Effective ways to go vegan gradually?

[Tom L.]

Hello everyone I hope this finds you well! I have decided that after a life of living on animal products that I need to change my life style and go Vegan, I was just looking for some helpful tips to be successful. Hope everyone has the greatest day!

Welcome! Animal products are a concentrated source of several nutrients- notably protein, fat, iron (from red meat), calcium (from dairy), and B vitamins- but they're not the only sources of these. Protein is easy to come by, especially if you eat mostly whole foods.

You might need to supplement with Vitamin B-12 if your other foods, such as breakfast cereal, aren't fortified with it. One thing I've noticed is that B-12 tablets have a ridiculous amount of it: something like 90 times the RDA. I'm not sure if it's harmful to take a whole tablet daily... but I take a fragment of a tablet every other day or so.

 

[Lou]

ou might need to supplement with Vitamin B-12 if your other foods, such as breakfast cereal, aren't fortified with it. One thing I've noticed is that B-12 tablets have a ridiculous amount of it: something like 90 times the RDA. I'm not sure if it's harmful to take a whole tablet daily... but I take a fragment of a tablet every other day or so.

The reason that B12 tablets have so much B-12 is because of how poorly our bodies absorb it. there are several article and videos that explain it better than I can - if I spot one I'll send you the link.

but in a nutshell, our bodies can only absorb about 1/4 or 1/3 of the RDA at one time. After that initial absorption the "gateway" for B12 absorption only allows for about 1%. I'm not good at math but just estimating - if you take something like 100 times the RDA once a day you can meet the RDA in one sitting.

The other thing is to get 33% or more of the RDA in 3 or 4 doses a day.

Ahhhh, here it is... perfect and just half a page.

Supplementing Vitamin B12 | NutritionFacts.org

The latest research on vitamin B12 deficiency, the best sources, and the daily recommended intake. Learn more in easy-to-follow videos.

nutritionfacts.org