Not sure what vitamins...

Okay, so I know that it's a good idea to take vitamins...but I honestly have no idea which vitamins to take.

I became a vegetarian back in November and I started taking B12...I was taking 1000mcg a day, but I noticed I was still feeling weak and super tired, so I boosted it to 2000mcg. I've been feeling better since then.

What kind of vitamins do you all take and what are best?

I take a general multivitamin when I remember, and I've started taking vitamin D since the winter.

As I recall, most studies have shown that taking vitamin supplements does exactly jack and shit for the general health of people.

I guess it really depends on the person and their needs...like I take B12 since I'm a vegetarian... and I also have really weak hair and nails and I've seen vitamins for each so I could probably take something for those.

really? hm...that's weird...cause I definitely feel a significant difference since I've started taking B12...but I guess it could also be a placebo affect.

Assuming you're already getting everything from your diet and regular sunlight, probably. But some people don't.

I take 3 kids vitamins every day. They taste better and don't upset my stomach. Flintstones rock!

No, I really don't think so. Being a vegetarian means that you are missing the vitamin from animal meats and there is no vegetarian supplement that I know of to take.

And CD, you are only partly incorrect. Vitamins don't do much if you eat correctly all the time. Since most of us don't eat properly, vitamins do help.

I never understood the vegetarian thing. To each their own, but we are designed to be omnivores. Start cutting out what nature intended and you are going to have problems.

This from the guy who thinks we can pioneer another planet when we're done with Earth.

I've heard that since vitamins are in such high quantities our bodies refuse to absorb much of it at all, also since vitamins are so dense and our bodies can't break them down well. I like to tell myself that since I take a chewable kids vitamin when I remember, my body will absorb it better.

Protein supplements will be your friend as vegetarian. I drink a Naked protein shake daily and eats lots of stuff with proteins in it, like beans or peanuts.

I've been a veggie going on 4 years now....

Other planets are part of nature too!

I take a multivitamin, plus an extra C (100 mg) and E (400 IU), daily.

And I agree w/ Marso on both the vegetarian thing and the colonizing other planets thing!

I think we could eventually, although probably not before the rate we are destroying Earth. But I digress. My point was humans are great at using science to find replacements for things we "need." In other words, if humans are smart about it and do it right, there's nothing wrong with being a veggie. The problem is the majority of vegetarians are not educated and/or dedicated enough to eat healthy. Just like non-vegetarians.

Pretty much. If you don't have any particular vitamin deficiency then they do nothing for you, and if you do have some deficiency then a change in diet is almost certainly a more effective way to deal with the issue. Unless you've been told by your doctor to take a vitamin pill don't bother. Don't even ask your doctor about it unless you have a very specific concrete concern, such as a milk allergy limiting your calcium intake--if you really need it, your doctor will tell you, but if you don't need it and ask your doctor then it's all too likely that the doctor will tell your hypochondriac self to take a vitamin pill as an expensive placebo.

Your best bet is to make sure you get vitamins from 'food' sources.

The vitamin pills are intended as a supplement, not as a primary source of vitamins/minerals.

Oh, and make sure you get enough protein.

Vitamin B12 is that they put in many energy drinks. You'd probably feel a similar effect if you took tons of caffeine.

Good luck though - you'll need it. Being a vegetarian is dangerous even if you know what you're doing. I have questions as to whether you do or not. See a doctor for your own sake.

I would recommend one of these pills once a week to cure the deficiency

VITAMIN D!!! Also, I take a multivitamin and anything with omega-3 is good too.

That all depends upon your belief.

We are designed to need certain nutrients that we choose to get from meat...mainly because that is what we've become accustomed to and its the easiest source of nutrients.

If you ask me...you can get those same nutrients from other food.
It's like choosing fish over burger...or salad over steak...its all about how you prepare it.

You can "have problems" from eating the wrong things even when you are eating meat.

Yea, the next time I go to the dr. I plan on talking to him about it. I just got a new dr. and I haven't been since I became a vegetarian, so...ya.

I have a couple of friends that have become vegetarians one of them wasn't healthy about it at all...she gained a lot of weight....another was actually healthy about it and the doctor told her she is more healthy now that she ever has been.

Thank you. I have been. I make sure that I have some source of protein every meal. I discovered the hard way the way my body reacts to lack of protein: I get horrid headaches...then if I don't find something it turns to a migrane. No fun.

I usually get cheese, or some sort of dairy.
Boca and morning star burgers are fantastic.
And I've grown a certain fondness of beans.

I also try and carry around a little tin of almonds in my purse. it's nice when your family wants to eat somewhere and they don't have a veggie menu...it makes it much easier on everyone.

You can't get the high quality protein found in meat from 'other' sources.

Face it....unless people are very picky about what they eat.....chances are, without meat....they don't get enough protein.

You're on the right track simply by understanding the importance of protein.

Eggs are a win/win too.

You might want to go for a checkup and ask your doctor to do a micronutrient test. That would give you an idea of what you're lacking.

In the meantime, you might want to take at the very least a multivitamin/mineral supplement with iron. (The majority of menstruating women are iron deficient, even in the industrialized world, even if they're meat-eaters.) Probably a calcium/vitamin-D supplement as well. (Make sure it's the combination - calcium isn't fully absorbed without the D).

I take Barroca every morning. I eat far too few greens but I hope this at least partially makes up for it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berocca

Why did you decide to become a vegetarian, Bunnie?

Both of my grandmothers take vitamins religiously - mostly multivitamins and fish oil. They say their their doctors credit their good health and lack of need to take dozens of prescriptions to their vitamin-taking habits. I don't know if vitamins really make a difference or not (I don't notice any differences when I take them), but since my grandmothers give them to me for free I might as well take them.

Omega 3's are important to take for virtually everyone.

Especially if you don't eat much seafood.

Before I go too far into it...I just want people to know that I am not offended by someone else eating meat

It started with a project I was doing for my Communications class my first semester of college. I decided to do it on animal testing...cause that kind of thing seemed like something that I would enjoy learning more about. I figured I would just do my research, choose a side, and give the speech and let that be it. But when I started my research, I was horrified. I actually started tearing up...i don't recall if I actually cried or not...but it was pretty awful and I'll never forget what I saw. Then a link popped up about slaughtering...and i knew I wouldnt like what I saw....I don't like the thought of killing things in the first place, but I also knew that whatever I was gonna see is real and needs to be acknowledged. So I watched it and read articles. i almost threw up...it was so unbelievably disgusting. I felt sick for over a week after that. I had no appetite for meat and I pretty much decided right there that I would never eat meat ever again. I just don't understand how human beings can get to a point where they're so comfortable with death and killing that they will actually have fun with it. It's disgusting.

Not to mention all the stupid chemicals that they load the animal up with before sending it to the slaughter house...that's gross in itself.

I actually continued eating seafood for a while, just because....well....I guess I have no sympathy for fish or shrimp...apparently fish are tortured as well...and it honestly really doesn't bother me...
but recently I decided that I just felt like a hypocrite, so i stopped eating seafood alltogether.

The main thing that people argue with me about is the fact that...just because I stop eating it, it won't stop what's happening to the animals.

And I know that...but that doesn't mean that I'm going to support it just because I know it wont stop. I think that's hypocritical in itself.