Why do vegetarians have to take supplements ?

Question

As long as they get enough protein they should be fine without supplements, right? Or is it only vegans that need supplements?

Answer 1

Neither vegetarians nor vegans need supplements. I'm a vegan, and I don't take any supplements (except digestive enzymes, but those aren't for vitamins/minerals). A veg*n diet can provide all the vitamins, minerals, etc. that your body needs. You just need to have a well-planned and healthy diet, just like with any diet, or you won't be getting everything you need. The only issue is with vitamin b12 for vegans, there is some evidence that a plant-based diet cannot sufficiently supply this vitamin, so vegans are recommended to supplement, or eat fortified foods.

Answer 2

I've been a vegetarian for a little over 5 months and I've been doing fine so far! :)

Answer 3

For the most part, if you know a little something about nutrition from a vegetarian perspective (study on it if you don't), you will find that a healthy, well-planned vegetarian diet will have most all the vitamins and minerals you need.

That said, there are some vitamins, especially B12, that are VERY hard to get from a diet that does not have any animal  products. This can be problematic for vegans if they don't plan their diets well. Others that are hit-and-miss may be iron, calcium, and vitamin D.

Fortified foods such as many soy foods and cereals do help.

If you're still eating dairy and/or eggs (not vegan), then you are less likely to need supplements, provided your overall diet is healthy. If you have problems getting something you need, and you can't make up the balance with fortified foods, you may need to take a supplement.

Answer 4

Most people (vegetarian, vegan, or otherwise) don't get all the nutrition they need from their diet alone. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money to depend on only food to get all your vitamins and minerals. For those who can and do good for you!

Taking a daily supplement just ensures you get everything you need in case you don't get it all from others sources. There are some great multi-vitamins made just for people who are vegetarian or vegan.

Also the book The New Becoming Vegetarian by Melina & Davis is a great source for nutrition information. (They also have a simular book for vegans. Good Luck!

Answer 5

First of all, forget about protein.  Protein is in every living thing. Also, look up amino acids and learn about them.

Vegetarians do not need to take supplements nor do vegans.  There have been vegans and vegetarian humans around for thousands and thousands of years.  Some were very famous philosophers, scientists, poets, writers, and etc. from ancient times.  They too no supplements either.

But, they did not live as many do these days... pretty much disconnected from nature, everything sterilized and packaged and cooked and processed etc.  Water comes from a tap filled with chlorine and other chemicals.  We live in polluted cities with polluted air, water, and ground.  The list goes on and on of all the ways we are disconnected from nature and a natural way of living.  So, thus, we may be missing something from our diet or lifestyles.  If you haven't noticed, meat eaters pop tonnes of vitamin pills, why?  Just in case.  That's how the vitamin companies make money... they scare you into taking it just in case... giving your kids vitamins just in case, take some yourself just in case.  You never know and when you do know it will be too late... bla bla bla.  We can still get all of the stuff we need from our food, but since we are disconnected from nature, we have to try to include certain things in our diet to make up for the lack of, for example, bacteria in and on our food.  The lack of dirt and such too.  B12 comes from bacteria p**p, and if your gut is low in good bacteria and your food and water etc. is too... you might want to eat some fermented food or whatnot to get some of that good bacteria and B12 in your system.  Same goes for other nutrients here and there.  But, human bodies can store things to use later so we don't need to make sure we eat such things every single day etc.  No need to go nuts about it.  I remember Howard Lyman telling a story about this old lady he knew who was in her 90s and had been a vegan since she was in her teens or 20s.  She was fit and lively and he had trouble keeping up to her on their walk along the beach.  When they were out on the second story balcony, the wind blew the doors shut and locked them out.  She said how she hated when that happens, climbed and jumped to the ground and went inside to open them.  She was obviously not deficient in nutrients.  He asked her once about nutrients and vitamins and minerals etc.  She said she had never thought about it.  So, there you go.  No need to worry your head about it, if this lady can not think about it for most of her 90 plus years, I'm sure the rest of us can too.

In the end, get your nutrients from food.  Vitamins are a scam and vitamins cannot actually be put into a pill because vitamins are a complex, that is part of the whole organism and cannot be extracted in whole, only in part.  So, for example, Vitamin C pill is not Vitamin C, but just a part of it -- read the label... it will say something like "ascorbic acid", which they say is Vitamin C, but actually it is not the whole vitamin compound, just part of it.  You can only get the whole vitamin from eating food, real food, such as an orange.  So, eat food please, not pills.

Answer 6

Vegetarians don't have an issue with protein.  Protein is the easiest things to get in food.  As long as people eat a well balanced diet, there is no need for supplements.  Sadly, because so many people (both omnivores and vegetarians) are on the go so much, many don't eat right so a supplement is not a bad idea.

Answer 7

As long as you eat enough and eat all variety of food.

But it is recomend that vegetarian take food fortified with B12 or B12 supplements

For Vegan, this is a MUST (to take take food fortified with B12 or B12 supplements)

Answer 8

I've been a vegetarian for 1 year now and I have not taken any supplements, and I feel great!

Answer 9

no not really i have been a vegetarien for 7 years and im fine.  Although be careful if u take omega 3 supplements because they are from fish.  7 Seas company do omega 3 supplements from plants which are sutible for vegertariens.

:D

Answer 10

A strict vegan diet ( without any vitamins ) will destroy the brain after many years. This does not apply to vegetarians.

Answer 11

you don't need to take any supplements as long as you eat healthy and a variety. you'd need to worry about iron, calcium, as well as protien, if you dont eat healthy

the only thing is i think vegans need to take a supplement for b-12 cause i dont think its easily found in vegan foods, im not forsure though

Answer 12

An excellent question. The human species, Homo sapiens, has evolved over tens of millenia as an omnivorous species, adapted to a diet of mixed animal and vegetable foods. This is evident in the structure of our intestines (intermediate between carnivores and herbivores) and our teeth, among other things.

Vegetarianism simply presents an affront to our nature. It is far from impossible to live - even live well - on a vegetarian diet, but one has to work relatively hard to assure a nutritionally complete diet, something that is nearly automatic on a mixed diet.

Vegans, of course, go further than the other various types of vegetarians in excluding all animal products, and they thus have to go to greater lengths to assure a complete diet.

It's as simple as  that.

Answer 13

Vegetarians don't necessarily have to take supplements as long as they have a balanced diet. Some people might a specific health problem where a supplement might be recommended by a doctor or dietitian, but that goes the same for meat eaters too.

Many vegans take a B12 supplement but some don't take any and have no problems with B12. The vitamin is made by bacteria in the intestines and it can be stored in the body. However, some people may not be able to utilize or store B12 adequately because of individual health reasons. It's probably a good idea for vegans to take a B12 supplement just to be sure.

Answer 14

Vegetarians do not need supplements.

Vegan people do not need supplements.

It is recommended that vegan people take B12 and that's it.

Most people don't get enough B12 whether they eat meat or not.

Why do you think that they put B12 in almost every breakfast cereal?

Every other nutrient is found just as easily if not easier in plants than in animal products.

Answer 15

Some have to take supplements because their diets don't account for all of the nutrients they need. Same as meaters. Sometimes the hectic pace of life doesn't always afford time to pay strict attention to what you eat so supplements are a good stopgap measure.

Answer 16

Because We Are Not Getting Enough Vitamins.

Answer 17

Everyone now has too not just Veggies. Our food sources are depleted because our growing soil(earth) has been abused to the point of destroyed. So what we grow is no longer full of the nutrients we need.

Many organic farmers are changing this but the average stuff you buy at the grocery store is not it.

Flip side I take almost no supplements, but I do things like JUICE fresh organic Veggies everyday, take Green Powders like Barley Max, Flax seeds or Oil. I eat tons of fresh RAW veggies & just a small amount of cooked foods.

Answer 18

Who told you that they need to? Provided one has a well balanced diet, and understands their nutritional needs, they shouldn't need any supplements. I know I don't, and neither would a properly eating vegan.

Answer 19

yea you can eat all the veg you want but not all of them bring the vitames neccesary for the body so supplement are a need sometimes