Vegetarian Pill?

[5guinea5pig5]

I was at a grocerey store when in the viatimin isle I saw a vegetarian pill. It said it had a whole lot of viatimins and minereals you need. Does anyone know if this stuff is good for you?

[Amethyst]

I'm not sure what exactly you're talking about, but I take a Dr. Christopher product that sounds just like what you're describing.
My Mom calls it 'A salad in a pill' and it perks you up and makes you feel like you just ate a head or two of lettuce, without actually having to eat them.

[iluvmypigclover]

Well, I have no idea if it's good for you or not, because I don't know the ingredients. However, I'm guessing that the pill contains iron, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids perhaps? I can't really see how this pill would be bad for you, but you should check the ingredients just to be sure.

[rxqueen]

I'm confused. Was the pill vegetarian in the sense that it didn't have a gelatin casing or something? Like it was safe for vegetarians?

Or was it meant as a supplement for vegetarians? (By the way, if this is the case, what a bogus product. Just disregard it and make sure you're eating healthy. If you are not just eating junk food, you're fine)

[Taboo]

I probably need a 'vegetarian pill'. I reckon I'm not at all healthy .

[MCR_Rox]

I've read numerous times that vitamin pills aren't nearly as healthy as food. They don't work nearly as well as food. I've even read about it in Reader's Digest once a while back.

[Tserisa]

I think people have touched on everything here. Either what you were looking at was a vitamin pill made with vegetarian ingredients, or a vitamin pill marketed towards vegetarians (which would also be made with veg ingredients, I'm sure). Is it good for you? You'd have to examine the ingredients to find out.

I disagree, however, that taking vitamins is entirely bogus. I think taking additional vitamins can be healthy for anyone, vegetarian, omnivore, or vegan. I do think that a veg diet can be every bit as balanced as an omnivore diet. HOWEVER -- face it, most of us are Americans or at least from the Western world. The American OMNIVORE diet is extremely unhealthy and unbalanced -- being as balanced as the American omnivore diet is not very balanced at all. The American vegetarian diet is likely to be more healthy, but I know plenty of vegetarians that live off french fries and garden burgers and pastries and meat substitutes! High in salt and protein and sugar and processed simple carbohydrates, low in everything else. The American vegan diet is likely to be healthier still, but they too can eat plenty of crap and live off cookies and french fries! I am not going to pretend anyone here is eating perfectly!

Studies have shown that average vegan diets are deficient in a few crucial nutrients. It has shown that omnivores are deficient in more than twice that. My guess is vegetarians are likely somewhere in between. Therefore, taking vitamins to make up for those deficiencies is not going to harm you, as long as you are not ODing on some of the vitamins that you *can* OD on. This includes vitamin A and iron.

There are some great supplements out there that are made specifically to include only the safe vitamins and minerals that vegans or vegetarians are deficient in, and none of the vitamins that veg*ns are probably getting in a high enough quantity or that can be dangerous in large quantities such as iron and vit. A. I will not recommend any of them specifically, as that is against board policy. But look for "gentle" vegan vitamins and so on, approved by the vegan society and the like. These are probably the good ones for vegetarians as well.

Most likely, unless you are eating a diet as healthy as the ones recommended for guinea pigs here, a commercial vitamin supplement won't hurt you if you don't ID on it or mix it with other supplements. Best bet? Consult your doctor!

And, there is one vitamin that vegan diets really are deficient in, and that is B12. B12 is made by a bacteria, but only sticks around in animal products. It can be found in extremely varying quantities in many plant foods, but because it is so variable, you can't estimate how much you're getting, even if you eat a bunch of those foods. It's a good idea to supplement it in vegan diets with a vegan source.

It's true that vitamins are not as good as whole-food sources, and you should definitely concentrate on getting as many of your nutrients that way. However, supplementing safe vitamins will not hurt you and may help you.

I personally take a children's chewable vitamin, because I can't swallow vitamin pills. They're always so huge. o_o