How to Avoid Common Nutrient Deficiencies if You're a Vegan

Fruits and vegetables are essential for good health, but if that makes up your entire diet, you may be deficient in certain nutrients that omnivores get more of.

This posting by Authority Nutrition, lists seven nutrients you need to make sure that you’re eating enough of, or taking in supplement form, should you decide to adopt a strict plant-based diet.

In addition to those seven, there is also the issues of sulfur, calcium and iodine deficiencies, which are lesser-recognized hazards of a diet devoid of animal foods.

The List of 7 Common Nutrient Deficiencies if You’re a Vegan from Authority Nutrition:

1. Vitamin B12 - In terms of health risks from eating a vegetarian or vegan diet, most people think of vitamin B12 deficiency, as vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is present in natural form only in animal sources of food, such as meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs.

2. Creatine - Creatine is an amino acid found in animal foods that is important for muscle energy, proper function of your central nervous system, and brain health.

3. Carnosine - Carnosine is a dipeptide composed of two amino acids: beta-alanine and histidine. It’s a potent antioxidant, the highest concentrations of which are found in your muscles and brain.

4. Vitamin D3 - Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that you get primarily from sun exposure and certain foods. Vitamin D is involved in the biochemical cellular machinery of all cells and tissues in your body. It also influences your genetic expression, and in recent years, the importance of vitamin D sufficiency for optimal health and chronic disease prevention has become increasingly well recognized.

5. Omega-3 DHA - Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential omega-3 fat found in marine animals such as fish and krill. It’s important for normal brain function and heart health and pregnant women who are deficient in DHA also place their children at increased risk for developmental problems.

6. Heme-Iron - Iron is found in both plant and animal foods, but the type of iron differs. Heme-iron is found only in meat, primarily red meat. Non-heme iron is found in plants, but this type of iron is more poorly absorbed by your body. Moreover, heme-iron helps with the absorption of non-heme iron from plants, so vegans and strict vegetarians have an elevated risk of anemia, even though they’re getting plant-based iron.

7. Taurine - Taurine is another dietary component that appears to play an important role in brain and heart health. It’s also important for muscle function, bile salt formation, and antioxidant defenses. Together with magnesium, it has a calming effect on your body and mind. Taurine is a byproduct of the sulphurous amino acids cysteine and methionine (technically a sulfonic acid), and is only found in animal foods.

Plus:

Sulfur - Sulfur is derived almost exclusively from dietary protein, such as fish and high-quality (organic and/or grass-fed and pastured) beef and poultry. Meat and fish are considered “complete” as they contain all the sulfur-containing amino acids you need to produce new protein. When you abstain from animal protein you significantly increase your risk of sulfur deficiency and related health problems.

Calcium and iodine deficiencies are also common among strict vegans:

Good vegan calcium sources are almonds, blackstrap molasses, broccoli, figs and green leafy vegetables.

Good vegan iodine sources are cranberries, navy beans, strawberries, potatoes and especially sea vegetables, including kelp, arame, hiziki, kombu and wakame.. The iodine in a serving of sea vegetables can be quite variable. Excessive iodine intake can be just as harmful as not enough iodine, especially if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Adults should not exceed about 1,000 micrograms of iodine per day.

If you’re convinced a vegan diet is right for you, then at bare minimum consider a program of supplementation to get the nutrients you can’t get from your diet.

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