[Vegmisc] Vegan Multi-Vitamins

Tue Nov 8 01:51:00 UTC 2005

I had the chance to go to the World Vegetarian Fair in
Toronto in 2000 and went to a lecture called "What you
should know about vitamins".  I can't remember the
name of the doctor or everything he was saying but I
never took a vitamin pill since.  According to him, we
do more damage to our body by taking those pills.  I
did my own research and I have to say when you start
reading studies that are not done by the "pill
industry", we should stick to broccoli and apples if
we want to be healthy! 
I just did a quick search right now and copied bellow
some of my finding (this is from different internet
sites): 

"...A further reason to try to avoid looking for the
magic results of mega doses of vitamins is that they
can have toxic effects. Some people think that because
some is good, more is better, which is not necessarily
the case. This is particularly true with vitamins that
are fat soluble like vitamin A and will be stored up
in the liver. This can eventually reach toxic levels
and can damage the liver. Vitamin C will just be
secreted with the urine but it can cause diarrhea at
levels of 2000 mg a day, which is lower than the
amount many people take to stave off colds..." 

"...The notion that antioxidant vitamins could provide
a safe, convenient way to protect the heart from
disease appears to have hit a pothole. Instead of
protecting the heart, a new study suggests that the
vitamins, such as E, C, and beta carotene, could raise
the production by the liver of the so-called bad form
of cholesterol, which transports cholesterol into the
artery walls..."

"...Our study results do not support the use of
high-dose vitamin E supplements. If people are taking
a multivitamin, they should make sure it contains no
more than a low dose of vitamin E,” said study lead
author and internist Edgar R. Miller III, M.D., Ph.D.,
associate professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine. “A lot of people take
vitamins because they believe it will benefit their
health in the long term and prolong life. But our
study shows that use of high-dose vitamin E
supplements certainly did not prolong life, but was
associated with a higher risk of death....”

"...Vitamin E capsules, used as supplements, typically
contain 400 IU to 800 IU. The study results indicated
that these high-dose supplements were associated with
a higher risk of death..."

The information I found is endless.  Go have a look
but remember to check the source when you need
information about vitamins. This is a big money
industry, they want you to buy and they know how to
sale their stuff. Even if doctors or dietitians say it
is good for you it does not mean it is.  Well, I guess
you all know that since most doctors and dietitians
believe we should drink milk and eat red meat!

Marie

--- vaalea <v at vaalea.com> wrote:

> I think that BOTH veg*ns AND non-veg*ns take
> multi-vitamins, because even if eating healthy, we
> are not all professional nutritionists, and like to
> take vitamins to fill in any possible gaps in our
> diet we may be missing. I would think that MOST
> people who buy vitamins are not veg*ns, thus they
> can't accuse the veg*n diet of needing
> supplementing. (Why not ask them how many non-veg*ns
> they know take vitamins).
> 
> I personally only occasionally take a vitamin,
> because it is a bit of a pain... and also because
> I'd like to think even though my diet isn't perfect,
> it is healthy /enough/.... however I did have low
> iron levels a year ago, (is it hereditary? cause
> meat eaters in my family had this problem too.) I
> haven't taken pills for it (like the doc
> suggested)... I do know what foods have iron in
> them.. I haven't yet bought iron cookware... so I
> figure popping a vitamin now and then isn't going to
> hurt... and I wouldn't be against doing it everyday
> if I got into the habit.... 
> 
> If it's not going to harm us/others, then why not if
> we want (and it may be beneficial)?
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Kevin J. Smith 
>   To: vegmisc at ottawaveg.com 
>   Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 4:46 PM
>   Subject: Re: [Vegmisc] Vegan Multi-Vitamins
> 
> 
>   My question is, why is everyone wasting their
> money on vitamins?  Do you not eat well?  With the
> exception of B12 for the vegans among us, everything
> you need is in the food you should be eating.
> 
>   I am always disappointed in vegetarian/natural
> food stores that fill half of their store with
> pills.  It is very poor advertising for eating
> "naturally."  I can hear the comments from the
> vegetarian nay-sayers, "See, being vegetarian is not
> healthy ... look at all the pills you have to
> consume in order to get your proper nutrients."
> 
>   Should we not be leading by example and
> demonstrating how healthy it is just by eating
> whole, unprocessed foods?
> 
>   P.S.
>   (B12 is added to most soy/rice beverages)
> 
> 
>   On 11/7/05, Kevin O'Shea <kevin at oshea.ca> wrote:
> 
>     I buy mine vegan vitamins online - since the
> company is in BC, I don't pay provincial sales tax,
> and if your order is over $50, shipping is free.
> 
> 
>     Take a look at the following link:
>    
>
http://www.canadianvitaminshop.com/cgi-bin/TheVitaminShop.storefront/436f6cbc025694e227414200c149068b/Product/View/5620
> 
> 
>     I don't see vitamin D3 in the on-line list of
> ingredients - is this something I should be wanting
> in a vitamin, as a vegan?
> 
>     Details:
>     Sisu
> 
>     VEGI-MINS
>     90 Tablet  - $21.98
> 
>     An all natural, vegetarian multiple vitamin and
> chelated mineral daily supplement containing no
> animal products or sources. Sisu Vegi-Mins' low
> ingredient potency allows each individual to design
> dosages specific to their own personal needs, and
> the coated, oblong tablet is easy to swallow. Due to
> our busy modern lifestyles, and the reduction of
> vitamin and mineral intake partly due to modern food
> production and handling methods, supplementation
> with a multiple vitamin and mineral complex is
> critical for optimal health and longevity.
> 
> 
>     Hope this helps,
>     Kevin
> 
>     >
>     >Subject: Re: [Vegmisc] Vegan Multi-Vitamins
>     >   From: "vaalea" < v at vaalea.com>
>     >   Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 23:14:47 -0500
>     >     To: <vegmisc at ottawaveg.com>
>     >
>     >This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>     > 
>     >--===============0754998713==
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>     >
>     >This has been one of my compromises... I get
> vegetarian ones... Natural = 
>     >Factors. .....so I would also be interested if
> anyone knows of vegan =
>     >ones in Ottawa.
>     >
>     >This is an email response I got from Natural
> Factors April 2004:
>     >
>     >Thank-you again for your inquiry regarding
> Natural Factors Hi Potency = 
>     >Multivitamin product. Natural Factors has many
> different multi vitamin =
>     >products in both tablet and capsule forms,
> however they  all contain =
>     >vitamin D3 which is sourced from Lanolin
> (sheep's wool) and not suitable = 
>     >for vegans.
>     >
>     >Natural Factors is committed to providing
> quality products and services, =
>     >your feedback is important in achieving this
> goal.  Thank you for your =
>     >interest and support.
>     >
>     >
>     >W. Fuller
>     >Customer Service
>     >Natural Factors Nutritional Products Ltd.
>     >1-800-663-8900
>     >E-Mail:  custservice at naturalfactors.com 
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >  ----- Original Message -----=20
>     >  From: Karen G.=20
>     >  To: vegmisc at ottawaveg.com=20
>     >  Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2005 10:16 PM
>     >  Subject: [Vegmisc] Vegan Multi-Vitamins 
>     >
>     >
>     >  Just wondering if anyone knows of a vegan
> multi-vitamin available in =
>     >Canada?  I've been buying them from Pangea
> (http://www.veganstore.com/) =
>     >but it gets expensive paying $US plus S&H plus
> duty.
>     >
>     >  Thanks!
>     >
>     >
>    
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
>     >-----
>     >
>     >
>     > 
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>     ><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0
> Transitional//EN">
>     ><HTML><HEAD>
>     ><META http-equiv=3DContent-Type
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>     ><DIV><FONT face=3D"Arial Narrow">This has been
> one of my compromises... = 
>     >I get=20
>     >vegetarian ones... Natural Factors. .....so I
> would also be interested =
> 
=== message truncated ===>
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