Vitamins/Supplements for a vegetarian

absolutebounder

marrowgirl wrote: »

I have reported the post from Ted_Hutchinson for Abuse as I find the tone of his comments on this thread and others neither constructive nor friendly. I believe this is tantamount to bullying.
I hope we can now carry on this thread the way it was supposed to be with constructive advice.

Why report someone just because you dont agree with them. I dont always agree with ted but he does provide links and argues his case well at times. he is not bullying he just believes in things passionately. Whats wrong with that.

brokeinwales

I think, with a little bit of guidance,you need to work out for yourself which supplements you need to be taking, as everyone is different (in food preferences, in reasons for being veggy just two for starters) - personally I've always found I felt worse for taking a general multivitamin, and that taking Vitamin B complex seems to aggravate my mouth ulcers, so I stopped.

B12 is the most common deficiency concern for vegetarians as it isn't found naturally in non-animal produce- although if you continue to eat eggs and dairy produce, and fortified cereals (and - yuk - Marmite) you shouldn't need to supplement - it's not a bad idea to get tested every now and again for this deficiency though.

Iron is a very common concern, although deficiency is statistically no more common in veggies than the rest of the population (I could provide a link to back me up but I can't be faffed - google yourself if you need to!). Chickpeas and other pulses are an absolutely excellent source of iron, and delicious too. (Green veggies are often cited as a good source, but chickpeas actually contain about three times as much.). My current GP seems to think supplementing with over the counter iron pills is a bit of a waste of time, as the amount of absorbable iron they contain is minimal.

Personally I do take an Omega 3 fish oil tablet to make up for the fact I don't eat oily fish - although this is going to depend on your reasons for going veggy (Mine are a mixture of taste and plain natural inclination rather than ethical). Although you can get vegetarian Omega 3, I believe the jury is still out on how effective it is. If you're going down the same route as me, I'd suggest the Seven Seas range - they do one that also contains vitamins D and E plus Cod Liver Oil, which seems to work for me. Although having said that - I went without supplements at all for years and nothing terrible happened. The fish oil just seems to pep my skin up a bit and reduce my aches and pains after exercising.

To be honest with you OP, I've never heard of anyone dropping dead prematurely purely from being vegetarian, regardless of whether they take supplements or not (the poor child that died a few years back after his parents fed him on a ridiculously restricted raw food vegan diet does not count as "vegetarian" although many people seem to site it as an anti-veggy argument.). So I would recommend a little trial and error, see what works for you, and if you get along fine without any supplements - stick with it.

sarah84

I'm vegetarian and have never needed any supplements. I feel much better and healthier for giving up meat. I'm baffled by the anti-veggie arguments-if you don't like the idea of being vegetarian, then don't be vegetarian-just respect that some people are, and have a right to their own choice.