New Vegan.. and could use direction
Posted by KimberK on Aug 26, 2009 · Member since Aug 2009 · 1 posts
Hello all
A Month ago My husband and I decided to go vegan. This is something we have been thinking about doing for about a year.
What vitamins and or supliments do we need to make sure we take now that meat and dairy has been totally eliminated from our diet?
I don't take any vitamins or suppliments at all
I take B-12 once a week since I don't really eat "fortified" cereals and milk and stuff. It's not neccessary really if you do eat those things. You should be able to get all you need from a varied diet. =-)
also lentils are a good source of iron
broccoli and leafy greens are great for calcium.
Supplements can be usefully--but I think in general getting your nutrients from foods is the way to go! it can never hurt to get a good multi-vite though if you are concerned--you can buy vegan ones at most Whole Food body dept--and I believe you can order then online from a lot of the vegan shoppes--like vegan essentials.
Welcome to the fold <3
Congratulations and welcome!!
I've been vegan for 18 years and LOVE it. I also have never really taken supplements, I kind of don't believe in them. A healthy, vegan diet will provide you with everything you need. However, I will quote a certain section of my new holistic/vegan book (from a chapter on nutrition) where I discuss iron and B-12:
How will I get enough iron if I eat a predominantly vegan diet?”
I hear this question very often. In my own life, I went from being borderline anemic (as an ovo-lacto vegetarian) to having high levels of iron when I gave up dairy products eighteen years ago. This makes perfect sense when we note that meat is high in iron while dairy products contain absolutely no iron. Therefore, it’s common for people to experience a drop in iron levels when they give up meat and begin eating lots of dairy. However, when the iron-free dairy foods are dropped, it becomes very easy to get plenty of iron. Plant-based foods are naturally iron rich—especially beans, greens, tofu, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds (to name a few). In fact, the only supplement I’d even consider on a healthy vegan diet is vitamin B-12, and even that is stored in the body for long periods of time. However, taking an occasional B-12 supplement is a good safety precaution for anyone, whether long-time vegan or all-time meat eater.
From Radiant Health, Inner Wealth
http://www.radianthealth-innerwealth.com/peekinsidebook.html (on this page you can read other excerpts from my book, including vegan recipes!)
Hope that helped at least a little...get ready for an exciting journey!
:)
Way to go! ;)b
I'll chime in more as I think of things--I'm getting too sleepy now to be constructive and helpful!!!
I don't take any supplements either and I'm the picture of health :) Just make sure you eat a lot of good veges and grains and lentils and beans and stuff like that and you'll be fine!
Well, I take a children's multivitamin (I know it's not vegan, but adult vitamins hurt my tummy and I don't always eat the best so I figure it's the best option), and that seems to keep me pretty healthy as long as I'm not eating just junk. But, if you aren't interesting in supplements and want to know how to get your nutrients otherwise, I would suggest reading "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. It's pretty easy to read and has helpful charts and lists for continued reference.
for those who don't supplement b12 where do they get it from?
Deva makes a vegan multivitamin that has TONS of vitamin B in it, and unlike most vegan vitamins, you only have to take one a day. Vegan Essentials and Cosmos Vegan Shoppe both carry it with or without added iron.
I also take Calcium and Vitamin D. Caltrate is vegan. Being a woman in a family that is susceptible to osteoporosis and breast cancer, I don't want to risk it so I take the calcium.