Good article. I agree with pretty much everything you write in the first part. Many vegans do not take the risk of nutrient deficiencies seriously enough, and that is a big risk to the long-term growth of our movement. I do think it is mostly an issue with verbal advice (''just take some B12 and you'll be fine''), as any well-designed vegan challenge or beginners guide will cover nutrition more in-depth.
A few comments on the nutrition review:
1. You state: ''vegans often fall short of the intakes recommended by nutrition authorities for several nutrients''. This is true, and definitely a problem, but the same thing also applies to omnivores (the data below is from the Netherlands, but it will likely be similar in many other European countries):
''Representative dietary intake data from the Netherlands revealed that a large part of the population has inadequate intakes of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and folate. Population sub-groups especially at risk of inadequate intakes were adolescents and women.'' (Ref: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-023-03219-4).
2. An important nutrient you didn't mention is iron. Iron deficiency is very common in young women due to blood loss from their menstruation, and the risk is even higher in vegans. A lot of women who quit veganism citing health reasons say they had very little energy on a vegan diet, and it improved when they started eating meat again. That is very likely due to iron deficiency, which they could have easily fixed through a supplement.
3. Iodine deficiency is also a risk worth paying attention to. Unless vegans regularly eat seaweed, or use salt with a lot of added iodine, they are likely to be deficient and should consider supplementing. (Note: despite what many people believe, using standard iodized kitchen salt is usually not sufficient to prevent deficiency, as it often contains just 20 - 25mcg of iodine per gram. This means you would need 6 - 7.5g daily to reach the RDA for iodine, which would put you above the tolerable upper limit for sodium intake).
4. You mention EPA/DHA supplements as something every vegan should take. However, there isn't really a scientific consensus on that. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2025 position statement):
''EPA and DHA can be obtained through vegan algal supplements if desired or recommended by a nutrition and dietetics practitioner, although this may not be a requirement for health or disease prevention.95,96,99,101,102,108,110 New methodology involving isotope studies suggest that the rate of ALA conversion may be sufficient to maintain adequate DHA levels through plant-sourced ALA consumption alone,90,111-114 although more research is warranted.
Until consistent evidence from intervention trials can establish daily dosages for EPA/DHA in vegetarians and vegans, advice for healthy adults should focus on sufficient and regular intakes of ALA-rich foods, which also provide an array of health-promoting phytonutrients and fiber.110'' (Ref: https://www.jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(25)00830-5/fulltext)
Good article. I agree with pretty much everything you write in the first part. Many vegans do not take the risk of nutrient deficiencies seriously enough, and that is a big risk to the long-term growth of our movement. I do think it is mostly an issue with verbal advice (''just take some B12 and you'll be fine''), as any well-designed vegan challenge or beginners guide will cover nutrition more in-depth.
A few comments on the nutrition review:
1. You state: ''vegans often fall short of the intakes recommended by nutrition authorities for several nutrients''. This is true, and definitely a problem, but the same thing also applies to omnivores (the data below is from the Netherlands, but it will likely be similar in many other European countries):
''Representative dietary intake data from the Netherlands revealed that a large part of the population has inadequate intakes of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and folate. Population sub-groups especially at risk of inadequate intakes were adolescents and women.'' (Ref: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-023-03219-4).
2. An important nutrient you didn't mention is iron. Iron deficiency is very common in young women due to blood loss from their menstruation, and the risk is even higher in vegans. A lot of women who quit veganism citing health reasons say they had very little energy on a vegan diet, and it improved when they started eating meat again. That is very likely due to iron deficiency, which they could have easily fixed through a supplement.
3. Iodine deficiency is also a risk worth paying attention to. Unless vegans regularly eat seaweed, or use salt with a lot of added iodine, they are likely to be deficient and should consider supplementing. (Note: despite what many people believe, using standard iodized kitchen salt is usually not sufficient to prevent deficiency, as it often contains just 20 - 25mcg of iodine per gram. This means you would need 6 - 7.5g daily to reach the RDA for iodine, which would put you above the tolerable upper limit for sodium intake).
4. You mention EPA/DHA supplements as something every vegan should take. However, there isn't really a scientific consensus on that. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2025 position statement):
''EPA and DHA can be obtained through vegan algal supplements if desired or recommended by a nutrition and dietetics practitioner, although this may not be a requirement for health or disease prevention.95,96,99,101,102,108,110 New methodology involving isotope studies suggest that the rate of ALA conversion may be sufficient to maintain adequate DHA levels through plant-sourced ALA consumption alone,90,111-114 although more research is warranted.
Until consistent evidence from intervention trials can establish daily dosages for EPA/DHA in vegetarians and vegans, advice for healthy adults should focus on sufficient and regular intakes of ALA-rich foods, which also provide an array of health-promoting phytonutrients and fiber.110'' (Ref: https://www.jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(25)00830-5/fulltext)