Health
Documented risks and benefits, condition by condition.
What the research shows about vegan diets and health outcomes: the documented risks, the documented benefits, and the conditions where the evidence is strongest.
Your vegan diet has enough iron. Your coffee habit might be stealing it.
Non-heme iron from plants absorbs at 5-12%, against 14-18% for the heme iron in meat - which is why vegans need about 1.8 times the RDA. What closes the gap: pairing with vitamin C, keeping tea and coffee away from iron-focused meals, and where the iron actually is.
Why would someone be vegan? The most common reason is the weakest one
Health is the reason people name most often, and it is the weakest of the three. What the prospective data says about why people switch, and what each argument is worth.
Where do vegans get calcium? Spinach is the trap
A cup of cooked spinach carries more calcium than a cup of milk and delivers almost none of it. Plant calcium sources ranked by absorption, and a day of eating that clears the RDA.
The cons of a vegan diet
Every version of this question treats planning as a defect of plant-based eating. Animal foods are planned too, at the feed mill, by someone else. What the evidence shows, and the five rules that settle it.
What supplements do vegans need? B12, and then it depends
The honest shortlist is shorter than most vegan supplement guides suggest. One nutrient is non-negotiable, three need attention for specific reasons, and the rest depend on what is already on the plate.