Vegan nutrition

a preliminary guide for health professionals

authored by

Christian Koeder, Federico J.A. Perez-Cueto

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21st century, interest in vegan diets has been rapidly increasing in most countries. Misconceptions about vegan diets are widespread among the general population and health professionals. Vegan diets can be health-promoting and may offer certain important advantages compared to typical Western (and other mainstream) eating patterns. However, adequate dietary sources/supplements of nutrients of focus specific to vegan diets should be identified and communicated. Without supplements/fortified foods, severe vitamin B12 deficiency may occur. Other potential nutrients of focus are calcium, vitamin D, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A, and protein. Ensuring adequate nutrient status is particularly important during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, and childhood. Health professionals are often expected to be able to provide advice on the topic of vegan nutrition, but a precise and practical vegan nutrition guide for health professionals is lacking. Consequently, it is important and urgent to provide such a set of dietary recommendations. It is the aim of this article to provide vegan nutrition guidelines, based on current evidence, which can easily be communicated to vegan patients/clients, with the goal of ensuring adequate nutrient status in vegans.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition

External Organisation(s)

Münster University of Applied Sciences
Umea University

Type

Review article

Journal

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

Volume

64

Pages

670-707

No. of pages

38

ISSN

1040-8398

Publication date

2024

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Food Science, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2107997 (Access: Closed)