Vegan Diet
A fully plant-based diet excluding all animal products, chosen for health, ethics, or environment.
What Is It?
A vegan diet excludes animal products including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, and honey. Meals are built from vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. People choose it for varied reasons, including ethics, the environment, and health.
How It Works
All nutrition comes from plant sources. Protein is obtained from legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and whole grains. Healthy fats come from nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils. Key nutrients like B12, vitamin D, omega-3s, and iron require careful attention through fortified foods or supplements.
Potential upsides
- Can be rich in fiber and plant protein
- Avoids animal products
- May lower dietary saturated fat when well planned
- Works across many cuisines
+ Common foods
- •Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, black beans, tofu, tempeh)
- •Whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, oats, whole wheat)
- •Vegetables (all varieties)
- •Fruits (all varieties)
- •Nuts and seeds (walnuts, flax, chia, hemp)
- •Plant milks (soy, oat, almond)
- •Nutritional yeast
- •Seaweed and algae
− Typically limited or excluded
- •All meat and poultry
- •Fish and seafood
- •Dairy products
- •Eggs
- •Honey
- •Gelatin and animal-derived additives
Sample day
An illustration, not a personal meal plan.
EVIDENCE What the research says
A well-planned vegan pattern can meet many nutritional needs, but vitamin B12 needs a reliable fortified-food or supplement source. Calcium, vitamin D, iron, iodine, and omega-3 intake may also need attention. Health outcomes depend on the quality of the foods chosen, not just the absence of animal products.
Read the evidence