Vitamin V Please: Thoughts About Vitamins for a Vegetarian Diet
Despite regular exercise , eating relatively healthy and keeping an all around positive mindset – it still gets tough to stay focused (ADHD issues aside) and I feel a bit dragged at times. Now, this could mean that I’m due for a vacation ( t-minus 36 days to T&T!!) or that I need more rest (buddingveg.com can’t create itself!) or maybe it’s just todays’ weather getting to me ( rainy, cold, windy, sucky & blah). In any case, it got me thinking about taking vitamins again for that extra energy boost. In the past I’ve taken daily multivitamins such as Nature Made Multi Daily , One a Day Energy and more recently Deva Vegan Multivitamins to help provide just that .
My overall sentiment when taking these vitamins was that they didn’t really make too much of a difference in how I was feeling. I recognize this could have been due to my inconsistency of taking the 1 a Day pills, abruptly stopping after 2 weeks of taking the Nature Made multi ( way too big for me) or my overall diet at the time ( a multi & 2 donuts for bfast please!). The vegan pills were easy to take and I actually liked taking them (I finished the entire 90 day bottle about 5 months ago) but nutritionally or physically I didn’t recognize any added value.
I try to incorporate what is valuable & beneficial for a vegetarian diet: protein, B12, calcium, Omega3 & iron. Most foods like eggs, cheese and certain beans, nuts, grains and fish/fish oils will cover these essentials. Aside from eating foods that naturally have these nutrients, you can take a pill to artificially provide the benefits but a good step prior to that may be to speak with a professional. For me, getting a more in depth look at how my body is doing & confirm if I have any deficiencies that vitamins can supplement may be the
With that, I’ve made an appointment with a nutritionist prior to taking on a new supplement regimen. I may try some of these multivitamins again or something new altogether. Either way, I’ll keep you all posted on any ideas & share any insight after my visit in a couple weeks. In the interim – please feel free to share what has worked/hasn’t worked for you!
buddingveg 