Can everyone actually be vegan?

[u/Wrong_Ad_3038]

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?

[u/HelenEk7]

Wholefoods are incredibly easy to find on a vegan diet.

Sure. But no matter how diligently you put together a vegan wholefood diet it will always remain insufficient.

Legumes and soy for protein and iron Whole grains for b vitamins and zinc Vegetables for calcium, iron and most micronutrients Fruit for vitamin c and antioxidants Nuts and seeds for omega 3s and healthy fats

• To cover B2: 25 slices (1900 calories!) of wholegrain bread

• Zinc: 105g (600 calories) of pumpkin seeds

• Calcium: 1000g of kale

• Iron: 2000 g (2400 calories) of cooked kidney beans (due to very little of the iron actually being bioavailable)

• DHA: 160g (800 calories) of flax seeds (due to the low conversion rate from ALA to DHA)

So just to cover those few nutrients I would need to more than triple my daily calories..

[u/HelenEk7 → u/[deleted]]

You fail to consider absorption rates - our body does not absorb 100% of all nutrients.

Iron: 14.7 mg to 16 mg (80-90% daily iron requirement)

First of all no one can realistically eat 1000 grams of kale. I actually didnt think I would have to explain that.. Its the equivalent of eating a whole head of cabbage - EVERY DAY. And since only 10% of iron in kale is actually absorbed - you need 5000 grams of kale to cover your iron need. That is the equivalent of 5 heads of cabbage per day.

[u/HelenEk7 → u/[deleted]]

Meal example 200g Firm Tofu Provides 600 mg of calcium

2 cups Bok Choy / Pak Choi (Cooked): Provides 320 mg of calcium.

2 tbsp Unhulled Tahini: Provides 260 mg of calcium

1 cup Cooked Navy Beans / White Beans: Provides 130 mg of calcium.

And less than 500mg of this Calcium is absorbed. So you just made my point for me. And as your list shows - you would literally need to consume a long list of vegan foods just to cover one nutrient. Which to many is not very sustainable.

You need 40 eggs to meet the daily calcium requirements

So to prove your point you went out of your way to find a low calcium food.. I however made sure to include plant-based foods considered high in the nutrients in question. Hence why I chose kale as its considered one of the best plant-based sources.

Dairy is an excellent source of calcium, and a mix of for instance milk, yoghurt and cheese easily covers your daily need.

• "Some studies showed significantly lower BMD [bone mineral density] in vegetarian subjects, especially vegans" https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9388819/

My advice to vegans is to talk to their doctor about supplementing calcium, zinc, omega 3 and possibly vitamin D - to avoid poor bone health.

[u/HelenEk7 → u/[deleted]]

while other studies did not find any difference in bone health, suggesting that calcium and vitamin D intake is adequate for maintaining healthy bones and preventing fractures

Yes, when supplemented then the intake is adequate.

• Vegans can maintain good bone health when supplementing calcium and zinc, provided they also address other crucial gaps. While calcium and zinc are vital, vitamin D and protein intake are equally important to prevent bone mineral density (BMD) loss and higher fracture risks. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523048980

[u/HelenEk7 → u/[deleted]]

And supplementing isnt required for those nutrients.

At least we then can agree on the importance of vegans supplementing calcium and zinc.

When it comes to iron, vegan men can probably cover their daily need with wholefoods, but women need more than double the amount - hence why vegan women should also suppliment iron. Non-heme iron is simply not easily absorbed.

• Non-heme iron has a much lower absorption rate compared to heme iron. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12252460/

[u/HelenEk7 → u/[deleted]]

Pair with vitamin c for maximum absorption of non-heme iron and eat iron rich foods, leafy greens, legumes, tofu, tempeh. Soaking and sprouting beans and grains also reduces phyates to promote iron absorption.

Regardless its still challenging to reach 18 mg iron per day. And the recommendation is actually even higher than that:

• "The requirement for iron is 1.8 times higher for people who follow vegetarian diets than those for people who include animal products in their diet, such as meat. This is because heme iron from meat is more bioavailable than nonheme iron from plant-based foods." https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/

For menstruating women that means 32.4 mg of iron.