WHAT YOUR BODY NEEDS
If you choose to give up all animal products you won’t be eating calciumrich foods such as cheese, milk, yogurt and butter and you may worry about how this might affect your bone health – especially post-menopause when your risk of osteoporosis is higher.
“It is possible to maintain healthy bones while following a vegan diet,” says Janet Bowman, helpline nurse for the National Osteoporosis Society. “As long as your diet is balanced, well-planned and includes a good intake of dairyfree calcium-rich foods. Choose fortified soya products, pulses and nuts and seeds such as almonds and tahini (made from sesame seeds).
“Eating plenty of fruit and veg is important too, because they contain a number of key vitamins, minerals and trace elements such as magnesium, potassium and Vitamin K which are essential for healthy bones.”
Plant proteins are packed with fibre, antioxidants and phytonutrients. A diet rich in these is thought to reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes. “But unlike animal proteins not all plant proteins contain all nine essential amino acids which your body needs to stay healthy,” says nutritionist Kim Pearson. “Quinoa, buckwheat, soy, hemp and chia seeds are all complete proteins. Beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds and wholegrains are all considered to be ‘incomplete’ proteins.
“But by combining several incomplete proteins, you can make sure you’re getting all nine essential amino acids. For example, you can maximise the protein content of your meal by eating beans and peas with a wholegrain such as brown rice.” Try a bean chilli with brown rice, lentil soup with a wholemeal roll, houmous with a pitta or peanut butter on wholegrain toast. You don’t even have to eat them together in one meal – across the day works too – so you could have a bean soup for lunch and brown rice at dinner.
If you’re new to a plant-based diet, especially if you’ve come straight from eating a lot of meat, it can take your body a while to start picking up nutrients from vegetable sources. But if you chew your food well, you’ll up your chances of absorbing more nutrients.”
Planning is the key to ensuring you get all the nutrients you need