Short Complete Guide To A Healthy Vegan Diet

STOP ✋️ I am causing confusion for my inaccurate use of the word Vegan and whether I am Vegan, so I reuploaded this post as A Plant Based Diet. You can read it here: https://johnnybelgium.blogspot.com/2024/04/short-guide-to-healthy-plant-based-diet.html

Going vegan is one of the most impactful things you can do for minimizing the harm you do to animals, your body and the wildlife on this tiny planet. But there are bad vegan diets and good vegan diets. This is a guide to a healthy vegan diet.

!WARNING!: Some people with gut issues like a poor microbiome or some immune disorders will have a bad reaction to suddenly eating lots of Fiber, which is in all plants. But for most people it is very healthy to eat lots of Fiber. 

Rule number one of going vegan: Don’t Go Vegan! ;-) Be a vegetarian or flexitarian instead. Try to eat only plants as often as possible but allow yourself to make an exception. When you do eat animal products, do so in small portions. Tell people you try to avoid animal products instead of telling them you are vegan.

According to some, Veganism is not just a diet but a strict philosophy that tries to eliminate all animal exploitation including for clothing.

If you do go full vegan, don’t become judgemental of others who are not. Logical or not, combative vegans cause people not to consider veganism themselves. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

If you do eat animal products, stick to Chicken, Fish, Seabugs (shrimp, scampi...) and if that's your thing: Insects. And a moderate amount of Dairy Products. Buy and eat animals clean. Unprocessed. Not marinated, smoked, coated or turned into a sausage or burger. 

Vegans need to take supplements!!! Don’t worry about it being natural or not. The most common nutrient deficiencies in vegans are Vitamin B12, Omega 3 DHA and EPA (you can get these in vegan versions but make sure it is DHA and EPA) and Vitamin D. More on supplements later.

Get enough calories!!! Plants have a lot of nutrients but are much lower in calories than animal products. Getting enough calories on a plant based diet can mean a lot of eating and chewing. Many beginners make the mistake of not eating enough. One way to get more calories into your vegan diet is to add plant oil like olive oil. Nuts are also very calorie dense.

Get enough protein!!! Eat lots of Legumes (Beans, Peas, Chickpeas, Lentils, Soy and Tofu) and maybe Nuts and Seeds. You can drink plant milk like Soy milk or Oat milk with lots of protein.

Don’t worry about “complete protein”. All plants contain all 9 essential (that means we can't make it ourselves) amino acids that are the building blocks of protein (together with 11 other amino acids we can make, for a total of 20). All your body tissue is protein. You need about 0,8 grams of protein for every kg of lean! body weight.

Eat a “Whole Foods” plant based diet. That means unprocessed foods. You have to buy food that is in its natural state. As it grew from the ground. Avoid factory foods with ingredients you wouldn't use in your kitchen.

Don't eat highly processed fake meat or cheese. A big reason I avoid the vegan food boxes I found.

Fermented foods can be a probiotic, depending on how they are processed. Meaning they contain healthy bacteria to enrich your gut microbiome. Your microbiome feeds on fiber. Try to eat 40 grams of fiber per day which is easy on a mostly plant based diet. A healthy microbiome is essential for health.

Try to eat from these plant food categories (and 2 extra) every day or at least every week:

1. Whole Grains (every day) - Oats, Barley, Rice, Quinoa, Bulgur
2. Legumes (every day) - Beans, Peas, Chickpeas, Lentils, Soy and Tofu
3. Marrow Vegetables – pumpkin, cucumber, zucchini
4. Root Vegetables (leave the skin on) – Potato, Sweet Potato, Yam, Ginger, Jeruzalem Artichoke, Daikon, Carrot, Celery Root, Beetroot, Turnip, Radish, Burdock, Rutabaga, Casava, Ube, Yacón, Oca, Fennel Bulb, Chinese Water Chestnut, Tumeric, Ginseng, Galangal, Arrow Root, Taro, Eddoe, Konjac, Horseradish
5. Edible Plant Stem – Celery, Asparagus, Bamboo Shoot, Cardoon, Heart Of Palm, Manchurian Wild Rice, Leek, Lotus Stem, Prussian Asparagus, Kurrat, Kohlrabi, Welsh Onion, Rock Samphire, Kurrat, Nopal, Rhubarb, Wild Leek, Samphire Greens, Banana Pith, Garlic Chives, Chives, Celeriac, Asparagus
6. Allium – Onion, Garlic, Shallot, Leek, Scallions, Spring Onions, Peewee, Ramps, Chives
7. Cruciferous Vegetables - Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli
8. Leafy Greens (Every Day) - Lettuce, Spinach, Silverbeet, Kale (kale is low in oxalates, which is good)
9. Fungi (Mushroom)
10. Fermented Vegan Food - Soy Yogurt, Kimchi, Sauerkraut
11. Nuts and Seeds (A handful of nuts everyday) - Walnuts, Peanuts, Ground! Flaxseed, Ground! Chia Seed
12. Fruit (eat fruit every day, eat fruit directly after a meal for a lower sugar spike) - Apples, Pears
13. Berries (expensive but really healthy, eat after a meal to lower the sugar spike) - Banana (cheap), Blueberry (exceptionally healthy)
14. Herbs and Spices - Kurkuma (world's strongest antioxidant), Cumin, Pepper
15. Water (every day) - Water, Tea, Coffee, Flavoured Water
16. Exercise (every day) - Walking, Shadow Boxing, Aerobics, Yoga, Sports, Weight Lifting

I do not recommend a Raw Vegan Diet. A raw vegan diet has problems such as not inactivating toxins and pesticides and contamination with microorganisms due to insufficient heating and insufficient intake of some nutrients.

Supplements: Studies show that vegans are at a higher risk of having inadequate blood levels of vitamin B12, vitamin D, long-chain omega-3s, iodine, iron, calcium, and zinc.

1. Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 in cyanocobalamin form is the most studied and seems to work well for most people. Vitamin C Inhibits B12 absorption, which is found in plants, so some advice to take your B12 on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Taking B12 is recommended on every diet.
2. Vitamin D. Opt for D2 or vegan D3 forms. Taking too much vitamin D depletes your body’s Magnesium.
3. Omega 3 EPA and DHA. These can be sourced from algae oil.
4. Iron. You should only supplement with iron in the case of a documented deficiency. Ingesting too much iron from supplements can cause illness and prevent the absorption of other nutrients. Iron stays in your body for a long time. Coffee and Tea can inhibit your iron absorption. Drink herbal tea instead if you have issues. Vitamin C helps Iron absorption. You can make Paprika (Vitamin C) and Spinach (Iron) soup for a natural Iron boost.
5. Iodine. Add a responsible amount of iodized salt to your diet daily. Or eat seaweed as it contains a lot of iodine. Often bread is fortified with Iodine.
6. Calcium. Calcium is best absorbed when taken in doses of 500 mg or less at a time. Taking calcium at the same time as iron or zinc supplements may reduce their absorption. Supplementing Calcium can cause heart problems.
7. Zinc. This is taken in zinc gluconate or zinc citrate forms and should not be taken at the same time as Calcium supplements.

Legumes, Tofu, Nuts and Seeds, Whole Grains and Whole Grain Bread are a source of Zinc and Calcium.

Respect the daily recommendations of supplements. Except for B12, Omega-3 and D, you can choose to eat in a way to avoid taking other supplements on a mostly plant based diet.

Watch out with eating plants high in oxalates if you are susceptible to kidney stones. Spinach, almonds, chocolate, rhubarb, beets and navy beans are much higher in oxalate than nearly any other food. Soy also has oxalate. Consume them in moderation. Drink lots of water to help prevent kidney stones.

Don't eat Mushrooms raw! Cook them very well.

Raw legumes can poison you! You need to soak raw beans in water for about 5 hours, throw away the water, and then cook them at 100°C (boiling water) for at least 30 minutes. But it's much easier to just buy canned legumes that are already prepared.

Go easy on the salt. Avoid: Alcohol, Added Sugars, Saturated Fat and Trans Fat (like margarine).

A trick to use less salt is to add more heat (spiciness like pepper). Your pallet will adjust to a low salt diet.

How to be a lazy vegan:

I often cook my vegetables in the microwave on a low setting (300W) for a long time (20 min) and they come out of if they were boiled. I cut little potatoes in cubes with the skin and add a vegetable and a can of legumes and put them in a glass Pyrex bowl with a lid in the microwave. Season with a little bit of iodized salt and a generous amount of white pepper. This is a way to cook without oil and without much fuss.

Top Tip: buy a microwave that operates with mechanical dials instead of a digital interface. Much easier to use. Microwaves are a safe way of cooking, contrary to what some might believe.

In the evening I prepare Oatmeal, Ground Flaxseed and Soymilk and let it soak in the fridge overnight. It's a cheap and healthy breakfast that keeps you full for hours. A lot of protein, fiber and iron.

I keep Sliced Whole Grain Bread in my freezer and eat Peanut Butter Sandwiches as a snack. You can take that with you for lunch. If you don't mind the sugar, you can make it a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.

I make Vegan Protein Soup. I buy packets of Dried Legumes (Chickpeas, Lentils, Beans, Peas). Dried legumes keep for years. I soak them in water in the fridge for at least 5 hours. I then throw the water out and rinse the legumes.

I put the soaked legumes in a big pot. I add Onion, Garlic Powder (powder is less fussy than fresh garlic), Vegetable Stock Cubes (lots of Salt in them), Pepper (I prefer white pepper) and a choice of Vegetables. I always try to include Leafy Greens (like Kale). For flavor and nutrient boost you can add Herbs and Spices. Some Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes (Sweet Potatoes are sliw sugars and superior to the white ones) do great in a soup. And they count as whole grain. You can fill the pot almost full of roughly cut plants. Then add water. Don’t worry about frying in fat first.

Boil for an hour. Start with the maximum heat setting and stay with it. As soon as it starts boiling put the fire on the lowest setting that keeps it boiling. Set a timer for an hour. After that mix or blend the soup.

I make a big pot of soup every week and freeze it in portions, so I can easily eat soup every day.

There is a lot of contradicting advice on the timing of eating. The best advice seems to be: Eat 2 or 3 big meals per day and don't snack. Exercise after a big meal (lowers the blood sugar spike). Walking for 2 minutes already works. Don't eat at least 3 hours before bedtime. It is healthy to have a 12 hour window where you don’t eat, by not eating before and after sleep.

A ketogenic diet (no carbs) and long term fasting (a day or longer) leads to muscle loss and loss of bone density.

Peace!