How can I safely go vegan

[TheSnugHare]

I was vegan for a few years and felt really ill.
how can I get all my essential nutrients on a vegan diet? I can take supplements but not sure which

I have been vegan for a year and never felt better and have more nutrients and iron than before when I was just veggie. Confirmed by blood test.

I have the vegan a-z supplement from boots.

I start the day with a protein shake. I vary what's in it but the bare basics are banana, raw spinach, oat milk and protein powder from Holland and Barrett (pulsin).

You need to eat nuts / nut butter every day. I also eat avocado and chia seeds for healthy fats.

I eat tofu, tempeh, lentils, beans and quinoa. I eat a lot of vegetables.

Aldi do a good vegan range and Sainsbury's vegan pesto is delicious.

I add nutritional yeast (Sainsbury's again) to cooking / sauces.

Amanda ducks on YouTube is brilliant.

I'm happy to answer any questions. You get criticism for being vegan because it's different and people don't understand but it really is the healthiest way to be imo.

Look up what you need to eat/supplement for bone health.

My friend has been vegan for many decades, since before it was fashionable. She is now crippled with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

What nutrients are you specifically worried about? There is no need to supplement on a vegan diet if you eat properly - same with a ‘regular’ diet! A lot of people fall in to the trap of eating the new unhealthy vegan meat substitutes which have next to no proper nutrition, just UPF rubbish.

I’ve been vegan for years, perfectly healthy (confirmed with bloods!) and my staples are:

Protein - tofu, beans, pulses, seitan, nuts, seeds, quinoa, hemp seed based protein powder
Calcium - leafy greens, chia seeds, most plant based milks + yoghurts are fortified too.
Iron - more leafy greens, grains + beans! Seaweed too. You can buy a reusable iron ‘fish’ which you boil pasta, make soup etc with to fortify things - I’d definitely recommend it.
Vitamin B12 - nutritional yeast. Again many plant based milks etc and cereals are fortified with it

@TheBelleOfBelfastCity can you let me know which protein powder you use? I'm struggling to find one without UPFs which is affordable.

And thanks for the Lucky Fish iron ingot recommendation!

I don't think everyone can manage a vegan diet tbh, it depends a bit on how varied your taste is and how much time you have to think about food and food prep.

I'm quite a fussy eater and even on a veggie diet felt really ill.

It's not for everyone 🤷‍♀️

Vegan for over 50 years here. It is so easy now, everywhere sells vegan food and it is no problem to get enough protein and calcium. Just do a bit of research, find foods you like so you eat them regularly and eat as wide a range of foods as you can.

Perhaps buy a vegan cookery magazine or look up some vegan websites to give you inspiration.

I'm vegan, not a particularly healthy one, my diet certainly contains too many pizzas and burgers and not enough lentils and beans. But my bloods have never been better (was vegetarian for 20 years prior), never had so much energy (and I'm more overweight now than I was before!). Occasionally when I remember ill take a multivitamin (a box of 30 will last me over a year). I use the Boots vegan A-Z.

I wouldn't over think it, just give it a go, eat a balanced diet with plenty of pizza variety and see how you feel. You could start by removing dairy initially, or eggs, or whatever and do a gradual change rather than an overnight flip if worried from a health perspective