Vegan Diet and Nutritional Supplements?

by Jamie
(Canada)

I read a number of rather scary things about the vegan diet, even though I have started one, about it being 'unnatural' and long term effects resulting in a lot of deficiencies.

I'm not overly concerned about protein, but I do take a vitamin B supplement (which has all the B's including 12). Would it be a good idea to continue taking this just for good measure? Is a lot of the scary things I read about just articles to scare people into thinking that they HAVE to have meat and dairy?

It makes me wonder, what if I was a vegetarian who just happened to be lactose intolerant?

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Sassy Sez: Well, I am not the type of person who subscribes to the belief that everyone has to be vegan just because I am a Vegan Coach. While it is a wonderful thing to do for your body and the planet, it is a very personal decision and one that should be made with some semblance of education. I mean, someone can be vegan and eat candy bars -- but it would cause them to get sick, and then the vegan diet is blamed rather than the person taking responsibility for their mistakes, ya know?

I am of the opinion it is always better to be safe than sorry. So I would recommend that YES you supplement your vegan diet with Vitamin B12. Please review my Vegan Vitamin B12 page for more information.

As someone who has been vegan since 1994, I can tell you WITH CERTAINTY that you do not need meat and dairy and other animal products to be healthy, feel great, have lots of energy, and maintain a normal and healthy weight. Combine a vegan diet with lots of fresh water and regular exercise, walks in the sunshine, and a healthy attitude and you can see for yourself how a vegan diet can be an incredible source of happiness and good health.

By the way, I believe in whole food supplements whenever possible. Personally, I use blue-green algae. Click here to send me a note via my Contact form and I'll be happy to share some information about the algae I have been using since 1994. xo