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The nutrients vegans over fifty should watch
A well-planned vegan diet covers almost everything. A handful of nutrients need deliberate attention, and one of them, vitamin B12, is not optional. Here is the short list and what to do about each.
Vitamin B12: not optional
B12 is not reliably found in plant foods, and absorbing it gets harder with age for everyone. Vegans need a dependable source: fortified foods such as some plant milks and nutritional yeast, or a supplement. Ask your doctor to check your level and suggest a dose.
Vitamin D
Plenty of older adults run low, vegan or not, especially through the winter. Vegan D3 made from lichen exists. Ask your doctor whether to test, and let the result set the dose. Why it matters for bones and balance.
Omega-3
Flax, chia, hemp seeds and walnuts provide the plant form. The body converts only a little of it into the longer forms found in fish, so some vegans choose an algae oil, which provides those directly. Worth a conversation with your doctor rather than a guess.
Calcium and iron
Calcium: fortified soy milk, tofu set with calcium sulphate, and greens such as kale and bok choy. Iron: beans, lentils, tofu and seeds, eaten alongside something with vitamin C, such as peppers or an orange, which helps you absorb it.
Creatine
Creatine comes mostly from meat and fish, so vegans tend to carry less in their muscles. Creatine monohydrate is usually made synthetically, so it generally suits a vegan diet, but check the label. The honest case for it after fifty.
