Vegan Menu: Planned Vegetarian Diets.

The well-known American Dietetic Association (ADA) for more than 13 years has been in favor of these diets: "Adequately planned vegetarian diets, including vegan diets, are healthy, nutritionally adequate, and can provide health benefits in the prevention and in the treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, childhood, childhood, and adolescence, as well as for athletes. " In this article, we will check which are the most controversial nutrients in the vegan diet and how we can cover their needs in a balanced and healthy way. If you want some tips to lose weight you can find them here.                  

Considerations to consider before starting a vegetarian or vegan diet:

Proteins of vegetable origin:

•        Protein needs are very small and easy to cover, without the need for supplements, since they only occupy 15% of the daily kilocalories. An adult needs 0.8 g of protein/kg weight/day.

•        Vegetable proteins are less digestible than animals since they are rich in fiber. The protein needs in adult vegans increase 1.1 gr/kg weight/day.

•        The human body needs a correct supply of amino acids that are the constituents of proteins, these are divided into:

          • Essential: Our body can not synthesize them and we need to incorporate them into the diet. These are 8 in adults (Leucine, isoleucine, valine, tryptophan, methionine, lysine, phenylalanine and threonine). In children, there are 9, the previous 8 and histidine.

• Non-essential: The body can produce them.

• Contrary to what is usually thought, in vegetables you can also find foods with complete proteins (that is, they contain the 8 essential amino acids):

• Chickpeas

• Fermented soybeans (for example, tempeh)

• Bean

• Beet

• Spinach

• Pumpkin seeds

• Pistachios

• Beer yeast

In the rest of vegetables, vegetable foods do not usually contain complete proteins, but it is possible to obtain a complete high-quality protein by combining food families, as explained below:

• Cereals legumes: lentils with rice, hummus spread on bread, corn tortillas stuffed with beans, bean burgers with oats ...

• Legumes nuts: legume salad with walnuts, pea and almond flour burger, lentil and macadamia pate ...

• Cereals nuts: Fried rice with cashew nuts, nut bread, almond biscuits, oatmeal cookies and oatmeal ...

Although it is healthy to do so, it is not necessary to combine the different types of protein in the same food. Not even during the same day, since the body knows how to store and use the amino acids needed to build proteins.

Amount of 100g proteins from different foods:

Calcium in a vegan diet

•           Calcium is also one of the nutrients that should be considered in the vegetarian and vegan diet, on which there is a misconception: they tell us about dairy products commonly known to be the best source of calcium.

•        The dairy companies have been responsible for conducting major marketing campaigns with the idea that if dairy products are not consumed, the people involved could suffer from osteoporosis.

•        The calcium-health relationship is not entirely clear, several studies seem to indicate that a diet with a high calcium intake does not protect the bone system, but tends to weaken it.

•        Calcium recommendations for an adult is 900mg / day, and from 60 years is 1000mg / day.

•        Next, we mention the vegetable foods with the highest calcium intake that we can find, being necessary to consume 6 to 8 servings of the following alternatives:       

• 55g of almonds.

• 250 g of vegetables rich in calcium (broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage leaves, winter squash (butternut), cauliflower, sweet potato, carrots).

• 3 tablespoons of sesame paste (tahini).

• 240 g of legumes rich in calcium (soy, white or black beans).

• 5 figs.

• Soy yogurt (125 g).

• 50-60 g of tofu curdled with calcium salts or 100-120 g of tofu curdled with nigari (magnesium salts).

• A plate of legumes rich in calcium (200-220g cooked), soy, white or black beans.

• 80-100 g of wholemeal bread.

• ½ glass of enriched vegetable drink.

The usual diet should include several daily rations of foods rich in calcium, do not neglect physical activity and control of vitamin D in analytical. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to ensure a good intake of magnesium and vitamin K.

Vitamin D: control in analytical at least once a year and take a supplement if necessary, a part of this vitamin is synthesized in the skin with sun exposure.

Physical activity: people who exercise regularly have higher bone density than sedentary ones. For the prevention of osteoporosis, it is important to perform strength exercises.

Vitamin K: vegetables with green leaves, soy and cruciferous.

Magnesium: vegetables, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.

Iron in a vegan diet

Contrary to popular belief, vegetarians are not more likely to suffer from anemia, but several studies have shown that the incidence of anemia in vegetarians is similar to that of non-vegetarians.

The iron in foods of vegetable origin is absorbed worse than that of animal origin because plant-based foods contain phytates (whole grains, legumes, and nuts). However, some techniques such as soaking, cooking, fermentation, and germination can make phytates disappear.

However, many foods of plant origin have more iron than foods of animal origin:

• Bean

• Lentils

• Chickpeas

• Pistachios

• Sunflower seeds

• Beet

• Apricot

Vitamin C greatly enhances the absorption of iron, the main sources of this vitamin are fruits and vegetables:

• Kiwi

• Strawberry

• Pepper

• Fresh parsley

• Canons

• Lettuce

Omega 3 and Omega 6 in vegan diets

The omega 3 is a type of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, it is essential that they are ingested through the diet since our body can not synthesize them.

Although there are 6 different fatty acids from the omega 3 series, there are 3 in which we must especially have an impact:

-ALA (alpha-linolenic acid): is related to heart health. There are plant foods that are very rich in ac. alpha-linolenic (flax, chia, hemp ...).

-EPA and DHA: vegetables do not contain them, except for microalgae.

Omega 6 and omega 3 compete to be metabolized, so to ensure a balance between these two, the recommendations we make are:

• Reduce the consumption of oils rich in omega 6: sunflower oil, corn, soybeans, margarine and other industrial fats.

• Eat extra virgin olive oil as a source of fat, as it contains a low content of omega 6.

• Ensure the intake of ALA: 10-15 g of nuts, 5-8 g of flax seeds broken or broken, 2.5-5 g of flax oil.

The importance of Vitamin B12 in vegan diets

Vitamin B12 is necessary to maintain the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, as well as for the formation of red blood cells, also involved in protein metabolism and DNA synthesis. One of the criticisms towards the vegan diet comes from not being natural since it needs to be supplemented with vitamin B12.

However, there are vegan populations in India that have good health without taking supplements, which is because the hygienic conditions of the West are not the same, and the food that the population takes is contaminated by bacteria that, once ingested, They are able to synthesize B12 in our body. As eating contaminated food does not seem prudent, we must supplement with vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 is not found in meat naturally since it is the animals themselves that ingest it. The meat that is consumed contains B12 because the farm animals are supplemented with B12.

In their natural state, the animals would be eating from the land, and from there they would get their B12, just like us if we ate natural foods that have not been exposed to chemicals, pesticides, and artificial fertilizers.

The animals of the exploitation farms are fed with artificial feed and preparations supplemented with B12.

Recommendations according to the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority):

• 4 micrograms/day for people over 15 years old.

• 4.5 micrograms for pregnant women.

• 5 micrograms for nursing mothers.

Plant foods (spirulina algae, brewer's yeast, fermented ...) do not contain the active form of B12 suitable for the organism, in addition to not being active, these analogs of B12 can interfere in the absorption of active B12 and falsify a analytics.

Although in the market we can find supplements of various chemical forms of B12: Methylcobalamin, 5. deoxyadenosylcobalamin, cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, supplementation is recommended to be made with cyanocobalamin because it is the most stable and best resistant to temperature and pH variations, is more economical and easier to find and is the most studied.

                                    

There are three options for cyanocobalamin supplementation:

• Take daily foods fortified with B12 (enriched vegetable drinks, enriched soy yogurts, enriched cereals ...) making sure to reach 4 micrograms per day in several intakes.

• Take a daily supplement of 25-100 micrograms. If it is in pills you have to chew it, because the saliva contributes haptocorrin that favors the absorption.

• Take a weekly supplement of 2,000 micrograms or one of 1,000 micrograms two or three times a week. In this case, you can swallow without chewing.

General recommendations for the start of a vegan diet

• Vegetables and vegetables must be present in abundant quantities in the food and. 400 g minimum, according to WHO. In abundant quantities, we refer for example to these dishes: a large bowl of vegetable cream or gazpacho, a large plate of salad, a large plate of grilled or grilled vegetables or a plate of crudités (raw vegetable sticks) with guacamole or vegetable paté.

• A serving of quality protein foods. Like the foods and combinations are seen above.

• A portion of carbohydrates such as cereals and their derivatives (rice, bread, pasta, oats, millet, corn ...) or tubers (potato, sweet potato, cassava). Preferably integral.

• Regarding fat, extra virgin olive oil, for cooking, seasoning or seasoning. This can also be replaced by rapeseed oil, virgin coconut fat or high oleic sunflower oil. Seeds, nuts, and avocados also provide healthy fat.

Vegan food that you should not miss in your pantry

The key is in vegetables, vegetables, green leaf, legumes, cereals, seeds, and fruit.

• Legumes: beans (azukis, red, pink, black ...), lentils, chickpeas, and peas.

• Cereals and pseudocereals: amaranth, oats, millet, quinoa, rye, spelled, wild rice, buckwheat, corn, kamut ...

• Seeds: Chia, flax, sesame, poppy, hemp ...

• Nuts: Cashews, almonds, pistachios ...

• Vegetable drinks: Oats, rice, soy, quinoa, almonds ...

• Textured soybeans

• Tofu

• Seitan

• Tempeh (food product from the fermentation of soybeans that is presented in the form of a cake)

• Tahini (Sesame paste)

• Nutritional yeast

• Seaweed: Wakame, kombu, nori ...
• Sweeteners: Agave syrup, maple syrup, birch sugar, coconut sugar ...