Dietitians on both sides of the ocean say a planned vegan diet works

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

The U.S. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the NHS, the British Dietetic Association and national nutrition bodies in Canada and Italy all say a well-planned vegan diet can give you all the nutrients you need, as long as you get a reliable source of B12. The American and British dietitians’ groups say it suits every stage of life, including pregnancy and childhood.

Read full article →

The American Dietetic Association said in 2009 that planned vegan diets suit every life stage

The American Dietetic Association said that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including vegan ones, are healthful and nutritionally adequate and may help prevent and treat certain diseases. It called these diets appropriate for every stage of life, including pregnancy, breastfeeding, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says planned vegan diets may help prevent and treat disease

In 2016, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics updated its position and kept the same core message. Appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including vegan ones, are healthful and nutritionally adequate and may help prevent and treat certain diseases.

Planned vegan diets can give adults long-term heart and metabolic benefits

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ 2025 position for adults says appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan diets can be nutritionally adequate and can offer long-term benefits for heart and metabolic health. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines list vegetarian and vegan eating patterns as a healthy option.

The NHS says you can get all the nutrients you need on a vegan diet

The NHS says, “With good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs.” That planning includes fortified foods or supplements for B12, vitamin D, iodine, selenium, and calcium.

The British Dietetic Association says plant-based diets may lower disease risk

The British Dietetic Association says carefully planned plant-based diets can support healthy living at every age and life stage, and may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. All the essential nutrients can come from plants, but vegans need a reliable source of B12.

The British Nutrition Foundation’s advice for vegetarians and vegans

The British Nutrition Foundation gives practical healthy-eating advice for vegetarians and vegans: eat a variety of plants, and pay attention to B12, iodine, vitamin D, and omega-3. It reaches the same conclusion as the NHS and the British Dietetic Association.

Dietitians of Canada on how to eat vegan

Dietitians of Canada’s public site explains how to follow a vegan diet. The group co-signed the 2003 North American position that well-planned vegan diets are appropriate at every stage of life.

Canada’s Heart and Stroke Foundation calls vegetarian eating heart-healthy

Canada’s Heart and Stroke Foundation presents vegetarian eating as a heart-healthy way to eat, not a health risk. It gives the usual advice on getting enough B12, iron, and calcium.

Dietitians Australia wants mostly plant-based diets to be the easy choice

In its 2022 position, Dietitians Australia says the food system has to change so that healthy, sustainable, mostly plant-based diets become the easy default. It treats human health and the health of the planet as the same job.

WHO Europe finds plant-based diets can support good health

The World Health Organization’s European office reviewed the evidence in 2021. More people in the region are moving toward plant-based diets for their health, the climate, and animal welfare, and those diets can support good health. The office adds that long-term evidence on vegan diets is still less complete than for mixed diets.

The Italian Society of Human Nutrition (SINU) backs well-planned vegetarian diets

In its 2017 position, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition says well-planned vegetarian diets give people enough of every nutrient, as long as they include a wide variety of plant foods and a reliable source of B12.

Harvard Health on becoming a vegetarian

Harvard Health quotes the American Dietetic Association’s 2009 position that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including vegan diets, are healthful and nutritionally adequate, and may help prevent and treat certain diseases. The page still uses the association’s name from before it became the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It goes through B12, calcium, iron, and omega-3 the same way the NHS does.

Mayo Clinic on vegetarian diets for all ages

Mayo Clinic says a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet your nutritional needs and may lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. With planning, it can suit people of all ages, including during pregnancy. A vegan diet needs more attention to B12, calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, and omega-3, but Mayo doesn’t rule it out.

The American Heart Association’s 2026 advice puts plant protein first

The American Heart Association’s updated 2026 dietary guidance for heart health tells people to choose plant proteins like legumes and nuts over meat, and to replace saturated animal fats with unsaturated fats from plants.

The German Nutrition Society (DGE) calls vegan diets especially environmentally friendly

In its 2024 update, the DGE re-evaluated vegan diets and called them particularly environmentally friendly. It still warns about critical nutrients, especially B12, and its general advice is still mostly plants with some animal foods, which is more cautious than the British Dietetic Association or the U.S. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Even so, the update moves toward plants.