Vegan Health

by Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian I’ve updated our Sports Nutrition article, formerly Weightlifting for Vegans, and added sections on endurance, exercise recovery, energy and fiber, bone stress injuries, taurine, and collagen.

by Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian I recently updated Choline.

by Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian Vegan dietitians have typically recommended the cyanocobalamin form of vitamin B12 for vegans; it’s well-studied, stable, and inexpensive.

by Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian For some time, there have been concerns that supplementing with either B12 or folic acid (the synthetic version of folate) may raise blood levels high enough to increase cancer risk.

by Jack Norris, RD In light of a recent meta-analysis in which vegans had a higher risk of rectal cancer, we reinforced our recommendation that vegans should aim to meet the RDA for calcium; see Cancer Meta-Analysis (Another One!).

by Jack Norris, RD As promised in my March 6 post, Cancer Meta-Analysis, I conducted a literature review of long-chain omega-3s (EPA and DHA) and colorectal cancer.

by Jack Norris, RD I made a quick update to the Infants section of Pregnancy, Infants, and Children: A study of over 1.2 million infants, including 3,338 vegans, found normal growth among the vegan infants (Avital, 2026, Israel).

by Jack Norris, RD Two 2026 meta-analyses (released in one month of each other) reached different conclusions about vegans and colorectal cancer.

by Jack Norris, RD There has been no prospective data on cognition in a cohort that includes a sizable number of vegans.

by Jack Norris, RD Dunneram et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis of cancer incidence among nine cohorts that included a large number of vegetarians.

by Jack Norris, RD In June, the Adventist Health Study‑2 released 7.9‑year follow‑up results on cancer incidence by diet group.

by Jack Norris, RD Until now, I’ve suggested that vegans supplement with zinc if they have signs of deficiency, especially frequent colds or cracks in the corners of the mouth.