For a vegan, there is a lot of conflicting information out there about what to eat and what not to eat. It can be hard to find the right balance between protein, vitamins, and minerals with all this information floating around! The good news is that it doesn’t have to be as complicated as you might think. With these essential supplements, your body will get everything it needs without any animal ingredients or byproducts insight.
Vegans may lack several essential nutrients, despite the diet’s many advantages. Your nutritional intake may become unbalanced if you cut out specific food types from your diet. Vegans need to take supplements that supply the vitamins and minerals that are frequently lacking in a vegan diet, such as:
Omega 3
Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid that is important to your body because it helps you maintain healthy cell membranes. Omega 3 supplements not only help with heart health but also aid your brain function to keep it sharp as well as reduce inflammation throughout your body.
Vegetarians and vegans are often deficient in omega-three fatty acids because the most popular source of these essential nutrients is fish, eggs, or meat. Fortunately, vegan omega 3 supplements are an option you have! Often, the source is algae instead of fish. As the folks at omvits.com explain all Omega-3 in the marine food chain originally comes from algae – not fish! Thus it’s best to source from the original plant-based alternative. So vegan omega 3 supplements are different from fish oil omega supplements because they do not contain mercury or other heavy metals found in fish.
All vegans should take omega-rich supplements because they contain essential fatty acids that are needed for good health. One common issue with vegan diets is there’s a lack of ALA, which is found in the omega family and required to create EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). This makes it difficult for Omega-deficient people to produce these long-chain polyunsaturated fats on their own.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is one of the most important supplements that every vegan should take. Vitamin D helps your cell to absorb calcium, and it can help prevent osteoporosis in later years. A deficiency in vitamin D may cause inflammation throughout the body, leading to a number of different symptoms like anemia or persistent pain.
Vitamin D is important for other reasons as well. It’s helpful in treating certain types of cancer, and it may prevent depression by regulating the level of serotonin in your brain. Researchers say that vitamin D can help improve mood disorders like seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Vitamin D also helps fight off infections, which are more likely to happen when you don’t have a sufficient amount of this nutrient.
Calcium
Calcium is essential for strong bones as well as teeth. It’s needed to maintain muscle function and blood clotting, all of which are important for a healthy body. Calcium-fortified foods like soymilk can be helpful too, but taking calcium supplements will ensure you’re getting enough of this vital mineral every day.
The amount of calcium needed varies depending on age and gender, but most people need between 700 mg and 1000 mg per day.
Iron
Iron is a mineral that carries oxygen throughout the body. It’s necessary for healthy muscles, hair and nails. Without enough iron in your diet, you can feel tired all day, have trouble concentrating or experience headaches. Iron supplements are typically recommended if you don’t regularly eat meat or other products containing heme-iron such as eggs, seafood, and poultry (it takes 15 times more non-heme than heme to get the same amount of iron).
Talk to your doctor prior to taking an iron supplement because soybeans also contain high levels of phytic acid which could inhibit the absorption of dietary minerals like calcium, magnesium, and zinc.
Protein and Amino Acids
Protein should represent a significant part of your diet, and there are plenty of vegan sources to get it. If you want to take it one step further by including protein in the form of an amino acid supplement nonetheless, opt for plant-based rather than animal-sourced products.
The most important prerequisite for an amino acid supplement is the inclusion of a full spectrum of essential and non-essential aminos. This includes all eight ‘standard’ or ‘must have’ aminos (isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine tryptophan), as well as arginine histidine serine tyrosine valine.
It also needs to include branched-chain amino acids like leucinoihecinic acid and valinihecitnacilic acid that are naturally higher in vegan diets but must be supplemented when eating animal products.
Finally, it should contain aminos like glutamine which can’t be created by the body but are still essential for muscle recovery.
While plant sources of protein like beans, grains, and nuts can provide all these aminos as well (though not in an isolated form), you need amino acid supplements if you get most of your proteins from things like tofu or brown rice which lack some – such as selenium, taurine, glutamic acid, and carnitine – while being high in others including lysine and tryptophan.
Vitamin B12
The eight B vitamins as well as vitamin B12 are crucial supplements that vegans must take. This is due to the fact that they are present in dairy, eggs, fish, and meat. B vitamins may thus be crucial for vegans to consume in order to balance their diet.
Adults (ages 19 to 64) should take around 1.5 micrograms of vitamin B12 per day.
What is its purpose? Natural energy boosts, immune system assistance, and cell health are all advantages of vitamin B for your health.
If levels are low: Vitamin B insufficiency affects your skin, emotions, and energy levels, making it crucial for vegans to receive enough of the vitamin.
Vitamin K2
For vegans, vitamin K is a necessary complement. Since vitamin K2 is derived from meat, dairy, fermented foods, and eggs, a vegan diet may increase your risk of having low levels.
Recommended daily dosage is 1 microgram a day of vitamin K for each kilogram of their body weight.
What is its purpose? Your health benefits from vitamin K’s role in healthy blood clotting and its collaboration with vitamin D to facilitate the absorption of calcium into the bones.
If levels are low, it is critical to make sure you will not suffer from low levels or a vitamin K shortage. This may result in bruising, profuse bleeding, and bleeding under the nails.
To achieve adequate levels, you can boost your consumption of vitamin K2 using vitamin K tablets.
Selenium
Vegans should consume selenium since it is an essential mineral. A vegan diet may result in low amounts of this crucial vitamin because it may be found in meat, dairy products, and eggs.
Adults (18 years and above) should take 70 g of recommended daily intake daily. 300 g is the daily safe upper limit.
The purpose of Selenium is known to lessen oxidative stress, support the immune system, and help the body convert food into energy.
If levels are inadequate, zinc deficiency can cause impotence, hair loss, and poor wound healing.
For the body to receive the appropriate nutritional levels of the vitamins and minerals that vegans require, selenium supplements can make sure that your diet satisfies daily requirements.
Zinc
Vegans must get enough amounts of zinc in their diets. Since it is present in meat, chicken, oysters, and milk, a vegan may find it difficult to consume enough of it through their diet.
Adults aged 19 to 64 should take 9.5 mg for men and 7 mg for women each day.
What is its purpose? Zinc improves your health by assisting in DNA synthesis and immunological function. Since it is necessary for cell proliferation, the entire body depends on it.
If levels are inadequate, zinc deficiency can cause impotence, hair loss, and poor wound healing.
You should include zinc in the supplements you provide vegans since they are made to help you raise your nutritional levels of zinc.
Vitamin C
Ascorbic acid, generally known as vitamin C, is another essential supplement that vegans can take for a well-balanced diet. Since it is present in fruits and vegetables, a vegan diet may get it organically.
Adults require 40mg of vitamin C per day (ages 19 to 64), according to the recommended dose.
What is its purpose? The immune system benefits from vitamin C, which also supports healthy skin and cells.
Scurvy, often known as vitamin C insufficiency, can result in low levels and weak bones, dry skin, and sluggish wound healing.
Taking vitamin C supplements can assist in ensuring that your consumption matches the recommended nutritional levels.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a necessary mineral that vegans may consume. Although it may be found in vegan foods, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with specific medical conditions should supplement their diets with magnesium.
For those aged 19 to 64, a daily dose of 300 mg for men and 270 mg for women is advised.
What is its purpose? By controlling your melatonin levels, magnesium helps you sleep. It also gives you more energy, keeps your heart healthy, and aids in muscle recovery after exercise.
If levels are low, you may have trouble falling asleep, feel worn out, and have heart palpitations as a result of magnesium shortage.
We do not recommend taking our magnesium supplements orally because they are designed to be administered topically. Transdermal magnesium is a convenient supplement that vegans can use.
5-HTP
Another dietary supplement that is acceptable for vegans to consume is 5-HTP, often known as 5-hydroxytryptophan.
What is its purpose? Our 5-HTP Lights Out Oral Spray is intended to be used before bedtime in order to prime the body for relaxation and sleep. It is acceptable for vegetarians and the ideal sleep companion.
Turmeric
Due to its active component, Curcumin, turmeric is a supplement that vegans may consume.
What is it good for? turmeric supplements are vegan-approved and are a fast, convenient way to take the nutritional supplements that vegans may need.
Iodin
Making thyroid hormones, which are crucial for development and metabolism, requires iodine. According to tiny American research, vegans’ urine iodine levels are around half those of vegetarians.
Milk, dairy products, and seafood are the primary dietary sources of iodine. If you eat a plant-based diet, taking a supplement or eating foods that have been fortified with iodine will help guarantee that you get enough iodine. It is advisable to use iodine-fortified plant milk alternatives as they are becoming more and more prevalent.
Tips For Choosing The Right Type of Supplement
There are many different types of supplements, so it is important to consider what you are trying to accomplish when deciding which one. Supplements can help with the following:
- Improving nutrient absorption
- Building muscle mass
- Promoting good moods or mental health
- Reducing joint pain and inflammation
- Some people also take them for weight loss purposes
You will want to speak with a physician about whether this is an appropriate option for your needs if that’s the case.
Next, opt for supplements made from natural ingredients and not those that are artificially created.
If you have allergies or sensitivities to certain ingredients such as wheat gluten, corn starch, soy protein isolate or rice flour then try looking for products without these items listed on them because this could trigger an allergic reaction from your body’s immune system – some symptoms include itching skin, watering eyes, and nausea
Then, dosage should be based on the manufacturer’s suggestions, your physician or personal needs, and any side effects that have been associated with taking too much of a particular supplement. Some supplements need to be taken only once per day while others might require more frequent doses such as every few hours or even twice daily.
Pay attention to warnings about not mixing certain products together because they can lead to serious health issues if mixed in the wrong quantities. For example, it is important never to mix beta carotene (a form of vitamin A) with alfalfa sprouts since this combination may increase the risk of cancerous tumours developing within the mouth and throat area due to increased exposure from swallowing plant cells.
Your body needs essential nutrients to function properly, and supplements can help fill the gaps. When looking for a supplement that will provide all of your body’s key vitamins and minerals, it’s important to take into account what you are currently eating in order to find out if you need more or less than average.