i was vegan for just about two years, and a raw foodist for about 3 months, but gradually stopped. i stopped, because of my living environment. it was just very hard to be a full vegan. as of now, i eat fish, and chicken on occasion. but, i don't eat any red meat. i am starting to go vegan again. and, am really happy about it. i felt so much healthier vegan!! before, i was not on any vitamin. since i am going vegan again, of course my parents say 'you should take a vitamin so you're not missing out on any nutrients'. so, i figured i'd explore my options. any suggestions?
I absolutely have to take vitamins or I don't feel right and don't stay healthy-multiple vitamins are the best since you don't have to take a bunch of different types. I've tried everything under the sun and the ones that work best for me are by Nature's Life-multiple vitamins called Liquid Nutrition soft multiple vitamins and Full Spectrum Antioxidant Soft Multiple-pretty high potency-they're not cheap but to me they're worth it-of course there are some brands that are a lot more expensive than these. I eat fish but no other kind of meat. I've tried not eating fish but regardless of what I eat I don't seem to have enough energy. I can skip eating it where I don't eat it every single day, but I have to eat it most days of the week.
I've been vegan for two years, and only recently did I start taking multivitamins. The thing is ... you need to make sure that you eat a varied enough diet to get these: Protein (every day) The 9 essential amino acids (at least every other day) Iron (every couple days) B12 (every couple days) D Protein and the 9 essential amino acids are easy: drink soymilk. I drink probably about a quart of it per day. The Iron and B12 are also easy; they can both be found in leafy green vegetables, like lettuce and spinach. And vitamin D you can get from the sun; just go outside for a while. If you don't eat a varied enough diet to get these nutrient, you should take a vegan multivitamin. If you go to a major health store, I'm sure you could find multivitamins that are made specifically for vegans or vegetarins (the one I am using is marked suitable for vegetarians, but it works for vegans too). I still eat a pretty varied diet though, so I don't take the vitamins often unless I am feeling ill. Good luck. =)
heh....I STRONGLY suggest a multi-vitamin. I used to think they weren't necessary and just a waste of time, but it is hard for most people to eat a balanced diet of ANY kind.... Even when you think you're eating healthy, that doesn't mean everything... most people just don't eat anywhere near the daily percentage of vitamins and nutrients you should be getting. go to: www.veganessentials.com they have a multi on there called "Advanced Vegan" That's what I'm on. Now that I take my vitamins I'm feeling pretty on top of things... For a while I WAS starting to get a little sickly. So yeah, I strongly suggest it. Aside from a multi-vitamin, you don't need much of anything else for supplements, so that's about it Good luck
Hi Everyone, Thanks for the replies. I'll definately check out some different multi-vitamins. -apples + oranjes, i just checked out that vegan esstentials site, and saw the ones you were talking about it. they look decent. hah, i was on this multi-vitamin once, like the GNC brand something or other... and it was the biggest pill ever. i like had to cut it into three pieces to take it! so, seeing that that one is a gel capsule, that might be good. Thanks again every one!
oh hmm, then maybe the Advanced Vegan vitamin isnt for you...it's pretty large. It goes down easily because it's a gel capsule, but...it's pretty big.
look into a product called Body Balance: its liquid and based on sea veggies. Lots of those trace elements we miss.
The truth is it cant hurt..Its not like taking too much tylenol and ending up with a kidney failure lol... Ive never heard of anybody getting sick off of them. So whats there to lose? I have a really cheap kirkland signature economy sized tub that carries like 1000 pills lol... i take them when I remember.. and like to think it helps me feel better good luck