How can i get all my vitamins and iron and minerals and calcium from food when I m a vegetarian?

Question

hi,i m a vegetarian.I want to know how can i have all the things of vitamins and minerals and iron and calcume in a day?

please help...

Answer 1

It's difficult to get your daily requirements of most vitamins and minerals when you are on a restricted diet, such as being vegetarian. You can take a supplement, but it won't be as beneficial as eating it from the source. Make sure to eat a lot of colorful veggies, such as dark greens. Eat whole grain products and try to eat soy, if you can.

Answer 2

It is much easier to get the recommended amounts of vitamins, minerals, and calcium from a vegetarian diet than from the standard "Western Diet" that most of Americans are eating.

Just choose a wide variety of colors when eating veggies.  It is very easy.  Veggies give you vitamins, minerals and calcium unlike meats which give you just a little B12.

If you are worried, you can always take a quality mulitvitamin but as long as you are eating a wide variety of foods, you shouldn't need to worry.

Answer 3

The Vegetarian Starter Kit from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine will answer all of your questions:

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

And there is a ton of helpful information at VegSource:

http://www.vegsource.com

Answer 4

take vitamin supplements!

my friend is a vegetarian, and she finds it too hard to eat everything, so she takes supplements every morning to make sure she gets everything she needs

Answer 5

yes, eat lots of vegetables and try to take a supplement for iron

Answer 6

Good sources of calcium are: green leafy vegetables (kale, collard greens, chard, spinach), almonds, fortified non-dairy beverages (almond milk, rice milk, soy milk), and dairy products (if you eat those)

Good sources of iron are: dried fruits (especially apricots), legumes, whole grains. Mix your iron-rich foods with vitamin-C rich foods for maximum absorption

Zinc is one that most vegetarians don't consider, but it is very important: pumpkin seeds, tahini, legumes

Zinc, iron, and calcium all compete for absorption, so your body will be able to maximize each mineral if you try to space them out a bit (for instance, don't drink a glass of soy milk while eating dried fruit... spread them out a bit).

Supplements are good, and you should be taking a multi-vitamin every day to make sure you are getting everything you need, but you should be trying to meet all of your nutritional requirements from foods rather than supplements.

Good for you for following a vegetarian diet, and for being smart enough to learn about how to meet all of your nutritional requirements on a restricted diet. If you can, try to meet with a registered dietician to find out what your specific nutritional needs are, and what you can do to meet them.

I have been a vegetarian for 15 years, and a vegan for the past 4.5 years (including during the past 2 years, while I was pregnant and then nursing my plump and healthy vegan daughter). It is absolutely possible to meet all of your nutritional needs on a vegetarian or vegan diet, but it takes a lot of thought and planning to do it right. You are definitely on the right track by trying to inform yourself.

Check out the book below. They have another one for vegetarians. It is a great resource for learning about what your body needs, and how to get it from a vegetarian/vegan diet.

Answer 7

You'll get plenty of calcium, iron and minerals if you eat a plenty of nuts, greens, grains, beans, tofu, broccoli, cauliflower,  etc.  You just need a balanced vegetarian diet.

http://www.nutrispeak.com/veganfoodguide...

http://www.vegsource.com/nutrition/pyram...

Also, the different types of vegetarian milks, cereals, etc, come fortified with vitamins and minerals.  You really shouldn't need vitamins.  But if you insist.....

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp88544_332828...

You can find those vitamins at a health food store or Whole Foods.