7 Pillars of Vegan Nutrition

Plant-based diets, by definition, have a healthy foundation: plants. Whatever type of diet you have, you wouldn't survive without plants. That's why non-vegan humans, and other predators, eat herbivore (or at least omnivore) animals. Vegans merely eliminate the middlemen and opt for getting their nutrition directly from the main source itself.

However, just because something comes from plants, it doesn't necessarily mean it's healthy, depending on how it's cooked.

Processed vegan foods like burgers and pastries, still have high amounts of fat and sugars, for the most part, and so can hardly be a part of a healthy diet foundation. Of course, these exist to serve a purpose - vegans are people too! So as long as we stay mindful of that, we can have a very healthy diet and still be happy as a daisy.

Below are what I consider to be the 7 pillars of a truly healthy diet. Follow them if you want to optimise your diet, whether you're a vegan or not, as the foundational principles of a healthy diet are the same.

Make sure you eat enough calories

Fruits and veggies are high in fibre, water and volume but very low in calories. So switching to a vegan diet can be a bonus if you're on a weight loss journey. Once you're closer to a healthy weight, you need to make sure you adapt the food quantities and learn how to balance low-calorie with high-calorie foods.

So make sure you eat enough calories, mainly if you're an active person, otherwise, you’ll feel weak during your workouts.

Greens, greens, greens

Green vegetables are high in vitamins and calcium, more than milk! Spinach, broccoli, a variety of cabbages, kale, lettuce... There's much to choose from, so no excuses. Chose a couple of your favourites, find a couple of ways to cook them in ways that you enjoy and voilà!

Greens should be the base of your diet.

Eat them, blend them, sniff them... I don’t care just get them into your system!

Go Nuts!... and Seeds

The best way to consume iron and other minerals like copper and magnesium is to implement seeds and nuts into your diet. However, you need to be aware that they're heavy in calories.

As a rule of thumb, a hand-full of nuts should be your daily limit.

However, I find nuts to be a little like crisps or cookies... it's hard to eat only a little bit. My workaround for this is to buy flax seeds instead and sprinkle them on my oatmeal for breakfast. Whatever works for you, don't forget to keep on top of your minerals.

Legumes

Lentils, tofu and other legumes are great protein sources for muscle growth. Even if you are not the most active person, you still need to consume protein. I wouldn't advise anyone to try and get their full protein dose just from beans every day because... well, I don't think I need to explain this one.

A good balance between legumes and other plant derived protein sources such as tofu and tempeh, will guarantee you consume a healthy level of protein.

On the other hand, mainly if you exercise, my advice is: don’t sleep on the protein shake. If meat eaters drink it, why wouldn’t you?

Seaweed

The ocean veggie! Seaweeds - or algae - are extremely versatile veggies and have been used for ages mainly in Asian cuisine. They are used as crisps, sushi wraps (particularly Nori seaweed), and to make many plant-based seafood dishes.

Seaweeds are a good source of iodine for proper thyroid function, vitamin D and B12.

And let me tell you, the majority of people should be loading up on extra iodine, Vit D and B12 - not only vegans. But because vegan diets are getting more and more creative, I came across several instances in which actually vegan people consume healthier levels of these elements than some meat eaters. Besides, they are a great way of varying from the most commonly consumed leafy veggies.

Beware of processed food

Who can blame you for wanting to enjoy some fried food here and there? Don’t tell me that I’m not a real vegan because I want a burger - after all, vegans are only humans, right? ;) What makes any burguer yummy is really the mix of oily fats and flavourings. So just like meat burgers, vegan burgers are hardly the epitome of balanced nutrition: high in calories, and low in pretty much all the healthy stuff we need.

Therefore, this goes without saying - but I'm saying it anyway - have it as a treat, but avoid it in your daily diet. Remember, just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

Supplements

As I hinted at above, it's not just vegans that need to be careful to make sure they consume adequate levels of protein, vitamins, minerals, etc. More and more, mainly with the industrialisation of the food industry, foods are getting lower in these elements, as they do not have enough time to mature, and so on.

Hence without knowing anything about a person, I would guess that they should probably be supplementing at least Vitamin D, B12, and iodine - regardless of whether they're plant-based or not.

If you work out and want to optimize that toning or muscle building - because why wouldn't you - Creatine is a great friend. And if you're vegan or plant-based, you can benefit even more from creatine than meat-eaters, as vegans' baseline creatine is lower. You’re Welcome! Now go get those gains.

I hope you find this useful and as always, do not hesitate to contact me if you want some fitness or plant-based nutrition advice.

Speak soon!

Train ComplEat,

Coach G.