How to stay healthy when going vegan
Many years ago I gave up meat and animal products for lent. In addition to reducing my carbon footprint, I thought I would gain more clarity and feel a greater sense of well being. But after a few weeks in, fatigue set in, my brain fog was getting worse and worse each day, I felt weaker as the days went on, and at the end of four weeks, I broke my vegan diet, prepared some frozen octopus in the freezer, felt significantly better and decided to stay pescatarian for the remainder of lent.
What happened to me is all too common for when we make drastic changes to our diet without fully understanding the impact it has on our nutritional balance. In my case, what I didn’t know was that I was already nutritionally imbalanced before I went vegan, and by skipping out on animal products but not properly supplementing my nutrition, I became severely deficient in Vitamin B12, leading to fatigue, brain fog, and lethargy. Unbeknownst to me at the time, octopus is one of the highest B12 containing foods, so what I broke my vegan diet with helped me recover quickly from my imbalance.
Don’t get me wrong - a diet packed with a variety of nutritious plant-based foods can do wonders to benefit our health. Especially when most of us today aren’t getting enough whole, plant-based foods. At the same time, nutrient/vitamin deficiency can lead to some pretty serious health risks, and B12 deficiency is particularly common for those on a vegan diet. So in this blog, I want to share a bit on how I stay healthy when eating a mostly plant based diet:
Do:
Track your daily micro-nutrients and mineral intake with an app (I personally use Cronometer), at least for the first 1-2 weeks, so you understand what vitamins / minerals you need more of and where you may need supplements in your diet.
Eat whole foods and eat a variety of vibrantly colored vegetables for different micronutrients.
Vitamin B12, D and K2 are common vitamin deficiencies in a vegan diet. I recommend a food-based vitamin/supplement, and here are the natural vegan alternatives to vitamins:
For Vitamin B12, chlorella is the a great vegan source for smoothies, which will also provide Vitamin D.
Depending on your geography, a daily dose of sun could also serve as the best source of Vitamin D.
For K2, fermented natto has the highest concentration of vegan K2, easily found in natural foods / Japanese grocery stores. Sauerkraut is also a good alternative.
Make sure you read the back of labels. Ask: How long is the ingredient list? How much nutrition will the food provide? Is the food processed with wheat?
Don’t:
Don’t fill your diet with mostly processed foods when going vegan. Some of these items are meant to be occasional treats. If you wouldn’t eat a beef burger every day, keep the beyond meat burger an occasional treat as well.
Don’t assume because something is plant-based that it would be good for you. Stick with whole foods.
Don’t use high temperature cooking methods to add flavor for every meal. Use a balance of spices / steaming / boiling to reduce the amount of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) that is created through milliard reaction. AGEs can potentially contribute to aging and is associated to insulin resistance, diabetic complications and kidney disease.
Don’t fill your meals with refined starches. (like I did before I knew what was good for me) Food should provide nutrition, not empty calories.
Another “do”, is do check out my vegan recipes this and next month during lent, especially those made with my two secret umami ingredients for making vegan dishes delightfully full of flavor. (hint: they’re both fermented) I believe there are healthy ways to go vegan, and also unhealthy ways to go vegan. Track your nutrition (I can’t stress this enough), get your Vitamin B12, D, and K2, and enjoy all the delicious goodness plant-based dishes has to offer!
