nutrition

RECOURCES

SUPPLEMENTS

Some words on supplements. I think it's safe to say that in general, you should avoid relaying on supplements to meet nutritional requirements if your health and socio-economic situation allows it. If you lack specific vitamins or minerals, it's always a good idea to have a look in which food products you can get those vitamins and minerals. However, it is important to look at the bigger picture. A plant-based diet lacks vitamin B12 and depending on your sun exposure could also lack enough vitamin D. One could say that this shows that a plant-based diet is too restrictive and lacks vital vitamins and/or minerals, and therefore your diet should consist some degree of animal products. This common critique completely misses the fact that animals themselves get supplemented with vitamin B12 (directly or indirectly) and vitamin D. This is because of the conditions wherein these animals are being bred. In other words, if you would consume animal products to meet vitamin B12 or vitamin D requirements, you're still relying on supplements. You don't have to take the supplement yourself, but the animals are taking it, which in the light of the argument boils down to the same thing: your diet relies on supplementation. And why would you supplement an animal for your own nutritional requirements if you could just take the supplement yourself?