Quote:
Originally Posted by blackbird
Vegans can get Vitamin B-12 from nutritional yeast.
Iron can come from a multi-vitamin or blackstrap molasses which has the highest amount of iron outside of the animal kingdom.
Vegans can get calcium from liquid coral calcium, soy milk, soy cheese, etc.
|
Actually, according to Cecil's Medical Books, Nutritional Yeast produce cyanocobalamin-a Cobalt coordinated porphyrin crystal lattace. Which means it has an attached functional group that is not properly absorbed through the gut. You will get some level of B-12 from yeast, but not enough to make-up for the loss. The first symptoms are psychiatric and neurological...
The best source of Iron is from Beets, actually... Blackstrap is okay especially as an alternative to caffienated beverages, such as coffee. Usually, iron is coordinated with other chemicals that cause it to be malabsorbed...
Calcium in soy products is added probably from shells. I would avoid coral because it destroys the coral ecosystem... Coral has been utterly destroyed throughout the ocean and it takes millennia for coral beds to make a comeback.
As for calcium, you really don't need THAT much, especially if you have vitamin D--colecalciferol. Vitamin D sits with melanin. As long as you have sunlight, you have activated Vitamin D. The absorption of light makes it work and converts calcium to a usuable source. The bone morphogenic genes are just becoming known. The importance of adequate sunlight has only just become more appreciated in molecular studies.
I had to go back to eating some dairy--I still do not drink any milk, straight-up--for the free fatty acids I needed for neurological reasons. I was having one too many dizzing and fainting spells, an undiagnosed and asymptomatic seizure disorder. I have had 4 MRI's that are unable to find anything and 1 seizure test. I already have benign hypertension. All of these issues are genetic. I inherited genes from my parents. My genes activated on me at an early age. As a stop-gap measurement, I had to change my lifestyle to one more consistent with my "spiritual beliefs". I refuse to be dehabilitated by cardiovascular/cerebrovascular disease. I've watched my grandmother and grandfather die slow deaths due to stroke and diabetic complications.
That is why I am a strict ova-lacto-vegetarian. I eat egg beaters, or egg whites. I might have whip cream or cheese. I eat these items once a week or less. But, I take a B6/B12 vitamin I know is made from milk products. I add cream to my coffee unless a non-dairy creamer is available... One day if I can, I will go back to being full vegan. But, given my health and my genetic composition, I doubt I will every be able to.