Ways to meet your dietary needs

Although there are actually no disadvantageous aspects to a vegan diet, meeting all the nutritional requirements it's no easy task.

People that consume animal products consider that vegan diets cannot provide our body with the required amounts of vitamins and minerals to cover all the nutritional bases. However, a properly-balanced vegan diet can contain 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance in nutrients thus maximizing our health.

Vegetarians may fail to meet their nutritional needs in protein, iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and zinc. Fortunately, vegan diets are rich in these nutrients.

- Protein: The right mix of plant proteins can provide our body with all the necessary nutrients for improving our health. In animal products, eggs and chicken are the main sources of proteins, but vegetarian diets are rich in whole grains, legumes, beans, peas, seeds, and nuts. In addition, soy protein is a great protein source that can be added to our daily nutrition in the form of soy cold cuts, soy chicken patties, or soy hamburgers.

- Iron: Iron is a vital element of our nutrition that, in animal products, is found in abundance in red meat, liver and egg yolks. Iron deficiency is a very serious disorder that leads to anemia and, hence, vegans need to include iron-rich foods in their diets. Such foods are legumes, broccoli, spinach, kale, apricots, plums, raisins, beans, lentils, oatmeal and cereals that fortify our daily iron needs up to 30 percent.

- Calcium: Calcium promotes healthy bones and teeth and is a vital mineral that is naturally found in dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese. In addition, soy milk, fruit juices, spinach, broccoli, beans and peas are calcium-fortified products.

- Vitamin D: Vitamin D contributes to the absorption of calcium into the body. By exposure to sunlight, Vitamin D is naturally produced, but it can also be naturally found in milk, margarine, and Swiss cheese.

- Vitamin B12: Vitamin 12 is hard to be found in vegetarian products and it is naturally contained only in animal products. However, some fortified products such as soy beverages, breakfast cereals and milk can ensure that our body doesn't lack this vitamin.

- Zinc: Zinc is a particularly important mineral as more than fifty enzymes are processed by it. Zinc is naturally contained in milk and dairy products, soy products, grains, nuts, beans and legumes.