The nutritional quality of the human diet is an important and often neglected subject regardless of the diet being vegan or otherwise. According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, only 57% of the US population meet their guidelines for daily nutrition:

Nutrition and Health Are Closely Related

From the opening paragraph of the respective study:

“Over the past century, essential nutrient deficiencies have dramatically decreased, many infectious diseases have been conquered, and the majority of the U.S. population can now anticipate a long and productive life. However, as infectious disease rates have dropped, the rates of noncommunicable diseases—specifically, chronic diet-related diseases—have risen, due in part to changes in lifestyle behaviors. A history of poor eating and physical activity patterns have a cumulative effect and have contributed to significant nutrition- and physical activity-related health challenges that now face the U.S. population. About half of all American adults—117 million individuals—have one or more preventable chronic diseases, many of which are related to poor quality eating patterns and physical inactivity. “

That being the case, the answer I will enjoy sharing with you could be applied, with only slight modification, to meeting the nutritional needs while eating any type of diet.

Begin and Beginning

The broadest answer to the question How do you meet all nutritional needs on a vegan diet? is that I base my diet in foods that are nutritionally rich and fiber dense. That means the majority of my daily calories are from whole foods (whole vegetables, whole fruits, nuts, and whole grains).

Next, I follow nutritional principles that I created and call No/Low P.A.S.S. which stands for:

• Low P rocessed Food
• No A nimal Based Foods
• Low S alt
• Low S ugar

In addition to the sound nutritional basis that comes from following No/Low P.A.S.S., I supplement with the following:

• 2000 mcg of Vitamin B12
• 7500 IU of Vitamin D2 (I live in Western NY and work indoors)
• 1000 mg of Vitamin C
• Daylyte Hydration Supplement

I enjoy approximately 2200 calories a day and exceed the healthy nutritional guidelines provided by MyFitnessPal | MyFitnessPal.com app.

You may find the information on our additional blog articles here at Vegan Gently - Enjoying a Happier, Healthier, More Kind Way of Life valuable in planning and enjoying a nutritionally sound and satisfying vegan lifestyle.

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