How Strict Vegans Can Avoid Being Nutritionally Deficient

A strict vegan (contraction of 'vegetarian') is defined as someone who abstains from consuming animal foods and dairy products or from using animal products. By this definition alone, we already know that vegans swear off eating all kinds of meat, fish, poultry and eggs, and dairy products including milk and cheese. In a more specific term, a vegan's diet is strictly plant-based.

It has always been a concern, especially among health and medical experts, that vegans are at real risk of missing out on the essential nutrients that the body needs. For it is a fact that when one's diet is restrictive (as in the case of strict vegetarians'), the nutrients needed by the body are difficult to meet.

But even the strictest of vegans can have enough of the nutrients they need if they carefully plan their diet. A varied diet is necessary for this purpose for vegans to avoid nutritional deficiencies. There are specific examples of how a vegan can avoid being deficient in certain nutrients the body requires:

1. A plant-based diet is almost always certainly synonymous to being deficient in vitamin B12, which is supplied primarily by animal foods. Adding fortified cold cereals and soy milk to your diet can help supply the ideal amount of vitamin B12 the body needs.

2. The body can have sufficient supply of iron (which can be obtained from eggs) from dried fruits and beans.

3. Your body's calcium requirement (which can otherwise be supplied by milk and other dairy products) can be satisfied by eating tofu and broccoli, and by drinking fortified orange juice.

4. Zinc (which is mainly supplied by shellfish, most especially oysters) can be obtained from nuts and beans.

5. To have a sufficient amount of protein (which can be obtained primarily from all types of meat), consume the right amount of grains, nuts, peas and other legumes. Soy, of course, is the best single source of protein.

When their diet is planned in such a way that they get enough of all the nutrients needed, vegans are decidedly healthier than those who consume meat and other animal foods. This is because vegans are even less liable in running the risk of acquiring certain types of diseases or illnesses (such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes) which have always been associated with eating meat and animal foods. The antioxidant properties present in plants (vitamin C, beta-carotene, and selenium), plus the fiber, potassium, and folic acid in them - substances that are all known to fight various types of diseases - should be enough proof to give credence to this claim. [Read the Original Article]