Is the vegan diet sustainable without supplements?

[Anonymous]

I'm thinking to dwell in veganism. but not pseudoveganism with vegan cookies, pastas, pizzas, muffins and whatever. i'm talking about 100% raw living foods. Is such a diet healthy? Is it sustainable without supplements? I want answers only from people with at least 5+ years experience in this diet.

Updates

+1 y

if its a relative of yours, then his/her opinion would still be something

Updates

+1 y

especially if you work out. anyone with experience?

[Takada]

Vitamin B12 and D would be the only issues if you eat a varied raw vegan diet. Other than that, it really is the best diet out there.

Vitamin D is an issue during the winter when there's not enough sun, so get some sun whenever you can and drink fortified plant milk.

Vitamin B12 may or may not be an issue for you, depending on your body. Some people develop deficiencies, others don't. But it's better to be safe. So either eat some Marmite/Vegemite, drink plant milks fortified with B12 or get supplements. The only reason B12 is even an issue is because we wash our foods so much. Otherwise, it would be in the soil that is on the plants.

Even those who eat meat don't get their B12 from natural sources. Farm animals don't graze outside much, so they get fed foods fortified with B12. By not eating the meat, you have to eat fortified foods yourself.

Whether it's sustainable or not depends on you. I eat raw foods for breakfast and lunch, but I eat cooked foods for dinner. That's what's sustainable to me.

By the way, vegan cookies, pizzas, pastas and muffins are not pseudofoods. They're just as real as regular cookies, pizzas, pastas and muffins. We just don't have to involve animals in it.

[Asker]

the last sentence doesn't interest me. as for the other thanks for the effort.

[koko124]

Maybe animals need b12 supplements on factory farms, but in their healthy state animals get their b12 naturally from their ruminant digestive systems or from ingesting feces. That's why chickens have such a low amount of b12, while beef/lamb/other have high proportions.

All shellfish are also naturally high in b12

[Takada]

@koko124 They still get them from bacteria in dirt, they don't produce them themselves. Most animals do come from factory farms, so they get it through fortified feed.
"Factory farms raise 99.9 percent of chickens for meat, 97 percent of laying hens, 99 percent of turkeys, 95 percent of pigs, and 78 percent of cattle currently sold in the United States"

One chicken liver has three times the recommended daily amount of B12, so it's not low in B12 at all. Shellfish get their B12 from eating plankton, which in turn ingest single-celled organisms which produce B12. So shellfish don't produce B12 either.

www.huffingtonpost.com/.../...ory-f_b_1018840.html
www.livescience.com/...-discovered-underwater.html

[Kiwedin]

Yes and no. It all depends on your bloodwork and how you feel. The only vitamins that are an issue are Vitamin D and B12. Vitamin D only becomes an issue in the winter when I don't go outside and there's barely any sun, but all I do is incorporate fortified soy milk and I get more than enough Vitamin D. I haven't had any issues with my B12 since going vegan, but I blame that on the fact that I get my water from a natural spring near where I live. B12 is a mineral found in soil, since cows eat grass and dirt, they get it that way. Filtered water often has B12 removed, so if there's a natural spring near you, try getting your water from there (https://www.findaspring.com) Other sources of B12 are seaweed, spirulina, and nutritional yeast.
Raw veganism can be very healthy if you make sure to eat enough calories and eat a wide variety of fruits and veggies. I'm a high carb, low fat, mostly raw vegan. I have a few raw days, or raw weeks, and you definitely feel amazing. I just prefer Raw till 4 because I get a wider variety of food to choose from.

[Illusive_Man]

Vegan diet does not equal to 100% raw living food , that's Raw Foodism , there's absolutely no reason to pursue that sort of diet.

As for vegan diet , yes it is but your nutritional planning will have to be very comprehensive to ensure that you fulfill your amino acid requirements along with other micro-nutrients since plant based diet digestability and bioavailability is comparatively lower compared to other sources.

[Asker]

why do you say there is absolutely no reason to pursue raw living diet? have something to back it up with?

[Illusive_Man]

https://www.webmd.com/diet/raw-foods-diet
It was hyperbole but cooking was invented for a reason , going completely raw's effort-return in no way justify such a course of action.

[Kiwedin]

True, I'm a mostly raw vegan. There really isn't a need to go 100% raw. You can if you want, and it's still incredibly healthy, but the whole reason of "you kill nutrients when you cook food" just isn't true. It is to a certain extent, but there are many fruits and veggies that actually increase in nutritional value once you do cook them.

[Azara]

As long as you eat a wide variety of vegin foods including high protien you should be ok except I don't see how you'll get vitamin b 12 without eating sea weed or nutritional yeast. There are no other non meat products that contain vitamin b 12 unkess fortified ( supplemented)

When you say no supplimdnts-- do you mean you don't plan to take vitamins or does this include not eating food fortified with vitimins. Bc Im guessing most vegans eat foods that are supplemented to replace the vitsmins you lose by not eating natural sources of foods containing then. For ex. soy milk is vegan but it is not raw it is processed and is supplemented with b vitamins and iron.

I think vegan is possibke by including foods fortified with vitamins even if you don't take pills yourself. I think a strictly raw food diet will not be possible without supplimenting.

[SusanRose33]

Sorry, I am not a vegan myself but I have two cousins who are vegan. I don't think it would be possible to healthily keep up the diet without supplements, I would recommend taking vitamins with it. Would you be eating tofu? It's a great source of protein for vegans. Either way, you can find many sources or protein.

[Takada]

Pretty much everything contains protein. If you eat enough calories, you'll get enough protein. There is no such thing as a protein deficiency unless you don't eat anything, basically.

greatist.com/health/complete-vegetarian-proteins
nutritionstripped.com/.../

[veganchick]

I'm a vegan and I don't take any supplements. I make sure I eat enough of veggies and fruits and of course keep myself hydrated. I've been a vegan for 6+ months.. Vegetarian for 10 months. Honestly, I think a vegan diet is the healthiest if you eat correctly. Some vegans take supplements, some don't. It's not a need in my opinion.. Join some Facebook pages about veganism and they'll help you out more. You can always ask your doctor if you're still not sure.

[Azara]

If you are strivtly vegan How do you get b 12 withiit supplements? Do you eat sea weed spirulina or nutritional yeast?

[aamy811]

Is suggest freelee the banana girl on YouTube and essena oniell. I hadn't been a vegan long but they're where I've learned most of my information