Why I am a Vegan

[Monica]

For others, who don't like or can't get avocados, it might be one or several bananas, though nutritionally a little less valuable than avocados, or a handful of nuts. For all of them, please consider buying them organic, for your health and the planet's, and for bananas also fairly traded, for some basic rights to the producers.

Bananas are a powerhouse of nutrients, but have different nutrients than avocados. Bananas are a main staple in the diet of raw vegan athletes. They might eat anywhere from 5 to 12 (yes 12!!!) bananas at a time! (Some eat 20-30 per day!) They make a meal of it! Then they do their bodybuilding, or marathon running or whatever, with easily-accessible fuel, for quick spurts of energy for intense exercise.

Fatty foods like avocados, nuts and seeds are more slowly-released, since fat takes longer to metabolize than carbs. So, if you're going to the gym, eat some bananas. If you're going to the office and unable to eat for several hours, eat some avocados, nuts or seeds.  Cooked foods like rice, quinoa, potatoes, beans, etc. have both carbs and protein, plus other nutrients, and they're kind of in the middles as far as releasing their energy.

P.S. If you are eating a vegan/mostly vegan diet, please take sublingual B12 several times a week.  It's more important than you may realize.

Another +1 - might be worth a try/blood sample for meat-eaters, too!

A large percentage of the meat-eating population is deficient in B12. It's more prevalent among the elderly, but even some young people who eat meat are deficient in B12. So it isn't just a vegan thing, though it is certainly more common among vegans who don't supplement. Yes, a blood test can show a deficiency, but I wouldn't wait for a blood test. By the time deficiency shows up in a blood test, there might be nerve damage. Anyway, B12 supplements are cheaper than blood tests!

The reason is the humans get B12 the same way animals do: From the bacteria in the soil. If we didn't wash our veggies, B12 wouldn't be a problem. But since we wash away the dirt, we must supplement. Meat-eaters actually get very little B12 from the meat itself; the B12 is synthesized in their gut from the bacteria that's in the meat!

As Pablisimo said, get a sublingual - that is best absorbed. It can be 'sublingual tablet', liquid or spray, as long as it's held under the tongue rather than swallowed. It takes a few years to use up B12 stores, a new vegan isn't likely to have B12 deficiency. But the key is to avoid it, so start taking the B12 supplement as soon as you go vegan. Anything your body doesn't need will get flushed out, so even meat-eaters can take a supplement if they wish, without any concern of ever getting too much.