Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet

Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet

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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13  ·  rating details  ·  395 ratings  ·  51 reviews
Are you considering going vegan, but you're not sure how to start? Are you already committed to an animal-free diet, but are unclear about how to get proper nutrients? Vegan for Life is your comprehensive, go-to guide for optimal plant-based nutrition. Registered dietitians and long-time vegans Jack Norris and Virginia Messina debunk some of the most persistent myths about...more
Paperback, 283 pages
Published July 12th 2011 by Da Capo Lifelong Books (first published July 5th 2011)
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Lauren
Vegan? Thinking of going vegan? Love/like/know a vegan? Want to eat less meat or dairy but not sure how to do it in a healthy way? If so, then you need this book. It's essentially an encyclopedia for all things nutrition-related as they pertain to veganism.

There are entire chapters dedicated to certain vitamins and nutrients. I thought I knew all there was to know about b-12, but I was wrong. They also discuss raising vegan children and being vegan during pregnancy, veganism for the over-50 crow...more
Allison
My dad bought me this book for my birthday because he was worried that my vegan lifestyle wasn't meeting my nutritional needs. According to this book, he was right! It helped me to re-shape my diet into a healthier ordeal.

The problem with most books about nutrition is that they're dense and hard to read, but Vegan for Life is very accessible. It only gives you the info that you need to know, no fancy science talk. It takes the time to debunk common vegan myths and be honest about what's scientif...more
Steve
This is a great book for anyone interested in eating a vegan diet. Beginners will find everything they need to know boiled down into a single page, on page 88, called "The Vegan Food Guide". People who have been eating vegan diets for a while will find updated nutrition information(the book was just published in 2011), including entire chapters debunking much misinformation and urban folklore about vegan diets. I found the chapters on soy food consumption and the real health benefits of vegan di...more
Andrea Paterson
Awesome! This book will answer any question you have about remaining in peak health on a vegan diet. Well researched and extremely thorough, the two dieticians who wrote this book have done their homework and then some. The main premise illustrates the balanced and realistic attitude of the authors: veganism is not a natural human diet and romanticizing it as a perfect diet for human beings does more harm than good. They argue that if people are going to convert to veganism and stick with it the...more
Sara
This is a good confidence booster for a person having doubts about the nutritional adequacy of a vegan diet. It doesn't come on strong with the arguments to convince someone to become vegan; although there is information about the likely health benefits and a chapter on animal cruelty. The focus is more on showing how a vegan diet can provide all the daily nutrient and vitamin requirements. So, it is probably more suited for someone who is already vegan or has already decided to become vegan, bu...more
Russ
New vegans (or older struggling vegans): this is the one! The authors, both registered dietitians, are very careful in outlining a healthy vegan diet. They are also very honest, which is helpful on topics like B-12 (and it comes down to the fact that supplements are the most dependable way to go, so why mess with the uncertainty of other sources simply for the notion of being "more natural"?). Some other vegan diet books rely on inconclusive studies with small sample sizes to bolster claims. Nor...more
Neil Gaudet
I didn't come to being vegan for animal cruelty issues but instead for health and lifestyle reasons and I found the approach in this book very helpful.

Vegan for life covers nutritional and health issues for vegans in a very solid scientific way. The conversation unveils both the nutritional challenges and benefits of being vegan. Many of the myths are busted in a convincing manner and if followed, the advice in this book should allow vegans to make healthy lifelong choices.

The book does end wi...more
Monique
I've been reading tons of health related books this year so that I can work on myself. Even though I've warmed up to the idea of switching to a vegan lifestyle, I'm still not ready to give up meat. This book is well researched, easy to read and not preachy. The author says that being vegan is "easy and fun"and that "vegan eating is easier and more appealing than you may have ever imagined". Will being a vegan make me feel better? Is it safe? Yes and yes, they say as long as your diet is "well-pl...more
Lisa
I highly recommend this well written, accessible and informative guide to vegan nutrition! Unlike other nutrition books which only make a passing reference to vegan diets and warn the reader that they are a menace to their health, this book - being written by vegans - does not belittle the lifestyle in any way, but rather points out its benefits and explores its possible limitations with pragmatic, well-researched solutions. One aspect of the book I particularly like is the inclusion of the many...more
Rachel McCready-Flora
I've been waiting for over a month for this book to come through the library hold system and was actually really disappointed! This book was really bland and boring and read more like a textbook. I read the introduction and first three chapters straight through, then skimmed a few of the interesting chapters (like how to be vegan while pregnant and breastfeeding, and how to feed a vegan child).

And I found some really bad advice, like giving your 6-month old baby up to 6 ounces of juice a day! I...more
Samantha
This book is a great intro to a vegan diet. Written by a pair of nutritionists who are vegan themselves, it provides an easy-to-decipher break down of the nutritional needs of vegans, including special sections for teens, children, pregnant women and elders. The authors acknowledge that there are many different reasons people may choose a vegan diet, and while they do not hide their own views (both are vegan for animal rights reasons), they save the political stuff for the last chapter. This is...more
Lesley
This is a thorough and readable overview of nutrition for vegans. Most people won't need to read all parts of it and can skim through the chapters that don't apply to them. Also, you should be aware that the authors do spend some time analyzing why scientists know what they know (and don't know) about nutrition, which is occasionally tiring but interesting if you want to know about the science behind their recommendations.

Overall, this book didn't tell me a lot of stuff that I didn't already kno...more
Rachel
I think this is a very important book, and mostly done quite well. It makes it clear that we need to really clean up our diets if want to have optimum nutrition. Unfortunately this message for me, is too depressing, since I'm not able to clean up my diet to that extent, while keeping my calorie count low enough so that I will be as slim as I want. It takes real effort and planning to pack that much nutrition into the 1200 calories I need to limit myself to (on days when I don't exercise), to los...more
Sage
Vegan for Life is an essential guide for anyone wanting to learn more about a vegan diet and for people already committed to a vegan lifestyle. Book authors and dieticians, Jack Norris and Virginia Messina have compiled a book overflowing with valuable nutrition information about eating a plant-based diet. Along with facts about being healthy while eating a vegan diet, the authors also include sample menus for children, adults, seniors, and athletes. Vegan for Life debunks myths about vegans and...more
Cheryl
This is a very comprehensive book nutritionally speaking. It has a lot of detailed and interesting information on how to be eat healthy while on a vegan diet. The book gives detailed information on protein, calcium, vitamin D, iron and zinc. For each nutrient/vitamin there is a list of foods that have good amounts of each item, and a one day sample meal plan. After these initial chapters, the book gives a comprehensive vegan food guide. It states how many servings of whole grains/starchy vegetab...more
Audrey
I have found Ginny Messina's site to be a really helpful resource in learning about vegan nutrition, so when I heard she was co-writing a book with fellow nutritionist Jack Norris, I knew that it would be one I would want to check out. I'm so glad I did!

This book has the same honest, fact-based approach to vegan nutrition that I have come to appreciate from the authors' respective sites. There is a focus on making vegan diets healthy and nutritionally balanced, but they also seek to present vega...more
Katey
Nov 16, 2011 Katey rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone
Fantastic. I appreciated the authors' approach: that following a vegan diet is definitely a choice in American culture, and there are very good reasons for it (ethics/morals, health, environmental) and there are very real concerns about nutrition as it relates to the vegan diet. I also appreciated the fact that the authors' are realistic about many things, such as that since a vegan diet is a choice presently, certain biological needs from the past need to be addressed specifically- but they qui...more
Lisa Vegan
Jul 19, 2011 Lisa Vegan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all vegans and veg*n interested adults & teens & those who work with vegans of all ages
I consider Ginny a friend, but I can honestly say a top notch job was done with this material; even if I’d never had any personal contact with Ginny I know I’d have respected and enjoyed the book just as much as I did.

This book is absolutely the best book out there for up to date, as of 2011, vegan nutrition. It’s wonderful, full of indispensable information for vegans and vegan interested people at every stage of the life cycle, and those who know them, and those who work with them in various c...more
Stephanie
I have been eating vegan for about nine months now, but I am always looking to learn more about how to best meet my nutritional needs. I thought this book provided a great deal of information that could apply to vegans and people simply looking to eat more healthy foods. The charts are particularly useful and show various plant-based foods and the amount of nutrients in each as far as protein, vitamins, etc. There are specific chapters for pregnant women, breastfeeding women, children and teenag...more
Cecilia Massura
I've been vegan for over a decade, but this book had a lot to teach me. It's full of details on specific nutrients (different amino acids, omega-3s, etc.) and how to meet your needs with a vegan diet. The recommendations on foods to combine or avoid eating together are particularly useful to me. The book also contains additional guides for various life stages and lifestyles (pregnancy, teens, athletes, etc.). As "bonus" material, there is information about why to go vegan and how to cook differe...more
Terri
This is a really good overview of nutritional needs for vegans, and it has value for vegetarians as well. In fact, I think it's also useful for people simply looking to add more plant-based foods to their diets. I really appreciated that the authors stuck to the scientific research when making their recommendations, and that they help the readers distinguish between the strengths of different kinds of studies.
Jennifer
Whether you are interested in a becoming a vegan, or just curious what being a vegan is all about, this book is very helpful! This book is easy to read and understand with lots of information that will help you on your way to becoming a vegan, or answer questions that you might have about being a vegan.
Eva
Everything you need to know to transition to a vegan diet. I like the "attitude" of the book. Don't sweat the small stuff -- eliminate as many animal products from your diet as you can. But don't make yourself crazy. As my granny used to say, every little bit helps. And taking a supplement is not a defeat.
Alexis
The best source of vegan nutrition info I've come across (they authors use science!). One star off because many of the recipe ideas in the book don't look so tasty (but they're easy pantry dinners for people who don't really cook, so they're not meant to be gourmet).
Heather
I can't really rate this since I didn't read it. I was hoping for some recipes and this didn't contain any. It's more a discussion of why you should be vegan and all the information that goes along with living vegan (nutrients, supplements, calorie needs, etc).
Janie
Useful information, research based, and presented in a manner that is accessible and easy to apply. The vegan food guide section is particularly nice. It would be useful for anyone trying to improve the nutritional quality of their diet, vegan or not.
Liriah
Very informative. I learned a lot from it. The only thing I didn't enjoy about it was chapter 16, for obvious reasons. But I guess it was necessary for it to be in the book. In the end, it just reinforced my desire to switch from vegetarian to vegan.
Sara
Great book for anyone who is vegan or toying with the idea. Both authors are vegan dietitians, which helps. This book has research which backs up what they are saying. There is a good deal of nutritional information that can only help benefit a vegan diet.
Ashley
Feb 12, 2012 Ashley added it
Shelves: food
Would be a great book to read thoroughly if I were actually going vegan. As it is, I just read the bits about dairy substitutes and found them very informative.
Virginia Bryant
i dare you to read all of this and keep eating eggs and dairy products. bleh.

the good news is, a plant based diet really does make one feel better.
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Not Everyone can make it on a Vegan Diet 6 64 Aug 11, 2011 12:29pm  
Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet (ebook)
Vegan for Life (ebook)
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