Tips for getting started

● Plan properly – meat, fish, eggs and dairy provide protein and essential vitamins and minerals. When you cut out animal products, make sure to replace them with nutrient-rich plant foods, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, vegan Quorn, nuts and seeds.

● Follow healthy eating guidelines – they apply whatever your diet. Eat plenty of fruit and veg, base meals on fibre-packed starchy carbs, include dairy alternatives, and choose veggie proteins.

● Don’t expect to automatically lose weight by going vegan. Dishes made with a lot of oil, coconut products, vegan cheese, avocado, nuts and seeds can be calorie heavy. And avoid relying on ready-prepared dishes such as meat-free sausages, burgers and readymeals, as they can be high in fat and salt.

● Snack sensibly. Cakes, biscuits, crisps and sugary drinks – even if vegan-friendly – can still be high in sugar and salt.

● Don’t just look at the ingredients list to check products are animal-free; look at the nutrition panel too, and choose foods and snacks that contain less fat, sugar and salt.

● Choose dairy alternatives such as soya milk and yoghurt that are unsweetened and fortified with bone-friendly calcium and vitamin D, and vitamin B12.

● Keep added sugars to a minimum – maple syrup, agave syrup, coconut sugar and molasses are often used in place of honey – but they’re still sugars we should limit.

● Vitamin B12, which we need to keep nerve and blood cells healthy, is only found in animal foods, though some vegan products are fortified with it. A supplement is a good idea.

● Vegan diets aren’t always low in iron because they don’t contain meat. Beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, green leafy veg and iron-fortified cereals all contain this nutrient in good amounts.

● Speak to your doctor before making any change to your diet.