The Vegan Diet – Healthy eating as a Vegan

Getting a health vegan diet

Getting a health vegan diet

A vegan diet contains only plants – such as vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits – and foods made from plants.

Vegans don’t eat foods that come from animals, including dairy products and eggs.

Healthy eating as a vegan

You should be able to get most of the nutrients you need from eating a varied and balanced vegan diet.

For a healthy vegan diet:

Eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day.

Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates. Choose wholegrain where possible.

Have some dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks and yoghurts). Choose lower-fat and lower-sugar options.

Eat some beans, pulses and other proteins.

Choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat in small amounts.

Drink plenty of fluids – the government recommends 6-8 cups/glasses a day.

If you’re having foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt or sugar, have these less often and in small amounts.

See the Eatwell Guide for more information about a healthy diet. It applies to vegetarians, vegans, people of all ethnic origins and those who are a healthy weight for their height, as well as those who are overweight. The only group it is not suitable for is children under two years of age, because they have different needs.

Getting the right nutrients from a vegan diet

With good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs.

If you don’t plan your diet properly, you could miss out on essential nutrients, such as calcium, iron and vitamin B12.

Vegans who are pregnant or breastfeeding

During pregnancy and when breastfeeding, women who follow a vegan diet need to make sure they get enough vitamins and minerals for their child to develop healthily.

See vegetarian and vegan mums-to-be for more information.

If you’re bringing up your baby or child on a vegan diet, you need to ensure they get a wide variety of foods to provide the energy and vitamins they need for growth.

See vegetarian and vegan babies and children for more information.

Vegan sources of calcium and vitamin D

Calcium is needed for strong and healthy bones and teeth. Non-vegans get most of their calcium from dairy foods (milk, cheese and yoghurt), but vegans can get it from other foods.

Good sources of calcium for vegans include:

fortified, unsweetened soya, rice and oat drinks

calcium-set tofu

sesame seeds and tahini

pulses

brown and white bread (in the UK, calcium is added to white and brown flour by law)

dried fruit, such as raisins, prunes, figs and dried apricots

A 30g portion of dried fruit counts as one of your 5 A DAY, but should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a between-meal snack, to reduce the impact on teeth.

The body needs vitamin D to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These nutrients help keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. Vegan sources of vitamin D are:

exposure to summer sunshine (late March/April to the end of September) – remember to cover up or protect your skin before it starts to turn red or burn; see vitamin D and sunlight

fortified fat spreads, breakfast cereals and unsweetened soya drinks (with vitamin D added)

vitamin D supplements

Read the label to ensure the vitamin D used in a product is not of animal origin.

Vegan sources of iron

Iron is essential for the production of red blood cells. A vegan diet can be high in iron, although iron from plant-based food is absorbed by the body less well than iron from meat.

Good sources of iron for vegans are:

pulses

wholemeal bread and flour

breakfast cereals fortified with iron

dark-green leafy vegetables, such as watercress, broccoli and spring greens

nuts

dried fruits such as apricots, prunes and figs

Vegan sources of Vitamin B12

The body needs vitamin B12 to maintain healthy blood and a healthy nervous system. Vitamin B12 is only found naturally in foods from animal sources. Sources for vegans are therefore limited and a vitamin B12 supplement may be needed.

Sources of vitamin B12 for vegans include:

breakfast cereals fortified with B12

unsweetened soya drinks fortified with vitamin B12

yeast extract such as Marmite, which is fortified with vitamin B12

Vegan sources of omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids, primarily those found in oily fish, can help to maintain a healthy heart and reduce the risk of heart disease when eaten as part of a healthy diet.

Sources of omega-3 fatty acids suitable for vegans include:

flaxseed (linseed) oil

rapeseed oil

soya oil and soya-based foods, such as tofu

walnuts

Evidence suggests that plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids may not have the same benefits in reducing the risk of heart disease as those in oily fish.

However, if you follow a vegan diet you can still look after your heart by eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, by cutting down on food that is high in saturated fat, and watching how much salt you eat.

The Five Best Sources of Vitamin D from Diet

Welcome to our latest blog post looking at Vitamins and health. Today we are going to focus on Vitamin D. To see in more detail why you need Vitamin D in your diet please look at this blog post we published a few years ago.

Good levels of Vitamin D are important in a number of medical conditions but particularly fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis.

As that previous blog states, and I feel we should re-iterate, the best source of Vitamin D is natural sunlight. We would certainly recommend enjoying a safe amount of sunlight each day during the Spring and Summer.

For this post we are going to focus on sources of Vitamin D from diet. Please also note that we are looking at food which are naturally high in Vitamin D rather than those which have been “fortified” with Vitamin D. Also note all the numbers given her , are by very definition, approximate.

So in the spirit of the music charts of yesteryear we would like to present the five top sources of Vitamin starting with Number 5!

5) Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms - a sources of vitamin D

Shiitake mushrooms – a sources of vitamin D

4) Eggs

Eggs and Vitamin D

Eggs and Vitamin D

Did you know that one normal sized eggs has 10% of your daily Vitamin D needs? But please remember the Vitamin D is concentrated in the yolk so you will need to eat the whole thing. But aren’t poached eggs on toast the greatest breakfast?

3) Cow’s Milk

Cow's milk and Vitamin D

Cow’s milk and Vitamin D

In the US cow’s milk is almost always fortified with Vitamin D. But it does not have to be if grass fed.

That being said and eight once glass (or a half litre) will net you about 30% of your daily Vitamin D requirement.

2) Salmon

Vitamin D and Salmon

Vitamin D and Salmon

Just 100g or around 4 oz will give you over 20% more than you daily requirement.

So what are you waiting for? Time for sushi anyone?

Well there is just one thing. The food with the highest levels of Vitamin D.

Why not scroll down to find out!

1) Cod-Liver Oil

Vitamin D and Cod Liver Oil

Vitamin D and Cod Lover Oil

Bet you please you know that eh?

Actually one tablespoon givers you over 130% of your daily dose of Vitamin D.

But I have to say. Why bother? It tastes, well, horrible.

Give me an egg and salmon curry any day with a walk in the son and I’m happy.

But I did think you should know!

Life with Fibromyalgia. Tips for living with Fibro from People with Fibro!

Fibromyalgia Awareness

Fibromyalgia Awareness

A few months ago we ran a very successful discussion on our Facebook Page, called FibromyalgiaTalk, entitled “What advice would you give to a person who had just been diagnosed with fibromyalgia?”. We then covered some of the responses in a blog post which you can read here.

The responses were amazing both in terms of quantity and quality so we decided it would be useful to run a similar discussion asking for tips you might have about living with fibromyalgia.

Firstly I’d like to say thank you to the 250 people (so far) who have replied since we started the conversation on Monday. So we would love to share with you a few of the tips . It would be great if you would care to share any of your own in the comments box and the end of this blog post.

“Find a doctor who knows and treats fibromyalgia. Get lots of sleep. Ignore everyone else’s expectations of you and slow down on life. Rest, drink lots of water and TRY to stretch daily. Your friends and family will all give you ideas on what you should do to feel better–it might get annoying—just smile and know they are just trying to help! Hope this helps!!” was great advice from Jennifer!

Brittany was simple but to the point ” Reduce stress as much as possible, take hot baths and time for yourself”

Wendy was very sensible “I had to learn to forgive myself for not being “me” any more, most days I manage it! My usual advice still stands, be kind to yourself, learn how to pace and use the NO word when you need to x”. Another talked about pacing “When your having an almost pain free day and feel good , don’t push yourself because you will pay for it a few days later , sometimes with days of pain …”

One reader shared this great idea for a birthday present “Ask for gift vouchers for therapeutic massage for birthdays and Christmas it hurts a bit at first but you feel so good afterwards. Best present ever x”

Tricia was very practical “Natural Vitamin D3, make sure it’s D3, about 30-50,000 iu a week will make a tremendous difference. Most fibro sufferers are unable to absorb normally and are deficient. Magnesium is good. Take fish oil to go with the D3 and take K2. They enhance each other. Also, heat helps. Hot baths, and extra blanket, and warm sweater. Massages and chiropractic care are definitely a help. Yoga and exercise on your good days. Lastly, rest and reduce stress because these are our biggest triggers along with the weather. Rain is evil. Lol! Take care of yourself.”

And Shell talked about “Do your own research. Believe in yourself & write all of your issues down.”

Which, of course, is one of the aims of this post. So as we said earlier what should be added to this list of tips?

Please use the comments section below to share yours.

Vitamin K and the illnesses it can help to fight


As long term readers of this blog will know we run an occasional set of posts looking at the benefits

A source of Vitamin K

A source of Vitamin K

and sources of various vitamins.  You can read previous blog posts here https://patienttalk.org/?tag=vitamins

Today we would like to turn our attention to Vitamin K.  The reason is slightly different from our usual informational blogs as we want to highlight the various medical conditions which are believed to be helped by Vitamin K.

As background Vitamin K’s main purposes are to help with blood clotting (which helps wounds heal) and it can also assist in strengthening bones.

The most common sources of vitamin K are cereals, vegetables oils and green leafy vegetables.  So it is worth including say some spinach as part of your five a day.

However recent research suggests that Vitamin K can assist in treating a number of medical conditions.  These include:-

1)      Alzheimer’s disease.  This is because Vitamin K may inhibit nerve cell death.

2)      Bruising to the skin from surgery and injections .  It may also help with treating acne.

3)      Diabetes Type 2 in older people.  It has been suggested that people with high levels of Vitamin K are less likely to develop this kind of diabetes.

4)      Cancer.  This may be the big one but of course we should be careful about any anti-cancer properties.   A study in Japan showed that women with lover cirrhosis are less likely to develop liver cancer if they have a high intake of Vitamin K.  In Germany similar results were shown for men with prostate cancer.  It seems that Vitamin K  limited the chances of the cancer advancing.  This may also apply to the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Obviously research is only at an early stage but it is worth ensuring we consume regular and sensible amounts of Vitamin K.


How can diet and exercise help you conceive? Watch our video with Zita West where she gives advice on how diet, nutrition and exercise can play a key role in boosting your fertility


Zita West

Zita West

It’s well known that a good diet and exercise regime is important for a healthy pregnancy and for your baby’s growth. But believe it or not, paying attention to diet and exercise should also be a top priority even before you conceive.

From the very start you’ll be nourishing the egg and sperm cells that will become your baby, so following a sensible diet when you’re ‘trying’ is imperative.  Balancing your blood sugar by eating breakfast, having a diet rich in antioxidants and making sure you have plenty of vitamin D will all help to balance hormone levels and improve your fertility.

For both men and women, being overweight can affect your ability to conceive. So maintaining a healthy level of exercise not only keeps your weight down but helps with endorphin release, reduces stress, regulates your blood sugar levels, and promotes good circulation to the reproductive organs.

Balance is vital when it comes to both diet and exercise as being underweight can harm your fertility and men who do too much exercise could be impairing their sperm count; no one knows more about this than leading fertility and pregnancy expert Zita West who is also a practicing midwife, acupuncturist and nutritional advisor.

If you are trying to conceive or know someone who is, watch our video with Zita West who has teamed up with First Response to give advice on diet, nutrition and exercise fertility boosters.

You can watch the video here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b92wVJwWXr4

Zita West is – who has been a midwife for 30 years and whose clients have included Kate Winslet, Stella McCartney and Sophie Wessex.