supplements: what do you take?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by foxy man on September 25, 2009 at 12:02pm

none-zero-nada.....what deficiencies ?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by lemoned on September 25, 2009 at 1:25pm

Daily: B12

Then I split up vitamins into single ingredient products so I can control when I take what. I have Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin D.
Liquid Dulse for iodine ($2 per bottle at Whole Foods).
I take Trader Joe's B complex a few times per week (not digging the neon urine)
Ginko Biloba cause I am studying stuff in my free time and like to imagine this helps me memorize things better :)

Stuff I rarely buy, and buy in a rotating system: MSM, zeolites, bee pollen, green powders.

Many people here take fish oil. I have some dilemma with it cause taken straight up I get those nasty fish burps. The time released capsules, they gross me out to think that they are sitting in my intestines undigested. They also have thick, waxy coating that makes me feel weird about taking it.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John on September 25, 2009 at 2:42pm

No fish oil here. Vegan (other than a little bee products).

Body oil contains the environmental toxins the creature was exposed to, such as mercury, farming and food chemicals, industrial pollution, etc.

I especially wouldn’t consider taking fish liver oil. The liver is the detox center of the body, so consuming the liver oil really increases the chance of exposure to mercury, heavy metals, industrial pollution, etc.

The toxins are the result of poisoned rivers emptying into the oceans; of pollution directly flowing into the oceans from coastal cities, military operations, and industries; from toxic chemical fertilizers and pest controls spread on the greens of golf courses, lawns, farms, schools, and corporate campuses; from the shipping and oil industries; from cruise ships; and from air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, including coal-fueled electrical generating plants (major source of mercury pollution), from concrete-producer furnaces (another major source of mercury pollution), and from the thousands of airplanes constantly crisscrossing our skies. Human exposure to the toxins in seafood can lead to nerve damage, miscarriages, learning disabilities, birth deformities, and various types of cancer.

Another problem with fish liver oil is that when people are taking more that 5 grams or 5,000 milligrams per day, it can cause excessive bleeding from simple skin wounds.

I prefer to leave the fish and other sea creatures alone.

As far as EFAs (essential fatty acids), you can get them from all sorts of things, and the body has an amazing capability of reconforming them to your needs (it is especially good at doing this when you are consuming a fresh plant-based diet):
Some sources of EFAs include:
Figs (the seeds are rich in EFAs)
Flax (grind them fresh in a coffee grinder *)
Germinated buckwheat
Germinated chia
Raw pumpkin seeds (grind them fresh in a coffee grinder *)
Lemon
Hemp seeds (better balance of EFAs than flax - also for amino acids/protein – grind them fresh in a coffee grinder)
Olives
Seeded grapes (crunchy little seeds rich in EFAs)
Raw sesame seeds (toss into salads)
Raw walnuts
Basically, all of the edible plants we have contain some oils. Even herbs and lettuce contain some oil. Sprouts also contain EFAs. So do seaweeds.
Because of that, if you are consuming a balanced raw food vegan diet, I don’t think you need to be adding oil to your diet to obtain EFAs.

* Those who say that plant oils become rancid and toxic fast may be considering only purchase oils. I think it is better to consume the whole seed, and grinding pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds just before consuming provides a way for your digestive tract to more easily absorb the nutrients, including the EFAs. Consuming the whole, ground seed also provides the fiber and other trace nutrients.

Here is some of what we have. Some people call these “superfoods” – (probably because they make money from them), but I just call them food:
Ashwanga herb
Bee pollen
Chlorella
Cordyceps powder
Dulse powder
Goji berries and other types of berries
Hemp seeds
Kelp powder
Probiotic powder (vegetarian)
Spirulina
Billy Merritt’s Infinity Greens
Mesquite powder
Mustard seed
Sesame seeds (contain more iron than liver and more calcium than milk)
Sprouting seeds and beans
Also there is a bag of MSM powder, which helps prevent the soreness from my stripper pole workouts (I’m probably kidding)

Not that I take these, but, if someone is coming off a very low-quality diet and lifestyle, and/or if they are experiencing depression, they may want to also consider these:
B-12 and other B vitamins (vegetarian sourced)
Vitamin D (vegetarian sourced – some daily exposure to sunlight helps)
5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)
gamma-Aminobutric acid (GABA)
lions mane mushrooms
mucana prureins
phenylanine
l-glutamine
Taurine
Tyrosine
Berries, bananas, cantaloupe, apricots, watermelon, and apples, and green vegetables and dark-colored vegetables provide brain nutrients.
And, daily morning exercise helps prevent depression, gets the brain and neurons active.

John
http://sunfoodtraveler.com/sea-mammals-and-waterlife.html

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lockheart on September 25, 2009 at 9:10pm

blah

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by YogaBrudder on September 25, 2009 at 9:56pm

Thanks for that, John.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stephen Huntsman on September 25, 2009 at 7:09pm

use a 3HP blender, make yummy smoothies w/ avocado seeds!~ Reishi aka Lingzhi is a must take. Raw cacao too!
ALoha! Vegan/Raw foodist looking for a roomie! Santa Monica - FEW BLOCKS TO BEACH, MAIN STR. SANTA MONICA, FARMERS MARKET
Partially furnished, Upper Corner, Private Bedroom, Private Bathroom, No pets, Month-to-month lease, Carpet Floors, 2-car Parking included, laundry on site, refrigeratorh, dishwasher, balcony, Aloha! Wi-Fi, Flexible lease, Parking included, laundry on site, refrigerator, stove, balcony, 2 bedroom large apt. in Santa Monica-Ocean Park & 4th Street. Your Own bed room, parking. W/D in building. A few blocks to the beach, Farmers Market, Main Street, RawVolution, Urth Cafe etc. I'm into a healthy life style... Vegetarian, Raw/Living foods, Yoga/Qi Gong, world traveling entrepreneur. Prefer female. $1000 a month + half T/W Internet & Edison.,1000 deposit, Available 10/1/09
Stanley Stephen Huntsman
310-922-0623

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by John on September 25, 2009 at 7:29pm

Stephen,

I haven't seen you at ELR or the beach lately.

As far as raw chocolate, that stuff makes my heart race.
I use raw carob instead when I want that sort of taste.
But, I'm not some pure angel either.

Victoria Boutenko had a thing on her site about making smoothies containing avocado pits.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kasey on September 25, 2009 at 8:36pm

I really don't like the idea of taking supplements but certain things have a purpose. Taking something without knowing your deficient in that item is dangerous and a waste of money.

Sometimes we buy into hype because some people swear they started feeling amazing once they started taking a certain supplement, but we can't even be sure it was that item that made the difference. Sometimes the amazing feeling is a stimulation of the body trying to get rid of the substance they were ingesting. Other times, it's a genuine improvement.

The only way to know for sure is if that person was really in tune with how their body reacts to different foods and supplements, and if that certain substance was the only new thing added to their diet over a period of a week or more. They say Ghandi would add only 1 new food to his diet every 4 or 6 months to truly notice the effect it had on his body. Wouldn't it be nice to have that discipline?!

So what do I take?

Chlorella (to help get mercury out of my body)

Probiotics (a big help for people with colitis, and other digestive orders to improve digestion) I won't take those forever. I will mainly get these beneficial bacteria from fermented foods, but for now I need a super boost of them to get the colonies started and help digest the food I'm eating!

Digestive enzymes (I'm working on strengthening my digestion. although enzymes aren't doing that, they are giving my body a rest and making sure undigested food isn't getting into my intestines and bloodstream.)

D3 (Living in Canada, winter approaching, soon it will be impossible to make enough vitamin D from the sun)

Bacterial form of b12 (I haven't started taking this one yet, but I'm aware b12 may be a problem for everyone not just vegans. I will get a blood test to make sure but my last one was fine. The only companies I've heard of that actually carry a bacterial form of b12 are the vitamin code raw b12, and hippocrates LiveGive b12.) Better safe than sorry with this vitamin.

That's it. I'd love to get some good blood tests done to know if I need anything else. I wouldn't mind getting a good whole food source multi vitamin/mineral. I will also experiment with e3live one of these days!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Erin on September 25, 2009 at 8:54pm

I agree, Kasey- I take things that I've either tested low in or are more of a food, like bee pollen and even tonic herbs, which really function very differently than medicinal herbs.
Anyone can take a tonic herb safely (since they are broad-acting and meant to be consumed long-term), but you can take the wrong kind of medicinal herb and become imbalanced.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kasey on September 25, 2009 at 8:59pm

I almost bought some bee pollen today! That may be the next thing I try. Any benefits you've noticed?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Erin on September 26, 2009 at 4:49pm

Just a general sense of a bit more energy shortly after I take it (I take a tsp in the a.m. and let it liquify in my mouth so my saliva enzymes really break it down). It helps me wake up:)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by JessBhappy on September 25, 2009 at 7:41pm

I take only, fruits, veggies, greens, and a little bit of nuts and seeds, sun for D3, air, rest and exercising and fasting.

Never took b12 and don't recommend fish oil at all.

Been doing all raw vegan for years and years exclusively, and thriving and ultra happy:)

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last