My thoughts on vitamins

[Guest guest]

John wrote:

> any vegetarian who is eating a proper diet doesn't need any vitamins at all

> ,except a b-complex, which we store in our bodies for many days, hence the

> weekly vitamin.

 

In a perfect-food world this might be true. But IMNSHO, years and years of

soil erosion, clear-cutting, lack of land management, earth and food

poisoning, acid rain, air pollution, growing foods out of their normal

climate range and out of season, and mono-culture, combined, have depleted

our food of their true potential, I believe.

 

The above sentiment, and the thoughts that follow (not that anyone asked,

but it's my field so I can't help it!), are echoed by many vegan

nutritionists, vegan doctors, vegan scientists, and animal activists.

People may decide to put their faith in food, but I think that we humans

have done too much damage to our food supply to put aside nutritional

concerns. Furthermore, some foods we simply cannot eat in large enough

quantities and our bodies need those nutrients (i.e. those that provide

essential fatty acids). And, multivitamins are generally designed to

prevent deficiency. This means that RDVs are actually on the low side, as

they are set to make up for what's not obtained through food. They also are

not absorbed entirely, in one shot. About 1/3 of what is listed on the

vitamin bottle is actually absorbed by the body (this is in contrast with

how Europeans label their bottles. They list what your body will actually

absorb).

 

Vitamin B12, the only B vitamin that is essential for a low-lattitude veg*n

to take as a supplement, does not absorb very well, if at all, from the

stomach. Certainly not enough to prevent or treat a deficiency. Assuming

your daughter actually is eating a *perfect* diet and lives in a

low-lattitude place (if she's Caucasian), you might consider a liquid or

sublingual B12.

 

Vit D can only be manufactured in the body from full-spectrum sunlight

exposure at a minimum of 20 minutes 2x per week. (4 exposures of 10 minutes

each will not work as effectively.) It is believed that Caucasians who live

in higher latitudes do not get enough sunlight in winter to manufacture

enough. Typically some of the foods in veg*ns diets are supplemented with

Vit D, such as soymilk and cereals, otherwise veg*ns should consider

supplementing with ergocalciferol Vit D.

 

Essential Fatty Acids are such an enormous part of our body and our diets

simply cannot accommodate nuts and seeds in the amounts we would need to eat

them to get enough EFAs. In Ecuador, it is common among centenarians (and

others) to take a tablespoon of flax oil a day.

 

I believe in a vegan diet, or I would do it. But I think that we have to be

responsible to our bodies, and set examples for good nutrition. It is my

personal opinion, based on everything I've read, that we can not, in this

day and age, expect to get complete nutrition from food alone. I think even

cursory web searches of respected vegan health sites (pcrm.org to name one)

will back up much of what I've written here.

 

Peace,

Doh

--------

" A Person's a Person No Matter How Small " ~Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who

[Guest guest]

I wrote:

> I believe in a vegan diet, or I would do it.

 

Make that:

I believe in a vegan diet, or I would *not* do it.

 

~Doh

---------

" We have enough youth. What we need is a Fountain of Smart. " ~Anonymous