Fueling Your Plant-Based Power

Plant-based diets have captured the world's attention for health, environmental, and ethical reasons. Plant-based eating can be considered a lifestyle choice, a statement, or a movement. But can you get all the nutrients a healthy body needs without meat or animal products in your diet?

The rising trend of vegetarian and vegan diets

It’s no wonder that more people than ever are interested in learning about and following meatless diets. Studies, books, and documentaries have proven that going plant-based benefits our bodies and planet.

Consuming red meat and processed meats increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, pneumonia, diverticular disease, cerebrovascular disease, colon polyps, and some cancers.

Some people think chicken is a healthier option, but poultry consumption increases your risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastritis, diverticular disease, gallbladder disease, and diabetes (1).

Producing livestock for human consumption hurts our environment. It increases greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. It also uses large amounts of water, contaminates water and soil with pesticides and fertilizers, and destroys natural habitats and biodiversity (2).

According to one study, if most of the world switched to a plant-based diet, we could lower our risk of death from non-communicable diseases by 18-21% and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 87% (3).

There’s no question why interest in plant-based diets is exploding!

Getting everything you need for a robust and healthy body without eating meat is possible, provided you follow a few essential nutrient tips.

It is vital to ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients like zinc, vitamin B12, and protein.

Animal products, including milk, cheese, yogurt, and eggs, are abundant in zinc, vitamin B12, and protein. If you avoid meat but still eat eggs and dairy and consume enough calories, you are likely getting all the zinc, vitamin B12, and protein you need (4).

Getting enough zinc and protein is easy following a vegan diet with careful planning. However, vitamin B12 is available almost exclusively through animal sources, so you will likely need to fortify your diet with vitamin B12-fortified foods or a vitamin supplement.

Understanding Nutritional Needs

The roles of zinc, vitamin B12, and protein in the body.

Why are these nutrients essential, and what do they do for your body? How can you make sure you’re getting enough?

• Zinc is a mineral needed for immune system function, DNA synthesis, cell division, wound healing, skin health, vision, smell and taste regulation, and normal brain growth and development from birth through adolescence. Adults need 8-11 milligrams daily (5).

  
  

• Vitamin B12 is crucial for making red blood cells, DNA, and normal nerve cell function. Adults need about 2.4 micrograms a day (6).

  
  

• Protein is essential for building and repairing muscles and cells, helps make the antibodies that fight infections, provides energy, and is needed for healthy growth and development. The recommended daily intake for a healthy adult is 10-35% of total calorie needs (7).

With careful planning, vegetarians and vegans can meet their requirements through plant-based sources.

Plant-Powered Zinc Sources

Zinc is found in many plant foods, but our bodies can’t always absorb it as well as animal-based sources. Plant foods contain phytates, which bind to zinc and inhibit the mineral’s absorption. Plants with high levels of phytates are nuts, seeds, legumes, and cereals (8).

If you have a zinc deficiency, ask your health provider if you need to reduce the intake of high-phytate foods.

List of zinc-rich plant foods

Sources:

• Legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils)

• nuts (especially cashews)

• seeds (pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds)

• whole grains

foods fortified with zinc.

Challenges: Limited bioavailability due to phytates

Deficiency: Can cause impaired immune system function, diarrhea, hair loss, slow healing wounds

Tips:

• Soak and sprout grains and legumes, which reduces phytic acid and makes the zinc more bioavailable, to enhance your body's ability to absorb zinc.

• Add legumes to salads and soups.

• Add nuts and seeds to your oatmeal, smoothies, or salads.

• Use quinoa as a grain bowl base, and add roasted and fresh vegetables and chickpeas.

Unveiling Vitamin B12 Solutions

Vitamin B12 is readily available in animal sources, but plants do not need it and do not manufacture or store it (6).

Importance of vitamin B12 for vegetarians and vegans

Getting adequate vitamin B12 in a vegetarian diet is simple. If you don’t eat meat but consume dairy products, you’re likely getting enough vitamin B12 because dairy products are high in this vitamin. Eggs are not considered to be a good source of vitamin B12.

If you don’t eat meat or dairy, it’s not easy to get adequate vitamin B12 in a vegan diet through foods alone because most sources of this vitamin are animal sources. An exception is dried algae products, such as nori sheets used to make sushi, which are high in vitamin B12 (9).

Many vegans take a vitamin supplement to ensure they don’t develop a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitamin B12 also helps you develop and maintain a varied, robust gut microbiome (10).

Sources: Dairy, cheese, yogurt, nori seaweed sheets, fortified plant-based foods such as cereals, nutritional yeast, and plant-based milk.

• Challenges: Found primarily in animal products.

• Deficiency: Can cause fatigue, weakness, depression, confusion, heart palpitations, problems with balance, infertility, cognitive impairments, neurological problems, and anemia.

Tips:

• Include vitamin B12 fortified foods in your diet.

• Consult with your health provider about taking a vitamin B12 supplement.

• Get your B12 levels checked by a blood test.

• Sprinkle nutritional yeast on popcorn or mix it into sauces or mashed potatoes for a cheesy umami flavor.

Plant-Based Protein Powerhouses

The diverse array of plant-based protein sources

Whether vegetarian or vegan, many plant-based protein sources are available to enrich your diet and help you meet your daily protein requirements.

Not all plant-based proteins are complete proteins, however. Complete proteins comprise all nine essential amino acids your body needs to make protein. Combining more than one source of plant-based protein at each meal is necessary to build a complete amino acid profile (11).

Sources:

• Legumes — beans, chickpeas, lentils

• Edamame — young, tender soybeans

• Tofu — is made from soybeans that are soaked, crushed, boiled, curdled, then pressed into a soft block

• Tempeh — made from soaked, boiled, fermented soybeans pressed into a compact cake

• Seitan — wheat gluten with a chewy, meat-like texture

• Quinoa — a grain that is a complete protein, containing all the essential amino acids (12)

• Nuts — almonds, peanuts

• Seeds — chia seeds, hemp seeds

• Brown rice — brown rice is a bit higher in protein than white rice

  
  

• Challenges: Not all plant protein sources are complete proteins

  
  

• Deficiency: can cause fatigue, weak immune response, muscle wasting, weakness

  Tips:

• Include multiple sources of plant proteins to build complete proteins.

• Use tofu and tempeh in stir-fries, scrambles, and sandwiches.

• Add nuts and seeds to smoothies, salads, yogurt and granola.

• Combine beans and rice for a quick and easy complete protein.

Practical Tips for Balanced Eating

Ensuring a well-rounded vegetarian or vegan diet

Eating a healthy, well-rounded, plant-based diet involves more than simply eliminating meat, dairy, or eggs. You need to be attentive to getting the vitamins, minerals, protein, and other essential nutrients your body needs to function and keep you feeling energetic and healthy.

Consider these practical, easy tips to help you keep your diet balanced:

• Diversity: Consume a wide variety of plant foods to ensure you are getting all your nutrients. Eat the rainbow! Challenge yourself to incorporate every color of fruit and vegetable over the week.

• Whole Foods: Eat whole foods as much as possible, the way they come from nature. Enjoy fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Avoid processed foods, which often have little nutrients and are filled with sugar, salt, and preservatives.

• Be Mindful: Eat a balanced diet that provides all needed nutrients. Consider supplements if you’re deficient and your healthcare provider recommends them. Combine proteins to obtain all essential amino acids.

• Research Bioavailability: Some plant-based foods are less bioavailable or easily absorbed by the body and may need to be paired with other foods, cooked, soaked, or sprouted to enhance absorption.

• Hydration: Water is vital for all nutrient absorption, so drink water throughout the day to keep your body running smoothly.

  
  

Common concerns about nutrient absorption and bioavailability in plant-based diets emphasize the importance of diversity and balance.

Plant sources of some nutrients are often less readily absorbed than animal sources due to the presence of phytates, which are compounds in plants that inhibit the body’s absorption of certain nutrients.

Legumes, seeds, and grains are high in phytates, inhibiting zinc absorption. Soaking, cooking, sprouting, and fermenting foods can reduce the levels of phytates, making zinc more easily absorbed (13).

Consuming a colorful variety of plant foods that change weekly helps you gain diverse and balanced nutrients. Pair foods to help your body absorb all essential nutrients. For example, adequate zinc is needed for vitamin D functions and regulation. (14).

Fortified foods and vitamin and mineral supplements can also help bridge nutritional gaps. However, you should ask your healthcare provider before taking supplements to ensure they are right for you.

Bottom Line

A vegetarian or vegan diet can meet nutritional needs. A well-planned, widely diverse plant-based diet can also help support robust health.

Experiment with new recipes and food combinations to discover what works best

Vegetarian and vegan recipes are accessible online, and hundreds of cookbooks about plant-based diets are available. Experiment with combining foods you like to create your recipes.

Plant-based cooking is delicious, fun, and enjoyable. It is a powerful way to protect yourself from diseases that develop from diets high in animal products while helping preserve our planet.

As long as you are mindful of getting all your essential nutrients, a plant-based diet will endow you with all your dietary needs and healthiest self!

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