Recommended Vegan Nutritional Supplements
Please don’t play Russian Roulette with your health. You DO need to take at least one supplement to stay healthy over the long term – that is Vitamin B12.
Vegans and vegetarians are frequently deficient in B12, but even meat eaters often need to supplement, especially as they get older and don’t absorb it as well.
If you are eating a varied diet of whole plant foods, you will probably get all the other nutrients you need. However, our farm soils are now so depleted that there are far less nutrients in our foods than there once were, so it depends on where your food comes from.
Organically grown foods have been shown to contain more nutrients than commercially grown, so stick with organic foods if you can. Even better, grow your own!
There are a few nutrients that vegans in particular may have a hard time getting. So pay attention and don’t let yourself become another one of those unhealthy vegan statistics that meat eaters love to point to as proof that we need to eat animal products.
Nutritional supplements you may need as a vegan are also important for just about everyone else. Even meat eaters can be severely deficient in
- vitamin B12
- zinc
- vitamin D
- calcium
- magnesium
- Omega 3 fatty acids
Nearly everyone can benefit from including a good quality Spirulina, like Vimergy brand, for a wide assortment of nutrients.
Visit Vegan Kids for specific recommendations for children.
A Simple Solution – A Quality All-In-One Vegan Supplement?
In general, I don’t recommend multi-vitamin pills, but if you haven’t been eating well, or you’ve been restricting calories, avoiding vegetables or have deficiency symptoms, you may want to take a good quality supplement that includes all the hard-to-get vitamins and minerals for vegans in one bottle – just for a few months.
NOTE: It is important to take your B12 separately in a liquid or sublingual form. Make sure it contains both methylcobalamin & adenosylcobalamin and hold it under your tongue as long as possible for best absorption.
Complement brand seems to be a good one. One bottle provides a two month supply. It contains vegan sourced:
- vitamin B12 – methylcobalamin & adenosylcobalamin
- vitamin D3
- DHA/EPA omega 3s
- iodine
- zinc
- selenium
- magnesium
- vitamin K2 (generally not recommended, but probably harmless)
Of course you can buy all these supplements separately, or sometimes in various combinations like vitamin D with K2. However, it can be less expensive and more convenient to take them all together in one supplement.
Individual Supplements
Personally, I prefer to take individual supplements, rather than taking them all together. If you are already deficient or dealing with a particular health issue, you may need a lot more or less of particular nutrients to get your levels to optimum. Let’s tale a look at each of these.
Medical Medium Recommendations
I’ve tried many different versions of vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian diets over the last 50 years. The only diet that has consistently made me feel better and stronger over the long term is the diet recommended by Anthony William, the Medical Medium. He has also helped millions of other people reclaim their health, so I trust his advice. So let’s take a look at what he recommends.
Here’s a brief [edited] excerpt from Anthony William’s blog post on the six most important supplements he recommends. He calls them “foundational supplements,” which means they are the ones most people should be taking (even meat eaters):
- B-12
An ideal B-12 supplement includes both methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. [The B-12 supplement I prefer is Vimergy brand. Global Healing Center B12 Blend is also a good one. Anthony has recommended both in the past, though now he has focused on Vimergy. – Ed.] - Zinc
[ ] Avoid the many liquid zinc supplements that are loaded with citric acid, natural flavors, alcohol, and other toxic ingredients. [Instead, search for a clean, high-quality liquid ionic zinc, zinc sulfate or zinc picolinate – Vimergy is recommended by Anthony William – he recommended Good State zinc sulfate in the past and it is less expensive than Vimergy. – Ed.].
Other Supplements to Consider
- DHA/EPA – Rather than taking a fish oil supplement, [ ] opt for a quality plant-based Omega-3 supplement like [ ] OmegaZen. [Note: This was an older quote. Medical Medium now recommends Vimergy Vegan EPA/DHA. Take only if your levels test low. OmegaZen capsules are made with carrageenan, so it is best to pop the caps to get the oil out and dispose of the capsule. – Ed.]. [Dr. Klaper on DHA supplements.]
- Probiotics – If you’ve taken antibiotics: A non-dairy, time-released probiotic can be a great choice for supplementation. [See Anthony William recommendations on this page. The best source of probiotics are from the bacteria found on unwashed fruits, vegetables, sprouts, and herbs. If you don’t have your own organic garden, try to visit an organic farm or orchard as often as you can and eat produce without washing it – or grow your own sprouts. Even edible weeds from an unsprayed yard are excellent sources of what Anthony William calls elevated biotics. – Ed.]
- Spirulina – Spirulina can be a better choice than a regular multi-vitamin because it’s so rich in bio-available nutrients. It is also one of the five key ingredients for [clearing] heavy metal poisoning as discussed here. [Vimergy has the best spirulina that Medical Medium likes even better than the Hawaiian that he used to recommend. – Ed.]
- Nettle leaf – Herbs are loaded with nutrients, minerals, and phytochemicals, and nettle leaf is a particularly indispensable one. [ ] You can take nettle as a tea, tincture or in capsules. [All tinctures should be made without alcohol according to MM.]
Read full Medical Medium blog post on supplements here – http://www.medicalmedium.com/blog/are-supplements-necessary
Here is how much I recommend to take of these supplements:
- Vimergy vitamin B-12 – 1 dropper-full held under the tongue for as long as possible, at least twice a week – according to Dr. Greger, we can store enough B-12 to last for a week – but if you are over 65 it is best to take 1000 units a day.
- Vimergy Zinc – 10 drops in water a few times a week, and several times a day if you are fighting off a bug.
- Vimergy Spirulina – 2 tsp. or 6 capsules a day.
- Frequently eat unwashed produce from the garden.
When Fighting Viruses, Bacterial Infections, or for Specific Health Challenges
If you are fighting off a virus or bacterial infection, you may also want to include these immune boosting vegan nutritional supplements:
- Vitamin-C – 500 mg. Vimergy Micro C or EsterC every 30 minutes until feeling better or you get loose stools – helpful for any immune or inflammation issue [or sodium ascorbate, Liposomal vitamin C, or magnesium ascorbate]
- Vimergy Zinc -1 or two droppers squirted into the back of your throat when fighting off a bug. Otherwise 10 drops per day in water
- Elderberry Syrup – Great for knocking out flu or preventing it. I like Gaia brand best, or homemade.
- Vitamin D-3 – if you live north of the San Francisco, CA latitude in the northern hemisphere it is recommended to take 1000 units daily – probably not necessary if you spend plenty of time with your skin exposed to the sun south of the San Francisco latitude. (If you have dental or bone issues, or arterial plaque, you may want to take it with 75 mcg. vitamin K-2 MK-7 from chickpeas).
- Olive leaf extract capsules, or non-alcohol olive leaf tincture 0 Vimergy makes a great one
- Raw garlic is a potent natural antibiotic and antiviral
- Herbal teas – thyme, oregano, ginger, garlic, lemon balm – individually or mixed to your taste
- Sovereign Silver® – excellent for knocking out bacterial or viral infections (I would only use this in extreme cases, because it also kills good bacteria we need in our digestive system)
- Note: If you are specifically dealing with Lyme disease, I highly recommend Samento (usually available on Amazon.com) – made from the Cat’s Claw herb. This is a very potent formula that kept my Lyme symptoms under control before I discovered the Medical Medium anti viral protocols. (Unfortunately, it does contain alcohol.)
- I would also add Quercetin, because it helps the body use zinc to support the immune system (though too much can interfere with iron absorption) – if you eat plenty of fruit you will get plenty of quercetin naturally
I used to catch every bug my grandkids brought home from preschool (3 or more colds a year), but since I started including zinc and following the Medical Medium protocols (avoiding the “NO” foods), I have only caught one mild 24 hour bug in the past six or seven years. They really work!
More Recommended Supplements for Particular Issues
- Vitamin B Complex – food based. If you are under a lot of physical or psychological stress, you body uses up more B vitamins. Also taking birth control pills or several other pharmaceuticals can deplete your B vitamins. If you feel depressed, tired, stressed, or under the weather a good food-based B complex can feel like a life saver. Vimergy makes and excellent one.
- Viatmin A – Vegan versions are available. You should be able to make all the vitamin A you need from the beta carotene in foods like spirulina, orange sweet potatoes, carrots and dark leafy greens. If taking Vimergy spirulina doesn’t solve your vitamin A issue, you may need to take a vitamin A supplement, because some people do not convert beta carotene to vitamin A efficiently. Important for eye health and immune system. If you spend a lot of time reading or looking at computer screens, you can use up Vitamin A fast. Poor night vision can also be a sign of vitamin A deficiency. Try increasing your dark orange and green vegetables before resorting to a supplement.
- Vitamin K2 from chickpeas (MK-7 form) – Contrary to media claims, Dr. Greger reports that there is no clear evidence that K2 helps strengthen bones and teeth or that it guides calcium to where it is needed in the body (and away from arteries where it can cause calcification). If you have dental issues, fragile bones, or calcification of the arteries, getting Vitamin K1 from eating leafy greens will be much more helpful – and your body can transform K1 into any K2 it might need.
- Magnesium Glycinate – Many people are deficient in magnesium, especially those who do not eat enough leafy greens, nuts and seeds, gluten free grains or beans. Magnesium helps relax muscles and relieve inflammation. It can also help to relieve depression and promote restful sleep. It is also important for melatonin production and heart health. Important: If you experience heart pain do not try to self-treat! Get checked out by a trusted health care professional immediately!
- Calcium – Best to get calcium from food. Collard greens are the best source, but any leafy greens will supply plenty of calcium. If you are severely deficient, you may want to take a supplement for a few weeks. If so, make sure it is derived from food. Otherwise calcium supplements can cause a dangerous build up of arterial plaque.
- Iron – It is best to get your iron from foods (see whole plant nutrition page). If you are severely deficient due to heavy bleeding or a viral issue, make sure to use a plant derived iron supplement like Floradix.
Note: I recommend plugging your daily diet into https://cronometer.com/ now and then to make sure your nutritional bases are covered – but don’t get too caught up in it. Just notice whether there are big gaps in particular nutrients and adjust your diet to supply them.
Their calcium recommendation should only be about 600mg. if you are on a WFPB diet (because you are not eating the acid forming animal products that leach calcium from your bones). Cut the protein recommendation to about half, and the fat to about a third of what they recommend (aim for about 10 – 15% of your calories from fat, 10% from protein and 75% from carbohydrates – there is an option to set those levels). Eat Atlantic seaweeds, especially dulse, for minerals not listed on cronometer.com, like iodine.
Check out this page for Medical Medium recommended brands of supplements.
I know it may not seem “natural” to take vitamins and minerals from jars and bottles, but our foods are no longer naturally grown in mineral rich soils and most of us rarely eat foods fresh from an organic farm or garden anymore.
On top of that, we are exposed to countless toxins, rapidly mutating viral strains, and stressors that our ancestors never had to deal with. Sometimes we really do need some extra nutrients beyond what our food can provide.
That being said, we can still get almost all of our nutrients from a Whole Plant Food diet. For a more detailed list of nutrients and where you can find them in foods, go to Essential Plant-Based Nutrition.
Now Let’s Take a Quick Look at Good Fats – Bad Fats
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