Vitamins for vegetarians. Any suggestions?

fakeplastictree

I am a vegetarian and of course i know i don't get all the nutrients i need being strictly veggie and on a limited calorie content. I need energy, i always here how people get energized when they exercise and eat healthy. Not me, i get tired and grumpy, i think that i need a vitamin to help with the gaps any input on this? Oh, and I can't swallow pills so they have to be easy to take. Thank you for any suggestions!!!

SueInAz

Looks around for the gummy vitamins. There are plenty of them out there. You might want to make sure to get a women's specific type because you probably aren't getting enough iron if you're tired a lot.

PalmettoparkGuy

I'm a vegetarian. Being a vegetarian shouldn't be making you tired. You mustn't be eating enough. Anyway, I've found GNC has great multivitamins for men and woment. They're time released which I like.

tattooedtwiin

One I take Trader Darwins High Potency Chewable... I am a vegetarian too, I think we have some MFP friends in common, feel free to add me :-)

CurlyClare78

I'm a veggie and I always take Flaxseed capsules. They're like the equivalent of fish oil - they contain omega 3, 6 and 9. I get them from Holland and Barratt but if they're a bit big for you I think you can buy the actual oil or you can buy linseeds themselves. Apart from that I eat a lot of spinach for iron. Frozen spinach is brilliant as it's in cubes that you can pop into pasta sauce or whatever you're making

editing to add this

http://www.theflaxseedstore.com/flaxseed_home

fakeplastictree

I'm a vegetarian. Being a vegetarian shouldn't be making you tired. You mustn't be eating enough. Anyway, I've found GNC has great multivitamins for men and woment. They're time released which I like.

I don't know what it is. I think it is because my calorie intake is at 1290 and then i exercise so i am at the minimum. But i feel like it defeats the purpose to eat back all the calories you work off.

danniwhit

In the past I have taken a B12 vitamin, a one a day womens vitamin and flaxseed. I actually used flaxseed oil and took it in a smoothie though versus a capsule. The one a day womens are quite large and I could only swallow with milk or something and they often felt like they were choking me. I have issues with swallowing pills. The b12 is tiny though and gave me energy.
If you do start to take vitamins, take them with a meal. I would take them and have something small like an english muffin and they would hurt my stomach horribly, so I suggest having a little more substantial of a meal when taking them.

Also depending on the strictness of your vegetarian diet (and you might already know this so I am sorry if I am telling you something you know...) but watch out for gelatin! Most of the gummy vitamins have gelatin in them, my husband loves gummy vitaamins but we have trouble finding ones without gelatin. Also a lot of vitamins have a outer capsule that is made with gelatin. So if you avoid gelatin, read the ingredients on all vitamins.

VeggiePumpkin

Hmmm, that's a tough one! I do take vitamins, but not every day. You might just want to introduce fresh homemade juicing into your diet. Things like parsley, kale, collard greens, carrots... will give you mega nutrients like Vit C, iron, calcium, protein, etc... That way if you don't eat so perfect the rest of the time, at least you're getting some straight up nutrients at some point in the day.

I agree with what others said that you shouldn't be tired. You know that I'm a vegetarian too and I have WAY more energy as a vegetarian than I ever had as a meat eater.

Also, you might want to have your thyroid checked out if you haven't in a while. I developed hypothyroidism around your age. That will zap you completely!

If your thyroid is fine and you can't tolerate juice, try just eating spinach as much as you can. Being low in iron could be an issue and spinache has a lot.

fakeplastictree

Thanks everyone! I don't know why i'm tired, i don't think it's the vegetarian thing really, i just think i need to eat more calories maybe. I have a tendency to not want to eat my calories back from exercise. Also, I found what I will do for the vitamen situation. I will eat a LUNA bar for Women everyday. They are yummy, serve as a snack, and have loads of good stuff in them. Mmmmmm ::drool::