Second Edition
Completely Updated!

Whether you’re considering going vegan, or just want to learn more about plant-based nutrition, Vegan for Life is your comprehensive, go-to guide for optimal healthy eating. In this all-new updated and expanded edition, registered dietitians and long-time vegans Jack Norris and Virginia Messina debunk some of the most persistent myths about vegan nutrition and provide essential information about planning healthy diets at all stages of the lifecycle.

This is a practical handbook that addresses the compelling reasons for shifting away from animal food consumption and offers encouraging and practical information for making the change at your own pace. Newly updated, it also provides science-based guidelines for eating to reverse heart disease, manage digestive disorders, and lower risk for chronic illness. With specific tips for making food choices to meet needs, an easy-to-use food guide, and menus for all stages of the life cycle, Vegan for Life is for both aspiring and veteran vegans.

Contents of Vegan for Life

Introduction: Going Vegan for Life

PART I

1. Why Vegan?
2. Making the Transition
3. Understanding Vegan Nutrient Needs
4. Plant Protein
5. Eating for Healthy Bones: Calcium and Vitamin D
6. Vitamin B12
7. Fats: Making the Best Choices
8. Vitamins and Minerals: Maximizing Vegan Sources
9. Soyfoods in Vegan Diets
10. The Vegan for Life Food Guide

PART II

11. A Healthy Start: Vegan Diets in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
12. Raising Vegan Children and Teens
13. Vegan Diets for People over Fifty
14. Sports Nutrition for Vegans
15. Plant Food Advantages: Reducing Chronic Disease with a Vegan Diet
16. Plant Foods and Digestive Health
17. A Compassionate Approach to Weight and Dieting

 Afterword: Vegan for Life

Here is what people said about the first edition of Vegan for Life.

Publishers Weekly: “Armed with this compendium and a vegan cookbook, novices will make an easy, healthy transition to meat, egg and dairy-free meals, while practicing vegans can use it as a guide to the best food choices.”

Reno-Gazette: “ I can’t rave enough about Jack Norris and Virginia Messina’s new book “Vegan for Life.” …I’ve found myself reading this late into the night like a page-turning mystery. That’s, in part, because it dispels many of the things I’ve believed about vegan nutrition.

Peter Singer, PhD, author of Animal Liberation and Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University: “Here is the book I have been waiting for! Now when people ask me all those questions about how you can be healthy without eating animal products, I can tell them that they will find the answers in Vegan for Life.”

Michael Greger, M.D., Director, Public Health and Animal Agriculture, HSUS: “A no-nonsense guide to explode the myths, avoid the pitfalls, and maximize health on a plant-based diet. Required reading for every vegan, old or new.”