Tags - #Vegan_Blog

Do you really need supplements?

Many vegans are told that they need to add supplements to their diet to live a healthy life. Some people might find this a bit controversial, but many vegans out there who do not consume any kind of supplements are still living a healthy life.

These people have a healthy balanced diet that with a variety of foods.

A planned diet is all you need

Ensuring that you get enough calories from a wide variety of food sources is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you’re getting all the micronutrients and minerals that your body requires.

Eating a whole food plant-based diet is pretty easy once you learn a few recipes. If you can add a plant-based morning smoothie that is packed with a bunch of greens and fruits is one of the easiest ways to get that early shot of micronutrients. You can also make tasty and healthy snacks that pack a punch of vitamins and minerals.

We all have messy diets from time to time

This is something that would happen to all of us. We might be out and might not find all the good stuff that we are used to. In cases like these, it’s ok to rely on supplements. Having a cheat day where you include a bunch of junk food is also ok from time to time. Being a whole food plant-based vegan doesn’t have to be very strict. You can be on a very healthy diet and still enjoy most of your favorite foods.

Things that you might just need

So, now you’ve concluded that you might be needing some sort of supplements to make sure you’re not lacking in any department. You can find all the supplements you need from a vegan source. A bit of google search about the supplement you need will show you a bunch of vegan options.

We have added some of the most likely vitamins and minerals that you might need and how you can get them from your daily diet.

B12

Most vegans would know that this is one of the few vitamins that vegans are bombarded with. As no plant contains vitamin B12, people often suggest that a Vitamin B12 supplement is necessary for the well-being of any vegan but is it really true?

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin containing the mineral cobalt. It is the most structurally complex of all the vitamins available in the human diet.

B12 can be found attached to the proteins in the food that we eat. However it is not absorbable in this way, Therefore proteases enzyme which our body makes and hydrochloric acid found in the stomach, to separate the B12 from the foods.

Upon absorption of B12, our liver can store up to 5mg of B12 at one time. This may not sound as much but this reserve can be stored for up to 5 years, as our body only needs about 0.2% of this released B12 every day

Now for the myths of B12, people often say you can’t get enough B12 from a vegan diet which is partly true but not totally. Some non-dairy milk, cereals, spreads, and nutritional yeast flakes are naturally fortified with B12. This kind of B12 can be derived from an isolated bacteria source.

The interesting fact about this is that the Vegan-friendly B12 is not bound to protein, makings it more bio-available than animal-derived B12. The plant version is more easily absorbed than its counterpart.

On the other hand, if you can source fresh produce from organic farms it can also help with B12 levels are most long-term organic farms have elevated levels of B12 producing bacteria which can be left in soil traces found in these foods.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

The other supplement most vegans worry about is Omega 3 fatty acid. Why is Omega 3 so important? It plays an integral part in cell membranes throughout the body a affects the function of cell receptors in these membranes. They also provide a starting point for making hormones that regulate blood clotting, contraction, and relaxation of artery walls and inflammation.

We focus on getting enough Omega 3 because it can help our heartbeat at a steady rhythm. Just in the United States around 500,000-plus cardiac deaths occur due to arrhythmias, I.e, the unsteady beating of the heart.

We’ll focus on Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which is the most common Omega-3 fatty acid in most diets. You can get more than enough Omega 3 from plant sources such as Flaxseeds or Flaxseed oil, Chia seeds, Brussels Sprouts, Leafy Vegetables, Algal Oil, Hemp Seed, Walnuts, and many more.

The easiest way is to eat 30 Grams of flaxseeds, which is not a lot but, will be enough to cover your daily needs of Omega 3 with some room to spare.

Vitamin D

We all know how important Vitamin D is to our health. Vitamin D helps regulate calcium and phosphate in the body. These nutrients are important to keep our bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. Having a lack of Vitamin D in the diet can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children. It can also cause bine pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults.

Now, depending on where you live on earth the amount of sunlight you get may vary. People like me who like near the equator have no trouble getting enough Vitamin D daily. People who may not have the same luxury can get Vitamin D from a variety of plant sources such as, Soy products, Mushrooms, Fruits, Fortified almond milk. But the easiest way for anyone would be to get some sunlight whenever they can.

Iodine

Iodine is one of those minerals which can be found in many animal food sources such as, Dairy products (milk, yogurt, and cheese), fish, shrimp, and other seafood. Our body needs Iodine to make thyroid hormone. These hormones are necessary to control our body’s important functions like metabolism, etc.

In the early 1900s, it was very common to have Iodine deficiencies which have been easily eliminated by fortifying salt with Iodine. This is a common practice in most countries now. If you consume normal amounts of regular salt there are chances that you’re getting enough Iodine.

If for some reason you’re not consuming regular salt these are some of the ways you can get enough Iodine in your diet. These food contain more than enough recommended Idoine, first is seaweed, Whole wheat bread, Prunes, Pasta, Canned Fruit Cocktail.

Getting enough Iodine is not at all hard. You just need to add some of these foods to your regular diet.

Conclusion

Do you need supplements to live a healthy vegan lifestyle? No. Should you take supplements if your diet is not up to the mark? Yes!

Living a healthy vegan lifestyle is not at all that complicated as some of us make it out to be. Eating healthy food should not be a challenge it should be your lifestyle.

Focus on making a healthy choice, for that you just need to think about all the recipes that are balanced and can be made easily on daily basis. You can always search for more recipes and tweak them to your liking.

You can also use local ingredients that are promptly available to you. Make it a habit to experiment and enjoy the food that you make it’s the easiest way to make sure that you’re eating all the right things.

References -

https://www.veganlifemag.com/debunking-myth-vegans-vitamin-b12/