1). Eat Whole foods (you can skip the oysters; non-vegans just like it when vegans eat questionably vegan foods. )

2) Take a B12 supplement, Vit D since we live in boxes all day, but this applies to everyone, not just vegans.

3) Exercise regularly. Exercise increases caloric requirements which will ultimately increase nutrient intake if you follow #1 & maintain your body weight. Exercise has a zillion other benefits from raising HDL, increasing bone density, regulating immune system function.

While D2 may be (1:1 to 1:10) as effective as D3 5000IU/day seems to work for most folks. If in doubt get tested. DHA is recommended, but the science is less clear as to whether it is truly detrimental. As of now, it’s a “just in case” I take it for that reason. I recommend this brand since it has EPA/DHA http://www.opti3omega.com/

Taurine, carnitine, creatine, carnosine is all speculative and has little to no scientific evidence vegans needs these. Yeah, creatine seems to enhance athletic performance, but being “fit” is different from being “healthy” Athletes, vegan or not, have specific needs that differ from normal folks. Caffeine is a better performance enhancing compound, but that doesn’t mean we need it.

I really would like to see the origins of the K2 recommendations , since K1 has been shown to increase bone mineralization, K2 is produced by gut microflora and shown to be absorbed by the body, human breast milk contains primarily K1, so there would’ve been some evolutionary pressure to weed it out if it wasn’t as effective as K2.

Most of the studies on poly-unsaturated fats & thrombosis are for people who fall into the “therapeutic group” BMI >30, non-vegan, sedentary life-style, etc… There’s a number of confounding variables with these types of studies.

I’m a vegan (10 awesome years), a professional chemist (food & pharma industry), & 40+ endurance athlete. Pick Up “Vegan for Life” – Jack Norris RD & Virginia Messina RD, and that’s pretty much give you the info you need.

I don’t just do “OK” I thrive on a vegan diet with those 3 rules.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1011134401002342

I got my 25OH Vit D tested in Feb and despite the Chicago winter, my level was a nice solid 47ng/mL on 5000IU Vitashine D3.

The other company basically feeds animal based D3 to bacteria and pretends it’s vegan. The bacteria is just packaging. I believe that’s probably the company you’re talking about.

I’m confused by your last statement, but will agree with what I surmise your implication to be: take charge of your health, and look past industry influence by asking the right questions. And that is precisely what Ms. Minger encourages her readers to do; she’s even so kind as to furnish us the tools to do so.