Looking for vegan multivitamin to replace current one

[kibbles]

i've been vegan for about a year but i'm still in the process of finding alternatives for some things. the multivitamin i currently use is quest multivitamins and minerals super once a day. it pretty much has everything in it which is why it's been difficult for me to find a vegan alternative in the same store. i figured i'd ask online. maybe there is a product i missed in the store or something i can buy online.

i will post a picture below of all of the contents in this multivitamin. i snapshot this from a website i don't know when the info was last updated but it looks accurate to me. on the bottle i have it also says it does not contain any eggs.

the problem is that the vitamin A is palmitate which is from animal sources rather than beta carotene which is from plants. if there is anything else from animals in here please feel free to point it out. the more info the better. i would pretty much like a multi vitamin supplement that is vegan friendly and can completely replace this one, or as much as possible.

 

[Emma JC]

hi kibbles

This does not exactly answer your question, instead raises the question of whether you actually need to take a multi vitamin if you are eating a good whole food diet.

This is a link to Dr Greger's site with a link to a variety of videos addressing that question.
https://nutritionfacts.org/?s=multi+vitamins

We do occasionally take a multi, which is more a mineral supplement, Genestra brand, and mainly as we are still trying to use up the vitamins that we had in the house from before going to a whole food plant based diet. We do take a D supplement in the winter and a B12 once or twice a week.

All the best with your search.

Emma JC

 

[Lou]

I found a website that listed the %RDAs of the vitamins and minerals in your multi
http://www.qnutrapharma.com/product/super-once-a-day/

it is great. but I wonder if it might be too much of a good thing. For instance, it had over 100% of the RDA of iron, and zinc. Too much iron or zinc can be bad for you. And many of the fat-soluble vitamins and many of the minerals do have "toxicity levels". If you are eating a good healthy diet and taking 100% (or more) of these vitamins and minerals - you could be reaching unhealthy levels.

It's best to just get your vitamins and minerals from food. I check my nutrition with CronOmeter on a semi-regular basis and rarely see any potential issues. Even before I add a multi to the food log. I do eat a lot of vegetables every day. Raw and cooked.

I donate blood every couple months and I'm always borderline anemic (even before I went vegan) so I take a multi with a little iron. But not 100% of the RDA of iron. When i take a multi with 100% of the RDA of iron it turns my stools rock hard and makes my BMs uncomfortable. I also have learned to watch the zinc levels. A multi which has Zinc at high levels make me nauseous.

But I do think its a good idea to take a multi. But I go with a minimalist approach. I take one with just a little bit of everything. I don't think I need more than a little help with anything. Even B12 because I drink at least one glass of soy milk every day. I think of a multi as just cheap insurance.

So the multi I have been buying for years is called DEVA Tiny Tablets. They are vegan. I also like the fact that they are really inexpensive. About $2/month.
http://www.devanutrition.com/vegan-tiny-tablets-multivitamin-mineral.html

DEVA also has some other products. You might be interested in their One-a-day. which is similar to your Quest multi. Oh. I probably should have lead with that.
http://www.devanutrition.com/vegan-multivitamin-mineral.html

 

[kibbles]

thanks for the info i'll look into those. i decided that i'm going to stop taking this multi vitamin. however i might consider taking a different one like one for the B vitamins. i'll do more research before deciding.

the main reason i thought it was necessary for me to take a multivitamin is because of an article (i think it was a study) i read a long time ago regarding how modern farming practices reduce the nutritional value of most plant foods because of pesticides and long preservation. do you two know any information about this?

 

[Lou]

thanks for the info i'll look into those. i decided that i'm going to stop taking this multi vitamin. however i might consider taking a different one like one for the B vitamins. i'll do more research before deciding.

the main reason I thought it was necessary for me to take a multivitamin is because of an article (i think it was a study) i read a long time ago regarding how modern farming practices reduce the nutritional value of most plant foods because of pesticides and long preservation. do you two know any information about this?

I've read something like that too. but I believe it was about minerals, not vitamins.....ok, wait. I just skimmed this article
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/
And I was mostly right. It's mostly minerals.

The article did not say, but I do think that the nutrition info on the package or in databases is based on "modern" fruits and vegetables. Not the old-fashioned ones. So I'm going to assume that we get just as many vitamins and minerals from fruits and veggies as we think we do.

Besides B12, the mineral that should most concern vegans is iron. Nonheme iron is just not as absorbable as heme iron. but iron is easily and commonly tested for at your check-ups. So if you aren't anemic then don't worry about it. I think a lot of us should be taking Vitamin D. and maybe an Omega 3.

 

[veganDreama]

I wish you luck finding a suitable supplement.

I just take a B12 spray and a thyroid supplement because I've got an underactive thyroid.

 

[kibbles]

i decided i'm not going to take supplements for about a couple months and then get a blood test to see how things go.

for the time being i'll invest in a wider variety of food and continue to do some research about multivitamins and other supplements.

 

[kibbles]

so i actually made this thread after i got home from buying the multivitamin i talked about in the OP. i went to return it today after i decided not to take multivitamins for a couple months. i wasn't able to return it so instead i had to make a quick decision to exchange it before the store closed. it was for the best to exchange it rather than keeping it since i wasn't going to take those anymore anyways.

i ended up getting a vegan multivitamin supplement i will link below, but for a lower price. i'm still going to stick to the plan i explained earlier about not taking them for a couple months and after a blood test. so if after the blood test i decide to take supplements there is a good chance i will just use this one. otherwise it will be supplements for whatever i was low on in the blood test if i won't be able to get foods high in those vitamins.

https://vitarock.ca/platinum-natura...Tbfa_-geDJ4HYL7sA97S7RufDXYjv8jBoC3eMQAvD_BwE

 

[Lou]

boy. those are expensive. But I like the idea that they are liquid caps. I always worry about those big hard ones.

 

[kibbles]

well i got my blood test results. they did a urine test too. it's a bit hard to read but two doctors said that everything was within normal range except i have low white blood cell count, which i deduced would be the case after watching one of dr gregers videos about how low white blood cell count can be a good thing. the only thing high was my b12 levels.

maybe i'm one of the people who doesn't need supplementation. they weren't checking everything though. i don't see vitamin d, vitamin a, protein, etc. i thought they would have had that information as well. they want me to get another blood test in about a week. i'll use this opportunity to test my b12 theory. if i can get my b12 levels to stay the same or go higher then it means i'm able to absorb adequate b12 from fortified foods. it's necessary to keep my levels around the same or higher so rule out the possibility that my levels were just super high before i became a vegan and stopped using the supplements and it's still getting lower from that time.

should i tell them check other stuff like vitamin d, vitamin a, protein, etc?

 

[Lou]

Blood tests are never too expensive. but depending on your HMO or whatever the Doctor might be a little resistant to ordering what he considers unnecessary tests. I think you could probably talk him into it

regardless, I think using CronOmeter for a week or two would be almost as good if not even better than a blood test. CronOmeter can't tell you how much is being absorbed which can be important info. But it does tell you how much nutrients you consume. And although you can absorb less than you consume, you can't absorb more. (Except iron if you use iron skillets).

I hadn't been using CronOmeter for years but my eating habits have changed a bit over the last couple of months. So I did CronOmeter for a whole week. I do take supplements and I added them into the food log. I was surprised by how close to 100% I was in most nutrients. And there were several that way over the top. I take a D on advice from my Dr. but I'm going to show him my cronometer page and question him more about it. Besides, there is always new stuff.

You can see my Cronometer page here
https://veganforum.org/threads/cronometer.3009/

I haven't decided yet, but I'm pretty sure my multi is unnecessary. For now, I'm still taking it. I consider it just a good insurance policy. And it is so cheap. Like $3 a month. It's called DEVA tiny tablets. Anyway, I probably don't need it but I don't think it hurts. I will probably change brands on my Omega 3 supplement based on the Cronometer info.

Once you get used to CronOmeter, it only takes a few minutes a day. And it's sort of fun to keep score.