Nutrients in a Vegan Diet

If you want to become a vegetarian, you may ask yourself: "Can I get the nutrients I need from a vegetarian diet?" When you first start considering a vegan diet, everything seems confusing and overwhelming. People often worry they will lack some important nutrients. Protein is one of the things most people worry about most, but they also worry about other nutrients such as calcium, iron, essential fatty acids, and vitamin B12.
In fact, you need not worry - there is plenty of healthy vegan food. By filling your plate at every meal with a variety of whole plant foods (such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds) instead of eating meat, dairy, and eggs, you may get more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients. Plant-based food is full of beauty; as long as we get enough energy from a variety of healthy whole plant foods, we can obtain everything the human body needs to thrive.

Protein
Protein is one of the things most people worry about most. The amino acids in some vegetarian foods are not very complete - that is, among the twenty amino acids, legumes have only eighteen, and soybeans only fifteen. Amino acids are what make muscles, hormones, and the enzymes often needed; these all come from protein, so protein is very important. In our Eastern countries, protein intake comes from soy products, gluten, dried tofu, etc., but these foods do not have complete protein, so vegetarians need to eat different kinds of legumes. The main sources of protein are various legumes, bean sprouts, fruits and vegetables, wheat, nuts, and melon seeds.
Recommended daily intake: 38 grams for adult men, 29 grams for adult women.

Calcium
We are all taught to believe we need to drink milk to have strong, healthy bones. Indeed, for bone health we do need calcium, but we do not need to get calcium from milk - plant foods can provide all the calcium we need. Main sources of calcium:
Vegetables: celery, rapeseed greens, carrots, cabbage, watercress, coriander, black fungus, nori, mushrooms, etc.
Fruits and dried fruits: lemons, loquats, apples, black dates, dried apricots, candied tangerines, candied peaches, almonds, hawthorn, raisins, walnuts, watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried mulberries, peanuts, lotus seeds, sesame, etc.
Legumes and soy products: soybeans, edamame, lentils, broad beans, tofu, dried tofu, tofu skin, fermented bean curd, etc.
Recommended daily intake: 1000 mg for adults aged 19-50, 1200 mg for adults over 51.

Iron
Many people think vegetarians must lack iron because they do not eat meat. But in fact, the difference in iron deficiency rates between vegetarians and non-vegetarians is very small; humans are fully capable of absorbing and using plant-produced iron. Iron-rich plant foods include whole wheat, legumes (especially black beans), dark leafy vegetables, nori and kelp, tofu, pumpkin seeds, etc.
Recommended daily intake: 10 mg for adult men, 15 mg for adult women.

Essential fatty acids (Omega 3 and 6)
We often hear Omega-3 called a "good" fatty acid that we need more of, while Omega-6 is seen as one we should reduce. But both fatty acids are vital to human health. The issue is not just balance, but good versus bad. Ideally, we should keep the balance of Omega-6 to Omega-3 at 1:1 or at most 3:1. In our Western diet, the balance usually ranges from 16:1 to 50:1. A high ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is linked to a variety of diseases - including arthritis, diabetes, depression, heart disease, stroke, and even cancer. Balance can be achieved in two ways: by reducing Omega-6 or increasing Omega-3. Cutting Omega-6 is very easy by reducing the intake of processed foods, processed vegetable oils, and animal products. If you need to supplement Omega-3 algae oil, you can; whole plant food sources include flaxseed, walnuts, and canola oil.
Vitamin B12
This is one vitamin that plant-based eaters will find hard to obtain and should indeed supplement. If you cannot eat eggs, you should obtain it from cereal-fortified soy milk; today's soy milk and soy drinks also have added vitamin B12, and kelp also has vitamin B12.
In addition, vegetarians should also note:

1. Supplement more vitamin C in the diet to promote iron absorption, such as green peppers, cauliflower, leafy greens, tomatoes, etc.

2. Use an iron pot for cooking when possible, and use more vinegar and lemon for seasoning to help dissolve and absorb iron;

3. Eat more vitamin C-rich fruits, such as dates, citrus, etc.

4. To get enough zinc, eat nuts and oil seeds regularly, such as sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, black sesame, etc.

5. Vitamin B12 can be supplied through fungal foods and fermented soy products, including various mushrooms, shiitake, wood ear, etc., as well as soybean paste, fermented tofu, fermented black beans, sweet fermented rice, etc.

6. Eating more soy products, various nuts, and leafy greens is a good way to obtain antioxidants.

Eat fewer sweets, cook lightly, and try to replace refined white rice and flour with various whole grains and coarse grains, which helps promote health and maintain an appropriate weight.