Plant-Based Nutrition

Eating more plant foods doesn't have to mean becoming vegetarian or vegan.

You might simply want to include more legumes, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, vegetables and other plant foods in your diet. Or perhaps you already follow a vegetarian or vegan diet and want confidence that you're meeting your nutritional needs.

At Tailored Dietetics, we help you build a balanced way of eating that reflects your preferences while providing the nutrients your body needs.

Online dietitian consultations are available Australia-wide.

What Does Plant-Based Eating Actually Mean?

Plant-based eating can look different for everyone.

For some people, it means following a completely vegan diet. For others, it may mean vegetarian eating or simply making plant foods a bigger part of meals while continuing to include some animal foods.

There isn't one correct way to do it.

What matters nutritionally is whether your overall diet provides enough energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, essential fats and dietary variety to meet your individual needs.

Getting Enough Protein

Plant foods can absolutely provide protein, but the amount you need and how you distribute it across the day are worth considering.

Plant-based protein sources include:

• Legumes such as lentils, chickpeas and beans

• Tofu and tempeh

• Soy milk and other higher-protein alternatives

• Nuts and seeds

• Wholegrains

• Textured vegetable protein

• Seitan

• Plant-based protein products where useful

Rather than simply asking whether you're “getting protein”, we can look at how much you're eating, where it's coming from and how it's distributed across your meals.

This can be particularly important when supporting muscle health, healthy ageing or higher activity levels.

Iron

Plant foods contain non-haem iron, which is absorbed differently from the haem iron found in animal foods.

Legumes, tofu, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and some fortified foods can contribute iron to a plant-based diet.

Pairing plant sources of iron with vitamin C-rich foods can improve absorption, while other foods and drinks consumed around meals can influence how much iron is absorbed.

If iron deficiency is a concern, dietary assessment and appropriate medical investigation are important rather than simply starting a supplement.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 deserves particular attention in vegan diets because reliable naturally occurring sources are predominantly animal-derived.

Fortified foods and supplementation can therefore play an important role.

We can look at the foods you're currently eating, fortified products, supplements and relevant blood results to help determine whether your intake is appropriate.

Calcium & Bone Health

Removing dairy doesn't mean calcium has to disappear from your diet, but suitable alternatives need to be chosen deliberately.

Calcium-set tofu, fortified plant milks and other calcium-containing foods can contribute to your intake.

We can assess whether you're getting enough calcium and consider this alongside vitamin D, protein and other factors important for bone health.

Omega-3 Fats

Chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts and some other plant foods provide alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, an essential omega-3 fatty acid.

EPA and DHA are found primarily in marine sources, although algae-derived options are available for people avoiding fish.

Whether supplementation is useful depends on your overall diet and individual needs.

Iodine & Other Nutrients

Iodine can sometimes be overlooked when changing to a plant-based diet, particularly when seafood and dairy products are reduced or removed.

Depending on how you eat, we may also consider nutrients such as zinc, selenium, vitamin D and overall energy intake.

The goal isn't to make plant-based eating feel complicated.

It's to identify the nutrients that actually need attention in your diet.