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Fluttershy comments on Open thread, Jan. 12 - Jan. 18, 2015 - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: Gondolinian 12 January 2015 12:39AM

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Comment author: sediment 12 January 2015 09:25:20AM *  6 points [-]

Reposting this because I posted it at the very end of the last open thread and hence, I think, missed the window for it to get much attention:

I'm vegetarian and currently ordering some dietary supplements to help, erm, supplement any possible deficits in my diet. For now, I'm getting B12, iron, and creatine. Two questions:

  • Are there any important ones that I've missed? (Other things I've heard mentioned but of whose importance and effectiveness I'm not sure: zinc, taurine, carnitine, carnosine. Convince me!)
  • Of the ones I've mentioned, how much should I be taking? In particular, all the information I could find on creatine was for bodybuilders trying to develop muscle mass. I did manage to find that the average daily turnover/usage of creatine for an adult male (which I happen to be) is ~2 grams/day - is this how much I should be taking?
Comment author: Fluttershy 12 January 2015 09:32:57PM *  3 points [-]

I have been vegetarian for three years, and haven't taken any supplements consistently throughout that period of time. The last time I had a blood panel done, I didn't have any mineral deficiencies, at least. I am by no means against taking supplements, but my impression is that they aren't fully necessary for vegetarians who have a well-balanced diet.

I did take B12 for a few months when I was experimenting with reducing my intake of eggs and milk, though I eventually decided that I really liked eggs and milk, and consequently stopped taking B12. I've recently started taking CoQ10 because RomeoStevens advocated doing so here.

In the past couple of years, I have considered becoming flexitarian (i.e. 98% vegetarian) or pescatarian, mostly for convenience and health reasons, respectively, though I've elected to stay vegetarian for now. This is partly because I'm used to being vegetarian, partly because I've accidentally built vegetarianism into my self-identity, and partly because of the normal reasons people give for being vegetarian (health, environmental, and compassion-towards-animals type reasons).

Added 6/29/2015: Apparently, I haven't been getting enough fiber for at least the last couple of months, but that is due to me being lazy about my diet, rather than any shortcoming of vegetarianism.

Comment author: RomeoStevens 12 January 2015 09:56:49PM 4 points [-]

You might consider the vegetarian case for eating bivalves It's a way of getting the benefits of pescetarianism with less moral uncertainty issues.

Comment author: sediment 13 January 2015 06:04:38PM 0 points [-]

Yes, as of a few months ago when I researched the issue, I am OK with eating bivalves. I just haven't gotten around to doing so yet.