In theory vegans do not need to take omega 3 supplements because there are many vegan foods with omega 3 in them, such as chia seeds or ground flaxseeds. Dr Michael Gregor recommends two tablespoons of ground flaxseeds per day to get your omega 3 requirements. However, the form of omega 3 in most plant food is ALA (alpha linoleic acid). DHA and EPA (which are important for brain function) can be made by the body using ALA, but the concern by some is that the conversion of ALA to DHA and EPA is not efficient.
The main sources of DHA and EPA are algae or fish. Fish get DHA and EPA from eating algae. The main concern with eating fish is the risk of industrial pollutants such as mercury. To avoid any concern about mercury, I take DHA and EPA supplements purchased off iHerb. These supplements contain DHA and EPA from algae grown on land in controlled conditions ensuring no industrial contaminants.
I am personally using the Deva Omega 3 DHA-EPA I have purchased off iHerb, but if there is one criticism I have it is that they have a very fishy taste and the capsules seem moist when you touch it. I have tried other omega 3 supplements that don't seem to have this issue, such as the Source Naturals vegan omega 3 brand.
Showing posts with label supplements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label supplements. Show all posts
18 February 2017
16 July 2016
Are supplements useless?
Q: "Haven't studies shown vitamin pills to have no positive effect (apart from fish oil and calcium)?"
A: Some do and some don't. It's important not to generalize and say that because one supplement doesn't work (such as antioxidant supplements) then therefore all supplements don't work. Some have been proven to work while others have been proven not to work.
10 July 2016
Will Cyanide in Vitamin B12 Supplements Kill You?
One of the most common arguments used against the vegan diet is the argument that you will develop a nutritional deficiency and, in particular, a deficiency in vitamin B12.
However, although it is possible for a vegan to have a vitamin B12 deficiency, being a vegan doesn't necessarily mean you will become vitamin B12 deficient.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can easily be found in fortified food or drinks such as Vitasoy Original Soy Milk, which contains 50% of your recommended dietary intake of vitamin B12 per cup. Vitamin B12 can even be found in Braggs Nutritional Yeast as well a vegan meat from the Fry Family Food Co. In Australia, the Vitasoy soy milk and Fry Family vegan meats can be found in Woolworths (also known as Safeway) supermarkets. Nutritional yeast is more difficult to find, in my opinion.
If your diet is low in vitamin B12 fortified food, an alternative is to take vitamin B12 supplements, which can be purchased from either your local chemist or online via major retailers such as Amazon or iHerb.
However, some people have raised concerns that most vitamin B12 supplements on the market contain cyanide in them and therefore they are poisonous.
There are B12 supplements without cyanide called methylcobalamin. Many vegans who are afraid of cyanide poisoning take this form of vitamin B12 due to fears of cyanide poisoning. However I take cyanocobalamin. I am aware it contains cyanide in it (or when it breaks down in the body it forms cyanide), but I do not consider it harmful. The levels of cyanide are too small to be of any harm.
Cyanide is a natural chemical that is found in water, soil, and even the air that you breathe as well as fruits and vegetables that you eat. The amounts found in cyanocobalamin are so small that they pale in comparison to the amount you absorb naturally via vegetables, air, etc. Jack Norris RD's page provides a great explanation:
"The safety of cyanocobalamin has raised concerns due to the fact that cyanide is a component of cyanocobalamin, and the cyanide molecule is removed from cyanocobalamin when used by the body’s cells. Cyanide is also found in many fruits and vegetables and so humans are always ingesting small amounts of cyanide, and like in most fruits and vegetables, the amount of cyanide in cyanocobalamin is considered to be physiologically insignificant.
"According to the European Food Safety Authority, 'Data of from a Norwegian dietary survey show that the average and high (97.5th percentile) daily intake of [cyanide] among consumers amounts to respectively 95 and 372 micrograms/person or 1.4 and 5.4 micrograms/kg bw/day (7).' The amount of cyanide in a 1,000 microgram cyanocobalamin is 20 micrograms."
http://jacknorrisrd.com/safety-of-cyanide-in-cyanocobalamin/
However, although it is possible for a vegan to have a vitamin B12 deficiency, being a vegan doesn't necessarily mean you will become vitamin B12 deficient.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can easily be found in fortified food or drinks such as Vitasoy Original Soy Milk, which contains 50% of your recommended dietary intake of vitamin B12 per cup. Vitamin B12 can even be found in Braggs Nutritional Yeast as well a vegan meat from the Fry Family Food Co. In Australia, the Vitasoy soy milk and Fry Family vegan meats can be found in Woolworths (also known as Safeway) supermarkets. Nutritional yeast is more difficult to find, in my opinion.
If your diet is low in vitamin B12 fortified food, an alternative is to take vitamin B12 supplements, which can be purchased from either your local chemist or online via major retailers such as Amazon or iHerb.
However, some people have raised concerns that most vitamin B12 supplements on the market contain cyanide in them and therefore they are poisonous.
There are B12 supplements without cyanide called methylcobalamin. Many vegans who are afraid of cyanide poisoning take this form of vitamin B12 due to fears of cyanide poisoning. However I take cyanocobalamin. I am aware it contains cyanide in it (or when it breaks down in the body it forms cyanide), but I do not consider it harmful. The levels of cyanide are too small to be of any harm.
Cyanide is a natural chemical that is found in water, soil, and even the air that you breathe as well as fruits and vegetables that you eat. The amounts found in cyanocobalamin are so small that they pale in comparison to the amount you absorb naturally via vegetables, air, etc. Jack Norris RD's page provides a great explanation:
"The safety of cyanocobalamin has raised concerns due to the fact that cyanide is a component of cyanocobalamin, and the cyanide molecule is removed from cyanocobalamin when used by the body’s cells. Cyanide is also found in many fruits and vegetables and so humans are always ingesting small amounts of cyanide, and like in most fruits and vegetables, the amount of cyanide in cyanocobalamin is considered to be physiologically insignificant.
"According to the European Food Safety Authority, 'Data of from a Norwegian dietary survey show that the average and high (97.5th percentile) daily intake of [cyanide] among consumers amounts to respectively 95 and 372 micrograms/person or 1.4 and 5.4 micrograms/kg bw/day (7).' The amount of cyanide in a 1,000 microgram cyanocobalamin is 20 micrograms."
http://jacknorrisrd.com/safety-of-cyanide-in-cyanocobalamin/
11 June 2016
Should Vegans Take Omega 3 Supplements?
When I was a meat eater, I took fish oil supplements. Many people asked me why I didn't eat fish, and even when I was a meat eater I was aware that fish is contaminated with mercury, cadmium, PCBs, microplastics, and flame retardants. Fish is not safe. However, fish oil supplement companies claimed that their products were tested for mercury, which gave me confidence. I have no idea whether fish oil supplement companies test for other waterborne contaminants such as PCBs, flame retardants, etc.
If you want omega 3 DHA and EPA in high quantities without taking supplements, you need to eat fish. The problem with eating fish is that fish is contaminated, so if you try to avoid supplements and eat fish because you somehow think that natural food is better, eating fish will actually ensure that you are supplementing your diet with mercury, dioxins, etc.
Supplements are the answer. Natural is not always better. If we lived in a world where we had clean oceans, we could rely on fish to provide DHA and EPA, but we don't live in that world. For too many companies, it is more profitable to dump waste directly into the ocean than it is to dispose of it properly.
Now that I am vegan, I simply replace fish oil supplements with vegan DHA and EPA supplements derived from algae. I personally buy Source Naturals DHA and EPA supplements from iHerb.
When looking for omega 3 supplements, vegans should look for DHA supplements. If the supplements have both DHA and EPA in it, that's fine, but DHA by itself is fine because EPA can be produced in the body from DHA and ALA.
Taking omega 3 in ALA form by itself (e.g. walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds) may not be sufficient because ALA can be converted into EPA, but it is unclear whether the body can adequately convert ALA into DHA. There are some studies that show that ALA can be converted into DHA just fine, but there are some that show the opposite. Just to be on the safe side, it's best to take DHA supplements.
Just because ALA may not convert to DHA efficiently, it doesn't mean we shouldn't forget about ALA. There is evidence that ALA has health benefits in and of itself, so my recommendation to vegans is to take an EPA DHA algae oil supplement and to also eat food that is high in ALA, such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.
Note that even though I take DHA EPA supplements, this is a personal preference. The only supplement that vegans absolutely must take is vitamin B12. Whether we need to take DHA and EPA is still up in the air. According to Dr Tom Sanders, a professor at the Department of Medicine in King's College London, there is insufficient evidence to show that vegans and vegetarians should take EPA and DHA supplements.
Further Reading:
Jack Norris RD's Omega 3 Fatty Acid Recommendations for Vegetarians
If you want omega 3 DHA and EPA in high quantities without taking supplements, you need to eat fish. The problem with eating fish is that fish is contaminated, so if you try to avoid supplements and eat fish because you somehow think that natural food is better, eating fish will actually ensure that you are supplementing your diet with mercury, dioxins, etc.
Supplements are the answer. Natural is not always better. If we lived in a world where we had clean oceans, we could rely on fish to provide DHA and EPA, but we don't live in that world. For too many companies, it is more profitable to dump waste directly into the ocean than it is to dispose of it properly.
Now that I am vegan, I simply replace fish oil supplements with vegan DHA and EPA supplements derived from algae. I personally buy Source Naturals DHA and EPA supplements from iHerb.
When looking for omega 3 supplements, vegans should look for DHA supplements. If the supplements have both DHA and EPA in it, that's fine, but DHA by itself is fine because EPA can be produced in the body from DHA and ALA.
Taking omega 3 in ALA form by itself (e.g. walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds) may not be sufficient because ALA can be converted into EPA, but it is unclear whether the body can adequately convert ALA into DHA. There are some studies that show that ALA can be converted into DHA just fine, but there are some that show the opposite. Just to be on the safe side, it's best to take DHA supplements.
Just because ALA may not convert to DHA efficiently, it doesn't mean we shouldn't forget about ALA. There is evidence that ALA has health benefits in and of itself, so my recommendation to vegans is to take an EPA DHA algae oil supplement and to also eat food that is high in ALA, such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.
Note that even though I take DHA EPA supplements, this is a personal preference. The only supplement that vegans absolutely must take is vitamin B12. Whether we need to take DHA and EPA is still up in the air. According to Dr Tom Sanders, a professor at the Department of Medicine in King's College London, there is insufficient evidence to show that vegans and vegetarians should take EPA and DHA supplements.
Further Reading:
Jack Norris RD's Omega 3 Fatty Acid Recommendations for Vegetarians
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