Who takes vitamins and supplements?

[prolesunited]

I was discussing with someone that a vegetarian diet is complete and can supply all of your nutritional needs. All it takes is some knowledge and planning.

That person then asked me if I took vitamins, which I do. They then said if a vegetarian diet was complete, why would I take vitamins?

I took vitamins before I became a vegetarian (only 2 1/2 years for me), so why would I stop? I just think of it as added insurance. What's your feeling on the issue?

[chiburb]

1. I do...

A whole-foods multi, ester C, cal-mag, COQ10, and glucosimine.

Until this week, I also took an E. I haven't thrown them away, but my multi has 100 IUs and I suspect that's enough (300x rda).

Why? I don't know about insurance, but I do know that at the dosage I'm ingesting I'm probably doing no harm. And if there's a benefit, then I'm there.

On edit:

Hi FudgeBrain !

:hi:

[prolesunited]

9. LOL!

I really didn't think I deserved to be called a fudgebrain. What the heck is that anyway? :shrug:

[Elad]

2. That's a ridiculous thing to say

I bet if you both were to not take supplements for 2 weeks, and then had a blood test, your vitamin levels would still be much higher than his.

The basic fact is that 99% of people in the U.S. should be taking supplements. The modern American diet is so completely lacking in proper nutrition it's just damn near impossible to get ideal balanced nutrition solely from food, even if you're veggie.

Pesticides, pollution, processing, cooking, storage, shipping in produce from overseas, mass-production, all these things remove nutrition. Even if you're a veggie, you still eat processed/cooked foods, foods that have been sprayed with chemicals and treated in various ways, and if you buy mostly organic, do you still know where it came from? It was probably grown halfway across the world, and in the days and weeks it takes to reach your plate it loses valuable nutrients.

And I know I try to buy local AND organic when I can, but it can be difficult. So everyone should be taking supplements. Plants are, however, far more nutrient dense (more vitamins/minerals per calorie) than meat/dairy, so not only is a vegetarian diet nutritionally complete, it is, in most cases, also MORE nutritionally complete than a meat-based diet.

[chiburb]

3. Nice post, and slightly OT:

We're going to Whole Foods tomorrow for the 1st time. For sure, Veganaise is on the shopping list, and I'm thinking about trying some fake turkey and other meats. Is there anything, in your opinion, that I should specifically try?

Thx!

[Elad]

4. Absolutely

For fake turkey slices, get Tofurky slices (come in original, hickory smoked, and peppered). If you want an actual fake turkey, I don't recommend Tofurky, Now & Zen UnTurkey is much better.

Check out the Health is Wealth fake chicken patties and buffalo wings, those are a couple of my favorite (the wings especially!). GimmeLean ground beef/sausage are also excellent, as well as WhiteWave seitan.

There's a whole line of deli meats called Yves and SmartDeli you'll see, these are mixed, some are good, some I don't care for - just experiment. Boca's line (is mostly non-vegan so I don't get it, but before I went vegan I loved) is also REALLY good, I recommend the spicy chicken patties and the chicken nuggets, but there's also plenty to experiment with there.

And you already know my favorite burgers. :)

[chiburb]

5. Thanks!

I printed this because I don't trust my memory! I'll let you know how things go...
Thank you again.

[Native]

10. When you look for the Vegenaise, go for the grapeseed oil

mix. They have several varieties. Grapeseed oil has been shown to lower bad cholesterol & raise good cholesterol. The stuff tastes great!

[Gothic Sponge]

6. I take vitamins

If we lived in a perfect world free of pollutants and pesticides, we wouldn't need them, but we don't. For insurance, i take them.

[RebelOne]

7. I take lots of Vitamin B-12.

And also selenium, biotin, folic acid and other suppliments for my hair. After I became a vegetarian 8 years ago, my hair started to thin out.

[Kolesar]

8. I don't

Are you who are referring to pesticides & pollutants taking vitamins as antioxidants?

[Elad]

11. It's less about the antioxidant properties than it is about

the fact that pesticides, pollutants, and other chemical contamination destroy naturally occurring nutrients in the food, therefore creating a need for supplementation.

However, the antioxidant properties of many common supplements is certainly a powerful reason to consider supplementation as well.

[curse10]

12. I don't

I occasionally take folic acid and magnesium/calcium supps, but I always forget and I'm out right now.

[Piperay]

13. I know lots of carnivores that

take vitamins too, so why are they taking them??? (being sarcastic here)

[sbj405]

14. I take an iron supplement

I have some thyroid issues and my bloodwork has been coming back with low iron for the last year or so. I eat a lot of iron rich foods, but I must not absorb enough. I take the iron supplement. It's easier than listening to my doctor tell me to eat red meat ;-)

[luaneryder]

15. I take them

Iron free Alive whole food multi vit, organic hexane free flax oil, extra calcium, ester C, quercitin and a fantastic cholesterol lowering compound CholestGar. The cholestGar lowered my total cholesterol 60 points! It took about four months to build up and start working, but the Rx stuff is deadly to me. I've only been vegetarian about 8 years (vegan 2 of those).

[JudyM]

16. Multi, grape seed extract, pycnogenol, CoQ10, billberry, manganese

and past couple of months started taking MSM and biotin to hopefully combat thinning hair. Sometimes if I want an extra kick I'll make a shake with frozen fruit and Spiruteen. I've never met with a nutritionist, so I don't know with any certainty that the combo I take is well-balanced.

[meti57b]

17. I like this stuff ....

and take it every day. It has everything you need in it. It's stuff you mix up in juice. I think it's great!

http://all-one.com/index.htm

The "Rice Base" is vegan. I drink milk though and I use the "Original Formula".

[Wallflower_Liberal]

18. I do

I take a multi-vitamin with iron (I'm a tad anemic), extra Vitamin C (because with three kids, there is always something going around), and CoQ10.