Hi Rosie,

veganism....shudder (only joking, just me trying to imagine a world without bacon )

Well, first thing is to remember that the body needs Vitamin B12. Not much, but it only comes from animal foods (meat, eggs, fish, milk) so you'll need a supplement.

Also, your Chemistry A-level should be useful, because it'd pay you to find out which foods to eat with what - for example, things like spinach and rhubarb bind with calcium in certain foodstuff and block absoption of other food. And many things, (like meat) are better absorbed when combined with a good source of certain vitamins, while some foods with antioxidant properties are more or less effective if cooked or eaten raw (tomatoes are more powerful if slighly cooked, for example).

Things I include in my diet a lot, fresh from the local market, are:
beans, any kind, but specially kidney - great anti-oxidant
walnuts - stacks of omega-3, great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
avocado - potassium, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, potassium, copper, also oleic acid which helps to lower cholesterol
tofu - calcium, high-quality protein, iron - in this part of the world you buy it spanking fresh and steaming from the lady with a huge round steamer of the stuff, delish...
anything soy, really - protein, said to have anti-cancer properties
lentils - Vitamin Bs, iron, zinc calcium

On a vegan diet, the extra fibre should help the bowels, but don't overdo it, too much isn't good either.

Good sites for info:
http://thevegandiet.blogspot.com/
http://www.vrg.org/
http://www.vegansociety.com/

40 days of this, huh? It's worth a try, let us know how you go with it - oh, btw, been meaning to ask you this - what *are* these Pirates you want bringing on (apart from chaps with earrings and eyepatches)???

Just made myself hungry, think I'll go eat a banana...
all the best!