## Don’t rush it Gastroenterologists know that a massive exacerbation of colitis and peptic ulcer disease occurs during religion-related fasts. The reason for this is a sharp change in diet. Therefore, dietary changes must be gradual. Your digestive system has been trained all your life to process animal food, and now it needs to rebuild. And it will take at least two years. You should be careful when changing your usual way of eating if you already have diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. ## Keep it balanced Getting a complete set of essential nutrients and enough energy from plant-based foods is not easy. The main risk of a plant-based diet is a lack of protein, which can lead to arthritis, gallstone disease, and heart disease. If you want to avoid problems, carefully monitor the amount of protein in your diet. Legumes are rich in proteins, i.e., beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, tofu, and other soy products. You also find vegetable protein (gluten) in wheat and oats. The diet should be half fruits and vegetables, one quarter whole grains, and one quarter protein. ## Don't forget about vitamins Many important vitamins and minerals are difficult or even impossible to obtain from vegetables. Therefore, it is extremely important to control their quantity and, if necessary, fill the shortage with the help of supplement. __For example, vitamin B12__ is synthesized only from food of animal origin. Its deficiency primarily affects the work of the nervous and hematopoietic systems. __Lack of calcium__ negatively affects the condition of bones, muscles, teeth, blood vessels, and the synthesis of hormones and enzymes. Fortunately, calcium is found in many vegetarian foods, such as spices, sesame, poppy seeds, chia, flax, mustard, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios, broccoli, fennel, nutmeg, soybeans and garlic. __Iron deficiency leads__ to the development of anemia, weakness and rapid fatigue. omen should be especially careful about their iron levels. Iron can be obtained from legumes, nuts and dark green vegetables, beets, and whole grains. It is better absorbed in combination with vitamin C, which is abundant in paprika and other orange and red vegetables, cauliflower and citrus fruits. __Lack of iodine in the diet,__ usually obtained from fish and seafood, can affect the functioning of the thyroid gland. However, this problem is the easiest to solve: use iodized salt. __Another risk is the wrong ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids__ in vegetable oils and some nuts. An imbalance of essential fatty acids leads to cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, skin problems and allergies. Therefore, try and introduce flaxseed, rapeseed and walnut oil into the diet—they work better than olive oil. And don't forget that fat should make up about 20 percent of your total calories.