What supplements are you taking, and is it necessary to take?
What supplements are you taking, and is it necessary to take?
by costcoikea
22 Comments
Safe-Pomegranate1171
Only proper blood testing can tell you what you need to and how much to supplement. Everyone is different.
danceswithkitties_
Everyone should be taking B12. Everyone who’s not getting lots of sunlight should be taking D3. The rest depends on your diet, your bloodwork, etc.
turnpike37
Fish oil? You can get omega 3s pills made with algae and remain plant-based. (And algae is where it comes from. The fish oil comes from fish who eat the krill who eat the algae.)
Sun_Sprout
After being vegetarian for 22 years and plant based for a while I very recently started taking an omega 3 supplement made from fish (looks just like yours) as prescribed by my doctor. So I’m commenting because the solidarity feels good to see and I’m still having feelings about it for me personally. That’s all thanks my friend!
IcyRepublic5342
my take is supplements should be taken to address a specific issue, cycled and only taken as long as needed to address issue. and supplements are very rarely useful or needed.
the current supplements industry is no different from the cosmetics industry imho. just making one think something that’s doing nothing or even harming them is gonna improve one’s life.
i would never take oil supplements, the oil is probably rancid.
beyond quality control issues, there’s usually no real evidence supporting taking huge amounts (amounts much higher than one would ever get from diet) of anything. in fact, turns out taking too many anti-oxidants instead of preventing cancer can promote it. beta carotene is a good example of this. beta carotene from eating carrots are fine but supplements have been found to increase likelihood of lung cancer.
TheLadySparkles
Based on blood tests and advice from several different MDs, I take vitamin D3, B complex, and slow release iron. EVERYONE should take B, imho, but I’m not a doctor!
Maleficent_Count6205
I’m just starting my plant based diet journey. But I have been taking B12, D3, AREDS2 (an eye vitamin for macular degeneration), ferrous fumarate 300mg, and omega 3-6-9 (made of flaxseed, fish and borage oil). I’m hoping once my diet is more diverse I will be able to stop taking most of these. I’ll always be taking the AREDS2 though. I’m not going to even try and play with that when it comes to my eye sight.
Popular_Comfortable8
I take B12, D3, Algae for Omegas, Magnesium and Iron
bolbteppa
You’d swear a healthy plant based diet made a person sicker than a hospital patient carrying around a bag of drugs for life if all of this was necessary. Have a read of [my post on supplements](https://old.reddit.com/r/PlantBasedDiet/comments/wkgor5/which_supplements_do_you_buy_for_d3_b12_epa_dha/ijpsk98/) to see an argument why in general a person only needs to worry about B12 (even animal feed is laced with B12 supplements…), ensuring they’re getting the very minimal sunlight needed to produce vitamin D.
oknowivetriedthemall
Vegetarian/vegan should take a minimum of a b-complex supplement every single day as you cannot get b vitamins through vegetarian/vegan diet. Here’s a life hack for you, get pre-natal vitamins… they are super comprehensive and 1 pill a day contains everything you need
KinsellaStella
I take a B12, B complex, Vitamin D, and iron. We should all be taking B12, no blood test needed, but the rest are based on deficiencies when not (heavily) supplemented.
LucidAnimal
B Complex, D and iodine
GarbageGremlin_94
I take B12, d, magnesium and iron. Found my iron was consistently quite low so I bought an “iron fish” that I throw into my soups/stews to boil , as well as an iron capsule that I take daily. Seems to have worked well.
As far as necessity goes… I can’t speak to it, but I know that I just seem to feel generally better when consistently taking the supplements.
purplishfluffyclouds
I have greatly reduced what I take on a daily basis, but the only things I’ve taken consistently is a b-complex, b12, and a low dose of D3 – these because of prior diagnoses of deficiencies (*prior* to being plant-based). I back off the D3 when I’m getting plenty of sun.
Get your own bloodwork done so you know what *you* must take.
Misplaced-psu
I have been taking iron bc my latest bloodwork showed I needed it. But otherwise I take nothing. My bf has been vegan for 17 years and doesnt supplement anything and his bloodwork is fine.
FridgesArePeopleToo
B12 and nothing else
AlexInThePalace
B12, D3, algae oil, creatine monohydrate (when I feel like it because I don’t like it 😭)
Sanpaku
Only B12 is strictly necessary.
I think zinc, USP glycine, vitamin D3 (in those living at higher latitudes), and algal EPA/DHA (in males and post-menopausal females) are likely to have benefits.
ernie715
Outside of specific nutritional needs, e.g., while pregnant, I take B12, iron, D3, and algae oil. I think generally anything beyond that is overkill but those ones are evidence-based iirc.
Only Omega-3, B12, Vitamin D. Those are the essential 3 not just for WFPB eaters. Occasionally I’ll do a drop of Lugol’s Iodine.
All the salts, minerals, metals interrelate with each other and taking a purified version of one will suppress uptake of another. When in doubt, just eat the food that has more of the mineral you need.
Water-soluble vitamins are mostly safe, but wholly unnecessary if you eat any appreciable amount of fruit & fresh veg.
22 Comments
Only proper blood testing can tell you what you need to and how much to supplement. Everyone is different.
Everyone should be taking B12. Everyone who’s not getting lots of sunlight should be taking D3. The rest depends on your diet, your bloodwork, etc.
Fish oil? You can get omega 3s pills made with algae and remain plant-based. (And algae is where it comes from. The fish oil comes from fish who eat the krill who eat the algae.)
After being vegetarian for 22 years and plant based for a while I very recently started taking an omega 3 supplement made from fish (looks just like yours) as prescribed by my doctor. So I’m commenting because the solidarity feels good to see and I’m still having feelings about it for me personally. That’s all thanks my friend!
my take is supplements should be taken to address a specific issue, cycled and only taken as long as needed to address issue. and supplements are very rarely useful or needed.
the current supplements industry is no different from the cosmetics industry imho. just making one think something that’s doing nothing or even harming them is gonna improve one’s life.
i would never take oil supplements, the oil is probably rancid.
beyond quality control issues, there’s usually no real evidence supporting taking huge amounts (amounts much higher than one would ever get from diet) of anything. in fact, turns out taking too many anti-oxidants instead of preventing cancer can promote it. beta carotene is a good example of this. beta carotene from eating carrots are fine but supplements have been found to increase likelihood of lung cancer.
Based on blood tests and advice from several different MDs, I take vitamin D3, B complex, and slow release iron. EVERYONE should take B, imho, but I’m not a doctor!
I’m just starting my plant based diet journey. But I have been taking B12, D3, AREDS2 (an eye vitamin for macular degeneration), ferrous fumarate 300mg, and omega 3-6-9 (made of flaxseed, fish and borage oil). I’m hoping once my diet is more diverse I will be able to stop taking most of these. I’ll always be taking the AREDS2 though. I’m not going to even try and play with that when it comes to my eye sight.
I take B12, D3, Algae for Omegas, Magnesium and Iron
You’d swear a healthy plant based diet made a person sicker than a hospital patient carrying around a bag of drugs for life if all of this was necessary. Have a read of [my post on supplements](https://old.reddit.com/r/PlantBasedDiet/comments/wkgor5/which_supplements_do_you_buy_for_d3_b12_epa_dha/ijpsk98/) to see an argument why in general a person only needs to worry about B12 (even animal feed is laced with B12 supplements…), ensuring they’re getting the very minimal sunlight needed to produce vitamin D.
Vegetarian/vegan should take a minimum of a b-complex supplement every single day as you cannot get b vitamins through vegetarian/vegan diet. Here’s a life hack for you, get pre-natal vitamins… they are super comprehensive and 1 pill a day contains everything you need
I take a B12, B complex, Vitamin D, and iron. We should all be taking B12, no blood test needed, but the rest are based on deficiencies when not (heavily) supplemented.
B Complex, D and iodine
I take B12, d, magnesium and iron.
Found my iron was consistently quite low so I bought an “iron fish” that I throw into my soups/stews to boil , as well as an iron capsule that I take daily. Seems to have worked well.
As far as necessity goes… I can’t speak to it, but I know that I just seem to feel generally better when consistently taking the supplements.
I have greatly reduced what I take on a daily basis, but the only things I’ve taken consistently is a b-complex, b12, and a low dose of D3 – these because of prior diagnoses of deficiencies (*prior* to being plant-based). I back off the D3 when I’m getting plenty of sun.
Get your own bloodwork done so you know what *you* must take.
I have been taking iron bc my latest bloodwork showed I needed it. But otherwise I take nothing. My bf has been vegan for 17 years and doesnt supplement anything and his bloodwork is fine.
B12 and nothing else
B12, D3, algae oil, creatine monohydrate (when I feel like it because I don’t like it 😭)
Only B12 is strictly necessary.
I think zinc, USP glycine, vitamin D3 (in those living at higher latitudes), and algal EPA/DHA (in males and post-menopausal females) are likely to have benefits.
Outside of specific nutritional needs, e.g., while pregnant, I take B12, iron, D3, and algae oil. I think generally anything beyond that is overkill but those ones are evidence-based iirc.
Morning: Vitamin C, Tribulus Terrestris (TT)
Lunch: Zn + TT
Dinner: Ashwg, Omega3, Vit. D³K²
Aged 55, 195cm height, 83kg weight, target: musclesgaining
Just D3 and make sure to use iodized salt.
B12 from nutritional yeast.
Everything else from plants.
Only Omega-3, B12, Vitamin D. Those are the essential 3 not just for WFPB eaters. Occasionally I’ll do a drop of Lugol’s Iodine.
All the salts, minerals, metals interrelate with each other and taking a purified version of one will suppress uptake of another. When in doubt, just eat the food that has more of the mineral you need.
Water-soluble vitamins are mostly safe, but wholly unnecessary if you eat any appreciable amount of fruit & fresh veg.