I’ve been a vegetarian for over half of my life. As much as we can go cold turkey on meat and animal-based products, there is a balance to keep in mind. Plastic-free supplements are a bit tricky to find, so I wanted to share what I do. This post is in no way intended as medical advice. I am not a physician. Everybody is different and may react differently and despite commercials, too much of a good thing, including all that is natural, can sometimes be too much of a good thing. Consult your physician before taking anything.
What supplements do vegetarians need?
I’m not a major supplement user and I’m actually glad the craze didn’t make it to Europe in the same way. Just look at this really common sense approach to supplements and vitamins for vegetarians and vegans from the UK’s NHS.
With good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegetarian and vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs to be healthy without the need for supplements.
NHS.UK
However, if your diet isn’t planned properly, you could miss out on essential nutrients. Vegetarians need to make sure they get enough iron and vitamin B12, and vegans enough calcium, iron, and vitamin B12. Women are thought to be at particular risk of iron deficiency, including those on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Some groups are advised to take vitamin supplements, regardless of whether they follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Let food be thy medicine (first)
I’ve actually used food to successfully manage conditions that may or may not be autoimmune, may or may not be hormonal related. … I say may or may not be, because there just isn’t enough research done for those conditions, no known cause or cure. So I did what I always do, turn to research and try things that are most likely to make my body stronger and healthier with better nutrition, selecting foods that have been proven to be healthy, not just hyped, or subjected to current trends (like the no fat in the 90s, then no dairy, no this, no that…).
*To please my mom (and other people who wasted to treat me with eating sausages) I specifically talked to my physician about eating meat/not eating meat and how that could affect my body. At that time, I’ve been a pescetarian (vegetarian that eats fish) for about 6 years. I wasn’t, particularly mindful of my diet, but I also didn’t eat just junk food. If I had to describe it, I guess it would be a standard middle Europe diet, just no meat, which meant lots of wheat-based foods (bread and pasta), veggies, seasonal fruits… I was tested for all sorts of nutrient deficiencies. I was healthy. No issues.
Most potent changes I’ve made while staying vegetarian
- increasing my fat intake (coconut and olive oil)
- increase of omega 3 (eating more fish, or omega 3 supplements)
- increasing my protein intake with each meal
- reducing refined sugars (sugars are often the culprit of inflammation and cause all sorts of issues)
Should you be supplementing protein and can we find it zero waste?
As a vegetarian, I find protein to be the hardest to “replace” or something we aren’t told enough we need to substitute. The other thing is also, that they can get pretty pricey long term.
The truth is, when I was younger I could get away with a lot more. As my body ages, I can’t just eat whatever and feel good. I need to be more careful about my proteins.
Now, you can start to substitute it with tofu, tempeh, edamame, or the like, but it’s really pricey where I live. It’s just sold to us as the “classic” vegetarian or vegan protein option and it doesn’t mean they are the best. I eat several types of lentils and beans as a base and add eggs whenever I can.
For busy days I just get protein powder. It’s not the best, but I try to buy organic and 100% pure (meaning no additives, fillers, preservatives, and artificial flavors). 100% protein is harder to dissolve, you might get clumps, but I do not mind. If I whisk it or put it through a blender, it comes out pretty smooth.
Available protein supplements:
- whey protein (made from animal milk, normally cow as a by-product of making cheese or butter)
- plant-based protein (peas, soy, bean, lentils, seeds… or a mix of plants)
*I have used collagen protein powder in the past (still looking for a zero-waste alternative), but that’s not the same as protein powder.
Plant-based proteins are easier to digest for most humans, I have tried peas protein and seed protein and really disliked both.
The brand I keep rebuying is made by Orgainic, they have whey and vegan protein, made in Germany according to the EU organic standard. They have a no BS approach that I like, no industrial waste, and products made in small batches. Equally relevant, they taste the best from all of the brands I’ve tried. It is sadly, not zero waste(the vegan protein powder currently comes in a paper-plastic bag, so it’s also not entirely zero waste), but it has a very good and unique zipper system, so I reuse the bag.
Omega-3 fatty acids
How can we get omega-3 fatty acids naturally?
There are different kinds of omegas (ALA, EPA and DHA, I recommend looking into this more if you’re interested) and plant-based sources like chia, ground flaxseeds, flax oil, and walnuts do not absorb well in the body. They only contain ALA, which the body has to convert into the other two, that the body can use. This process isn’t as successful as by getting omegas from animal sources.
Good vegetarian sources of EPA and DHA are ghee (clarified butter) and other full-fat dairy products. Eggs have some as well.
*making ghee at home is pretty simple, for where I live, it’s about the same price as buying it
Omega 3 is abundantly present in fish, but beware that fish can also contain crazy levels of metal and other caused by pollution. Everything we dump in our waters accumulates in fish. Plus, there is the problem of overfishing.
If nuts are not great, what is there for vegans? There is some research on omega 3 made from algae, but there needs to be more research on efficacy (most studies were funded by the industry).
Plastic-free supplements: omega-3
For a zero waste omega-3 supplement, you can get fish oil (like cod liver oil) in a glass bottle. They started making it in a gel pill form because it’s easier to dose and honestly, it tastes a bit yuck. A matter of personal preference-disgust scale.
The brand Solgar makes gel omega-3 supplements that come in a recyclable glass bottle and the oil was purified to eliminate mercury. It’s a good vitamin & supplements brand, I’ve had several kinds from them through the years.
Before supplements became more available where I lived, I ordered a lot from Iherbs (they are in the USA). Use code NTN955 for a little something something off.
Vitamins B12
How can we get vitamin B12 naturally?
Vitamin B12 is only found naturally in food from animal sources, for vegetarians cheese, milk, eggs. Vegans should be supplementing, or eat food that has B12 added.
Plastic-free supplements: B12
For a plastic-free B12 supplement, there are two options.
Again, the Solgar brand, made in the USA, uses a glass bottle.
A bit closer to home, made in France is the Inolab and they have a low waste option, with a sachet.
Vitamin D
How can we get vitamin D naturally?
Naturally occurring vitamin D in foods like fish, butter, cheese. The benefit of getting D with food is also that it comes with other vitamins and nutrients that work in synergy.
By hanging out in the sun (10 min per day is the recommended amount). Vitamin D gets stored in our bodies, so just a handful of cloudy days will not make us vitamin D deficient.
I do take vit. D almost year-round at the advice of my physician.
Plastic-free supplements: vitamin D
Plastic-free supplements of vitamin D are actually really easy to get. The most common form around here is in a glass drip bottle. I normally buy it in my local pharmacy, so I do not have a link. Solgar should have them as well but never tried theirs.
Cod liver oil is also a good supplement for getting more vitamin D (for omnivores and pescatarians). It might actually just be the winner here because it naturally has omega 3, vitamin A and vitamin D (plus several others). Green Pasture is a no-hype that makes supplements the traditional way in the USA (gel form comes in a plastic bottle though) and Rosvita brand is made in Norway.
Before supplements became more available where I live, I ordered a lot from Iherbs (they are in the USA). Use code NTN955 for a little something something off.
Plastic-free supplements conclusion
I actually do not supplement zink, iron, or iodine as some sources suggest. I try to make sure I get a wide variety of vegetables, especially green ones. If you are on a tight budget, frozen vegetable mixes work very well and are available year-round.
I can say that since I had tests done, I can be a lot more confident in supplementing and not supplementing. I try to eat mindfully and intuitively, supplementing with natural synergistic foods. With that said, I supplement vitamin D, omega-3 on and off, and vitamin B12. If you are eating fish, cod liver oil hits several points. I also have a bag of protein powder on hand for busy days.
Other studies I used writing this post
- 9 Science-Backed Benefits of Cod Liver Oil by Healthline
- omega
- vitamin B12
P.S. I’ve learn tons about nutrition for women from this book.
You might also like: Zero waste period solutions
