Nutrition In-focus - Vegan Nutrition
This week our newsletter looks how vegans can ensure they get the nutrients they need.
Vegans, like other vegetarians, do not eat animals. In addition they do not consume milk, eggs, or honey. Vegans also seek to avoid exploitation of animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. Most vegans do not wear leather, wool or silk.
Health surveys among vegetarians and vegans show that vegan children are shorter and lighter than meat-eating and vegetarian children and vegan adults are leaner than other people.
Vegans have lower blood cholesterol levels than either meat-eaters or vegetarians and seem to suffer less from heart disease. There is also some evidence that they are less prone to certain cancers. Some scientists also believe that vegetarians and vegans live longer than other people.
Although vegan diets have several advantages such as being high in fibre and low in saturated fat, they can be low in nutrients such as calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
Some of these nutrients are present in vegetable sources, however they can be less readily absorbed by the body. It is advisable that vegans who have persistent digestive problems or ill health take chelated multivitamin/mineral formulas.
Sources of nutrients
Vitamin B12 - deficiency causes pernicious anaemia, however low levels can cause symptoms like tiredness, pins-and-needles or a burning feeling, memory problems and depression. Vitamin B12 is needed to release energy from foods. Found in animal foods, the only vegan source is spirulina algae. Small amounts are found in yeast extract, fortified miso, margarine and soya milk. In addition, sea vegetables including dulse, kelp, kombu and nori, soybeans and soy products contain small amounts.
Vitamin D - needed for absorption of dietary calcium, helps to maintain healthy joints, teeth and bones.
Vegan source - Mainly obtained from action of sunlight on the skin and animal sources (butter, eggs, oily fish). Also present in some fortified margarines. Vegans with an indoor lifestyle should take supplements.
Calcium - Ca - needed for nerve transmission and muscular contraction, healthy teeth and bones and involved in blood clotting. Vegan sources - nuts, seeds, pulses (beans, lentils, peas, soya, etc.) and dark green leafy vegetables. White flour has Ca added by law.
Magnesium - Mg - which is needed for Ca absorption is also found in nuts, seeds and green leafy vegetables. Symptoms of low levels of magnesium include, fatigue, irritability, weakness, muscle cramps and insomnia.
Iron - Fe - needed for formation of haemoglobin, deficiency results in anaemia, for energy production, and normal thyroid function.
Vegan sources - watercress, parsley, pulses, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, dried fruits, potato skin, asparagus, beetroots and oatmeal.
Zinc - Zn - involved in more than 100 enzymes in the body including digestion, immunity, wound healing, fertility, insulin production and foetal development.
Vegan sources - seeds (especially pumpkin) nuts, pulses, mushrooms, wholegrains like buckwheat, rye, and oatmeal.
Beta-carotene - precursor of retinol - vitamin A - needed for night vision, healthy skin and mucus membrane, immunity.
Vegan sources - found in dark green leafy vegetables (the deeper the colour the higher the carotene) and red/orange/yellow vegetables and fruits. Good sources are carrots, beetroots, apricots, tomatoes, peaches, and watercress.
Diabetics may not absorb beta-carotene and should therefore use retinal supplements.
B Vitamins - needed for energy, nerve function, hormonal and other biochemical processes.
Vegan sources - yeast extracts, wholegrains, nuts, seeds (sunflower), mushrooms, avocado, bananas, kiwi fruit, beansprouts and dark green vegetables.
Research Update - The perils of eating meat
The British Medical Journal, recently published preliminary findings from a study of 38,917 Australian individuals. People who ate meat more than 10 times a week, were 1.8 times more likely to develop bowel cancer during the following 10 years. People who ate processed meat more than five times a week were 1.5 times more likely to develop bowel cancer.
Comment: This is an interesting article however to really get a balanced view as to validity of this research scientists need to look at the level of fruit and vegetables these individuals were eating. The level of fruit and vegetable consumption is much more likely to influence the incidence of bowel cancer than the level of meat consumption.
Focus on Food
Stuffed Peppers in Walnut Sauce
This delicious recipe was provided by the Vegan Society (www.vegansociety.com)
6 Large chilli peppers
Filling:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 chopped tomato
½ tspn cumin seeds
25g cashew nuts, chopped
1 dessertspoon of raisins
Sauce
50g walnut, roughly chopped.
100ml soya cream
25ml soya milk
25g vegan cheese (grated)
In a preheated oven (190 C) bake the chilli peppers for about 10 minutes until softening. Remove from the oven, make a slit in each from top to bottom and allow to cool. Fry the onion until soft, remove from heat and add tomato, cumin, cashews and raisins. Mix well.
Srape seeds from the peppers. Stuff with the filling. Place in an oven-proof dish. Make the sauce by heating all the ingredients together stirring until the cheese melts. Pour sauce over peppers and bake for 10 minutes. Serve with salad, rice, or potato wedges.
Information in this nutrition update is provided by Amanda Moore (BSC (hons) Dip ION mBANT) at Totalbeing +44 (0) 845 658 5658. www.totalbeing.com.
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After the first six weeks I went down one dress size from a 12 to a 10. It's so easy to follow. 
