Vegan Nutrition with Dina Aronson, M.S. R.D.

Dina Aronson, MS, RD is a vegan dietitian whose specialties include chronic disease prevention, vegetarian/vegan nutrition, and lifestyle management. She is the founder and director of VeganRD.com, a nutrition consulting company. Active in many vegetarian nutrition organizations, Dina was the recipient of the American Dietetic Association's Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year Award in 2002.

See full index of questions

A health care provider was just telling me that I can only get a certain amino acid from eggs. I do not consume eggs; however, she told me that I needed to start to eat eggs and take whey powder. Does this make sense to you or can I get all my amino acids from vegan foods?
-Debbie

Article continues below

It is absolutely false that eggs are the only source of an amino acid (or any essential nutrient). If this were true, people with egg allergies would not live very long! In addition, millions of people worldwide do not consume chicken eggs simply because it is not part of their culture to raise chickens and eat their eggs.

Along those same lines, there is no reason that humans would require whey protein. Millions of people worldwide have and continue to live long, healthy lives without a trace of whey (a milk protein) in their diets.

The truth is that there is no one food that is absolutely essential for health. Fortunately there are thousands of healthy foods we can choose from, and if we choose wisely, we can get all of the nutrients we need from plants. The one exception is vitamin B12; because we have such a sanitary food supply (and B12 comes from bacteria), vegans need to seek foods fortified with B12, or take a B12 supplement.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

Sponsors: