About to become vegan... but..

[breko]

Hi all, I'm 23 and have eaten meat all my life. My wife and I are becoming vegetarian next week once our next pay cheque comes in.
We want to make the transition to vegan soon, but I'm very worried by some of the nutritional side of it. (B12,DHA etc.)
Have any of you ever experienced problems? Is there a resource I can go to with a meal plan plus supplements?

I probably sound very uneducated, all of this is very new to us

With thanks,
H

 

[vikentije22]

@breko If you eat a wide variety of foods, you shouldn't need any other supplement besides B12 which can only be gotten through fortified foods. Other than that, every nutrient can be obtained from a vegan/plant based diet.

 

[janblessed]

@vikentije22 Can be. Actually getting them may require a little effort. Optimising is something else. Eg, Getting enough omega 3 and maintaining a good 3:6 ratio really requires you to eat a little flax, hemp or chia every day. It's no biggie, but it's not obvious if you don't know and it's pretty easy to skip over.

 

[kmf85]

@janblessed Ground flax is the way to go! I have a tablespoon in my smoothie every morning. I'll throw it into applesauce or even in cereal sometimes too. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/flaxseeds-vs-chia-seeds/

 

[solachristo]

@janblessed while true i hate the fact that everybody talks about this like it's a vegan problem. pretty much every person out there with a standard diet has a shitty ratio of omegas and tat's not the only thing. iron, magnesium, zinc, vitamin d and even b12 deficiencies are so common among everybody, in fact vegans are less likely to have most of the common deficiencies, except b12

 

[hears2]

@janblessed Does it matter between chia, flax, or hemp? I eat chia seeds every day, but neither of the others

 

[janblessed]

@hears2 Ground flax is ideal, but ultimately i don't think it's so important

 

[dawn16]

@breko Take a DHA and b12 supplement problem solved

 

[dacorian]

@breko Just a quick FYI; B12 and other vitamins are in animal products because the producers feed them to the animals. By going vegan you are cutting out the middle man and preventing uneccesary cruelty to animals. Take a few vitamins and should be all set. Welcome!

 

[dawn16]

@dacorian FYI; Don't be a properganda guy. There is B12 naturally in grass feed meat. Fact.

 

[dawn16]

He is right not a "propoganda guy"

Where do you think the b12 is from?

 

[dawn16]

From the bacteria in the soil. You gonna try tell me there is no b12 in grass feed animals and that they all all anemic in nature ?

 

[dacorian]

@dawn16 Curiously, there are about 75 results for vitamin b on this site that provides supplies for "grass fed" cattle.

https://www.jefferspet.com/categories/cattle/health-wellness/vitamins-supplements-3

Which of course would be really weird if, as you imply, they actually get the nutrients from grass.

 

[dawn16]

@dacorian Shop sells cattle vitamins. Therefore grass feed cows must be deficent. Science.

 

[highontrance]

@dawn16

properganda

 

[bdenis777]

@breko I just take a b12 and I also learned that most milk alternatives usually have a b12 added to them.

If you are someone like me who loses weight easily (even when I was an omni) I would reccommend the website cronometer. It has been a big help for me for maintaining weight and you can see all the nutrients you get in a day!

Edit: spelling

 

[dawn16]

@bdenis777 Cronometer is an excellent app. Great suggestion.

 

[drscico]

@bdenis777 Cronometer will be your best friend and is a great tool for teaching yourself how much minerals and nutrients are in foods you never even imagined had them

 

[bdenis777]

@drscico Exactly! I love seeing it all

 

[drscico]

@bdenis777 Now I have to be really careful when speaking to people about it because I get so worked up and am like HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT THERE IS SHIT LOADS OF 'XYZ' IN CAULIFLOWER?!