How do Vegan folk get their required nutrients?

I ask this being sincerely curious, because one of my friends recently tried to go completely vegan, but ended up ill, so went back to just vegetarian.

I know the difference between vegetarian and vegan is that vegetarians dont eat meat, but vegans dont eat animal by-products either. So, with that being said, how do you personally get your required nutrients to healthily function? i know there's a nutritional supplement for everything these days, but there's got to be something better than that.

Thanks!

Neither vegans or vegetarians need a vitamin or supplement, as long as they are eating a well researched and well balanced diet. Eating a blend of whole grains (buckwheat, millet, quinoa, flax, amaranth, etc), leafy greens, fruits, vegetables , beans, legumes, pulses, lentils, starches, etc. will ensure that your friend gets all she needs nutritionally. The more obscure vitamins, such as B12 and iron that most people get from animal sources, can easily be found in such things as unsulphored molasses, nutritional yeast, grains, etc. It requires a good deal of research to learn the proper way to eat a vegan diet-but the results are astounding. Too many people just worry about giving up the animal products and by products, but don't do the research on what to replace those things with. Balance is the key to ANY diet, and learning about it in full before taking it on is the best way to make sure all your dietary needs are met. Its quite likely that your friend got sick simply from "detoxing" from the standard diet she was on-it takes time for the body to clear out years worth of built up toxins. Many people think they are "sick" from the lack of nutrients, but that is usually not the case, unless they are just pigging out on junk food that is unhealthy to begin with. Perhaps your friend might benefit from a trip to the library before trying again. I hope she doesn't get discouraged too quickly.

We get our required nutrients by eating food, just like you do. Was there a particular nutrient you were concerned with?

i take these vitamins. they work really good. before i started to take them i became ill as well. i am not sure what they are called but when i found out i will get back to you!

was her illness related to diet or something else? We still get sick being vegan, and we can still have poor diets if we are not careful. But everything you can ever require is found in vegetables.

I can only imagine a vegan who eats properly becoming nutrient deficient if they cannot digest their food properly. This will occur in rare cases when people develop enzyme deficiency, but this is remedied by taking liquid vegetable enzymes as a supplement. This can even cure people of their food allergies in some cases.

A Vegan diet is something that should be handled carefully...
If you are not careful you could end up ill.

That being said however...

Vegans that properly plan their diets are healthier and a lot more compassionate than "carnivores" and even vegetarians.

All the nutrients that vegetarians and carnivores can get vegans can get as well.

I'm sorry your friend had that experience. Some new vegans have trouble meeting their caloric needs because they are only aware of low-calorie vegan foods like salads and vegetables. To have a healthy vegan diet, a person should eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains. Vegans also need to have a reliable source of vitamin B12, either by taking a supplement or eating fortified foods (like some soymilks and cereals).

More info:

Vegan sources of protein, iron, and calcium:
http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=08sourc...

The four vegan food groups:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/f...

I don't know what's wrong with your friend but she obviously didn't know what she was doing. I went vegan five years ago after being veg for a year and I've never had to go back.

You give us no idea of what her illness was which is irresponsible if you expect us to respond to it.

These people seem to be handling it well
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=b...

B12 is the ONLY nutrient that people MIGHT have problems consuming on a vegan diet. Vegan B12 supplement are easy to find and most people that eat meat can be measured at some level of B12 deficiency so most anyone should take a supplement anyway.

I think that these people have a little authority on the issue
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

Because she obviously did not research how to eat properly. There is no nutrient, vitamin or mineral that anyone can name which can not be obtained from a vegan diet. I am a guy and have been vegan for about a year. I eat correctly and I feel amazing. Feeling much more energy, stamina and viabrance. I am also an athlete. I play varsity baseball and football.

visit http://www.meat.org/ to see first hand.
also, visit www.goveg.org to understand why exactly a vegetarian/vegan diet is so great!