Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet

by Jack Norris, Virginia Messina

Overview

Going vegan? Here's the go-to-guide, with a six-step transition plan to a plant-based diet, with detailed nutritional information for everyone from athletes to kids to pregnant women.

Whether you're considering going vegan or just want to learn more about plant-based nutrition, Vegan for Life is your comprehensive, go-to guide for optimal healthy eating. Registered dietitians and long-time vegans Jack Norris and Virginia Messina debunk some of the most persistent myths about vegan nutrition and provide essential information about getting enough calcium and protein, finding the best supplements, and understanding the "real deal" about soy.

Covering everything from a six-step transition plan to meeting protein requirements and even calorie and nutrient needs during pregnancy and breastfeeding, Vegan for Life is the guide for aspiring and veteran vegans alike, complete with an easy-to-use food chart, tasty substitutions, sample menus, and expansive resources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738214931
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	07/12/2011
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	8.74(w) x 6.06(h) x 0.84(d)

About the Author

Jack Norris, RD, is a vegan dietitian, the cofounder and executive director of Vegan Outreach, and has been elected to the Animal Rights Hall of Fame. He is a widely-sought speaker on vegan nutrition. Visit his website at jacknorrisRD.com.

Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, writes about vegan and vegetarianism for both consumers and health professionals and serves on the advisory boards of One Step for Animals, the Vegan Trade Council, Oldways Vegetarian Network, Better Eating International, and True Health Initiative. Learn more at theveganrd.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Going Vegan for Life xi

1 Understanding Vegan Nutrient Needs 1

2 Protein from Plants 15

3 Vitamin B12: The Gorilla in the Room 27

4 Calcium, Vitamin D, and Bone Health 37

5 Fats: Making the Best Choices 51

6 Iron, Zinc, Iodine, and Vitamin A: Maximizing Vegan Sources 61

7 The Vegan Food Guide 83

8 Making the Transition to a Vegan Diet 105

9 A Healthy Start: Vegan Diets in Pregnancy and Breast-Feeding 133

10 Raising Vegan Children and Teens 143

11 Vegan Diets for People over Fifty 163

12 Plant Food Advantages: Health Benefits of a Vegan Diet 171

13 Managing Weight, Heart Disease, and Diabetes 179

14 Sports Nutrition 195

15 Is It Safe to Eat Soy? 205

16 Why Vegan? 217

Vegan Resources 237

A Quick Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, and Vegetables 243

Metric Conversion Chart 248

Acknowledgments 249

Notes 255

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

Prioritizing compassion as a reason to embrace an animal-free lifestyle, longtime vegan dieticians Norris (cofounder of Vegan Outreach) and Messina (The Vegetarian Way) show readers how to evaluate medical research studies; calculate daily nutritional needs; stock a vegan pantry on a budget; and create daily menus. They slice through controversies surrounding, for example, convenience and soy foods; provide solutions to potential nutritional deficiencies (vitamin B12, calcium, iron, etc.); pinpoint particular needs of vegan children and teens, pregnant and breastfeeding women, athletes, older adults and those with allergies; and promote a plant-based diet to help prevent or heal obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Armed with this compendium and a vegan cookbook, novices will make an easy, healthy transition to meat, egg and dairy-free meals, while practicing vegans can use it as a guide to the best food choices. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"This book explains everything one needs to know about going vegan. Comprehensive and succinct, it is a must-have for nutritionists and anyone contemplating a vegan diet."
—Library Journal

"Armed with this compendium and a vegan cookbook, novices will make an easy, healthy transition to meat, egg and dairy-free meals, while practicing vegans can use it as a guide to the best food choices."
—Publishers Weekly

"Packed with science yet never boring, Norris and Messina-both long-time vegans themselves-put their wealth of knowledge at your fingertips while putting to rest any nutritional issues that concern those aspiring to a plant based-diet...No vegan myth goes unbusted...Vegan for Life is a complete reference guide that deserves a spot in your library or kitchen."
—VegNews

"Whether you've been enjoying a plant-based diet for years or are just starting on the adventure, Norris and Messina will prove to be outstanding mentors. Even if you don't plan to eliminate meat and animal products completely, there's valuable information here about incorporating foods that help you fight disease, build the immune system, and feel better in general. Vegan for Life is one of those books that you'll pull off the shelf for inspiration and consultation time after time."
—Curled Up With a Good Book

"Any general lending library catering to vegetarians needs this introductory guide."
—Midwest Book Review

"Vegan for Life is full of helpful charts that show specific nutrients found in numerous fruits, nuts and vegetables. I love how easy this makes it to be sure you are getting the proper nutrition in your Vegan lifestyle."
—Texas Kitchen (blog)

"A book that is both so encouraging and so incredibly necessary right now."
—Run Vegan (blog)

"Vegan for Life makes going vegan doable. I would definitely recommend this book to vegans, the vegan-curious, and those living with vegan family members."
—Veggie Voyeur

"Beyond setting straight some outdated nutrition information, the book will put to rest most nutrition worries you might have."
—Lone Star Plate

"This book offers a great deal of information and practical suggestions for maintaining a healthy vegan diet."
—Going-Vegan.net

"Never before have I ever come across such an excellent, factual book...This book would be great for anyone. I think it would be wonderful for new vegans to start them on the right path. It would also be a great gift to any family members of a vegan who have questions (I know my mother did when I started). It should also be required reading for any longtime vegan, like myself, to make sure that you are getting the most of our diet...Get this book. Seriously... 5 Stars."
—Quick & Easy magazine

"If you're a new vegan, or a vegan who might be buying into the hype that a vegan diet is not sustainable, read this book. If you're a vegan who wants a quick resource at your fingertips or the perfect book to hand over to your vegan-curious family member or friend read this book."
—VegKitchen.com

"Whether you're considering veganism or you're an old hand, Vegan for Life is a book that you won't want to be without."
—Cooking the Vegan Books

"Norris and Messina have the knowledge, understanding, and experience to tell it like it is about vegan diet. And they do...I'm telling you now! Read This Book!"
—SavvyVegetarian.com

"Clearly written and easy to understand, this book is a must for both long-term vegans and those just considering such a path."
—San Francisco Book Review

"Jack Norris and Ginny Messina have produced a highly readable, information-packed book about vegan nutrition...I highly recommend Vegan for Life-for new vegans, established vegans, people curious about vegan diets...It's essential reading!"
—Vegetarian Journal, Vol. 30, Issue 4

"With this resource, readers learn how to make the transition to a plant-based diet while still getting the nutrition they need."
—Taste for Life


"The most authoritative vegan nutrition book on the planet."

—Vegan.com

"A great book I think every vegan should have...Jack and Virginia know their stuff."—Positively Vegan

"Registered dieticians and longtime vegans, Jack Norris and Virginia Messina, debunk some of the most persistent myths about vegan nutrition and provide essential information about getting enough calcium, protein and finding the best supplements...Vegan for Life is the guide for aspiring and veteran vegans alike, complete with an easy-to-use- food chart, tasty substitutes, sample menus and expansive resources."

—The Vegetarian

"One of the ten best vegan books of 2011...Vegan for Life is a book you will keep for life, and if you follow the advice of RDs Norris and Messina, chances are it will be a long one."
—VegNews

"Nutritionists Jack Norris, RD, and Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, fully explain what a vegan diet is, and how to avoid deficiencies of such important nutrients as protein, calcium, and iron. For those considering a vegan lifestyle but afraid that the diet won't keep them healthy, Norris and Messina have the answers... The advice is easy to follow, and can result in a longer, healthier life."
—AllVoices.com

"For those who, for whatever reason, intend to become vegans, this book will be helpful."—Bookviews

"An effective primer for those just starting to live as vegans and those interested in trying the vegan lifestyle but uncertain about its potential benefits."
—InfoDad.com

"Delicious nutrient-dense menus."—Tucson Citizen

"Awesome...A common-sense guide to eating a healthy and varied plant-based diet...If you are vegan or vegetarian, you should get-and read!-Vegan for Life."

—Vegansaurus.com

"It's a quick, easy, informative read."—NorthwestHerbivore.com

"A densely-packed treasure chest of nutritional information for vegans and those who feed them."
—OurHenHouse.org

From the Publisher

Going vegan is a complicated endeavor. Humans evolved as omnivores, regularly consuming meat, milk, and eggs. One can get all the protein one needs from an unsupplemented plant-based diet, but the amount of beans it would be necessary to eat, along with other foods—not to mention the monotony of such a diet—would be nearly impossible to manage. Dieticians Norris and Messina deconstruct the myths about veganism and explain its benefits (vegans are far less prone than omnivores to obesity and its related ailments, such as diabetes and heart disease). They explain to the novice, step by step, how to transition from an omnivorous diet, identifying the necessary dietary supplements and advising how to take them. Babies, children, teens, and those with compromised immunity will need extra supplementation. VERDICT This book explains everything one needs to know about going vegan. Comprehensive and succinct, it is a must-have for nutritionists and anyone contemplating a vegan diet.—Susan B. Hagloch, formerly with Tuscarawas Cty. P.L., New Philadelphia, OH

Library Journal