On Taking Supplements while on a Raw Diet

Do you take any supplements? Should I be supplementing, or is a Raw Vegan Diet sufficient alone? I am in good health, but what about the reminder for women to take calcium? Please help!

I eat a high (85-100) most days raw diet, (for nearly 2 years) and I am not a pure vegetarian (vegan) person. I do take supplements however, as I feel the need. Personally, I work in the Natural Foods and Supplements industry, so I tend to try everything out.. These days I take a liver support (detox) product everyday, along with EFAs, probiotics, and a fiber blend. Sometimes I also take a greens product as well.

And I take digestive enzymes EVERYDAY and with most meals and snacks. WHen I first went Raw I had a lot of issues with poor digestion. Bloating, constipation, low digestive juices etc. Since I felt so hungry all the time I would often wolf my food down without chewing properly…Now I know better. The enzymes are essential, especially the cellulase, since as humans we don’t make that one. NOt in any form, so the cellulose in plant fibers can really wreck havoc. (this is particularly true if we have a lot of, or take a lot of supplemental probiotics…they ferment the fiber and make gases…not stinky kinds, but airy gas none the less…)–sorry if I sound preachy, I just teach this for a living, so I always like to make sure people are informed.

However, personally I am not a fan of isolates, and do think that getting our nutrients from food is our best answer. There are quite a few products on the market that are fermented vitamins and minerals. Essentially they take a slurry of “food” and isolated nutrients, and then mix in a fermentation medium. (sometimes yeast, miso, etc) The end result after a bit of time is a new substance, that like nama shoyu or miso is “living” though not considered raw. Lots of lovely antioxidants and such are created in the fermentation process.

You mentioned calcium, that is something that will open your eyes if you reseach it. What you will find, is that what we have in this country in many cases, is not a calcium deficiency after all. It is a difficulty in absorbing the calcium. Most supplemental calcium does us no good. So, we take more and more, which leads to some really bad things… the paleodiet gurus as well as others suggest that it has to do with too much milk and egg protein, (even raw). Others claim it is the type of calcium we consume. Tums for instance has a form of calcium that neutralizes stomach acid. ~the reason it is used for “heartburn.” Putting aside the thought that Tums is really useless for the true cause of 85% heartburn, (H-Pylori gone haywire,) stomach acid is needed to digest and assimilate the calcium in the first place…Thus, tums is a POOR source.

I like to get mine from deep greens and sesame seeds. One can make a lovely marinated deep green salad, pop it in the dehydrator, and viola, a fantastic supplement…Others make sesame milk. I am sure there are many other ways to get your calcium. If you like food based supplements, you’ll find sever in the form of liquid cal mag from food sources, and many others as food source capsules and tabs. Cassy