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Ever since I started a vegan lifestyle and eating plant-based foods, I started to wonder if I was getting enough vitamins and minerals. I had never taken many supplements before or really thought about it before I was vegan.

Why now?

I’m guessing it’s because of two reasons. I did eliminate something from my diet and vitamins and minerals are a popular topic of discussion when one turns vegan.

So, I’ve embarked to do some research and in this post I will cover two key vitamins that plant-based diets may lack: Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D. And then we will talk about the key minerals which are Calcium, Iron, and Zinc.

Vitamin B12

What is it and why is everyone in the vegan world is talking about it?

Vitamin B12 is part of the vitamin team that converts carbohydrates, fat, and protein into useable energy. It’s a critical vitamin during the stages when cells grow rapidly such as during youth. Vitamin B12 also maintains the protective coating around nerve fibers.

B12 is found in animal products such as fish, meat, eggs, and milk. Therefore, it is a common vitamin deficiency among vegans.

The best way to find out whether or not you are deficient in Vitamin B12 is to test for it. The best marker of B12 status is “Methylmalonic acid” also known as MMA. When B12 is depleted, MMA accumulates and can be measured in blood or urine.

What’s the recommended intake of Vitamin B12?

 It’s recommended that you take 4 to 7 mcg per day. It can come from fortified foods such as nut milks, energy bars, and nutritional yeast. Or via a supplement. Choose a supplement that has 250mcgs and adults over 65 should take 500 to 1000 mcg tablets a day.

The thing is that even you’re taking a tablet with 250mcg of Vitamin B12, only a small percentage will be absorbed by the body. The body can only absorb a small percentage of B12 at a time.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D regulates levels of calcium in the body. It helps us maintain our healthy bones. The research on Vitamin D in recent years has found that Vitamin D does a lot more for our bodies:

• As it travels throughout our bodies (heart, brain, and muscles) Vitamin D also helps our body systems to respond to everyday stress and repair assaults to those systems.
• It helps regulate blood pressure, helps to fight infectious diseases and reduce the risk of Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
• It helps prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke.
• And it’s important in reproduction and helps preserve cognitive function during aging.

So, how do we get enough vitamin D?

As many of you know, spending time in the sun is one of the ways to get adequate vitamin D. However, wearing sunscreen decreases the production of vitamin D. it’s also important to note that depending on the shade of your skin. People with pale skins need about 15 minutes of sunshine each day on their face and forearms between 10 am and 3 pm. People with darker skin shades need about 30 minutes a day.

One downside of relying on the sun to get your Vitamin D intake is that if you live in a climate with long winters this may not be feasible. And if you work indoors between 10 am and 3 pm even if you live in Hawaii, you can’t only rely on the sun to get all of your Vitamin D.

The good news is that many nut milk and breakfast cereals are fortified. You can also take a supplement with 15 mcg per day.

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The three important minerals: Calcium, Iron, and Zinc.

Calcium

Calcium is the most common mineral in the human body. Plants can be excellent sources of calcium when you know which foods to add to your daily meals.

Cow’s milk is not the best source of calcium even though it has been advertised as such for many decades. In fact, many people lost the enzymes to digest milk after weaning. Consuming lactose can lead to abdomen pain, bloating, and diarrhea. In some parts of the world such as South America and Africa, about 50% of the population is lactose intolerant. In Asia, this percentage is closer to 100.

So, how much calcium should you consume a day? The recommended daily allowance for adults is 1000 mg/day. If you’re over 50, you should increase the consumption to 1200 mg/ day and if you’re over 70 yous should consume 2500 mg/day.

You can get all of your daily intake of calcium by eating calcium-rich foods. It’s also important to note that the calcium absorption by the body varies from food to food.

Green vegetables I’m going to mention now, the body can absorb about 40-60% of calcium that is present in them. Examples of these green vegetables are kale, broccoli, bok choy, watercress, mustard, and turnip greens.

Other greens, primarily spinach, beet greens, and swiss chard have poor calcium absorption at only 5%.

Overall it’s wise to consume variety of dark greens. Don’t rely on spinach alone. Mix it with kale or watercress to get enough calcium needs for the day.

Other foods that are high in calcium are sesame and tahini, almonds and almond butter, fortified tofu.

Also, beware of calcium thieves. Salt, caffeine, and alcohol wash calcium away from the body. So, limit their intake when possible.

Iron

Iron plays a central role in transporting oxygen throughout the body and carrying away the carbon dioxide from blood cells. Iron delivers oxygen to muscles. It plays an important role in the immune system and mental processes that regulate learning and behaviors.

Some people may need more iron depending on several factors. Women usually need more iron than men because they lose iron as part of their menstrual cycle each month. Athletes should also consume more iron due to increased oxygen requirements.

So how much iron should an average person consume a day? The recommended daily amount for non-vegans is 36 mg per day. This is twice as high compared to non-vegans because the iron present in plants absorbs at a slower rate compared to iron in animal products.   

Which foods are rich in iron? All legumes are excellent choices for iron. Tofu, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, and dried fruits such as dried apricots are all great sources of iron as well. You can easily include pumpkin seeds and dried apricots in your nut mix and have it as a daily snack.

Zinc

What is zinc? Zinc is one of the minerals that doesn’t get a lot of attention, yet it’s very important for vegans to keep in mind. Zinc is essential to cell division, plays a key role in the immune system, and is necessary for wound healing.

Typically, zinc is available in the same foods as iron such as seeds, nuts, legumes, tofu, and whole grains.

Women need 8mg and men 11mg each day. So as long as you concentrate on including iron-rich foods in your daily meals, you will get the required amount of zinc.

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My brand new cookbook is out on Amazon! It’s called “30-Minute Plant-Based Recipes” and it’s perfect for busy vegans. Grab it now!