- You technically can eat a little bit more food
on a vegan diet without gaining much weight.
We're eating more food, more volume,
but taking in less calories.
Hey, my name is Delilah and I'm a registered dietician.
Today I'm gonna answer some commonly asked questions
about vegan nutrition and share with you some tips
on how you can go vegan the healthy way.
We have eight essential amino acids.
And these are essential because our body cannot make them.
Therefore we have to get them from the foods that we eat.
If a protein food has all eight essential amino acids,
it's considered complete.
So these are typically animal-based foods
like chicken and eggs.
Plant-based foods do not necessarily always
have all eight essential amino acids
and so they're labeled as incomplete.
Just because they're incomplete does not make them at all
inferior in any way.
All plant-based foods have all eight amino acids
in varying amounts.
There's no need to worry about combining rice with beans
to make sure that you're getting the right
amino acid combination at each meal,
as long as you're eating a wide variety
of different protein sources.
So that means beans, lentils, whole grains,
nuts, seeds, soy, tofu and tempeh.
You will be sure to hit all eight amino acids
throughout the day.
Carbs are very healthy and nutritious for our bodies
and they come in many different forms.
The quality of carbs is very important.
You want to get whole grain carbs.
And try your best to either avoid
or limit the refined carbs.
Refined carbs are not very helpful to our body
because one, they're missing out on the fiber.
And they're missing out on B vitamins.
Whereas whole grains, such as brown rice,
wheat bread, quinoa, et cetera,
those have fiber, which is good for your gut
and your heart and they have the B vitamins
which are really good for our energy.
So that's not to say that you can never
have white bread or white pasta,
it's totally fine to still have those foods in your diet.
But you wanna make sure that you're prioritizing
the fiber-rich carbs in your whole grains.
So it is absolutely still possible to get enough iron
even if all of your iron sources are plant-based.
Your vegan sources of iron are particularly
your dark green leafy vegetables, so kale,
collards, spinach, those are very rich in iron.
But also beans and lentils as well.
And you want to pair those with sources of vitamin C.
So for example, when you're cooking your beans,
cook them in a tomato sauce.
A really popular example is chana masala,
or the next time you make your kale smoothie,
put some strawberries in there because strawberries are also
a really great source of vitamin C.
A lot of us have been taught to turn to dairy for calcium
because we've been told that the calcium in dairy
will help strengthen our bones
and make sure we don't get osteoporosis,
but actually research has suggested
that people who drink more milk have more bone fractures.
So the high protein content in milk,
it creates an acidic environment in our body.
And our body has to bring our insides back to normal.
So in order to do that, it needs a buffer.
And it gets that buffer from calcium.
And where is all the calcium stored in our body?
In our bones.
So our body resorts to taking the calcium from our bones
to rebalance our body and over time
when that keeps happening, a person can begin
to have weak and brittle bones,
which can lead to osteoporosis.
It's very possible to get enough calcium on the vegan diet.
Plants give you just enough calcium,
particularly the dark green leafy vegetables,
such as kale, collards, broccoli, spinach, et cetera.
Also fortified nondairy milks.
They're typically fortified with calcium
so those are also a really fabulous source.
I feel that soy is absolutely a safe and nutritious food
and there's no need to be afraid of it.
The biggest concern about soy is the estrogen content.
The type of estrogen in soy is called phytoestrogen,
meaning it mimics real estrogen
but it's not actually real estrogen.
There is real estrogen in other foods,
such as milk, dairy and eggs.
That's really important to remember.
Because that phytoestrogen, it can attach to those
estrogen receptors in our body,
and it can actually displace the real estrogen
that's in other foods.
And that's important because it helps regulate
how much estrogen we're actually taking in.
So when it comes to soy, you want to try to prioritize
the more wholesome forms, edamame and tempeh,
because the soy is still in the whole bean form.
Edamame are just straight up soybeans,
and tempeh is a fermented soybean cake.
Tofu's a great option as well.
It's a little bit more processed.
And with the imitation meats, try to limit them
to be just occasional additions to your meal,
because they tend to be much higher in sodium
and potentially preservatives as well.
If you're transitioning to a plant-based diet,
just know that it is totally normal
for you to want to eat more food.
These new foods you're eating have less calories in them
so you're gonna need to eat more food
to feel completely satisfied.
100 calories worth of cheese is much less in volume
than 100 calories worth of spinach or mushrooms or eggplant.
So because of that, you technically can eat
a little bit more food on a vegan diet
without gaining much wait.
We're eating more food, more volume,
but taking in less calories.
When you're on a vegan diet,
I do recommend supplementing with B12.
So B12 is really crucial to our health
because we need it for our red blood cells,
we need it for our circulatory health,
and even our brain cognition.
So B12 is actually a bacteria in the soil,
and most Americans today get it from eating animal foods.
Now it's not actually in the animal flesh itself,
but when animals eat their food, there's dirt on it,
so that's actually how they're getting their B12.
If you're doing the daily supplement,
make sure you're getting it in the methylated form.
And that's because it is much easier
for your body to absorb.
Two other options are nutritional yeast,
or you can drink nondairy milks that are fortified with B12.
Another major concern for when people are going vegan
is that they're letting go of fish,
and fish is a major source of omega-threes.
So good news, there are plenty of plant-based sources
of vegan omega-threes.
To break it down, there are actually
three types of omega-threes.
We have our ALA, EPA and DHA.
ALA is a form of omega-threes that's found
in your plant-based foods.
So your walnuts, chia, hemp, and flax seeds.
And DHA, EPA, those are found in your animal-based foods,
so your salmon, sardines, et cetera.
Now our body converts ALA to DHA.
As long as you regularly consume omega-three rich foods,
you are going to be okay.
Keep in mind that fish, they're getting that DHA
from eating the algae.
So it's the algae that has the omega-three in it,
not the fish itself.
So DHA is a plant-based food.
Now if you just feel like eating those foods is not enough,
you can take an algae-based supplement.
So vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin.
And that's because our body
actually creates it from sunlight.
But, depending on where you live,
during certain times of the year,
you probably won't get exposed to that much sun.
So you might wanna consider vitamin D supplements.
Other ways to get vitamin D when you are vegan
are nondairy milks that are fortified with vitamin D.
And this advice doesn't apply just to vegans only.
If you live in an area where there is not much sunlight,
whether you're vegan or not, definitely should consider
vitamin D supplementation.
It is absolutely possible to have a healthy pregnancy
on a vegan diet.
You definitely do have to be very intentional
with the foods that you choose to eat.
When a person is pregnant, they have increased needs
of lots of different nutrients.
With any pregnancy, even vegan or not,
you still need to work closely with both your doctor
and your dietician to make sure that you are getting
the nutrients that you need.
So although at first it can seem a little bit challenging
and tricky to transition to a plant-based diet,
just keep in mind that there are so many benefits.
You'll be getting more fiber, more antioxidants,
less saturated fat, so you're decreasing your risk
of developing heart disease, type two diabetes,
high blood pressure.
There are also even other benefits as well,
such as animal welfare, the health of the planet.
Even human welfare as well.
If you are new to the plant-based diet
and you're really concerned about your health,
you can absolutely go to your doctor and request some labs
and you can also work with a dietician.
That can help put you more at ease
to make sure that your diet is supporting your body.
Going vegan does not have to happen overnight.
Try to start with just one thing per day.
So if that just means changing your regular milk
to nondairy milk, that's a step right there.
Or maybe just focus on one meal out of the day.
Try your best to make every lunch a plant-based lunch.
But keep in mind that this is your journey
and it's gonna happen at your own pace.
Do what works best for you and just be kind to yourself.
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