Your Powerful Plate:
Nutrition Basics for Plant-Based Eating
Suzanne Sorensen RD, LD, CDE
suzy@move2veg.com
Plant-Based Eating
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Meals are composed primarily of plant foods:
vegetable, fruit, grains, & legumes.
Plant-Based Variations…
Vegan
 Vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
 Pescatarian
 Flexitarian or Semi-Vegetarian
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Why Plant-Based?
Top 5 reasons:
 Animal rights
 Animal welfare
 Protect health
 Protect human rights
 Protect environment
Farm Sanctuary, NY
- PETA
Farm Sanctuary, NY
Compassion
 321: Number of animals killed for food
every second in the U.S.
 10 Billion: Number of animals killed
for food each year in the U.S.
- more than the entire human population of the Earth
AnimalVoice.com
Compassion
CAA
Compassion
 300: Eggs produced by an egg-laying
hen each year, 5x more than normal
 8,890,000,000: Chickens killed
every year.
“ I did not become a vegetarian for my health, I did it for
the health of the chickens.”
- Isaac Bashevis Singer
Compassion
 189,320,000,000: Pounds of milk
produced by 9 million dairy cows. 10x
more than normal.
Compassion
Goveg.com
We Choose 3 Times Each Day
Protein Sources: Concentrated
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Legumes
Soy
Wheat Gluten (mock duck)
Meat Analogs
Whole Grains*
Nuts*
Seeds*
* Less concentrated
Convenient Protein Ideas
Amy’s.com, Nilespice.com,Wholesoyco.com,veganessentias.com
Meat Analogs
Images per companies
Dairy Alternatives
Dairy Alternatives
Egg Alternatives
How much protein do I need?
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Adults aim for 0.4 gram per pound
Example:
If weight is 140# x 0.4 = 56 grams/day
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Who’s at risk for low intake?
Very low calorie intake
 Only getting one source of protein
 Not getting balanced nutrition
 Eat out daily at places without vegan
options
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Vitamin B12
“The short story is, vegans need to supplement
their diets with B12 or risk deficiency”
What does B12 do?
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Protects our cardiovascular system
Allows body to use food for energy
Builds DNA
Builds blood cells
Protects nervous system
B12 Sources
Fortified soy, rice, nut milk
 Some meat analogs
 Some bars
 Vitamin Water
 Red Star Nutritional Yeast
 Supplements
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Fortified Foods
30% of daily needs
25% of daily needs
15% of daily needs
Tastethedream.com, Morningstar Farms.com, clifbar.com
Fortified Foods
Yvesveggie.com
Need Active Form of B12
Active can be used by
the body:
 Cyanocobalamin

Adenosylcobalamin
 Methylcobalamin
 hydroxocobalamin
Inactive has no vitamin
activity and is not a reliable
source:
 Sea vegetables
 Tempeh
 Miso
 Brewers & nutritional
yeast
 Spirulina
How much B12?
Requirement is 2.4 mcg/day
 This prevents deficiency, BUT does
not account for protecting heart
health
 Vegans choose:
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1.5-2.5 mcg 2x/day from fortified food or
supplement
10-100 mcg once a day from a supplement
1000 mcg 2 days a week
Who is at risk for being low?

Over age 50
 Vegans who don’t
use supplements or
fortified foods
 Raw foodists
 Macrobiotic vegans
What are the symptoms?
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Serious:
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fatigue, irritability,
confusion, depression
Tingling or numbness of
hands and feet
damage including
blindness, deafness,
dementia, loss of
coordination
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Mild:
Increased
homocysteine level
(cardiovascular risk)
 Very common in both
vegans and vegetarians
Vitamin D
Actually a hormone but, in northern
climates, it must be supplied by the diet
so it qualifies as a vitamin
 Vitamin D2 is vegan (ergocalciferol)
 Vitamin D3 is not* vegan
(cholecalciferol)
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*new vegan D3 supplement Vitashine
What does D do?
Helps build healthy bones
 Keeps mood, energy, & motivation up
 Helps regulate weight and blood sugar
 May decrease risk of:
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Type 1 diabetes
Cancer (breast, prostate, colon)
Heart Disease
Vitamin D Sources
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Fortified foods
25% of daily needs
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Supplement
20% of daily needs
Vitamin D Sources
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Sunshine
– 15-20 minutes/day ≥ 3x/week on
face, arms without sunscreen
– mid-day sun time
– darker skin needs 3-6x more
exposure
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Tanning bed*
– (UVB rays)
– * skin cancer risk
How much D?
•
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RDI= 600 IU/day minimum
Recent research suggests ~1000 IU/day
Food & Nutrition Board says 2400 IU/day
is upper limit
Goal is to keep body’s level over 40 ng/mL
Who is at risk for low Vit D?
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Those with little sun exposure
Populations in northern latitudes
Not consuming Vit. D fortified foods in diet
Those with dark skin
Elderly
Breastfed babies (supplement from day of birth)
Calcium
Builds healthy bones
 Essential for blood clotting
 Critical for muscle contraction
 Normal nerve transmission
 Regulates metabolism
 Decrease cancer risk?
 Lower blood pressure?
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Calcium Sources
Best Sources:
Fortified Foods
Low oxalate foods:
Soy, rice, & nut milks,
broccoli, bok choy, kale, collards,
cereals, yogurts, juice
turnip greens, Chinese cabbage,
okra (Reliable sources)
______________________________ __________________________
Less bioavailable in:
tofu, soy products, fortified juice,
almonds, legumes
High oxalate foods:
spinach, beet greens, swiss
chard
(Not reliable sources)
Who is at risk for low calcium?
Those who do not consume foods with
available calcium
 Vegans tend to get less than the RDI
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Iron
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Helps form red blood cells and muscle cells
 Enhances immunity
 Carries oxygen to the cells
 Makes enzymes
Sources of iron
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Beans &Legumes:
richest source
 Soy foods/meat analogs
 Seeds and nuts
 Iron-fortified foods
(cereal)
How much iron?
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Vegan men need 15 mg+/day
 Vegan women need 32 mg+/day
– Recommended intake for vegetarians is
1.8 times that of omnivores
 Vegans/vegetarians have lower stores, but
normal blood levels…low iron = low energy
 No increased incidence of anemia
Optimize Iron
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How much iron is absorbed?
 Vegans have the highest intake!
– Plant foods contain non-heme iron, not absorbed
as well
 Eat iron with a source of vitamin C
– Vitamin C increases absorption 4-6 times
 Roast nuts, soak or sprout beans, ferment, leaven
grains to make iron more available
Healthy Fats
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What does fat do?
– Provides & stores energy for the
body
– Helps us feel full
– Insulates and protects the body
– Transports vitamins
– Provides textures and flavor in food
– Heart protective
*Vital for brain & eye development*
Sources of Healthy Fat
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Vegan and vegetarian diets lack direct
sources of Omega 3 (EPA & DHA)
 Micro algae is the only direct source
 Full fat soy, flax, hemp, walnuts, canola oil, &
leafy greens can be converted
Micro-algae has been show to
positively affect blood levels
of DHA and EPA
How Much Fat?
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200-300 mg/day of DHA
1 capsule= 200 mg
Who Needs a Vitamin?
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Not using fortified foods
Skipping a meal
Limited variety of foods
Limited time for meal
planning
Low calorie needs or low
calorie intake
Resources
Resources
Resources
Meatless Monday
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Go meatless 1x/week
~ reduce carbon & water footprint
~ preserve precious resources
~ reduce risk of chronic disease
www.meatlessmonday.com
Google images
Web Resources
HSUS.org
 foodandwaterwatch.org
 NRDC.org
 meatlessmonday.com
 PCRM.org
 vegetariannutrition.net
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You Make A Difference!
100: Animal lives
saved every year by
choosing a
vegetarian diet.
Be Healthy!
You are the living example of your values!
Google images
Resources
www.move2veg.com