Going vegan!?

Question

I'm about to go vegan (I'm already vegetarian), and I have a few questions.

1. What ingredients do I have to look out for that I may not know are animal by-products?

2. Should I take any vitamins/supplements? What am I going to be deficient in, iron, calcium, etc?

Uuh, I actually can't think of anymore questions, but I feel like I have more. If anyone has any tips or suggestions please feel free to state those! I welcome all advice (but please no anti-vegan lectures. I get enough from my mom.)

Answer 1

Vegans can't eat meat (no seafood or fish, also), any dairy products, eggs, butter or margarine, whey, poultry, honey or gelatin. Check labels and make sure they don't have any of this in it. A lot of stuff does. There are books on it too that can tell you more than I can.

Yes, you should take vitamin supplements for vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron and zinc. You can find these in some vegan foods (like orange juice, tofu, soy, almonds) but it's easier to take the supplements.

Answer 2

1. What ingredients do I have to look out for that I may not know are animal by-products?

Casein, anything with the prefix "lact", butterfat, gelatin, whey, (animal) stock, (animal) fat. "Natural ingredients" are something to be wary of, as well.

Answer 3

1. Please follow the link for the answer to your first question, depending how far you take being "vegan" you could find yourself in a woodland hut eating seeds and berries. http://www.veganoutreach.org/howvegan

1. ALL vegan people should take B12 supplements. No reliable plant sources have been found. This shouldn't bother you as people that eat meat, dairy AND fortified cereals are often found to have B12 levels lower than recommended. The good thing is that B12 is created by bacteria and there are vegan sources available.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/b12

Iron and calcium definitely should be a problem unless you don't read further or choose to do something wrong.

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo

You may find these links inspiring:

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

Answer 4

Somebody else mentioned a lot of ingredients to look out for, so I won't list them again, but one thing that person mentioned is the "lact-" prefix... Ingredients starting with lact aren't always non-vegan. Lactose always comes from milk, but lactic acid, calcium lactate, etc. usually are vegan. The only vitamin you really need to worry about is vitamin b12. Either take supplements or eat fortified foods. It also wouldn't hurt to go to a doctor/dietician, they can give you professional advice, and it's always a good idea with any new diet.

Answer 5

you can try some awesome sites but first and foremost congrats because I'm trying to go vegan as well and remember why your going vegan just like the reason why you went vegetarian you have to have that idea in your mind to help motivate you along the way

allveggielinks.com

veggielinks.com

veganomicon

vegan planet

skinny ***** in the kitch and i know other books but manly i get them from my local library just asked them under the subject of vegan and if they have books on it they will help you greatly

as well as starting to get to know people who are already vegan

good networking sites include

vegweb.com

veggieconnections.com

veggieconnect.com