Taking a trepidant whiff.....

I have the most exciting news! They don't smell...not at all....I am amazed and delighted!

Oh, erm, let me backtrack....

I understand from the numerous blogs, podcasts and nutritional handbooks out there that it's important for a well-balanced vegan diet to include a multi-vitamin. Yes, I prefer to eat widely to ensure I get as broad a range of nutrients directly from 'the source' as possible, but as a wise woman once said 'it's a good insurance policy'.

However, many of the multis out there are not vegan and so when I found one a few months ago that was, I scooped it up and brought it home. Where it sat in pride of place on the kitchen shelf alongside the dogs' treat jar.

And gathered dust.

Quite a lot of dust, in fact.

And I was frequently more tempted to reach for a dog cookie than for one of those vitamins. Because after a dose or two, I simply couldn't stand to take any more.

Because of The Smell.

I think - but don't quote me on this - that it's the fault of the B-vitamins. Which specifically or why I do not know, but I find it absolutely noxious. My stomach clenches, my throat constricts and I cannot - to save my life - get that damn stinky horse-pill down my throat.

So when, a week or so ago, I received an email from Cosmos Vegan Shoppe - those fine folks down in Atlanta, GA - advertising their line of Tiny Tablets Multivitamin By Deva one word leapt out at me: TINY! Perhaps, I hoped, these would be ones I could take!?! So I ordered some and crossed my fingers.

Yesterday, the box arrived from Cosmo's and in it, from within the biodegradable packaging, I unearthed this:



With slightly trembling hands, I fumbled the cap and took a trepidant whiff.....

Nothing!

Zip. Zilch. Nichts.

No smell.

Finally - FINALLY - a multi-vitamin which stands some chance of escaping the bottle on a daily basis! I feel better already!

Eat well and stay vegan, friends!

PS - the writing on the label is wicked small, but here's a full nutritional listing courtesy of Cosmo's:

Vitamin A (Acetate) 2500 IU
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) 60 MG
Vitamin D2 400 IU
Vitamin E (D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate) 30 IU
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Mononitrate) 1.5 MG
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1.7 MG
Vitamin B3 (Niacinimide, Niacin) 20 MG
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hcl) 2 MG
Folic Acid 400 MCG
Vitamin B12 6 MCG
Biotin 30 MCG
Vitamin B5 (D-Calcium Pantothenate) 10 MG
Calcium (Calcium Phosphate, Carbonate) 20 MG
Iodine (Kelp) 75 MCG
Magnesium (Oxide) 8 MG
Zinc (Oxide) 2.25 MG
Selenium 35 MCG
Copper(Gluconate) 100 MCG
Manganese(Sulphate) 1 MG
Chromium 30 MCG
Molybdenum 19 MCG
Boron (Citrate) 50 MCG
Choline (Bitartrate) 3 MG
Inositol (Nicotinate) 3 MG

But where do you get your...

It’s ironic that the burden of justifying possible nutritional deficiencies rests on vegans (“where do you get your protein/vitamin B-12/etc.?”), because research shows that vegans typically have twice the fruit and vegetable intake of people eating the standard American diet. In recent studies, vegans had higher intakes of sixteen out of the nineteen nutrients studied, including three times more vitamin C, vitamin E, and fiber, twice the folate, magnesium, copper, and manganese, and more calcium and plenty of protein. Vegans also had half the saturated fat intake, one-sixth the rate of being overweight, and, while vegans were shown to be at risk for deficiencies in three nutrients (calcium, iodine, and vitamin B-12), people eating the standard American diet were at risk for deficiencies in seven nutrients (calcium, iodine, vitamin C, vitamin E, fiber, folate, and magnesium).

- Dr. Will Tuttle

Veg Inspiration of the Day
November 30, 2008