Taken from another Vegan reference page (Vrg.org):
Quote:
Two of the essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophan, are poorly represented in most plant proteins. Thus strict vegetarians should take special pains to ensure that their diet contains sufficient amounts of these two amino acids.
Quote:
Vitamin D is not found in the vegan diet but can be made by humans following exposure to sunlight. At least ten to fifteen minutes of summer sun on hands and face two to three times a week is recommended for adults so that vitamin D production can occur.
I'll give you that one.
Quote:
The requirement for vitamin B12 is very low. Non-animal sources include Red Star nutritional yeast T6635 also known as Vegetarian Support Formula (around 2 teaspoons supplies the adult RDA). It is especially important for pregnant and lactating women, infants, and children to have reliable sources of vitamin B12 in their diets. Numerous foods are fortified with B12, but sometimes companies change what they do. So always read labels carefully or write the companies.
There's more but I'll leave it at that because I want to get a drawing done so I can go home. haha
What this says is you have to be very careful with how you get your nutrients. Some CANNOT be obtained from a Vegan diet. Does this seem
natural to you? You are putting yourself in a position where you could easily miss nutrients that your body needs in order to live healthy. Yes, you can survive without meat but it is suggested that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle you must consume things to replace these nutrients such as "Red Star nutritional yeast T6635 also known as Vegetarian Support Formula."
EDIT: Here's some more...
Quote:
Iron is an essential nutrient because it is a central part of hemoglobin which carries oxygen in the blood. Iron deficiency anemia is a worldwide health problem which is especially common in young women and in children.
Iron is found in food in two forms, heme and non-heme iron. Heme iron, which makes up 40 percent of the iron in meat, poultry, and fish is well absorbed. Non-heme iron, 60 percent of the iron in animal tissue and all the iron in plants (fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts) is less well absorbed.
Hmm...