What are the nutrients I need daily? Becoming a vegetarian/vegan?!

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This is not a simple question to answer. Do you have a clue what nutrients your body is getting now?

Except for that tiny little vitamin B12, veggies contain everything you'll need. BUT, and it's a big but, your body doesn't use some of them as well as from animal products. The non-heme iron in veggies is not used as well by your body as the heme iron in meat. The complete protein in meat is ready to be used by your body, but your body must combine the amino acids from various veggies eaten that day to make a complete protein. (Your body can't store protein, BTW) The calcium in soy milk is also harder for your body to absorb, plus it has more fat than 2% cow's milk.

B12 is found only in animal products. Nowhere in the food from plants does B12 exist. So if you cut out all animal products, you'll need to get shots, take pills or eat highly processed foods that have had it added.

Here's a link to Dr. Jack Norris' website. He has a list of "Nutrients that Need Attention in Vegan and Vegetarian Diets". You might look it over

IMO, one of the biggest problem beginning veg*ns face is just getting enough calories. You need about 1500 just to survive. Most of us take in 2000 and if you're an active growing youngster you might need 2500. Getting that many calories on a veg*n diet is not an easy thing to do every day. Most veggies contain a lot of cellulose. Humans can't digest cellulose. It goes right on through our system as fiber, but it can make you feel full and you might not be getting enough calories. I'd suggest you get some sort of food diary going to track your calories.

If you're a healthy person, soy in moderation is probably ok, but don't build your diet on it. Many veg*ns do and it can be a problem. The State of IL started feeding their prison population fake soy meats instead of regular meat and made many of them sick.

http://www.veganhealth.org/

The most common deficiency that you will have to be very particular to watch is vitamin B12. This is found only in meat products, but you can buy pills to watch that.
Your most common foods should be fruits vegetables and you'll definitely need beans and lentils to keep your protein levels adequate. Also meat is a good source of Iron so you need to find foods that are rich in iron like spinach.
B12 and Iron when not consumed enough can lead to anemia, macrocytic and iron deficiency anemia. This will cause fatigue and major problems if you aren't getting the amounts you need. http://www.mypyramid.gov/tips_resources/vegetarian_diets.html .....this site will give you tips and things to watch out for, the whole site can help you stay healthy. mypyramid.gov

http://www.mypyramid.gov/tips_resources/vegetarian_diets.html
nutrition major!

Here is my experience. I made the jump just like you are saying many years back.

When I first became vegetarian, I was really conscious of what I ate. Always made sure I had protein, like nuts, beans and rice, legumes, tofu...etc. These days I am still conscious of it, but don't think too much about it.

Eating healthy as a veggie is similar to eating healthy as a meat eater (except your a big step ahead by eliminating meat). Eat a well balanced diet. Avoid too much deep fried food and processed food and fresher is always better. If you can add some raw into your diet once a day, you'll get a lot of good nutrients that way. You do this, you won't need to worry too much about the vitamins and nutrients. And if you find you're lacking in something one day, like both meat eaters and vegetarians do at times, you can see a natural path or someone qualified to help show you where to get it from in a Veggie diet.

Good luck to you. It's a really positive choice.

wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia has information

on vegetarianism at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetariani…

and on veganism at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism

for recipes use the-one-word-a-search-idea such as: protein, raw, flaxseed, quick, easy, breakfast, cereal, fruit, lunch, sandwich, snack, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, greens, lentils, legumes, casserole, souffle, soy, tofu, dinner, dessert, and smoothie in the search box of :

vegetariantimes at http://www.vegetariantimes.com
[for vegan also click onto the vegan box]

and the vegan website veg web at http://vegweb.com

http://www.wikipedia.org

http://www.vegetariantimes.com

http://vegweb.com

Your body needs the same thing no matter what diet you follow.

Youget those nutrients by eating correctly. You meal plates should be 1/2 veggies, 1/4 lean protien, and 1/4 carbs.

You can get protien andcalcium (usually found in animal prodcuts and by products) from nuts, beans, whole grains, dark leafy veggies, soy, and so on.

You need B12. You can ONLY get this from animal products, like meat, eggs, dairy, etc. So, I would recommend you at least drink milk or eat eggs if you don't want to eat meat.

Herbivores like cattle, sheep, etc, create the B vitamins in their rumen. They were made to just eat a plant-based diet. We weren't, that's why we can't create B vitamins ourselves and must obtain it from animal sources. Include some animal products to maintain a healthy diet.

you need nuts, beans, whole grains, veges, fruits and regular everyday diet. but if u want to stay healthy, then eat lots of lentils. lentils are an excellent source of protein. i eat lentils everyday and i stay very healthy.

hi
if u wanna a good health so you have to fruits and green vegetable daily. you have to take seasonal fruits .