I'd like to tell you a vegan diet provides all the nutrients you need. I'd be lying. The dirty veggie secret is that some vegans may be lacking B-12, a vitamin found in animal protein but otherwise elusive.
The body requires only 2.4 micrograms of B-12 -- almost nothing. However, B-12 can be tricky to absorb and without enough of it, your body reduces red blood cell production. Over time, you can feel sluggish. In extreme cases, you get pernicious anemia.
Fortify yourself with a daily B-12 supplement, a multivitamin, or with the few vegan-friendly foods fortified with added B-12.
Some brands of soy milk are fortified. An 8-ounce serving of vanilla soy from Silk ($3.39, 1.89 liters) and 8th Continent ($3.09, 1.89 liters) contains 100 calories, but Silk offers half your daily B-12 requirement, while 8th Continent offers only 15 percent.
Two cereals have all the daily B-12 you need -- Kashi Heart to Heart ($3.39, 13.4 ounces) and Nature's Path Organic Optimum Power ($3.49, 14 ounces).
While you can find soy milk and these two cereals at supermarkets, head to your favorite natural food store for the niftiest way to get your B-12 -- Red Star's vegetarian support formula nutritional yeast ($4.59, 5 ounces). It's inactive for baking but hyperactive when it comes to amino acids and B vitamins including B-12. A serving of 1 ½ tablespoons has 60 calories, 8 protein grams and 133 percent of your daily B-12 needs.
Nutritional yeast is yellow and comes in powdery flakes that taste as cheesy as anything dairy, but are lactose-free. Sprinkle on salads, vegetables and whole grains -- it's awesome on popcorn -- stir it into soups, toss into pasta.
Some stores sell nutritional yeast in bulk, but check the label. Not all nutritional yeast is B-12-fortified like Red Star -- so B sure.
Ellen Kanner writes biweekly about vegetarian concerns.
