What are some of the areas in a vegetarian's nutrition that are hurt by not eating meat?

Vegetarians and vegans BENEFIT from their diet.

There's more than enough proteins in veggies, legumes, etc.

There's this myth about vitamin B12... but with a balanced diet there should be no lack of any vitamins. How else did the vitamins come into meat?

Whole grains are a great source of B6.

As for B12, a human body only needs a very tiny amount of it. When deficiency occurs, it is more commonly linked to a failure to effectively absorb B12 from the intestine rather than a dietary deficiency. Vitamin B12 is produced from other "ingredients" by our bodies (or rather by the bacteria within us)! That is why it can't be found in any veggies.

As for Omega 3, flaxseed oil contains twice as much as is found in fish oil.

I am a vegan and when I get my blood checked the results are always perfect and my health is great.

I don't have a protein problem. I get my protein from meatless substitutes, such as Boca, Morningstar, or Gardenburger products. They often have the same or more protein compared to their meaty counterpart. I'm not a fan of nuts really, but some people do that.

Vitamin B-12 is something I take in a supplement. You cannot find it in animals OR plants, it's from bacteria - but animals usually ingest the bacteria, and humans get it from meat products. But the daily requirement for that is pretty low, so it's not a big deal.

Omega-3 is a concern, which is primarily found in oily fish, but supplements do exist. It's also found in ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil, tofu, and walnuts.

I take a daily multivitamin with Vitamin A, C, D, E, B-1, B-2, B-6, B-12, folic acid, pantothenic acid, and iron. I don't feel weak or anything since starting my vegetarian diet almost a month ago. But my vitamin has exactly 100% of the vitamins I need - some supplements have like 300% or something crazy like that. In a healthy vegetarian diet, you don't need THAT much. But extra help isn't going to hurt.

Hope that helps!

How come most people think that protein is the "missing" element in a vegeterian diet? One can get Too much protein from Beans, Legumes and Nuts.

But the deficient nutrient as a vegeterian is the B vitamins, primarily 6 and 12.

The crucial element missing in a vegetarian's diet is B12. But if you believe in the blood type philosophy it impacts O blood types more than any other blood type. If you are an A blood type it should not impact you in the least. A blood types tend to store animal protein as fat, and actually red meat is discouraged, where a O blood type burns animal protein for fuel, and therefore it is more important to them. B blood types are a different story altogether.

Quality of life!!!