Overview

What is a vegan diet?

A vegan (say "VEE-gun" or "VAY-gun") diet is a type of vegetarian diet. Besides not eating meat, vegans don't eat food that comes from animals in any way. That includes milk products, eggs, honey, and gelatin (which comes from bones and other animal tissue).

There are many reasons why some people choose a vegan diet. Reasons may include:

• Health benefits it may offer.
• Not wanting to use animals and animal products for food.
• Not eating meat is an important part of some religions.
• A vegan diet may cost less than a diet that includes animal products.
• Eating less meat can be better for the environment.

What are the benefits?

In general, people who follow vegan lifestyles have a lower risk of:

• High blood pressure.
• Heart disease.
• Obesity.
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Prostate cancer.
• Colon cancer.

The health benefits may be related to a diet of mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

How do you get protein?

Protein is made of building blocks called amino acids. The human body can make some of these amino acids. But you must get the nine essential amino acids from food.

Protein isn't just found in meat. It is found in many other foods. If you are looking for vegan sources of protein, try:

• Tempeh.
• Tofu, soy beverage, edamame.
• Cooked beans, peas, or lentils.
• Grains like teff, millet, amaranth, quinoa, or wild rice.
• Nuts, seeds or nut or seed butter.
• Wheat germ, oat bran.

You can get more protein in your food by adding protein ingredients. For example, you can:

• Add Greek or Icelandic yogurt to fruit smoothies and cooked cereal.
• Add beans to soup and chili.
• Add nuts or seeds to vegan yogurt.
• Spread nut butter onto a banana.

You can also buy protein bars, drinks, and powders.

How do you eat a healthy vegan diet?

A healthy vegan diet includes mostly whole foods and less-processed foods in each meal. A vegan diet can give you most of the nutrients you need.

As long as you eat a variety of foods, there are only a few things you need to pay special attention to.

Calcium.

Foods that have calcium include certain legumes, certain leafy green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and tofu. Calcium-fortified plant-based beverages and orange juice are also good choices.

Vitamin D.

Getting enough calcium and vitamin D is important to keep bones strong. Vegans can have fortified plant-based beverages and other foods with added vitamin D such as fortified vegan margarine. It’s recommended that Albertans aged 0 to 50 take a vitamin D supplement of 400 IU every day, and Albertans aged 51 and over should take a vitamin D supplement of 1,000 IU every day.

Iron.

Try to eat a wide variety of food. Vegan iron sources include cooked dried beans, peas, and lentils; soy foods, some nuts and seeds, some leafy green vegetables; and iron-fortified grain products. Eating foods rich in vitamin C will help your body absorb iron.

Vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 is found only in foods that come from animal sources. Vegans need to eat foods that are fortified with this vitamin, such as plant-based beverages and nutritional yeast or take a supplement that contains it.

Zinc.

Vegan sources of zinc include whole grain breads, beans and lentils, soy foods, nuts, and seeds.

Omega-3 fatty acids.

Vegan sources of omega-3 fatty acids include hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, soybean oil, and canola oil.

Is a vegetarian or vegan diet safe for children and teens?

A well-planned vegetarian or vegan diet can be healthy for children and teens. In fact, it can be a great way to get them into a lifelong habit of healthy eating.

Here are some things to think about at different stages of a child's life.

Babies

Supplements may be important.

• Starting around age 6 months, offer your baby iron-rich foods first, such as iron-fortified infant cereal, finely mashed cooked egg yolk, mashed beans, or tofu.^{footnote 1} Talk with your doctor about whether or not your child needs an iron supplement.
• Breastfed babies of vegan mothers may need vitamin B12 supplements if the mother's diet isn't fortified.^{footnote 2}
• Breastfed and formula fed babies need 400 IU of vitamin D each day from a supplement.^{footnote 3}Talk with your doctor about how much and what sources of vitamin D are right for your baby.^{footnote 1}

Young children

Children ages 1 to 2 years need extra fat for brain and nerve development.

• If you use milk, use whole milk. Don't use low-fat or skim milk. (Children younger than 9 months of age should not drink cow's milk.)^{footnote 3, footnote 1}
• Offer soy infant formula for toddlers under 2 years of age who are not breastfed or drinking whole milk.
• Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian to make sure that your child is getting enough fat.

Children

Young children who eat a vegetarian or vegan diet tend to be slightly smaller but still within normal growth ranges. And they tend to catch up to other children in size as they get older.

Teens

Teens need plenty of calcium and vitamin D. And iron is especially important for teen girls who are menstruating. If your teen decides to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet:

• Teach your teen how to plan meals to get all the right nutrients every day. You may want your teen to talk to a registered dietitian to learn how to plan a healthy vegan or vegetarian diet.
• Talk with your doctor or dietitian about the vitamins and minerals your child needs. Ask if your teen needs to take a daily supplement. Teens should take a vitamin D supplement of 400 IU every day.
• Find out why your teen wants to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. Some teens adopt this diet as a way to lose weight, but others with disordered eating may use these diets to limit how much food they eat.