What do you need to think about when eating a plant-based diet? 

 

A plant-based diet can provide all essential and vital nutrients the body needs (with exception for vitamin B12) and these nutrients are all synergistically working together in a way that give plant-eaters many health benefits. Let’s take a closer look at where you will get your macro-nutrients, as well as which micro-nutrients you should pay a little extra attention too.

 

Carbohydrates:

When living solely on plants your largest energy intake will naturally come from healthy complex carbohydrates, which is exactly what have been shown to be the best fuel for our bodies. Whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes are all very good sources of carbs, and these foods are also very rich in fiber. These foods tend not to lead to weight gain nor to diabetes, it is rather the opposite. They are promoting a stable blood sugar throughout the day and there is substantial evidence that they prevent obesity and diabetes. Because of all health benefits fiber rich foods provide, it has been shown in population studies that the more fiber we eat, the healthier we are. Fibers only exist in plants, and this is one of the many reasons why a plant-based diet is health promoting and disease preventing.

 

Protein:

Plant protein you will get mainly from legumes such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy, peas, edamame, tofu and tempeh, as well as from all types of seeds and nuts. If you eat a varied whole food plant-based diet with a daily intake of legumes you will get a good balance of amino acids and enough protein in your diet. There are some protein even in leafy greens, grains, quinoa, bread, pasta and in lots of other foods too, so during the course of a day these foods will also serve as important contributors to your total protein intake. Most people who eat a standard western diet eat far too much protein! Many people eat double as much protein than what national and international guidelines recommend, and way more than our bodies need! An excessive protein intake, especially from animal source such as meat, poultry, egg and dairy, is not only unnecessary but can be disease promoting. By eating plants you never need to worry about over consuming protein.

​

Fat:

Most vegetables are naturally very low in fat and don’t contain any cholesterol at all. Even nuts, seeds, avocado and olives that are higher in fat, consist of mostly heart healthy fats, meaning unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats don’t contribute to arteriosclerosis (plaque in our blood streams), heart disease and diabetes in the same way as saturated fats found in animal products do. When it comes to fat and our risk of disease, studies show that the source of fat is more important than the amount of fat. If we cut down on saturated fat by choosing e.g. 0% dairy products, and they are instead filled with sugar or refined carbohydrates, you haven’t done yourself any favor. Sugar or refined carbs are not much better! If you instead replace saturated fat with unsaturated fat mainly found in plant foods (such as the ones listed above) or with fiber rich carbohydrates such as vegetables and whole grains, you have really done your body a great favor as then you have simply replaced something unhealthy with something very healthy and disease protective. Therefore a plant-based diet is more beneficial than an animal based diet, as the fat in plants is by nature predominantly unsaturated, whereas the fat in animal products is mainly saturated as well as contains cholesterol. High intake of cholesterol has also been linked to heart disease, and cholesterol is something the body can produce on it’s own so we don’t need to eat it.

 

Vitamins & Minerals:

Plants are very rich in many vitamins and minerals, hence why we have been told the importance of eating our greens since we were kids. However there are certain nutrients that are not so abundant in plants and those nutrients you should pay a little extra attention to in order to feel the best and thrive on your plant-based diet. These nutrients are:

​

 

​

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is produced by microorganisms found in soil, as well as by bacteria found in animals’ intestines and in the colon of humans. There are no plants that contain sufficient amounts of B12 for our human needs, and unfortunately we humans can’t utilize our own production in our colon as our nutrient absorption takes place higher up in the digestive tract, in our small intestines. Instead the B12 we produce on our own simply goes to waste with our feces. Animals on the other hand can host the B12 producing bacteria in their intestines, and thus produce, absorb and eventually accumulate B12 in their flesh. Therefore animal foods, in contrast to plant foods, contain decent amounts of B12, especially red meat, egg and dairy. When eating a plant-based or vegan diet where these foods are excluded or limited, it is therefore crucial you instead supplement with vitamin B12.

 

The reason why this vitamin is so important is because it regulates many critical functions in our bodies, like the production of red blood cells, DNA synthesis, and maintaining neurological functions. And a vitamin B12 deficiency can, in worst case, lead to irreversible neurological damages.

 

The RDI, recommended daily intake, of Vitamin B12 in the United States is 2.4mcg per day for adults (from 14 years old). In Sweden it is 2mcg, and it may vary a little between different countries as most nutrient recommendations do. Many experts claim that 4-7mcg would be a better recommendation to prevent a potential deficiency. The B12-receptors in our bodies become saturated with only 1-2 mcg, and beyond that level we can only absorb a small amount via passive uptake, until several hours later when the B12-receptors become available again.

 

The absorption rate from Vitamin B12 supplements therefore declines significantly with higher dosages, and that is the reason why it may be better to take a smaller dose of B12 supplements every day, rather than a high dose once or twice a week, although all options have proven to work. Most important is that vegans and plant eaters do supplement with B12 in one or another way, so chose they way that is most convenient for you. The recommended form of B12 is Cyanocobalmin because it is the most stable form and the most well studied form.

 

The recommended dosages for vitamin B12 supplement are the below three options, chose one of them:

1. 25-200 mcg per day

2. 1000 mcg two to three times a week

3. 2000-2,500 mcg once a week

​

You may have heard that it is enough to eat fortified vegan products to get your daily B12 need covered. And theoretically that is correct, you can. It’s just that you need to eat these fortified foods at least twice a day, and the meals should contain a minimum of 2mcg each, and preferably there should be a minimum of 4 hours in between each meal for optimal uptake (it takes several hours for the B12 receptors to be available after they have been saturated). Not only does it seem a little too complicated to me, you also have to think about if you really want to eat those types of foods daily? Fortified products are often also processed, and can contain quite a lot of sugar or salt, like breakfast cereals, protein bars, vegan spreads, vegan “meats”, marmite/vegemite. Some better alternatives are at least fortified soymilk, different nut milks and nutritional yeast.

 

You may also have heard that your body can store Vitamin B12 in the liver for several years, and again, that is true. The Vitamin B12 storage can last from 1-15 years, but as you can’t know exactly how long your own storage will last, why wait with supplementing and risk getting a deficiency, when it is both safe and inexpensive to take a supplement. According to the Institute of Medicine there is no toxic upper limit of Vitamin B12 as it is a water-soluble vitamin and all excess is excreted in the urine. Despite that, to be on the safe side we should stick to nutritional guidelines.

​

​

References:

Vegan For Life, by Jack Norris and Ginny Messina, 2011

Becoming Vegan, Comprehensive Edition by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, 2014

Vegan Outreach

​

​

​

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is, and has been, a popular subject in the past decade among nutrition folks, and also a pretty controversial topic. The debate is mainly about the levels of Vitamin D needed for optimal health. What we do know for certain is that deficiency is more common than previously known and should not be ignored. Below is an overview aiming to help you better understand Vitamin D and your needs, but as always, discuss with your own GP or physician if you have concerns about your Vitamin D status.

 

Vitamin D’s function:

Vitamin D is very important for many functions in our body, for instance our bone health, muscles, immune system and hormones. Deficiency has been linked to everything from depression, heart disease, autoimmune diseases to the most known and proven link; osteoporosis (weak bones). You may have heard that calcium is the most important mineral for getting strong bones, and that is partly true, but the fact is that if we don’t have enough Vitamin D we can’t absorb and utilize calcium to it’s maximum capacity even if we have high intake of calcium.  And contrary, if we have adequate Vitamin D levels, we can get strong bones even with lower levels of calcium, since Vitamin D enables maximum absorption and utilization of calcium.  So the key message is, make sure you get adequate levels of both vitamin D and calcium and you have maximized your chances of getting strong bones. Physical activity, in particular weight resistant training, has also been shown to strengthen bone health.

 

Exposure to sunlight:

Your body is designed to get the vitamin D it needs by producing it from your skin when you are exposed to sunlight, but since we all live in different parts of the world and are exposed to different levels of sunlight, supplements may be needed. If you live far away from the equator, during the winter the sun is too far away from you to enable Vitamin D production in the skin, so unfortunately it doesn’t even help to be in the sun during those months. For instance, if you live in the Nordic countries, you simply can’t produce any Vitamin D from the sun between October to April.

 

Vitamin D deficiency is surprisingly common, even in countries with a lot of sunlight most of the year around and regardless if you are vegan or not. In those cases it is likely due to people not spending enough time outdoors, living in cities where the smog is filtering out the sunlight, or using sunscreen protection. Other factors that impact how much Vitamin D a body can produce a certain day from sunlight is how much of your skin is exposed, your skin color and your age. The darker your skin is the longer you need to be in the sun, but generally speaking, just being outside in the sun around 15-30 minutes each day, exposing your face, parts of your legs or arms, should be enough. You don’t need to tan, and definitely not burn (!), in order to produce the Vitamin D you need.

 

We all have a certain amount of Vitamin D storage in our fat deposits, so we won’t become deficient immediately if we are not exposed to enough sunlight on a daily basis, but after some time we may be at risk. In these cases, unless you know you eat sufficient amounts of Vitamin D rich food your best option might be to supplement, for example during the winter months. Overweight or obese people have increased risk of being deficient, due to the vitamin being accumulated in the fat deposition and therefore less bioavailable.

 

Vitamin D from food:

You can get some Vitamin D by eating foods like egg yolks, oily fish and fortified dairy products, but you have to eat quite a lot of these foods to meet your daily needs. If you are vegan then you have even less sources to chose from, mainly fortified soymilks and nut milks, or fortified orange juice, and again, they may not provide enough unless you eat or drink a lot of them. You may have read that there are small amounts of Vitamin D in some mushrooms or other plant sources, but none of these sources are reliable due to the minimal content, and the form of Vitamin D they contain.

 

In conclusion, if you know you are not getting enough sunlight and want to rely only on fortified foods, it will be challenging but is doable. I would recommend reading food labels to make sure you get the daily recommended intake, DRI, of vitamin D per day, alternatively you should be supplementing. The DRI of vitamin D varies between countries but is around 600 IU (10-15 mcg) for healthy adults, and 800 IU (20 mcg) for older adults +70 years.

 

Vitamin D from supplements:

If you have the option to test your vitamin D status to determine if you need to supplement or not, that would be ideal, especially during the winter months when you are at most risk of deficiency. If you can’t check your status, I would recommend supplementing instead of risking being deficient. Supplementing with the DRI (10-15 mcg/day) should be enough, although some experts claim that higher levels (25-50 mcg a day), would be even better for maintaining optimal levels. What ever daily dose you choose, make sure to never exceed the UL, tolerable upper level, of 100 mcg per day, since too much Vitamin D can make you absorb too much calcium and eventually lead to negative side effects, e.g. kidney stones. You never need to worry that your body will produce too much Vitamin D from the skin after sun exposure, since the body self regulates the production when it doesn’t need more.

 

Supplements with Vitamin D2 are vegan (ergocalciferol) and Vitamin D3 is not (cholecalciferol), and at low dosages they are absorbed equally well. If a deficiency is detected and higher dosages are needed, then D3 might be the preferred choice as it has shown to have a higher absorption rate.  Optimal vitamin D levels in your blood are 50 to 125 nmol/l (20 to 50 ng/ml) according to the Institute of Medicine.

 

If you live in Boston or New York City, you may want to supplement from around November to March, and if you live further north, like in Sweden or northern Canada, you may do better by supplementing from October to April.

 

References:

The Vegetarian Research Group

Vegan Health.org

Becoming Vegan, Comprehensive Edition, by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, 2014

​

​

Calcium 

Iodine 

​

Coming soon!

​