...I want to try to understand my diet, and dietary needs more, thus I'm hoping to write small profiles on each of the following, including all the amino acids, and most other things. Even basic things like carbohydrates. I'm hoping to write about it all in very simplistic ways, and in the style of a kind of vegan help book.

I might then after that write a long list of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, so on so forth, and what each one contains that will have effects, both positive and negative, on the diet.

I don't know if I'll stick with this or not, and it's only for my benefit at the moment, although if I finish it, it would be lovely to wipe the floor with some people who state vegans can't be healthy etc. in debate (I know I shouldn't, but I would take such pride in doing that :-D).

Of course if I do do it, then I'll put it up for review here, then on another vegan forum (I know, I two time!) and then on more general forums so that meat eaters can criticise it. Anyway, before anyone interested gets bored off their socks, here's what the contents page will probably look like (I'll edit it if an when I update a section):

1)protein
a) basics-essential not essential, do you, the average joe, need to worry? Etc. (include combining)
b) amino acids and digestibility-what are the amino acids, which are essential and which are not.
(amino acids will be listed here once I bother getting the list from wikipedia out of table format)
2)Carbohydrates:
3i)Vitamin A
3ii)vitamin’s B
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Vitamin B3 (niacin or nicotinamide)
• Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, or pyridoxamine)
• Vitamin B7 (biotin), also known as vitamin H
• Vitamin B9 (folic acid), also known as vitamin M
• Vitamin B12 (various cobalamins; commonly cyanocobalamin in vitamin supplements)

3iiv) vitamin B12
3iv)vitamin C
3v)vitamin D
3vi)vitamin E
3vii)vitamin K
4) fibre
5)fats
6)Iron
7)Calcium
8)Magnesium
9)Selenium
10)Potassium
11) zinc
12) iodine
13)phosphorous
14) Florine
15)copper
16)cobolt.
17)chromium
18)manganese
19)molybdenum

Anyone who wants to help feel free to, but please, keep everything as simplified as possible, especially with things like amino acids

Right now I feel like looking at iron, probably because I mentioned it before today. After that I'll probably either go to bed or do calcium.That's numbers 6 and 7.
This isn't in some cases for health reasons by the way, but a passing interest, although some of it with the main minerals and vitamins will probably lead to a more refined diet.

6) iron:
RDA:
Age          amount mg per day
0-6 (months)          0.27
7-12 (months)        11
1-3          7
4-8          10
9-13        8
14-18        males 11    women 15    pregnant 27      lactating 10
19-50        males 8      women 18      pregnant 27      lactating 9
51+          8

Sources of tables: http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp#h8
Iron is important for red blood cells which carry oxygen, as well as other things, around the body.
Health effects:
Too much iron can lead to being more susceptible to bacteria infections. Where as too little will lead to anaemia. Anaemia is the first sign of an iron deficiency, and is where the blood loses it’s iron, decreasing the amount of oxygen being carried around the body. Which as you can guess means vital organs lacking in oxygen; causing a lack of energy release in the body.
Men tend to have more iron than women, especially if the woman is menstruating, pregnant or lactating.
Stolen from Wikipedia:
“Most of the iron in the body is hoarded and recycled by the reticuloendothelial system, which breaks down aged red blood cells. However, people lose a small but steady amount by sweating and by shedding cells of the skin and the mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The total amount of loss for healthy people in the developed world amounts to an estimated average of 1 mg a day for men, and 1.5–2 mg a day for women with regular menstrual periods. People in developing countries with gastrointestinal parasitic infections often lose more.
This steady loss means that people must continue to absorb iron. They do so via a tightly regulated process that under normal circumstances protects against iron overload.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_iron_metabolism#Absorbing_iron_from_the_diet
Spinach is harder to absorb from most vegetables and fruits instead of non vegan sources, however most should find with a healthy diet, they’ll be eating without trying, plenty of high iron foods.
Sources for iron include:
Kale, Spinach, broccoli, peas, pumpkin seeds, figs, dates, dried apricots and perhaps the best source, lentils.
Absorption Inhibitors...
Definitely: Red Wine, Coffee & Tea Whole grains and bran
Apparently: Vegetables: Spinach, chard, beet greens, rhubarb and sweet potato Soy products.
Absorption enhancers...
Definitely:
Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit etc
Vegetables: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red pepper.
Apparently: White wine
“Note on spinach:
You do not need to give it up if you are a spinach lover! Simply eat spinach with any foods containing iron absorption enhancers.” (http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml)
The things written under “apparently” are from:
http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml

Things I want to find out but don’t know where to look:
How long it usually takes for an iron deficiency to occur. How long it usually takes an iron deficiency to be cured.

If anyone see’s a flaw, or something that needs to be added, don’t hesitate to post. If anyone feels that a source is biased or incorrect, again, don’t hesitate to post. Although if you can, please find a better one.

Useful link:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm

7)Calcium:
Vital for bones, in fact over 99% of the bodies calcium is in bones and teeth.
A lack of it can lead to rickets, bad blood clotting and osteoporosis (especially in the case of menopausal women). It has several key complex uses in the body, including as far as I can tell, uses relating to muscle contraction, motor functions (well, synapses using it).

Vegan sources of it include:
most sea weeds (including kelp)
most green leafy veggies
broccoli
most beans
almonds
sesame seeds (must be pulverised)
oranges (about 5% of your RDA per orange)
figs
collard greens
black strap molasses

And many more (I'll try to put even more up, or a link showing more, another time)

I remember reading recently that only about 500mg of calcium every 6 hours or something could be absorbed by the body, trying to find reference at the moment.

How much calcium we need per day according to wikipedia:

age:                    mg/day

0-6 months      210
7-12 months    270
1-3                    500
4-8                    800
9-18                  1300
19-50                1000
51+                    1200

Whilst some studies show vegans need less calcium in bones, because animal protein is harder to digest, others show the opposite, with animal protein being easier to digest.

External link:

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm