What is so wrong about supplements?

[_Doc]

So ever since I have gone vegan I have been told a lot of reasons behind how my life choose is idiotic either by old friends or bystanders to my conversations. One of them that I don't really understand why they say its so bad is supplements. So I would like to hear any reasoning behind why its so bad. I mean even when I was a meat eater I had to take vitamins or do those not count as supplements.




Side Note: Couldn't really decide if this should be put into the "vegan vs. non vegan debates" forum or not.

[Cirion Spellbinder]

There's nothing wrong with consuming supplements, as far as I know.

I imagine the reasoning for most people consists of either an appeal to nature or appeal to tradition. Its also likely an attempt to rationalize immoral and unhealthy behavior by making veganism seem dangerous.

[brimstoneSalad]

Right, there's nothing wrong with it. People who attack veganism for needing B-12 supplements are appealing to nature -- and yet they violate "nature" by taking medicine to cure diseases, ride in cars, use toilets, etc.

"Natural" doesn't mean right (rape is natural, after all), and "unnatural" doesn't mean wrong.

[Heinechan]

Not really sure what argument he's trying to make, but the typical one is that as a vegan you "need to take all sorts of supplements to not be anemic". We all know that this is utter horse shit, but you still hear it and will probably continue to hear it for the rest of your life because people are uneducated.

First of all, most people take supplements. For that reason alone most of this is a moot point.

Secondly, we don't generally as a group " have " to take any supplement unless we live in a sanitary first world country, then it behooves us to take b12.

Do most vegans take vitamins and supplements beyond b12? Yes, but most people do. Not to avoid anemia, but in an attempt to achieve better health, to supplement their diet and lifestyle. The supplements I take have almost nothing to do with being vegan, but specific health goals I have. And the deficiencies I've had have been similar to non vegan family members (with the exception of cholesterol, I have very low cholesterol).

[Allison-vega]

I think it has a lot to do with fear. We're told repeatedly since children to take our vitamins. Then one day we find out we don't really need vitamins if we eat healthy. Or you find out that vitamins are put into processed foods and eliminating the need. Suddenly it creates a dilemma. Do you do what you have been taught your whole life, or do you decide to listen to this new information? I think people often take supplements as some kind of insurance policy.

[brimstoneSalad]

The only supplement that is essential is B-12. Vitamin D is needed if you don't get a lot of sunlight. Otherwise, if you're female and you bleed quite a bit you may benefit from an iron supplement (men don't need this). For men, if you ejaculate quite often, you may benefit from a zinc supplement (of course, doesn't apply to women). If you're pregnant, you should take a prenatal (like anybody).

Otherwise, just eat a lot of beans, a little veggies, one carrot a day (or equivalent for vitamin A), and use sites like cronometer to track your nutrition to make sure you're getting more than enough of everything.

[ThinkAboutThis]

If you could eat three processed food bars which were nutritionally deficient, they just equalled your total daily calories from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (in your preferred ratio), and you then get all your micronutrients from supplementation. What would be wrong with this?

[brimstoneSalad]

If you could eat three processed food bars which were nutritionally deficient, they just equalled your total daily calories from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (in your preferred ratio), and you then get all your micronutrients from supplementation. What would be wrong with this?

You would also want to get antioxidants and phytonutrients. But as long as you got all essential amino and fatty acids, and fiber, and every vitamin and mineral (in forms and dosages adequately absorbed), it should be fine.

[ThinkAboutThis]

Imagine combining the supplements with the food bars, and making them vegan as well, that would be a big help for new vegans who are worried about not getting adequate nutrition. It could also be helpful for intelligence gathering services like the SAS who can spend months surviving off rations, because rather than having them carry around cans of beans, soups, and etc (which would take up a great deal of room), they can just replace it with these bars which contain every ounce of nutrition necessary.

[brimstoneSalad]

Imagine combining the supplements with the food bars, and making them vegan as well, that would be a big help for new vegans who are worried about not getting adequate nutrition. It could also be helpful for intelligence gathering services like the SAS who can spend months surviving off rations, because rather than having them carry around cans of beans, soups, and etc (which would take up a great deal of room), they can just replace it with these bars which contain every ounce of nutrition necessary.

I'd love something like that, and I agree it would be a great help. Soylent is the same kind of concept, but poorly executed. It would be great to do it right.
It would take some serious cash to set up manufacturing, though.