Vegan vitamins not available in Venezuela?

[stumbleine]

i need some help here

i've been looking for vegan vitamins because i need them (at least b12 and calcium if i'm not wrong). i've red every single vitamin indication of every brand i've seen, but i don't know why, none of them is vegan.
i live in a country where veganism doesn't even exists. no health food stores, nothing. just markets and supermarkets with very basic things. i do not have a credit card to order my vitamins online, so that's not an option for me (i'm a poor student). and no, taking enriched foods is not really an option: enriched soymilk is about 4 $ a carton, and there's just like 6 kinds of kelloggs cereals (yeah, fruit loops, frosties, and special K). i do have enriched oats, but that's not much, and tofu (the one made with calcium salt). i can find brewers yeast (not the nutritional cheesey kind) which tastes like compost.

it may seem a little complicated, but i know there must be an option. help me please :confused:, any idea?

[Mahk]

A few thoughts: Brewer's yeast is not acceptable and actually dangerous, I've heard, since it continues to grow inside you once you've eaten it in a quantity that provides nutrition, so don't do that or your gut might explode!

For vitamins have you tried all the vitamin/sports nutrition stores in your area? The kinds of places that cater to weightlifters etc. Instead of a multi-vitamin maybe just B12 alone? If faced with not being able to find any and not being able to order them over the Internet you may have to rely on fortified cereals and soy/rice milk for now. Perhaps this is OK for a short term strategy and you could look for a friend or family member with a credit card to help you out down the road.

Calcium rich foods like black-strap molasses, sesame seeds, and broccoli must be available, yes? Tums brand stomach antacid tablets can be used as a calcium source and is vegan.

If all else fails you may have to breakdown and accept that the current vitamins you can find and take are not 100% vegan. I think in different environments (countries/ ability to mail order) one has to modify what is allowed for a vegan to do. We all try to do our best, with what we have, where we are.

Who said that? Was it Teddy Roosevelt?

Good luck.

[Korn]

i've been looking for vegan vitamins because i need them (at least b12 and calcium if i'm not wrong).
Hi, you don't need to take supplements to get calcium, just eat vegan food containing calcium (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131). If you need to take a B12 supplement, there are lots of B12 supplements out there who aren't labeled 'vegan' which which has synthetically produced B12/B12 made from plant based fermentation.


none of them is vegan.
Hi, which animal products do they contain? It's wise to monitor your B12 levels, but it would have been wise to do so if you were a lacto-vegetarian or meat eater too, due to the many reasons discussed here (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196)....

[KrissStress]

Hi, which animal products do they contain? It's wise to monitor your B12 levels, but it would have been wise to do so if you were a lacto-vegetarian or meat eater too, due to the many reasons discussed here (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196)....

from what I've seen (and boy have I looked), a good portion of multi vitamins have various forms of fish in them like cod and so forth. A bit annoying since it would be otherwise highly beneficial to take them...

if anyone finds one without fish, please point me in that direction.

[cvC]

You might like to make some Rejuvelac, instructions for which are at the link below and from which this is part of the introduction:

"Dr. Ann Wigmore, in The Blending Book, states, 'Rejuvelac is a slightly fermented wheatberry drink that is one of the most important items in the living foods lifestyle'. She further states, 'Rejuvelac plays a vital role in restoring health'. Dr. Ann says, 'Rejuvelac contains all the nutritional nourishment of wheat and is more easily digested. It contains the friendly bacteria that are necessary for a healthy colon and to remove toxins. It is also filled with B complex vitamins and vitamins C and E'."

http://hishealingways.com/rejuvelac/makerejuvelac.html

Here's something from another link and which appears to confirm that it contains vitamin B12:

"It contains vitamin B complex including B12, also vitamins K, E, lactic acid and water soluble minerals. It aids digestion and acts as protection against harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract."

http://www.herbs-hands-healing.co.uk/drinks/rejuvelac.html

[Mahk]

if anyone finds one without fish, please point me in that direction.
CVS (http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/detail?prodid=367083&previousURI=/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/search?page=1^Query=vegan+rainbow^ActiveCat=65) of all places sells some. Check the labels as I think only the pre-natal one still has "VeganGuard". I take them and and I'm not pregnant nor female!
They are :"Rainbow Light (http://www.rainbowlight.com/CategoriesCompany~Category~47f859d0-1b4e-40b6-ab1b-2dc75b8b08d5.html)" brand "Prenatal One Multivitamin Tablets"

Rejuvelac may contain some B12 but I can't find any data as to how much. Anyone else?

[stumbleine]

thanx for all the info so far

mahk, i did not know brewers yeast was still alive. that's kinda gross... fortunately, it's sleeping somewere in the kitchen...

cvc & korn: the problem i actually find with vitamins is not where they come from (i.e vit D2 or D3, and so on), but that the pills contain whey, all of them. or gelatin. or yeah, fish ingredients. the only, lets say, international brand is centrum (and two more very hard to get, none of them being vegan). and all antional brands contain whey, except one that contains gelatin instead (even b12 pills alone). i don't even look for vegan labelling (never seen that here so far), but go straigt to the ingredients, always.

i guess i'll have to save some money and buy my soy/rice/almond/whatever-non-dairy milk and eat corn flakes.
it's hard to accept i might have to take vitamins containing things that come from animals.

oh, cvc, i'll check out that rejuvelac. i doesn't sound much appealing to my taste buds, but i sure sounds great for my overall health
thanks :D

[KrissStress]

wot's the price for a bottle of these? The article has me curious and I'd like to try them.

[Mahk]

That CVS link says $11.19 for 30. Not bad. The bottle I bought says 50 count, but I can't remember the price.

Each tablet has 313% the DV for B12, 15% calcium, 167% iron and around 100% or more for most of the others.