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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Where Do Vegans Get Their Zinc?

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I’m not going to lie, no one has actually asked me where I get my zinc – hell, before I decided to write this article, I didn’t even really know what it was! – but I know it’s still important for your body (and, now I also know why!) so I wanted to share.

First things first: What the hell is zinc, anyway?

Zinc is a nutrient that is a required catalyst for a whole bunch of cellular things that your body does. Including little things like your immune function, DNA synthesis, wound healing and cell division.

So, yeah, a little more important than most people probably realize.

You only need between 8-12mg of it a day, and the good news is that it’s in all kinds of foods, so it’s more than easy enough to get all you need!

Unfortunately, if you try to look it up, basically every article you come across will tell you to just eat seafood (specifically, oysters), red meat and dairy.

Fortunately, I did the research so you don’t have to scour the internet for the best plant-based food sources.

Also, I threw them all up in this handy-dandy infographic, so you have all the info in an easy-to-find location!

Zinc Sources in Order: (Per 1 Cup)

  • Seasame Seeds 11.16mg
  • Pumpkin Seeds 10.29mg
  • Lentils 9.18mg
  • Soybeans 9.1mg
  • Pine Nuts 8.71mg
  • Cashews 7.67mg
  • Navy Beans 7.59mg
  • White Beans 7.41mg
  • Sunflower Seeds 7.29mg
  • Flax Seeds 7.29mg
  • Black Beans 7.08mg
  • Miso 7.04mg
  • Chickpeas 6.86mg
  • Oats 6.19mg
  • Split Peas 5.93mg
  • Brazil Nuts 5.68mg
  • Mung Beans 5.55mg
  • Kidney Beans 5.13mg
  • Lima Beans 5.04mg
  • Almonds 4.8mg
  • Peanuts 4.77mg
  • Pecans 4.48mg
  • Coconut 4.37mg (1 Medium)
  • Black Walnuts 4.21mg
  • English Walnuts 3.71mg
  • Hazelnuts 3.31mg
  • Pistacchio 2.71mg

As you can see, there are tons of plant-based foods that contain zinc, so there’s no need to stress about getting enough if you follow a non-animal-product diet.

Like this article? Find out where vegans get more of their nutrients here!

The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Where Do Vegans Get Their Magnesium?

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably never give much thought to magnesium. I mean sure, you might’ve heard it around in health talks or online articles, but you’ve never sat down and thought ‘am I getting enough?’ 

That’s because unlike protein or calcium, most people don’t seem to care whether or not you get enough magnesium. Or, maybe people believe it’s just not as hard to find.

Luckily for you though, you’ve stumbled onto a blogger who’s making a Nutrient series, so you’re going to learn about it! (Like I did, when writing this article)

Magnesium is a mineral that is naturally occurring in many different foods. It’s important for humans because it’s an essential nutrient for certain body processes, such as: heart rhythm, muscle contractions, blood pressure control, bone health and creative energy! (Yes, that last one is real)

Magnesium being a naturally occurring mineral is a great thing, because it means you won’t have to go looking for supplements or fortified foods to get your daily dose!

What is the daily dose for magnesium? It’s estimated adults need between 310-420mg every day.

That might sound like a lot, but I guarantee if you add the following foods to your diet – or already have a few – it won’t be as big of a challenge as you think:

Starting in the top left-hand corner and moving clockwise:

  • Pumpkin Seeds = 1,200mg
  • Chia Seeds = 888mg
  • Almonds = 640mg
  • Cashews = 576mg
  • Dark Chocolate = 512mg
  • Peanuts = 399mg
  • Spinach (cooked) = 156mg
  • Swiss Chard (cooked) = 150mg
  • Black Beans  = 120mg
  • Quinoa (cooked) = 120mg
  • Shredded Wheat  = 112mg
  • Edamame (cooked) = 100mg
  • Lima Beans = 80mg
  • Green Pas = 62mg
  • Sweet Corn = 54mg
  • Collard Greens = 50mg
  • Avocado = 58mg (1 whole)
  • Potato = 48mg (1 Med)
  • Papaya = 33mg (1 Small)
  • Banana = 32mg (1 Med)
  • Blackberries = 29mg

Now, I know you might not want to eat an entire cup of say, pumpkin seeds, so I’m also going to include the 1oz calculations for some of the above foods.

Magnesium Rich Foods per 1oz:

  • Pumpkin Seeds = 150mg
  • Chia Seeds = 111mg
  •  Almonds = 80mg
  • Cashews = 72mg
  • Dark Chocolate = 64mg
  • Peanuts = 49mg
  • Flaxseed (1Tbsp) = 40mg

Whether you eat 1 cup, 1oz, somewhere in-between those portions or more, I think you can see by the numbers it’s not hard to get enough magnesium in your diet.

Like this article? Check out the rest of the Nutrient Collage series!

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Where Do Vegans Get Their Potassium?

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You’ve probably heard of potassium as that health thing/nutrient in bananas that’s good for you, right? But do you know what potassium actually is?

Don’t feel bad if you don’t, I didn’t know what it was until I did this article! And since I’m the bringer of knowledge – both because that’s what this series is for and because I’m an Aquarius – let’s take a quick walk down What The Heck Is Potassium, Anyway? Avenue.

Potassium is a mineral that helps maintains your body’s nerves, muscles, kidneys and heart functions. It’s said that when people eat diets rich in potassium, they can lower their blood pressure, reduce their risk of kidney stones and potentially regulate their blood sugar levels.

Adults need 4,700mg of potassium daily and while that may sound like a lot, with how abundant it is in foods, you really don’t need to worry. (Like most other nutrients in this series)

Starting in the top left-hand corner, and moving clockwise:

  • Dried Apricots (1,510mg)
  • Prunes (1,270mg)
  • Raisins (1,200mg)
  • Durian (1,059mg)
  • Swiss Chard (961mg)
  • 1 Med Baked Potato (929mg)
  • Yams (912mg)
  • Spinach (830mg)
  • Lentils (731mg)
  •  Avocado (728mg)
  • Guava (688mg)
  • 1 Whole Pomegranate (666mg)
  • 2 Slices Watermelon (640mg)
  •  Kidney Beans (607mg)
  •  Coconut Water (600mg)
  • Butternut Squash (582mg)
  • 1 Med Sweet Potato (542mg)
  •  Beets (518mg)
  • 1 Banana (451mg)

I don’t know about you, but I was surprised to learn that not only so many other foods have more potassium than bananas, but that bananas have so little in comparison, that they’re at the bottom of the list!

Did this list shock you? Do you know of any potassium-rich foods I missed? (With equal values to the above) Let me know in the comments!

Like this article? Check out the rest of the series here!

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Where Do Vegans Get Their Vitamin E?

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Vitamin E is important because it helps protect your cells from oxidative stress. It also helps boost your immune system, reduces blood clot risk, lowers your risk of cancer, helps your eyes and brightens your skin.

If you don’t get enough Vitamin E, you may become prone to infections and/or develop muscle weakness or impaired eyesight.

Fortunately, Vitamin E is in a lot of foods, so most people don’t have to worry about getting enough of it. The only time you should worry about getting enough Vitamin E – and probably other nutrients – is if you have an absorption problem, or your nutrient absorption has become impaired.

It is also possible to OD on Vitamin E because unlike other vitamins, excess Vitamin E doesn’t come out when you pee. Vitamin E is what’s called a fat soluble vitamin, which means it’s stored in your tissues and livers, which includes the excess. And I don’t think I need to tell you how bad hyper consumption is when it comes to your body.

Unfortunately, in my research, the only ‘side effect’ to having excess Vitamin E that I found was bleeding in the brain. And while I don’t think I need to tell you why that’s bad, I was sort of hoping I’d be able to find a less panic-inducing symptom to include, just in case any of you readers are like me and tend to over-stress about certain things.

Luckily though, all you have to do to avoid getting too much Vitamin E is make sure you consume less than 1,000mg worth of supplements. Why just supplements? Because apparently it’s extremely rare (the articles literally used the phrase almost impossible) to OD on Vitamin E from just eating it in food. So, relax! Unless you’re downing supplements like Tic-Tacs, you’re most likely fine.

Most adults (including pregnant women! [This isn’t an exciting fact, just something I’ve noticed in my nutrient collage series]) only need 15mg per day. Which is way under 1,000mg, so again, try not to worry.

Starting in the top left-hand corner, moving clockwise:

  • Wheat Germ Oil 149mg
  • Hazelnut Oil 47mg
  • Sunflower Oil 41mg
  • Almond Oil 39mg
  • Cottonseed Oil 35mg
  • Sunflower Seeds 35mg
  • Safflower Oil 34mg
  • Grapeseed Oil 29mg
  • Almonds 26mg
  • Canola Oil 18mg
  • Palm Oil 16mg
  • Hazelnuts 15mg
  • Pine Nuts 9.3mg
  • Peanuts 8.3mg
  • Brazil Nuts 5.7mg
  • Olives 3.8mg
  • Turnip Greens 2.9mg
  • Pistachios 2.9mg
  • Collard Greens 2.3mg
  • Pumpkin Seeds 2.2mg
  • Avocado 2.1mg
  • Cranberries 2.1mg
  • Spinach 2mg
  • Swiss Chard 1.9mg
  • Mustard Greens 1.8mg
  • Red Bell Pepper 1.6mg
  • Kiwi 1.5mg
  • Broccoli 1.5mg
  • Asparagus 1.5mg

Like this article? Check out more Nutrient Collages!