In this series of posts I am going to talk about vitamins and nutrients, which is something that being vegan or not you should try to combine ingredients on your daily diet to get the correct level of it and consequently be more healthy.


Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is one of the eight B vitamins and is a water-soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system and for the formation of blood. Some people might not agree with me but when it comes to vitamin B12 and vegans the thing to say is - we need a supplement. As simple as that!

Vitamin A
Vitamin A plays a role in a variety of functions throughout the body, such as: vision, gene transcription, immune function, embryonic development and reproduction, bone metabolism, skin and cellular heath and antioxidant activity. Some people call it the sight vitamin.
Good source of vitamin A are: carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, kale, spinach, pumpkin, collard greens, cantaloupe melon, apricot, papaya, mango, pea.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D plays an important role in your health. It is the only vitamin that can be made by the human body from the exposure to sunshine (hence its nickname, the "sunshine vitamin").
Ten to 15 minutes of sun exposure, three times a week makes enough vitamin D. It can be stored for several months in the body. When your skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun, a cholesterol-like compound is converted to a vitamin D precursors and then to vitamin D3.
Mushrooms not only delicious but are a good source of vitamin D. Most soya products, nut milks, juices and cereals are fortified with vitamin D and additional nutrients. So next time you are in the supermarket have a look to find out if you favourite brand is fortified and invest in recipes with mushroom.

Protein
Vegans are bombarded with questions about where they get their protein. Proteins are essential nutrients for the human body. In nutrition, proteins are broken down in the stomach during digestion by enzymes known as proteases into smaller polypeptides to provide amino acids for the body.
Aminco acids are found in plant sources such as whole grains, pulses, legumes, soy, nuts and seeds so as long as you include those foods in your daily diet there is no reason why you won't have the recommended level of protein necessary to make you healthy.

Iron
Iron has several vital functions, including as a carrier of oxygen to the tissues from the lungs in the form of hemoglobin, as a transport medium for electrons within the cells in the form of cytochromes, and as an integral part of enzyme reactions in various tissues.
You can find iron in a lot of vegetables and grains among them are wholegrain, beans, kale, spinach and basil. To increase the absorption on iron always have vitamin C with your meals, that can be in a form of a small glass of orange juice.

I am personally crazy about spinach, what is your favourite source of iron.