[Nature-Lover]

Hi everyone.

Before becoming vegan a few weeks ago, I occasionally took a women's one-a-day vitamin, but in general I just depended on my varied diet to provide me with all the vitamins I need.

I have been reading on here about the importance of taking a B-12 supplement every day, so I started taking the one-a-days daily now. But I still feel I don't need a supplement for most of the vitamins in these one-a-days. I am sure I am getting more than a 100% of my RDA for most of these vitamins in my diet.

So, I was wondering what multi-vitamin other vegans are taking. So.....what are you taking? (and I am really looking for specific brands, not just what vitamins are in it)

One last thought on B12 too.....I know "they" always say that you don't absorb 100% of the vitamins you take in supplements. So, if you only take one supplement a day which has the RDA for B12, is it logical to assume you are not actually getting the RDA amount of B12?

 

[estrella]

I have the same problem as you, Nature-Lover. I take the one-a-day pills every night because I'm always lacking in iron, vitamin b12, and vitamin d. I NEVER get enough of those, but my diet pretty much has all of the other vitamins so I end up having way more than I need at the end of the day. Would it be smarter to just buy seperate vitamins for b12, d, and iron?

 

[kpickell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nature-Lover

Hi everyone.

Before becoming vegan a few weeks ago, I occasionally took a women's one-a-day vitamin, but in general I just depended on my varied diet to provide me with all the vitamins I need.

I have been reading on here about the importance of taking a B-12 supplement every day, so I started taking the one-a-days daily now. But I still feel I don't need a supplement for most of the vitamins in these one-a-days. I am sure I am getting more than a 100% of my RDA for most of these vitamins in my diet.

So, I was wondering what multi-vitamin other vegans are taking. So.....what are you taking? (and I am really looking for specific brands, not just what vitamins are in it)

One last thought on B12 too.....I know "they" always say that you don't absorb 100% of the vitamins you take in supplements. So, if you only take one supplement a day which has the RDA for B12, is it logical to assume you are not actually getting the RDA amount of B12?

If your multi-vitamin only has 100% RDA for B12 it's probably not sufficient for a vegan. Most vegan advocacy groups recommend 2 to 20 times the RDA if you're getting it from a supplement rather than from fortified foods.

I take a one-a-day multi-vitamin, forget the name but it's wal-mart generic brand for vegans; and a an additional b12 sublingual pill.

 

[Vegan Joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpickell

wal-mart.

Wal-mart tests on animals:

They hire undocumented workers, pay them a minimal wage with no health insurance and see how long they can survive.

That's animal cruelty.

http://wakeupwalmart.com/downloads/wal-mart-health-care-facts.pdf#search='walmart%20health%20insurance'

 

[flvegnewbie]

I use Dr. Fuhrman's Gentle Care Formula vitamins and have been really pleased with them. His are more targeted for the vegan/vegetarians & on the B12 have 20mcg or 334% DV (that's what it states on the bottle), that's for two vitamins however. These vitamins recommend taking one in the morning & one at night.

I heard about Dr. Furhman, his book & his website on the veganlunchbox blog & after reading his book was VERY impressed with it. If you ever get a chance, please check it out. It's called "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman, it was really eye-opening for me.

Here's a link to his website:

http://www.drfuhrman.com/

HTH,

Michelle

 

[Tesseract]

I usually take Bluebonnet Maxi Two, but it is kind of expensive, and I'm short on cash right now, so I'm currently taking Whole Foods one-a-day.

If you really are sure you get enough of most vitamins daily, I don't see any reason not to skip the multi and just take specific supplements for the things you're short on. OTOH, taking more than the RDA shouldn't hurt you as long as you're below 200% of the RDA.

Vegan Joe, you're off topic and you're out of line. If you want to rant about how much Walmart sucks, start a new thread. This one is about vitamins.

 

[GhostUser]

I'm not vegan, but I eat very little dairy, so I tend to think in terms of being vegan when thinking about vitamins and stuff. I used to just take B-12 because that's all I was concerned about. But, I don't eat as many vegetables as most vegans and vegetarians do, so I thought maybe I should take a multivitamin. I used Twinlabs B-Caps, but they're not vegan because they have gelatin. Now, though, I take the RainbowLight brand of women's multivitamins, and I'm pretty sure they're vegan.

I think if you have a good diet, than maybe you can just take the supplements if you want, or buy some multivitamins to take every once in awhile. I don't take mine everyday, but more like every other day.

 

[Alli]

A little off-topic, but it's about vitamin b-12... I have Nature Made B-12 supplement pills, and I can't seem to find out if they're vegan. Anyone happen to know? I sent them an e-mail but they haven't replied yet.

 

[Nature-Lover]

Thanks for the replies everyone...and keep them coming.

I am definitely going to look into a supplement with more B12. I do have enriched soy milk most days, but between that and my multi it's still only about 150% of the RDA.

 

[Nature-Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flvegnewbie

I

I heard about Dr. Furhman, his book & his website on the veganlunchbox blog & after reading his book was VERY impressed with it. If you ever get a chance, please check it out. It's called "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman, it was really eye-opening for me.

Here's a link to his website:

http://www.drfuhrman.com/

HTH,

Michelle

I love the veganlunchbox blog! I followed that blog long before I became a vegan myself. When she mentioned this book, I was a bit put off by the fact that the book cover referenced weight loss b/c I am not trying to lose weight. I will take a look at this link now though.

 

[DLS]

Hello Out there everybody!!!

About the B-12, is it true that if you have any kind of intestinal disorders that you may not be absorbing your ingestable B-12s and that it may be a better idea to go see your physician once a month for injectable B-12???

 

[flvegnewbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nature-Lover

I love the veganlunchbox blog! I followed that blog long before I became a vegan myself. When she mentioned this book, I was a bit put off by the fact that the book cover referenced weight loss b/c I am not trying to lose weight. I will take a look at this link now though.

It does concentrate on the weight loss aspect in a few of the chapters, but he talks so much more than just about weight loss, to me it's more about overall good nutrition.

He talks about the general American diet (which being a vegan/vegetarian doesn't really apply), phytochemicals in different foods & what exactly they do, varying diseases & how changing your diet can actually help to eliminate them altogether, and then of course the weight loss chapters.

Just an FYI!

Michelle

 

[troub]

EarthSource Multinutrient

 

[Cissy]

right now I have a Disney chewable vitamin because it was the only one I could find without gelatin

 

[Nature-Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DLS

Hello Out there everybody!!!

About the B-12, is it true that if you have any kind of intestinal disorders that you may not be absorbing your ingestable B-12s and that it may be a better idea to go see you physician once a month for injectable B-12???

I don't know for sure, but I have heard people say you just need to take the supplements that you put under your tounge to disolve instead of the ones you swallow whole.

 

[Groovy chick]

I don't actually take a multi-vitamin because they don't usually have the R.D.A. for calcium. As I consume very little soya-dairy food, I choose to take separate supplements.

Currently I take 600mg of calcium (combined with vitamin D) and a B vitamin complex daily.

 

[veggienurse]

I take Source of Life's whole energy multivitamin. I am really happy with it but the price is high......$36 for one bottle of 180 mini-tabs.

 

[eggplant]

I take Deva brand vegan multivitamins and I take a sublingual vegan B-12 pill (forget the brand and I'm not at home right now) every few days or so. Even though the multi contains B-12, from my research I've gathered that it's quite questionable whether most of us will absorb enough B-12 by swallowing it in a pill. So I take the sub-lingual as insurance.

 

[Faerie Green]

I have been taking the SOLGAR V mulitvitamin daily for years. They seem slightly more expensive than generic or drugstore brands, but absolutely worth it. There are different sizes, if I pay $26 for the big bottle with 90 pills, it averages out quite well.

You can find them in every health food store but also in privately owned drugstores. They come in the glass amber colored bottles, which I have read is ideal storage for them, and best they have the words suitable for vegetarians on the front. The ingredients are very thorough, although some of the basic vitamin quantities are very high (A, C, E.) The B-12 is very high also,and there are loads of minerals included. Smartly, calcium and iron are very low in this pill because those are better taken seperately (and seperate from each other.) There are periods when I take them every other day, when I know I am eating lots of nutritious foods.

I have often been skeptical of supplements, having read many times that your body doesn't absorb the vitamins, etc. (I'm sure you've all heard this too) but we all know our own bodies. When I had stopped taking them for a few months years ago, I could tell.

Of course, whatever you take, have it around the same time every day with a (yummy vegan) meal, and a full glass of water.