I want to go vegan but I'm not sure how much iron I will need each day. I read on one site that it's twice as much as someone that eats meat. Yet other sites have said that it isn't. Which is correct?

Why won't anyone reply to my topic??

Hi... I just came across your post.... When it comes to vegetarian and vegan nutrition there are two books that I have and consider reliable...

"The New Becoming Vegetarian" by Vesanto Melina, MS, RD & Brenda Davis, RD
and they also have one that is very similar... "Becoming Vegan"

So I looked up the recommendations for iron...

Women, 19-50 - 32.4mg
Women, over 50 - 18.0mg
Men, all ages - 18.0mg

And yes, these are higher than for nonvegetarians...
It mentions that the iron recommendations for vegetarians are multiplied by a factor of 1.8 to account for the lower absorption from plant foods...
It does go on to discuss that all experts do not agree on these increased recommendations for vegetarians... and it offers a lot of useful info on how to get enough iron on a vegetarian or vegan diet...

And of course, there are many multivitamins available that are specifically formulated for vegetarians and vegans that could provide you with a bit of piece of mind...

Good luck...

Thankyou for the reply!
I have been intending to get the book 'Becoming Vegan' but I'm not able to afford it yet. I also intend to buy vegan multivitamins next time I get paid. It's good to know how much iron I need.

Have you checked your library? Vegan for Life is probably the most up to date nutrition book out there.

Have you had anemia problems in the past?

I've always had a strong iron count and I don't really supplement. I take a multivitamin when I remember. But everyone is different. If you've had anemia in the past, then you'd want to watch it more closely.

I haven't checked the library, I gave up after not finding any vegan or vegetarian nutrition books in bookstores. But I have found them online. I probably should check out the library.

I have had problems with low iron in the past so I usually take supplements. 15 years ago I had problems with being severely anemic. I recovered but I have blood tests for iron every couple of years because of it.

Thanks!

Thanks nelie... Looking forward to checking out Vegan for Life...

It's been a couple of years now since I've checked out what's new... I have so many vegetarian and vegan cookbooks and health and nutrition and fitness books lying around, so I haven't been buying anything new lately... But I'm looking forward to checking out what's new...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GsGxqdlP4U

I like this video I found I'm a vegetarian noob as well so I hope its right lol