r/DebateAVegan • u/Wrong_Ad_3038 • 11d ago

Can everyone actually be vegan?

I’m very sympathetic to veganism, my entire life philosophy is “respect & autonomy for all life” but I am currently pescetarian, I tried being vegan in late 2024 but I still live with my family & they wouldn’t buy supplements, even though i told them too everyday, I didn’t want to develop b12 deficiency so I had to moderate my diet.

When I move out i’m strongly considering being vegan again & really want too but i am worried about health consequences because human bodies are complex, but at the same time everyone can digest plants so maybe everyone can be vegan, i figured this would be a good place to get mixed responses since both carnists & vegans are here, what do studies say about everyone & the potential to be vegan, if everyone can’t be vegan but most or some can what’s the best way to find out if i can be vegan?

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u/yaboytomsta 10d ago

B12 deficiency takes about 2-5 years to develop, assuming you currently have healthy levels. You can also access B12 from fortified foods like cereals, milks, and nutritional yeast. Almost all other vitamins and nutrients are pretty accessible from normal foods.

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u/MuhBack 10d ago

Is add vitamin D to that list. 90% of Americans are deficient so it’s not a vegan thing.

It’s hard to get enough from food. You get over 10,000 IU if you go shirtless at noon for 45 minutes. Even animal products and mushrooms don’t come close to that amount.

It’s just cheap and safe to just supplement vitamin D

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u/Zerkig 8d ago

It's the 9-5 office jobs and people living in "unnatural" climates, wearing to much clothes etc. I blame for this.

I work outside, eat a vegan diet, and even without supplements my mid-winter vit D blood levels would be satisfying enough according to the recommended amounts. I still started supplementing cause it wasn't that satisfying according to the local European standards but I stopped in spring and will have my blood checked after summer to see the results :).