[Lydia]

I've been a vegetarian for about 2 and a half years, and I feel great, but I was wondering if there are any speacial vitamins vegetarians should take to keep healthy?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[Engelsman]

As i understand it, you can get exactly what you need from vegetables and only need to take vitamins if you don't have a healthy balanced diet.

 

[IamJen]

Agreed that, if you're still eating dairy particularly, you can get all you need from food. However, sometimes it's hard because we don't eat as healthfully as we should. Additionally, I don't think it's damaging/wrong to say that vegetarians might need to pay special attention to making sure that they get certain vitamins an minerals in their diet. Iron, zinc and calcium come quickly to mind, since in the SAD they are often obtained through meat or dairy products. If you are vegan, you would probably want to check your B12 levels as well.

 

[taliaj]

I agree with Jen. It would be best to take a multivitamin, some B12, and some vitamin D (esp. if you don't get much sun or are vegan). Make sure that if you do purchase a multivitamin that it does not have added Vitamin A. Vitamin A in tablet form is toxic. I learned about this by reading up on it. If anyone wants verification let me know. Check out www.drfuhrman.com. Dr. Fuhrman sells some excellent vegan vitamins on there. Just click on shop and then on supplements.