A few readers have left comments on the post or sent emails asking about how to get enough iron, B12, etc. on a vegan diet. The truth is, it’s not hard at all! Here was my answer to one of the emails:
In terms of getting good bloodwork results, the most important thing you need to be sure you’re doing is eating enough calories. A few years back, when I first started running, I didn’t realize how much I needed as a runner, and I ended up undernourished (I won’t bore you with details here, but I wrote about it in my Hello from CCK post).
My protein levels were low, and I was borderline anemic. But that all corrected itself when I realized I needed to eat more for my activity level. Initially when I went vegan, I made sure I had enough sources of B12. It was pretty easy: B12 was in Luna Bars, my soymilk, nutritional yeast, etc. But a few years ago, I noticed that since I’d switched to unfortified almond milk and wasn’t eating much nut yeast or many Luna Bars anymore, I needed to be more careful about getting enough B12. It’s really easy to see if you’re deficient in B12: Just look at the labels on the stuff you’re eating and add it up. If it’s not over 100%, you need to find more sources of B12 to add to your diet. Except for minute amounts in plants (not enough to count), B12 in a vegan diet is only found in fortified foods. Look for cereals, Wild Bars (my favorite hehe), fortified milks, Luna Bars, some protein powders, Red Star nutritional yeast (a great source of B12), etc. Then make sure you’re getting 100% every day (or more than 100% on some days; it stays in your system for a long while, so you can go overboard on some days and thus have to eat much, much less than 100% on other days). In my case, I’ve added nut yeast back to my diet. Along with the Wild Bars, my protein powder, and kombucha, I’m good to go.
As for iron, if you google “iron and vegetarianism” you’ll get loads of information. My iron levels came back fine, so I don’t really worry about it, but I know that iron is better absorbed when you eat it at a meal where foods rich in Vitamin C are present. Also, leafy greens are a great source of both Vitamin C and iron. But less iron is absorbed with calcium-rich foods, so if you’re taking a calcium supplement, you should take it at the meal where you’re eating the least amount of iron. Fortified foods are good sources of iron, as are beans, blackstrap molasses, some sea veggies (dulse is very high in it), some nuts, greens, etc.
All in all, if you eat a variety of foods–emphasizing whole foods, especially veggies and fruits–and take in enough calories to meet your energy needs, you shouldn’t have to worry much about specific vitamins. If you’re really curious, you can always sign up for a free account on fitday.com and and log your daily eats once in a while. Or, if you’re worried that you are deficient in something, see a doctor for a blood test. One reference that helped me tremendously when I first became a vegetarian is a book called The Vegetarian Way. It has chapters on specific nutrients, as well as chapters on vegetarian athletes, teenagers, how to first “go” veg, how to eat out as a vegetarian, prepare veg foods on a budget, and more. It really is a great book to look into buying.
I do now take a vegan Omega-3 supplement, made by Minami Nutrition. It’s not that one can’t get enough Omega-3s on a vegan diet, but I just want to be sure and not have to worry about it.
Nail art of the day: I renamed the shade “Ipod blue.” When I went to pick up my ipod, I noticed my nails blended right in. (Please excuse the dirty ipod; he’s been around the block… and then some!)
It’s no Watermelon Manicure … but I had fun using my new nail-art pen.
Love the nail art! Too cute!
I have a history of anemia too–I’ve just packed in the beans and tofu ever since. I don’t take any vitamins, however.
I’ve had my blood tested a couple times for vitamin levels and have never been much off the normal range. I still take a multi and calcium and omega-3, just to cover any gaps. No research to support it either way really, so I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Such a great, informative post for people considering vegetarianism or transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. Unfortunately i am all too familiar with the “undernourishment” that results from not eating enough calories for what you are burning. I completely depleted my iron stores and had extremely low levels of the main B vitamins. My white blood cell count was down as well as i had been on antibiotics (never again) for a food poisoning incident when i was hiking in South America. I think all of this info is essential, as i never shifted away from my vegetarian lifestyle and completely built back all of my iron and b-vitamin stores without supplementation or animal products. Spinach or Dulse paired with citrus fruit works wonders. I am living proof that you anyone can completely renew there energy and come out of anemia even livelier and stronger then before through a plant-based diet! Thanks for the great post:)
In case no one mentioned it – cooking in cast iron is a great way to boost your iron w/o meat too…especially cooking tomato sauces! I am not 100 % veg anymore (but am considering going back to vegan) but eat very few animal products…same with the rest of the family…so when we make marinara sauce for on top of pasta or veggies…I cook it in the cast iron skillet. I do veggie stir fry’s in there too.
Excellent post, and very important! I am planning on doing a post about the same thing in a week or so. 🙂
Your nails look awesome! I wish my nails could look as cool as your do. Do you do them yourself? That must take a loooong time. I dont even have the patience to paint my toes.
I do take supplements, I take a daily B12 and a vitamin C but thats it. I have been thinking about taking an everyday multi just to be on the safe side, but i only thought of that yesterday.
Just got my blood work done last week and they said everything was excellent…but I still feel like I’m running really low on energy..maybe my calories need to increase? Hmm. Thanks for this post love!
And by the way THANKS for guest posting!!! I love you,
Maggie
just catching up on my reader 🙂 but you’re tackling iron, good. This week I tackled Protein and Last week was Calcium. So keep on spreadin the good word that plant based diets work and one can be healthy & vibrant on one!! xoxo
I do take supplements. I’m a small person (i’m reaching up to 5’2″ here …) and I don’t get in nearly enough physical activity, so I just don’t eat a lot. And even though I try to eat a huge variety of things, the bulk just isn’t there. I find that well selected vitamins make it a lot easier for me to not worry about how much I’ve eaten all day.
I know this is an old post, but I was googling unfortified almond milk and there you were! Can I ask where you found or still find that? I’m trying to find a way to work my non-dairy morning smoothies back into my routine, but I take thyroid medication in the morning, and I’m not supposed to have calcium within 4 hours of taking it. And I can only find enriched almond milk! If you could email me that would be great, as I’m not sure I’ll keep up with this post! Thanks!!!