Am I getting all the B vitamins, protein and omega3 I need?!
Thanks much
Peace and Love
Answers: I have been vegan for going on a couple weeks now and I feel great, something I want to keep doing for life. I have read that the main vitamin concerns for Vegans are B vitamins, protein, and Omega-3 (please correct me if I am wrong). I was wondering if you thought I was getting enough of each. With the exception of these last couple days I usually drink one cup of Silk Soy Milk with Chai mix a day, and I believe silk is fortified with B12 and protein, also I typically eat a decent amount of flax seed, if not in cereal or waffles then I make it a point to eat one Flax Seed Kashi bar a day. I am not really worried about my other vitamins, I love fruit and veggies and all of that, just those three that supposedly typically vegans don't get enough of. Does it sound like I am doing it right? Or should I take a multi-vitamin? If so which one?
Thanks much
Peace and Love
Congrats on being vegan for a couple of weeks now! I have been vegan for four years now. I will say that I have had to learn alot about nutrition because of all my concerns for my family (we are all vegan).
I cook almost all of our food. I believe we are what we eat, so I make sure we get organic fresh produce and organic grains and legumes. I also have read up on the vitamins and supplements that we may need.
The Vitamin B12 thing is mainly for vegans who haven't supplemented with B12 for over years of being vegan. The liver can store Vitamin B12 for 3 to 5 years, so I did not start worrying about it till our third year of being vegan. The other B vitamins are found in our whole grains that we eat alot of in one day. Methyl-B12 by VegLife is one that I give my kids (it is a chewable and the orange flavor is delicious) for their B12.
Omega 3's can be taken in with not only flaxseed (freshly ground up flaxseed is the best. Do not heat as it will oxidize and loose some of its Omega 3's) but with walnuts also.
Protein is not a problem. In fact, your Kashi bar has enough protein probably. 1 cup of chickpeas is good too. Green vegetables help in processing the protein too, so add a dark green leafy salad to your meal.
Another vitamin that you need to consider is Vitamin D. It is usually added to milk and other processed foods (cereals and bars). Since I do not like to eat processed foods, I add VegLife's Vitamin D during the winter months since there is hardly any sunshine for our bodies to make the Vitamin D in our skin.
To help me in my athletic endeavors I also have taken VegLife's MultiEnergy with Lutein to help in my nutritional needs when I am training for my new endeavor of marathons.
sounds about right
V-B12 is the hard one, but if you are drinking silk soy milk I think thats probably covered.
sadly I am a vegetarian, not Vegan yet - so am not 100% sure.
to early to tell since you are relatively new. another two weeks and have a complete physical/executive checkup. The results should tell you if you are doing right or wrong thing. Also if feasible, consult a nutritionist for at least some professional advice.
i'm not vegan, but still i was given and recommended to take B12 for 10 days, one every morning, every month. why not have a blood test and see if you really need to take supplements. i also take multivitamin.
Sounds good. If you want an extra source of B12 you can buy nutritional yeast (check the label though and make sure it has B12 in it, some are better than others). You can stir it into pastas and casseroles to make it taste kind of cheesy...
You probably don't need to worry about protein.
Additional sources of omega 3, 6 and 9's that are also tasty would be acai berries; there is a brand called Sambazon that sells acai berry sorbet and smoothies, both are wonderful and very high in the omega acids. You're doing well by incorporating flax seeds.
you should get multi-vitamins to be on the safe side that wat i do cos i don't like taking risks