Suppliments - confused

[dreamrawalwz]

Yea, one of those debated topics right? I just got through reading a "nasty" old thread about this lol. I didn't want to post on that one since it'll bring up bad memories and "negative energy" ;)

Anyway, I don't know if I *need* suppliments since I'm not able to eat many raw foods from sensativities. I'm just worried...what are suppliments even MADE of!? I've heard thyroid hormones are from horses, so what are suppliments like B-12, magnesium, ect. made from? It makes no sense to me. Unless it's from a live human being how do they get it? Also if it's from a plant source...aren't they cooked so that depeletes the nutrietns anyway? My brain is so confused with this. I've also read that the more suppliments you use the less your body is able to absorb the naturally occuring nutrient in foods. I believe that herbs aren't meant for the human body, so I'm kinda iffy about those as well in "herbal suppliments."

Can anyone shed some light on this?

[Coriander74]

Good thinking on thinking about that

I currently take a multivitamin/multimineral. I've been taking one for months now and will consider stopping after I"ve been raw for a bit longer. I also take a B vitamin.

Looking at the ingredients on this bottle, I'm not real sure I want any of that in my system aside from the actual vitamins. :confused:

Interesting. I'm going to look into this.

[Lay-Lay]

why not just take a whole food supplement. I take My First Food, but when I finish it I plan on ordering something comparable to Alissa's from her store (site). Maybe look into Alissa's.

[juliebove]

Why do you think herbs are not meant for the human body? Are you saying you eat no herbs whatever? No flowers? I grow chives and mint, among other things. I eat them. They cause me no problems whatever. And I think my diet would be pretty bland without any herbs in it whatever.

I take supplements. I don't know what all of them are made of. I do know that some supplements are made of certain body parts of animals. Those will say so on the bottle. Like adrenals or liver. If you are taking something in a capsule, the capsule may or may not be vegan. If this is a concern and you can't filled capsules with what you want, you can buy a piller and capsules and make your own. Here is one source:

http://www.capsuleconnection.com

I do not know whether or not the vegetable capsules would be considered cooked or not. Probably. Either way I'm not going to stress about it. I do know that I need certain supplements, at least at this point in time. I did discover that one thing I was taking had a milk product in it. I stopped taking those. I am lucky to have a health food store near me and the owner is a naturopathy and herbalist. She knows what is in the things they sell and she knows what we need. My daughter takes sea vegetable capsules for calcium. If she would only eat more greens, then she wouldn't need them. She is getting better about it, but doesn't always eat as many as she should.

[veganman]

Dreamrawalwz -

I think about this too. I recently go some lab work and found my blood iron is about half what it was before going raw. Not in the anemic area yet, but quite a bit lower. Supplementation could be something I look at as well.

[rawpriestess]

I don't worry about this stuff, when I was eating cooked I didn't worry about it, so why now?


I figure if my body wants it, it will let me know.

[Lunar*Fey]

I haven't read too much about it, so I am not sure...but I think Garden of Life makes living supplements....so the enzymes and nutrients are still there....I think they are made of whole foods. For example....the calcium is made of many different greens and vegetables and sea veggetables...or something like that.

[lissomllama]

Personally, I think that we were meant to use many fresh herbs for food. They are stronger and more medicinal in nature but herbs feel right to me and I feel good eating them.

I personaly don't agree with supplimentation though. The only way I would use any type of suppliment is if I could make sure it were 100% raw and 100% vegan and I would only take it if I really felt I needed it, not just because a doctor or 'professional' gives me an opinion and a number that is 'too low' on their cooked standards. That is just me though. Most supplements are not raw or vegan and quite the opposite.

[Rmiller]

Raw is a great but I've discovered that getting everything I need from them is not realistic in this decaying world. There is TONS of scientific evidence that shows that our soils (even organic soils) contain much less nutrients in them now then even just 15 years ago. Also, lots of nutrients are lost due to long distance shipping, picking fruit before it is completely ripe, variable tempuratures and conditions the produce is in before making it to the market place, etc.

I used to not take supplements but I was in poor health (even though eating 100% raw) and all of my blood tests showed way below normal levels. When I started to take supplements, all of my blood levels improved and are now back to normal, I have tons more energy and my other ailments I had improved too.

It would be wonderful to live in the Garden of Eden paradise but we just don't anymore.

Veganman, I would really recommend that you take a supplement to help boost up your iron levels. I used to be anemic but supplements corrected that relatively quickly (and my energy level got much better).

Talk to you all later...

Lisa

[chilove]

I just want to say that I feel 100% comfortable and confident not taking any supplements. I trust nature. I know that we can not improve upon nature and don't need to. We are already eating the most nutritious diet on the planet. There really isn't any reason to worry.


All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Pierre]

I currently take three supplements: BioSil (most days, mixed with frozen fruit), MSM (occasionally, I had one dose last week after taking none for many weeks), and glucosamine (made from fungus grown on corn, not from crustaceans). I also eat dulse, which is rich in minerals (5 g of dulse contains 14% of the daily value of iron and 17% of the DV of B12, i.e. cobalt). I suggest you try dulse, or some other alga, and see if your numbers get better.

[lissomllama]

Taking suppliments because your body is telling you that it needs them totally makes sense to me but taking suppliments because a healthcare professional recommends them doesn't seem sensible to me. Pretty much all the nutritional information that doctors have these days is wrong because it is all based on a 2,000 calorie cooked diet and lifestyle. We all know this. So why are we allowing doctors to stack our healthy raw, vegan levels against cooked levels that we know are too high or too low?

This gets me every time. It is so easy to make that information wrong. If you still feel like crap long after your detox and you're sure you are eating a well rounded raw, vegan diet and you take some suppliments that truly help you, that is one thing, but if you feel fine and are advised take suppliments based on some blood levels and generic charts, I would steer clear of it. This is greatly psychological as well. We often don't feel depleted or ill until someone comes a long and says "hey, your iron levels are too low" then we start to wonder "Oh, could they really be low? It must be this new radical raw diet I'm doing" and then one thing leads to another and we actually start to manifest that worry in a physical sense. This happens all the time, when instead of possibly harming ourselves by taking suppliments, we shold be waiting for there to be some reliable tests done by raw vegans, for raw vegans and see what the levels really need to be. How do we know that we shouldn't have a lower iron level naturally?

The 'healthiest' cooked person by which these studies are stacked against is most likely very unhealthy by a raw standpoint.

I trust my body, So until I feel sick all by myself, I'm not going to let anybody tell me I need any suppliments. This is just my 'two cents' though.

[dreamrawalwz]

Taking suppliments because your body is telling you that it needs them totally makes sense to me but taking suppliments because a healthcare professional recommends them doesn't seem sensible to me. Pretty much all the nutritional information that doctors have these days is wrong because it is all based on a 2,000 calorie cooked diet and lifestyle. We all know this. So why are we allowing doctors to stack our healthy raw, vegan levels against cooked levels that we know are too high or too low?

This gets me every time. It is so easy to make that information wrong. If you still feel like crap long after your detox and you're sure you are eating a well rounded raw, vegan diet and you take some suppliments that truly help you, that is one thing, but if you feel fine and are advised take suppliments based on some blood levels and generic charts, I would steer clear of it. This is greatly psychological as well. We often don't feel depleted or ill until someone comes a long and says "hey, your iron levels are too low" then we start to wonder "Oh, could they really be low? It must be this new radical raw diet I'm doing" and then one thing leads to another and we actually start to manifest that worry in a physical sense. This happens all the time, when instead of possibly harming ourselves by taking suppliments, we shold be waiting for there to be some reliable tests done by raw vegans, for raw vegans and see what the levels really need to be. How do we know that we shouldn't have a lower iron level naturally?

The 'healthiest' cooked person by which these studies are stacked against is most likely very unhealthy by a raw standpoint.

I trust my body, So until I feel sick all by myself, I'm not going to let anybody tell me I need any suppliments. This is just my 'two cents' though.

You have a point there. I'm not really worried. A doctor hasn't told me (yet - i get blood results on wedneday) to get suppliments. I'm just not eating a well rounded raw diet because of my food sensativities so i know i'm not getting everything that I should/could be. I have horrible absorbtion problems so from the small selection of foods i do consume I don't get many nutrients. I'm just constanatly exhausted so I don't know if suplliments will help. I'd only try to get raw and living ones if that is possible. Other than that I would just muttle through and hope it gets better.

[Dimond]

I take supplements because I need them. I don't have anyone telling me I have to take them. I most likely will take them for the rest of my life, though probably not as many. I think I would be even more sick without them.

[alex]

The following is taken from: The Hundred Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald

Most vitamins and supplements sold in the United States [and Canada] that are advertised as 'natural' are actually synthetic chemical concoctions that contain coal tar, preservatives, artificial colourings, and a vast range of other potentially harmful additives.

This is the world we live in now:....

Condensed from: The Hundred Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald

In 1900, breast cancer in women is very rare. By 1960, breast cancer affects one in twenty women. By 2005, one in three women will develop this disease.

In 1900, sugar consumption is about 10 pounds per person per year. By 2000, the consumption of refined sugar hovers around 150 pounds per person per year.

In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act is passed in the United States by congress, enabling the federal government to remove a food or drug product from circulation if it proves unsafe. However, neither food processors or drug manufacturers are required to prove that their products are safe. The burden is on the government to prove that the products are unsafe before they can be removed!!! [It is estimated that some 60,000 people died from taking the prescription drug Vioxx before it was finally withdrawn (2005).]

From 1920 to 2000, U.S. production of synthetic chemicals increases from less than one million pounds per year, to more than 140 billion pounds per year.

In 1921 there are a total of twenty reports of endometriosis in women reported worldwide. By the late 1990s, nearly 20 percent [1 in 5] of women of childbearing age are afflicted in the United States.

In 1929, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are first manufactured. By 1977, it is established that PCBs bioaccumulate in body tissues. Ninety-four percent of fish sampled, contain PCB residues and most women tested, show PCB residues in their breast milk.

In 1930, only some 3,000 deaths are recorded due to heart disease. In 1997, the population has doubled, but the number of deaths due to heart disease now stands at some 727,000.

In 1937, a Danish scientist publishes a book: Fluorine Intoxication, describing hundreds of scientific studies indicating that fluoride poisons human and animal life, especially affecting the nervous system. In 1939, the first proposal to add fluoride to the public water supplies is made by a scientist working under a grant from the Aluminum Company of America. In 1945, 107 barrels of sodium fluoride are added to the water supply of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1975, chief chemist emeritus of the NCI (National Cancer Institute), Dean Burke, declared that fluoride in water causes more human cancer, and causes it faster, than any other chemical.

In 1940, the Petrochemical era is born. Over the next forty some odd years, the production of synthetic chemicals increases 350 times - a new chemical substance is being discovered every nine seconds!

In 1961, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), approves Ritalin to be used on children with behaviour problems. By 1975, some 150,000 children take Ritalin. By 2005, over 6,000,000 children take Ritalin in the U.S. - 85% of the total Ritalin consumption in the world.

In 1971, The U.S. congress declares the War on Cancer. Thirty years later the death rate remains unchanged!! [despite over $200 Billion allegedly spent on research!! Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy will NEVER cure cancer!!!!!!!]

In 1974, the FDA approves the artificial sweetener aspartame manufactured by G.D. Searle & Company. A year later, The FDA finds that the safety data submitted by Searle was falsified to hide results showing animals fed aspartame had developed seizures and brain tumors. [This has been found to be quite common with some estimates as high as 75% of all research being tainted, over the past 20 - 25 years!!]

From 1977 to 1994, the number of children in special education programs for learning disabilities increases 191%.

In 1980, The FDA finds 38% of all grocery foods sampled, contain pesticide residues. By 1998 the number has increased to 55%.

In 1985, The British medical journal: The Lancet, reports a study in which 79% of hyperactive children improve when artificial colours and flavours are eliminated from their diet.

In 1987, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), estimates that everyone alive, carries within their body, at least 700 chemical contaminants!!!

In 1992, the FDA finds that 65% of women's cosmetics sampled, contain carcinogenic contaminants!!!

In 1994, the FDA approves genetically modified foods! [Canada follows right along!]

In 1997, a study in the medical journal: Pediatrics, reports the results of a survey of 17,000 girls. By age eight, about 1 in 7 white girls and 1 in 2 African American girls are starting puberty - breast development and pubic hair. 1 out of 100 white girls and 3 out of 100 African American girls show these characteristics at age THREE.

In 1998, JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) reveals that 106,000 deaths are recorded each year from side effects of prescription medications. An additional 2.2 million people have serious but non-fatal reactions. Adverse drug reactions have become the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. [#1 - cancer, #2 - heart disease, #3 - diabetes (2005)].

In 1998, over 75,000 synthetic chemicals are registered as appearing in consumer products, agriculture and industry; 24,000 pesticides are registered.
In 1999, over 25,000 cosmetic chemicals are in use, with less than 4% tested for safety in humans.

In 2001, The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 80% of meat packages of beef, chicken or pork are infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

In 2002, the combined profits of the ten largest U.S. drug companies were more, than the other 490 corporations on the Fortune 500 combined!!!

In 2003, 80% of soybeans and 38% of corn is genetically engineered and shows up in 70% of all processed foods.

In 2003, the CDC (Centre for Disease Control) reports that of all babies born in the year 2000, at least one third will become diabetics. [In 2006, the average estimated reduction in life expectancy for those who suffer from diabetes is 15 years].

In 2005, Virginia Tech University finds that some toothpaste, dishwashing liquids and antimicrobial soaps produce chloroform gas when the triclosan in these products reacts with chlorinated water. Chloroform can cause depression, liver problems and cancer when inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

In 2005, an independent advisory committee to the FDA, warns that antibacterial soaps are no more effective than common soap, in reducing illness from bacteria, and, are dangerous, because the antibacterial chemicals contribute to bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

In 2005, in the largest study of chemical exposure ever conducted on humans, the CDC finds more than 100 toxic substances in the bodies of the 2,400 people tested. Shockingly: Children are found to carry higher levels of these synthetic chemicals in their bodies than adults!!


USDA figures: between 1973 - 1997 every vegetable suffered huge declines in nutrients. For example: in broccoli: calcium - 53% decline, riboflavin - 48%, thiamine - 35% and niacin - 29%.

Strongly suggested that a multivitamin and mineral be taken


alex

[Naiad]

I used to take about 20 supplements a day.

I was probably compensating for feeling like crap due to my equally crappy diet.

I've stopped taking a majority, but, I'm using up and continuing to buy a couple, such as Alpha Lipoic, E3 Live Liquid, Chromium Picolinate, B Complex, Zinc and Holy Basil (for stress/adrenal issues.) Iron only if I feel run down and tired, which is almost never lately.

My fridge is loaded with EFAs, coral calcium, powdered greens... it's insane that I used to spend almost $40 on a container of those greens and I never felt ALIVE! or VIBRANT! as it would have had me believe.

I spend $40 on enough *real* greens to last me almost the whole week now.

Some things like the Tulsi (holy basil) really help me with adrenal related panic attacks... it's like anything, you use what your body needs and learning what those things are comes from trial and error :)

[Gosia]

I do salivate when I am hungry and see a watermelon. I have never salivated at the sight of a pill. This is the reason why supplements are not part of my diet.

Gosia

[lissomllama]

You have a point there. I'm not really worried. A doctor hasn't told me (yet - i get blood results on wedneday) to get suppliments. I'm just not eating a well rounded raw diet because of my food sensativities so i know i'm not getting everything that I should/could be. I have horrible absorbtion problems so from the small selection of foods i do consume I don't get many nutrients. I'm just constanatly exhausted so I don't know if suplliments will help. I'd only try to get raw and living ones if that is possible. Other than that I would just muttle through and hope it gets better.

I know you have other issues, that makes this a little harder, but I honestly think that suppliments would make you worse. I think that with a long time 100% raw, people can overcome food sensitivities. For all we know, food allergies could be another long term detox symptom.

Your body should be able to use its emergency stores of what you need until you are fully detoxed and let go of these food sensitivities. As long as these things are all raw and healthy, you were meant to eat them as a human so it is more logical that some healing just needs to take place here. Even if that isn't the case, I doubt that suppliments will help you. But this is just my view of it. Many people with food allergies will probably totally disagree with me and ultimately, your body will tell you what to do. Just listen to what feels right and natural to you

I hope you heal soon, I've been reading about your health issues. Feel better soon :)

[Svadhyaya]

Alex,

Those stats just floored me.
So, so sad.

Let's all pray for a reversal of thinking in our countries and world.....

[free]

Naiad - What brand of Alpha Lipoic are you taking? I'm looking for a reputable source.

Thanks.