While the vegan lifestyle leaves you glowing and healthier than most, it does indeed exclude some key nutrients you need to live a completely balanced and healthy life.
If you’ve been vegan for a while, you already know the two major nutrients most vegans lack are B-12 and Vitamin D. You can of course add foods that have these nutrients, but the easiest thing to do is supplement them.
I order from a brand called HUM Nutrition and they have a ton of vitamins specifically formulated for vegans. They even have you take a quiz to see which vitamins are right for your concerns. When you use their monthly subscription model and stack the products you end up saving a good amount of money. I’m not sponsored or affiliated in any type of way, but you can use my referral code and it’ll both give us $10 off. And who doesn’t want a FREE $10?!
My code: 22618A
Here are the two supplements I get to fulfil my B12 and Vitamin D needs:
Of course, you should consult a doctor before beginning any type of vitamin regiment so take what I say as an anecdotal account and not something you should or should not do.
Aside from those supplements any vegan should be taking, I thought I’d walk you through what led me to taking more than just B-12 and Vitamin D. Throughout my 8 years as a vegan I never really gave much thought to supplementing my diet, aside from good ol’ protein powder. But once the pandemic hit and I was getting a lot more stressed out than usual (I think we can all relate) I looked to natural supplements to help with the anxiety and the symptoms I was experiencing.
Being cooped up inside, afraid of the virus, I started to get more irritable with anyone and anything, especially around my period. I track my period with an app called Clue and I could tell whenever I was PMSing I would get very agitated.
So I did some research and that’s when I found Hum Nutrition and their Moody Bird supplement.
Moody Bird has Dong Quai and Chaste Berry which support cravings, cramps, irritability, promotes clear skin, controls breakouts, and maintains healthy hormonal balance. And let me tell you, I definitely don’t get as agitated anymore near my period. Of course, I’m human and things will get to me once in a while, but I really do notice a difference these days.
Aside from PMS moods, I also did want to find something specifically for my mood and coping with stress. So I also stumbled upon Hum’s Big Chill. The Big Chill has Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract and enhances your ability to stay calm and focused. It has been clinically proven to help the body manage stress and the adaptogens can help balance adrenals. I notice this also has improved my mood and I’m not as stressed about things I used to get really stressed about!
Aside from the typical stress and anxiety experienced from the pandemic, I also noticed my hair was a lot more thin. It would shed a lot more and even my hairdresser said something about it when I was finally able to go see her again. So after I freaked out about it and did a lot of research on how to help my hair grow, the first thing I did was add a hair vitamin into my HUM nutrition subscription.
They have these vegan gummy vitamins called Hair Sweet Hair that have Biotin, Folic Acid, Fo-Ti, b12, Zinc, and Paba. All those ingredients support hair growth and maintain the health of hair follicles. I definitely noticed my hair grew a lot once I started taking these and taking better care of my hair. It also got thicker and stronger, with less fall out.
Lastly, I started taking some vitamins to help improve my skin’s luminosity. I started taking Pacifica’s Fierce Glow gummy vitamins, I love me a good gummy vitamin, and let me tell you I was definitely glowing! I also now have the #nofilter skin gummy vitamins from Pacific and they taste so good. But I think I liked the way my skin looked with the Fierce Glow vitamins better, so I’ll probably switch back to those soon.
I know I totally unloaded and sound like I take a lot of vitamins on the daily, but it really has become such a basic part of my routine! I put all the vitamins in a bi-weekly case and set an alarm to make sure I take them right before lunch everyday. That way I already had some food in my stomach from breakfast and will eat right afterwards too. I noticed when I used to take vitamins right in the morning it would make me feel really nauseous, so this routine of taking them at 2PM has made a good difference for me.
Let me know if you try any of these vitamins out and how you like it. Of course, again, remember to speak with a doctor before starting a vitamin regimen! Have a vegan day!