What are your supplements?

[piccolittle]

Hey guys... first of all, stop me if you've heard this one before (and point me to the right thread, if you could!)... Oh geez this is a long one.

But I've been thinking a lot recently about my diet and things I could afford to sort of boost my intake of. I'm really looking to lose weight, and I find the most effective thing for me is to eat mostly grapefruit and spinach (yay!), but I have been going a little crazy thinking about supplements I can use to help. One thing I have found is that certain things have actually been detrimental when I take them (taking cayenne now gives me unbearable stomach pain, and I took a natural "weight loss" type herb concoction which I think messed up my metabolism)... And I'm also trying to watch deficiencies and stuff and generally just boost my health. So what I'm really asking is: what supplements/vitamins do you take? Like in pill form or powdered in smoothies and stuff.

Currently I'm taking:
Once a day vitamin (not vegan but I figure that's the least of my worries)
Calcium pills (also not vegan... sad face)... I'm too cheap to throw these away and get vegan ones atm but will do so when they run out
Kids Greens, this chewable greens supplement that I figured can't hurt, which is vegan
Holland & Barrett Greens Supplement powder which I put in my smoothies
Ginkgo

Does anyone take enzymes??? I'm interested in perhaps taking lipase as a fat-burning supplement but I'm REALLY scared of messing up my natural digestive stuff... Can you imagine if I stopped producing digestive enzymes altogether because I was supplementing (can that happen??)??

[*RayRay*]

The only supplement I take is a probiotic and a fungal defense and grapefruit seed extract, and these are only temporary because I am currently doing a candida cleanse. After that (4 week program) I will continue the probiotic, and that is all....
I get plenty of enzymes from my freshly juiced raw veggies, and big raw salads....so I don't think it is necessary to take extra enzymes....I recommend juicing for "supplementation".... vitamins in pill or powder form are not something our bodies use very well.....freshly extracted juices from green veggies and fresh fruits are easy to absorb and the body will use them more efficiently than supplements. hope that helps :)

also, there is no 'quick fix' to losing weight....taking a pill (such as lipase) is not going to do it for you....you have to do the hard work yourself....but eating a raw diet WILL help you lose weight rapidly and keep it off.....I'm sure many people on this forum can attest to that fact!
good luck on your journey:)

[snoops]

I take Vitamin D except in the summer when I get out in the sun as much as possible (without burning). Loving it now!!

I take glucosamine chondroitin for my joints. I am thinking about going off it to see if the raw food lifestyle may make it unnecessary. I went off it in the past and my knees eventually give me problems that I don't get when I'm on it. I know its not vegan.

I try to get some nutritional yeast every week for B12 which you will not get if you are vegan.

I take omega 3 fish oil - not vegan I know and a probiotic pill everyday.

I do a greens drink every morning (green+ from Genuine Health)

I don't think you need calcium if you are getting lots of greens and if you are not eating SAD amounts of protein which leaches calcium from your bones. I think if you are mostly raw you do not need a multi vitamin either. You should be getting tons from all the fruits and veggies you eat.

[CoachP's Wife]

I do a green drink and MSM.

[LisaCorine]

I take 2 Tbsp of organic extra virgin coconut oil every morning. It helps with weight loss and has numerous other benefits as well. ;)

[Sammijane]

Hey,

These are the supplements/superfoods I like to use:

MSM
Revitaphi
raw cocao
goji berries
maca
he shou wu
blue-green algae
colloidal gold
zeolites
cordyceps mushroom
marine phytoplankton

I've heard raw cocao is good for weight loss, as are goji berries. marine phytoplankton, blue-green algae, immunedetox zeolites and maca are good for your metabolism.

[Sammijane]

hey snoops- marine phytoplankton is a good source of omega fatty acids in a vegan source. Its where fish get their fish oil. The website where you can read about it is in my signature!

[snoops]

thanks, I will have a look. I just know that since I started taking omega 3, my period cramps have disappeared. My chiro says its a natural anti inflammatory. I don't need to take Motrin every month anymore!!:D

[Humanist]

In 40 years as a vegan I have tested low in B12 and iodine. I supplement the former and eat dulse for the latter. I would not take enzymes unless there is a clear need for them. There should be no need on a raw diet. Calcium pills can be dangerous. Supplements can create dangerous metabolic imbalances. I speak from experience. Be very careful with supplements!

[Dimond]

I'm not as consistent with supplements as much as I use to be, but these are the main ones I use on & off.

Digestive Enzymes
Probiotics
Vitamineral Green or other green powder
Sun Warrior Protein Powder

I eventually will be using aged garlic powder or capsules instead of regular garlic. Also will probably be using chia seeds and hemp seeds weekly.

Digestive Enzymes are not harmful and won't cause you to stop producing enzymes.

[LotsaRaw]

MSM, B combo supplement (I just feel brighter/bouncier when I take these), Vitamin Code RAW multivitamin, spirulina tablets.

[Veronica01]

In 40 years as a vegan I have tested low in B12 and iodine. I supplement the former and eat dulse for the latter. I would not take enzymes unless there is a clear need for them. There should be no need on a raw diet. Calcium pills can be dangerous. Supplements can create dangerous metabolic imbalances. I speak from experience. Be very careful with supplements!

I was reading in the 80/10/10 book that low b12 results are only low compared to the SAD reccommendations where people are also eating a lot of artificially added b12 to their diets and that a lot of meat eaters don't produce b12 efficiently in their digestive tract. So I don't know that being "low" is necessarilly a worry as the RDA is ALWAYS skewed very high to incorporate vitamins being added to cereals and breads and multivitamins.

[RawSar]

I'm currently taking :

Acidophilous
Iron
Magnesium
Chlorella
Enzymes
Blood builder
Liver boost
Blue-green algae
Master aminos
(all are vegan)

I switch things up or take breaks from certain supplements. I get tested regularly for everything to prevent deficiencies as I believe its very hard to get everything I need from food.

I always take enzymes with my supplements and if I have a meal I don't normally have regularly like a gourmet raw vegan dish (special occasions...)

[spicyfull]

Chlorella.........

[Humanist]

I was reading in the 80/10/10 book that low b12 results are only low compared to the SAD reccommendations where people are also eating a lot of artificially added b12 to their diets and that a lot of meat eaters don't produce b12 efficiently in their digestive tract. So I don't know that being "low" is necessarilly a worry as the RDA is ALWAYS skewed very high to incorporate vitamins being added to cereals and breads and multivitamins.

Good point! If raw vegan is the natural diet for our species, and I believe it is, why would it be deficient in anything? I have never been able to figure that out. I usually test low normal in B12, but once I dropped out of the normal range. Still, I've never had symptoms that I could attribute to B12 deficiency. So I don't know that it is necessarily a worry, but I just don't want to take chances.

[juliew]

I take spirulina, bee pollen, and try to get in some flax seed oil. There's a new green powder called LivingFuelRx that i really want to try!

Speaking of supplements, I need some advice on one that is good for veins that are really visible. I hear vitamin K, but i know i get SO much of it from diet and it hasn't made a difference in a whole year.

Love to hear from anyone about it!!

Peace:D

[piccolittle]

Hey,

These are the supplements/superfoods I like to use:

MSM
Revitaphi
raw cocao
goji berries
maca
he shou wu
blue-green algae
colloidal gold
zeolites
cordyceps mushroom
marine phytoplankton


Just wondering, why do you take cordyceps? Isn't that the fungus that kills and grows out of insects (I watch too much Planet Earth)???

Also, and I know this has been covered to death, but what are the major benefits of maca? All I seem to hear about is libido, but why do most people take it? Protein?

[notwell]

main thing i do is take lots of green supplements. i get 2-5 and rotate them. i like sun warrior protein powder because it makes my smoothies taste good no matter how much green i put in them. :)


There's a new green powder called LivingFuelRx that i really want to try!

its not new. its been around a long time and is just an overpriced powder. also has things not good in it like xylitol, mannitol, and i think its not completely raw.youd be better of with one of the other ones like vitamineral green or alissas or something. i can get 2 of those bottles for the price of 1 of these. no offense to Sammijane, but i wouldnt get stuff from that company that mr wolfe runs since that also is overpriced. even if u sign up u still pay more than retail which makes no sense. if they really wanted to help people they would make it affordable like some of the other companies out there. :mad:

[juliew]

wow thanks for telling me
what's your take on revitaphi?

actually alissas and vitamineral green look to be the exact same thing

[notwell]

they are the same and revitaphi is also made by the same company. it goes by many names i found out. this one is slightly different i think. yeah because it has caffeine in it.

[piccolittle]

What about Nature's Living Superfood?? Anyone take that one?

I got the sort of generic Holland & Barrett green powder, but after reading the ingredients (it's sooo yummy- reminds me of the supplements we give to our horses, strangely enough), I saw that it contains sucralose.

That's bad, right? Ah well. Looking to get some NLS as my next powder if anyone has any thoughts.

[notwell]

Nature's Living Superfood is the same as vitamineral green and all those others. if u compare prices, vitamineral green is the cheapest.

[juliew]

I emailed LivingFuel and this is what they said...
let me know what you think!!!

"Thank you for your LivingFuel inquiry about our ingredients that are raw. We take great care in sourcing the most natural, potent, pure, bioavailability, useable and expensive ingredients on the market, period! Many vegans and raw foodists take LivingFuel every day. The short answer is yes, LivingFuel is cold processed but... There are at least two definitions of raw one means cold processed or uncooked which category LivingFuel fits into and the other definition is it in the state in which it was grown which becomes a complicated answer. By the second definition even juicing technically is not raw because it requires "unnatural" processing in a juicer. Most of the superfoods in LivingFuel are freeze dried which are raw but for instance the best fiber extraction techniques do require some heat which does not compromise fiber. The rice and yellow pea protein powders are non GMO and are raw in the sense that they are cold processed using enzymatic and mechanical extraction techniques however like juicing it requires an unnatural process to end up with a protein powder. Vitamins, minerals, extracts, antioxidants, probiotics, and amino acids all require some kind of process and even though cold processed are not technically raw. "

[juliew]

what tastes better, PureSynergy or Vitamineral Green?

[Dimond]

I thought Pure Synergy was milder, but haven't had it recently and my tastes have changed. Doesn't really matter for me because I add it to a smoothie and can't taste it. If you do Vitamineral Green on it's own, it mixes well with orange juice.

[juliew]

For those who take MSM, have you noticed anything different from taking it, and if so, what? I'm considering it....:rolleyes:

[Jehote]

Amazing grass green superfood
A really good multi I can't think of the name...
And I just added Biotin. I want my hair to grow faster!!

I'm thinking I don't need the amazing grass but I have it so I'm using it up. I got it on sale so what the heck.

J

[LilacLavender]

b12, kombucha