among the richest sources of protein in a vegan diet. Other sources are len­tils, chickpeas, peanuts, almonds, spirulina and quinoa. But if you have thyroid or hormonal imbalance, you will need to monitor your intake of soy products.

What about other nutrients like calcium, iron and Omega 3 that you earlier talked about?

Vegans can get iron from foods like soybeans, lentils, lima beans, kidney bean, chickpeas and green leafy vegetables. Likewise, calcium can be derived from fortified milk, tofu, and orange juice and green leafy vegetables.

Meeting Omega 3 requirement can be quite hard especially if you don’t use fish oil supplements or get EPA or DHA from your diet. However, you get plenty of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a type of Omega 3, via plant sources such as soy, walnuts, canola oil, and chia, flax, and hemp seeds and their oils.

Can anyone be a vegan, for exam­ple pregnant women, children and athletes?

This is a subjective question. I would not recommend pregnant/ lactating women/children to become complete vegans, as it is a phase of growth and development for the child and compromising on nutri­ents would stunt growth. There is a potential for low intakes of certain nutrients on a vegan diet. But gen­erally, if it’s a well-monitored and nutritionally calculated vegan diet, then anyone be a vegan.

What is the best milk substitute for veg­ans?

Ranking in the order, almond, soy, rice, and coconut milk. Almond milk is one of the most popular vegan choices. But make sure you read the labels and pick the one which is for­tified with calcium and Vitamin B12.

Can you give a balanced diet meal plan for a vegan?

Plans are customized as per client body parameters like height, weight, fat percentage, muscle percentage, and medical conditions, if any.

Something that you’d like to sug­gest for those interested in turn­ing into vegans.

Consult a nutritionist first. A nutri­tionist will help you plan a proper diet and take care of all the essential nutrients so as to avoid any defi­ciencies.