vvginovv Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Hello, I am 21 yrs old and a vegan newb of about 1 month. I came across this philosophy mostly through michael pollan's books and ideas (even though he is a flexatarian). I am trying to slowly develop the optimum meal plan or at least one that fits a college student's budget. I workout 2-3 times a week. The biggest questions I have that I would like to explore in my stay here at the vb forums are regarding the deficiencies. I am actually pretty scared of the vegan diet because we only get one body and if we do it wrong, this could have irreversible damage 20 years down the road. Its hard because I have been eating a diversified diet including meat (mostly chicken breast) and a lot of dairy my entire life and look and feel healthy. So it is a little difficult rationalizing to fix something that is not necessarily broken. But if anything, I guess its for health, as well as environmental and ethical reasons. I know there is supplementation as well as real whole food consumption, but I hope to learn more about which has greater rates of absorption. I.E. are certain vitamins as available in the synthetic supplements as they are in foods,as well as which foods to combine to increase absorption of these vits and minerals. (like how it is supposedly good to eat tomatoes with olive oil because the licopene is better absorbed more efficiently). It seems like there some very knowledgeable regulars here, so thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Welcome! It's too late at night for me to answer some of your questions at the moment, as I'm about to go to sleep but I still wanted to say welcome! There are many reasons to adopt a plant-based diet centered around the consumption of a variety of plant-based whole foods; animal cruelty being the major reason for many of us. Explore around the forum, ask questions, etc. We're here to help, support, learn, etc. Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nails Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Welcome, I'm new to all this also but your ahead of me.At least you know the right questions to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganmomma Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuc Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Welcome! Basically you need to take care of just a couple of things: - Calcium: eat lots of seeds and take some calcium supplemented soy milk or other similar products and you'll be fine.- B12: it takes years to develop B12 deficiency since it is stored in your body and you need like 1 microgram per day.- D-vitamin if you don't live in sunny areas. D2 is vegetable based but you need it more than D3 which is animal derived.- Essential fatty acids. Use a lot of rapeseed oil & other sources of omega 3 and you'll be fine! Congratulations for a wise choise to become vegan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaN Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Hi & Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John V Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Hey neighbor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsorlando Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocalBrada Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Welcome and good luck / good choice on becoming a vegan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im Your Man Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Welcome ! You won't be deficient in anything if you do it right. With a great variety of fruits and greens, as well as some nuts, seeds, beans, grains, you'll get a great variety of all micronutrients and oligoelements, in sufficient amounts. Yes, some combinations (like vitamin C with iron, and some things are said about magnesium, chrome, zinc, to increase the assimilation of this and that) but I don't think it's necessary to think too much about it, and as long as you eat a variety of foods through the day, you can even have mono meals and it will be fine, because nature designed foods in a perfect way, a fruit contains everything necessary in it to be used optimally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liftandcode Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Welcome. You can be plenty healthy on a Vegan diet. Note that calcium in milk isn't absorbed well anyway. It might as well not be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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