Vegan/Vegetarian Resources

Food choices are made for many different reasons: cultural, emotional, economical, religious, ethical, environmental and personal health. For those who choose a vegetarian diet or vegan diet, Cal Dining offers a varity options to meet your needs.

Please contact registered dietitian Renee Simpson for future questions.

At Cal Dining, there are daily selections for both vegetarian (no meat or fish) and vegan (no animal products of any kind, including meat, eggs and dairy) diets. The choices are marked by the following symbols:

While there are undoubtedly some health benefits to a vegetarian diet, a nutritious diet can draw from an enormous range of foods. In fact, a vegetarian diet by no means ensures good nutritional health. With all types of vegetarian diets, it is important to also maintain appropriate caloric intake and to ensure that all essential nutrients found in meat or dairy products are otherwise obtained through other sources.

You can never go wrong by eating lots of fruits and vegetables, so whatever choices you make regarding meat and animal products- be sure to include a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, too!

Find more information about vegetarian and vegan diets at: www.goveg.com or www.vrg.org

Essential Nutrients

While a vegetarian diet is typically lower in saturated fats and cholesterol, it should also be carefully planned to ensure that all essential nutrients available in a diet containing meat are still consumed.

Protein
It is fairly easy to meet protein requirements in a vegan diet, as long as the sources are varied and intake is high enough. Soy protein has equal amounts of protein as most animal proteins, other good sources include dairy products, eggs, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts.

Iron
Vegetarians may have a greater risk of iron deficiency than non vegetarians; the richest sources of iron are of animal origin. However, dried beans, spinach, enriched products and dried fruits are all good plant sources of iron.

Vitamin B-12
Because vitamin B-12 comes naturally only from animal sources vegans need a reliable source of vitamin B-12 added to their diets. It can be found in some fortified (not enriched) breakfast cereals, fortified soy beverages, and some other foods (check the labels), as well as vitamin supplements.

Vitamin D
While vegetarians who eat dairy products should be able to get adequate amounts of vitamin D, vegans should have a reliable source of vitamin D. Sunlight can be an adequate source of vitamin D; however, vegans who don't get much sunlight may need a supplement.

Calcium
Studies show that vegetarians absorb and retain more calcium from foods than non vegetarians do. Vegetable greens such as spinach, kale, broccoli, and some legumes and soybean products are good sources of calcium from plants.

Zinc
Good plant sources of zinc include grains, nuts and legumes. Shellfish are an excellent source of zinc. Take care to select supplements containing no more than 15-18 mg zinc. Supplements containing 50 mg or more may lower HDL ("good") cholesterol in some people.

Find more information about nutrients at www.nutrition.gov

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