Obsessed with Supplements?

“You’re vegan?  So then you’re obsessed with supplements, right?”

I looked at him blankly.

“No, there’s not a single supplement out there better than healthy food itself,” I reply.  “Quite frankly, I think the world has become obsessed with supplements in general.  But then again it’s the majority of people that eat the Standard American Diet.  Flesh from a dead animal hardly ranks high among the Nutrient Dense Foods.  Eating that everyday gives less room for more foods that count,” I said.

He gives me a crinkled brow followed by silence.

It’s amazing that people equate being vegan with being malnourished.  But I would like to say, how in the world does anyone expect to stay perfectly nourished by eating meat that’s overcooked when the foods that the animal has eaten have already been processed?  Now the nutrients have already been utilized and metabolized, ending up in the muscles or organs, which are then consumed by humans for food.

The demographics for those that take supplements are largely omnivores (those that eat plants and animals).  Otherwise “Goodbye GNC” and other supplement stores like Vitamin Shoppe, etc. because vegans count for such a small percentage of the overall population.  If vegans were the main ones to be using supplements, stores like this could never make it.

I would imagine, based on logic and my educated opinion, that if anyone would need to supplement less, it would be a vegan.  A correct vegan food plan looks like this: limited to no processed sugar (depletes minerals), whole unprocessed foods, brightly colored veggies and fruits (7-9 servings everyday), some raw fruits or veggies everyday, adequate protein (see PLANT PROTEIN ROCKS post), and NO fried foods. Also you’d be wise to include sea vegetables, fermented foods like miso or soy yogurt, and toss in some probiotics.  I DO supplement, just not as much as everyone else.  I take a multi-vitamin every 4 days or so and a B12 spray every other day.

I’m sad that the world has a misconception of veganism.  When done correctly, it is the optimal nutritional plan…no dairy congesting your system, no meat clogging your colon and arteries, and lots of grains, beans, veggies and fruits that taste great naturally without needing to soak in a seasoned marinade to cover the taste of actual muscle tissue.  Okay, I’m getting a little carried away like a crazy vegan with a crazy vegan comment.  Ahem, I mean to say that nature’s foods taste good even if you wanted to eat it plain.  I guess a little marinated lentil loaf every now and then is something delicious to look forward to.   Hard to say the same about meat, because plain, I imagine it would be bland, almost rotten tasting.

Bottom line is that people use supplements all the time no matter what.  But for everyone else out there that wonders, the answer is, “No, just because I’m vegan, doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with supplements.”