The fun and easy way® to live a vegan lifestyle

Are you thinking about becoming a vegan? Already a practicing
vegan? More than 3 million Americans currently live a vegan
lifestyle, and that number is growing. Living Vegan For
Dummies is your one-stop resource for understanding vegan
practices, sharing them with your friends and loved ones, and
maintaining a vegan way of life.

This friendly, practical guide explains the types of products
that vegans abstain from eating and consuming, and provides healthy
and animal-free options. You'll see how to create a balanced,
nutritious vegan diet; read food and product labels to determine
animal-derived product content; and stock a vegan pantry. You'll
also get 40 great-tasting recipes to expand your cooking
repertoire.

* Features expert guidance in living a vegan lifestyle and
explaining it to friends and family

* Includes proper dietary guidelines so you can get the nutrition
you need

* Gives you several action plans for making the switch to
veganism

* Provides parents with everything they need to understand and
support their children's choices

With the tips and advice in Living Vegan For Dummies, you
can truly live and enjoy a vegan way of life!

Alexandra Jamieson, CHHC, AADP, is a professionally trained vegan chef and board-certified holistic health counselor. She has appeared on Oprah, The Final Word, 30 Days, and The National Health Test with Bryant Gumbel. She was also featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me.

The fun and easy way® to live a vegan lifestyle

Are you thinking about becoming a vegan? Already a practicing vegan? More than 3 million Americans currently live a vegan lifestyle, and that number is growing. Living Vegan For Dummies is your one-stop resource for understanding vegan practices, sharing them with your friends and loved ones, and maintaining a vegan way of life.

This friendly, practical guide explains the types of products that vegans abstain from eating and consuming, and provides healthy and animal-free options. You'll see how to create a balanced, nutritious vegan diet; read food and product labels to determine animal-derived product content; and stock a vegan pantry. You'll also get 40 great-tasting recipes to expand your cooking repertoire.

• Features expert guidance in living a vegan lifestyle and explaining it to friends and family
• Includes proper dietary guidelines so you can get the nutrition you need
• Gives you several action plans for making the switch to veganism
• Provides parents with everything they need to understand and support their children's choices

With the tips and advice in Living Vegan For Dummies, you can truly live and enjoy a vegan way of life!

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You're Not to Read 3

Foolish Assumptions 3

How This Book is Organized 4

Part I: Ve-gan at the Beginning 4

Part II: Building a Healthy Vegan Diet 4

Part III: Sticking to Your Guns: Staying Vegan 4

Part IV: Tasting is Believing: Vegan Recipes 5

Part V: Living Vegan in the Real World 5

Part VI: Veganism for All Walks of Life 5

Part VII: The Part of Tens 5

Icons Used in This Book 6

Where to Go from Here 6

Part I: Ve-gan at the Beginning 7

Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Vegan Eating and Living 9

You are What You Eat: The Health and Food Connection 9

Heart-healthy, low-fat, cholesterol-free foods 10

Feeling fine with fiber 11

The power of proper protein12

The healing power of plant foods 12

Living Vegan Beyond Your Diet 13

Fierce, fabulous, fur-free fashion 13

Keepin' it real at home 14

Staying vegan in a nonvegan world 14

Energetically Speaking: The Spiritual Side of Veganism 14

Tackling Common Questions about Veganism 16

Why on earth would you live like that? 16

What can a vegan eat? 17

Is it a balanced diet? 17

Chapter 2: Understanding the Impact of Vegan Living 19

Straight Talk about the Ecological Impact of Animal Protein 19

Water pollution and water scarcity 20

Toxic odor and air pollution 22

Mountains of manure 22

Having Reverence for All Life 23

Taking action against food injustice and malnutrition around the world 23

Standing up for animals 24

Chapter 3: Transforming to Veganism 27

Going Cold Tofurky 27

The pros of converting quickly 28

The cons of going too fast 28

Taking a Slow, Systematic Approach 29

Advantages of taking your time 29

Problems with pacing yourself 30

The Nuts and Bolts of Changing Over 30

Choosing your timing wisely 31

Educating yourself and enrolling your comrades 31

Making healthier decisions by planning your meals ahead of time 32

Purging nonvegan products from your life 33

Getting to know your new community 33

Focusing on the fun and adventure of being a vegan 34

Part II: Building a Healthy Vegan Diet 35

Chapter 4: Essential Nutrients for Healthy Success 37

B-ing Healthy with B12 and B2 37

Finding B12 and B2 in vegan foods 38

Getting enough of the right kind 39

Counting on Calcium for Strong Bones 39

Boning up on calcium requirements 40

Seeking out calcium in vegan foods 41

Avoiding foods that leach calcium 43

Pumping Up Your Iron Intake 44

Understanding how much you need 44

Obtaining your iron in vegan foods 45

Using iron to the best of your body's ability 45

Staying away from iron blockers 47

Vitamin D: The Sunlight Vitamin 48

Elevating your vitamin D intake naturally 48

Adding food or supplements to get your Vitamin D49

Don't Forget Zinc! 49

Picking up zinc from vegan foods 50

Making sure your body absorbs it 51

A Little Help from Our Friends: Giving Supplements a Try 51

Chapter 5: Protein Protocols 53

What You Need to Know about Protein 53

How Much Protein Do You Need? 54

Protein needs for all ages and stages 54

Protein problems: Why too much of a good thing is a bad thing 56

Not enough protein? Symptoms to look out for 56

Why Vegan Protein is Better Than Animal Protein 58

Finding Protein in Vegan Foods 59

Protein-rich vegan favorites 59

Including fermented foods for easy protein digestion 60