Animal Aid

Do vegans get enough calcium?

I was recently contacted by someone who is thinking of going vegan, but she is worried about getting enough calcium on a vegan diet. This is what i told her:

As long as you eat a varied and balanced diet, there is no need to worry about not getting enough calcium or any other nutrients. Products such as breakfast cereals, soya milk and non-dairy margarine are fortified with calcium. Nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, tofu, wholemeal bread and dried fruit are all good natural sources.

People often worry unnecessarily about not getting enough calcium on a vegan diet, as the dairy industry promotes milk so heavily. In fact, eating dairy products can actually contribute to weak bones and osteoporosis. See Animal Aid's Facts about Milk factsheet for more information on this subject.

The range of dairy substitutes is growing rapidly and there are now vegan versions of milk, cream, yoghurt, cheese, custard, ice cream, margarine and many more food products - most of which can be found in supermarkets. Look out for the brand name Alpro, which produces yoghurts, desserts, cream and milk. Some supermarkets also sell Redwood Foods soya cheese or you can mail order it from the company.

Order Animal Aid's Guide to going vegan which contains everything you need to know and some delicious recipes to try out.

Let me know how you get on.

Posted: September 24, 2007 Archives - RSS Feed - permanent link - 3 comments