How do vegans get nutrients?

A common question I have been asked when people discover I am a vegetarian is, "How do you get enough protein?" It is simple.Protein is amino acids, and your body cannot tell the difference between amino acids whether it comes from a cow or a potato or a laboratory. Here is a list of how vegans can contain nutrients without consuming animal products.
Complex carbohydrates: Found almost exclusively in plant foods. Whole grains, beans, legumes, and vegetables

Protein: Beans, legumes, seeds, grains (especially quinoa and amaranth), leafy green vegetables, lentils, tofu, nuts, tempeh, miso, and peas
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Fat: Avocados, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds

Micro nutrients

Vitamin A: Green leafy vegetables, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, wheat grass juice

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin): Whole grains, nori, wakame, legumes (especially peanuts)

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Green vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, nutritional yeast, hiziki

Vitamin B3 (Niacin): Whole grains (especially brown, black and red rice), posole, masa, nori, wakame, peanuts, nutritional yeast

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid): whole grains, beans, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, nutritional yeast

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): Whole grains, leafy green vegetables, dulse, nori, nutritional yeast, carrots, peas, sunflower seeds, walnuts

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin): Nutritional Yeast, fortified cereals, fortified soy products such as soy milk, tempeh, and miso.

Biotin: Soybeans, nutritional yeast, whole grains

Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid): Citrus fruits, bell peppers, chilies, amaranth, berries, cabbage, parsley, sprouts, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts

Chlorine: Soybeans, whole grains, legumes

Co-Enzyme Q10: Peanuts, spinach

Vitamin D: Sunflower sprouts, fortified soymilk, fortified vegan cereal, sunshine.

Vitamin E: Nuts, seeds, wheat, oats, quinoa, brown, red and black rice, broccoli, cauliflower, dandelion greens, sprouts, asparagus, cucumbers, spinach, wheat germ oil

Folic acid: Microalgae, sprouts, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, nutritional yeast, dates, beans, legumes, mushrooms, oranges, beets, fenugreek and root vegetables

Inositol: Whole grains, nutritional yeast, beans and legumes, especially soybeans)

Vitamin K: Alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, hemp seed, blackstrap molasses, dark leafy green vegetables, green tea, kelp, soybeans, oats, rye, wheat

Vitamin P (bioflavonoids): Peppers, buckwheat, black currants

Vitamin U: Green cabbage


Minerals

Boron: Seaweed, alfalfa, unrefined sea salt, nuts, carrots, leafy green vegetables, apples, pears

Calcium: leafy green vegetables, broccoli almonds, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, figs, dandelion greens, wakame, hiziki, kelp, kombu, amaranth, quinoa, oats, beans, legumes, microalgae, fortified soymilk.
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Chromium: Seaweed (especially kelp and alaria), whole grains, mushrooms, beets, nutritional yeast, beans, legumes

Copper: Seaweed, whole grains, raisins, apricots, garlic, mushrooms, beets, nuts, leafy green vegetables

Flourine: Seaweed, rye, brown rice, parsley, avocados, cabbage

Germanium: Seaweed, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, aloe vera, ginseng, onions

Iodine: Seaweed and unrefined sea salt

Iron: Seaweed, molasses, whole grains, nuts, beets, sesame, seeds, beans, legumes, prunes, raisins, dates, dried apricots, almonds (taken with a vitamin c source will boost the iron absorption) cashews, tomato juice, rice, tofu, lentils, and garbanzo beans (chick peas)
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Magnesium: Seaweed, whole grains, microalgae, amaranth, beans, legumes, leafy green vegetables

Manganese: Seaweed, whole grains, nuts and seeds, dark green leafy vegetables, avocados

Phosphorous: Seaweed, whole grains, beans, legumes, dried fruit, garlic, nuts, seeds

Potassium: Kelp, dulse, carrot juice, whole grains, beans, legumes, bananas

Selenium: Seaweed, whole grains, beans, legumes, garlic, mushrooms

Silicon: Seaweed, whole grains, bib lettuce, parsnips, dandelion greens, strawberries, celery, cucumbers, apricots, carrots

Sodium: Seaweed, celery, unrefined sea salt

Sulfur: Seaweed, cabbages, beans, legumes, onions, garlic, nettles, soybeans

Vanadium: Seaweed, whole grains, vegetable oils, dill, radishes, green beans

Zinc: Seaweed, legumes, beans, seeds, mushrooms, nettles, soybeans,whole grains (especially the germ and bran of the grain), nuts, tofu, leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, and cabbage), and root vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, and radishes)

Is a Vegan Diet a Healthy Diet?

In 1996, the American Dietetic Association reported,vegan and vegetarian diets can significantly reduce one's risk of contracting heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and a number of other debilitating conditions". A cow's milk provides the sufficient amount of fat and protein for a young calf during it's most progressive growth span. That is far too much for humans to consume. Eggs contain more cholesterol than any other food. Many people think without eating animal products, one can not consume enough nutrients. This idea is very false. Vegans can get all the protein they need from legumes (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) and grains (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat breads and pastas); calcium from broccoli, kale, collard greens, tofu, fortified juices and soymilks; iron from chickpeas, spinach, pinto beans, and soy products; and B12 from fortified foods or supplements.
Check here for more information:http://www.vegan.org/FAQs/index.html

Abbout Me

First of all, I would like to explain the reason why I have chosen to write a blog on veganism. I have been a vegetarian for over a year and I am working towards veganism. Everywhere I go, people like to criticize my eating habits. My grandmother has been a vegetarian for over twenty years. She is extremely active and the healthiest person I know. She is my role model and has helped me along the journey towards veganism.I would like to share the reasons why I have chosen to be a vegetarian and the reasons why I want to be a vegan.