What Are Good Vegetarian Supplements?
Classes | Uncategorized
Posted on May 08, 2014 by Jenny Cromack
| Let’s get straight to the point: ANYONE who has a poor diet, follows a low calorie diet or cuts out certain foods from their diet, could well be lacking in some essential nutrients – not just vegetarians or vegans. This isn’t a blog where I tell the world that they should be veggie, nor am I about to rip a vegetarian diet apart. ANYONE can be lacking essential nutrients. So instead, I’m going to stick to my strengths where I absolutely practice what I preach – whilst a vegetarian diet could mean that you’re eating more fruit and veg than other people, there are still some things you could be missing out on. It’s as simple as that! So what are good vegetarian supplements? I could start by saying, that it all depends on what kind of vegetarian you are; but you know what – let’s not go there! There are so many different labels for a vegetarian these days even I lose track – and I am one such variation! I could also say that there’s some great multivitamins on the market, and there probably are – but I honestly don’t take multivitamins. Simply because, there are only really two things that I lack in my vegan diet and that’s Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D – so that’s what my hit list comprises of! Vitamin B12 – Why do we need Vitamin B12? For a start we don’t want to fulfil the stereotype of being a pale or pastey vegetarian or vegan! Secondly, we all usually blame lack of iron for anaemia, and whilst that is one of the causes when copious amounts of dark green veg don’t seem to help the problem, it’s time to consider Vitamin B12 supplements. We need Vitamin B12 to create red blood cells and keep our nerves healthy. Natural sources of B12 come from Meat, Diary and Eggs – so this is where some vegetarians may have a problem. Non-dairy milk and nutritional yeast contains it too, but there are some great veggie B12 supplements out there – just message me for details! Vitamin D – The good old English weather doesn’t help, and neither does office jobs! We produce Vitamin D naturally when we’re exposed to the sun, and we need it for our bones. New research also says that the levels of Vitamin D in our diets can be related to VO2max (our cardiovascular fitness) and BMI. Unfortunately it’s only produced naturally in some fish, beef liver, cheese and egg yolks, and as a result some foods are fortified with Vitamin D. So from a vegetarian or vegan perspective, unless we live in a very sunny country we need to supplement it up! Is that it I hear you cry? If you eat a balanced diet, then in my view yes it is! Obviously you need to ensure you get enough calcium, omega 3, iron and zinc, but if you eat nuts and seeds, lots of varieties of vegetables and legumes, whole grains, eggs and dairy products – you should have it nailed! Kate http://www.webmd.boots.com/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamins-and-vegetarians http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=4560 |