Adopting A Vegan Lifestyle Without A Vitamin D Deficiency

Over time, your worldview might shift and you may begin to feel that you cannot justify eating meat. You may therefore want to become a vegan, but you aren't sure where to start. Simply cutting meat and dairy products from your menu might be a problem, because you may no longer be consuming nutrients that are essential, such as Vitamin D. Even though Vitamin D might be coming from sunlight, you'll still likely not be receiving enough of this nutrient. But depending on how you implement your new vegan lifestyle, you will be less likely to suffer from a vitamin D deficiency.

Transition Gradually

Transition into a meatless and dairy-free lifestyle gradually. Each week, have fewer meals with meat and dairy than the week before. This gives you time to pay attention to how you feel as you gradually limit your meat and dairy intake. If you begin to feel tired or sluggish, you may not be getting certain nutrients you need. Consider speaking with a nutritionist.

Get Enough Vitamin D

If you are suffering from a vitamin D deficiency, you are more likely to experience brittle bones and fatigue. Therefore, you will need to become accustomed to finding alternative sources of Vitamin D that can come from plants and supplements.

Consume Vegan Foods Enriched With Vitamin D

Vitamin D is added to cow's milk and several other foods. However, if you are a vegan, several of these foods are off the menu. Fortunately, there are many vegan-friendly foods that are fortified with Vitamin D, such as soy milk.

Eat More Mushrooms

There are a few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D, such as mushrooms. Mushrooms specifically contain Vitamin D2. Also, given the large variety of mushrooms, if you don't believe you enjoy them, you may simply be eating the wrong kinds. Don't forget to try crimni, shitaki and oyster mushrooms.

Take Supplements For Each Type of Vitamin D

Even with all your efforts to get more vitamin D, you may ultimately find that the only solution is to consume vegan Vitamin D supplements. One challenge with getting vitamin D from supplements is that you may not consider that the supplements for vitamin D3 are truly vegan. Vitamin D3 comes from mushrooms that are fed lichen. It is up to you to decide whether this is considered vegan. Still, given that you are not consuming the meat directly, you may not feel as concerned. For more information, contact a company like Do Vitamins.

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