Worldwide

Dietitians around the world say a planned vegan diet meets your needs

By WhyStopHarmingAnimals.com

Leading dietetic and health bodies in the United States, Britain, Canada and Italy all say that a well-planned vegan diet can give people the nutrients they need[1][2][3][4][5][7]. They differ in wording and in how much caution they add, and the condition they all set is planning, with a reliable source of vitamin B12 at the top of the list[4][5][6][9][11][15].

The U.S. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the largest dietetics body in the United States, and it has held this position for years[1][2][3]. In 2009, as the American Dietetic Association, it published a joint position with Dietitians of Canada: appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate[1], and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. The paper said these diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence, and for athletes[1].

The Academy’s 2016 update kept the same core position[2]. Its 2025 position on adults says appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan patterns can be nutritionally adequate and can offer long-term cardiometabolic benefits[3], and notes that vegetarian and vegan patterns are listed as a healthy option in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines[3].

Britain: the NHS, the BDA and the BNF

The NHS puts it plainly: “With good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs[4].” Its advice includes fortified foods or supplements for B12[4], vitamin D, iodine, selenium and calcium as part of that plan.

The British Dietetic Association goes further[5]. It says carefully planned plant-based diets can support healthy living at every age and life stage[5], and that they may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and some cancers. All essential nutrients can come from plants, the BDA says, and vegans need a reliable source of B12[5]. The British Nutrition Foundation’s practical advice for vegetarians and vegans covers the same ground: eat a variety of plants, and pay attention to B12, iodine, vitamin D and omega-3[6].

Canada, Italy and Australia

Dietitians of Canada co-signed the 2003 and 2009 North American positions stating that well-planned vegan diets are appropriate across the life cycle[1][7]. Its public site, UnlockFood, walks people through how to follow a vegan eating pattern[7]. Canada’s Food Guide tells everyone to choose plant protein more often, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada presents vegetarian eating as a heart-healthy way to eat, with the usual notes on B12, iron and calcium[8].

The Italian Society of Human Nutrition (SINU) concluded in 2017 that well-planned vegetarian diets that include a wide variety of plant foods and a reliable B12 source provide adequate nutrient intake[9]. Dietitians Australia’s 2022 position went beyond individual diets and called for changes to the food system so that healthy, sustainable, mostly plant diets become the easy default, treating human health and the planet’s health as one job[10].

Mayo Clinic, Harvard and the heart groups

Mayo Clinic says a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet nutritional needs[11] and may lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers, and that with planning it suits people of all ages, including during pregnancy[11]. It says vegan eating needs more attention to B12, calcium, iron, zinc, iodine and omega-3[11], and it does not rule vegan eating out[11]. Harvard Health quotes the Academy’s position that appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan diets are healthful and nutritionally adequate[12], and goes through B12, calcium, iron and omega-3 much as the NHS does[12].

Heart organizations have moved in the same direction. The American Heart Association’s 2026 dietary guidance for cardiovascular health, published in Circulation, tells people to prioritize plant proteins such as legumes and nuts over meat, and to replace saturated animal fats with plant unsaturated fats[13].

Where the caution sits

WHO Europe’s 2021 evidence review found more people in the European Region shifting toward plant-based diets for health, climate and animal welfare[14], and said those patterns can support health when they are well composed[14]. It also said long-term evidence on vegan diets is still incomplete compared with mixed diets[14].

The German Nutrition Society (DGE) is the most cautious of the major bodies[15]. It used to warn more strongly against vegan diets in pregnancy and childhood. Its 2024 update still flags critical nutrients, especially B12[15], and its general recommendation is still a mostly plant diet with some animal food, a more careful line than the BDA or the U.S. Academy takes[15]. The same update calls vegan diets particularly environmentally friendly, which moves it toward plants[15].

Across these countries the practical advice lines up: eat a varied diet of plant foods, cover B12 reliably, and plan for nutrients such as iodine, vitamin D, calcium, iron and omega-3[4][5][6][9][11][15]. Dietitians who write national guidance have looked at vegan diets and found that, planned this way, they work[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][9][11][12].