Taking vitamins and medicines
Cold and flu season is upon us, and that got me thinking about vitamins and medicine. I buy vegetarian versions of vitamins and supplements whenever possible—even Vitamin E, which is tough to find in vegetarian versions. Most vitamins aren’t vegetarian—they contain stearic acid or gelatin—but there are versions made with vegetable stearic acid or vegetarian capsules. You generally can’t find these in your corner drug store. You’ll need to visit a natural-foods or health-food store to get them, and they’re usually a bit pricier than the non-vegetarian versions.
But when it comes to prescription medicines, it’s almost impossible to avoid animal ingredients—or animal testing. If you need a particular medicine for your health, the alternative—not taking it—isn’t a very viable option. So I take the medicines I need to and do the best I can otherwise to keep things vegetarian.
A vegetarian friend was upset recently when she saw that a medicine her doctor gave her was tested on animals. Unfortunately, this is a common occurence. Obviously, early trials of medicines cannot be done on humans, so alternatives must be used. More non-animal alternatives are being used than in the past, and it’s my hope that fewer and fewer animals will be killed or put through misery for our comfort.
I confess to not knowing much about the issue—I think my distaste for the subject has kept me from wanting to know much about it and taking something of a “head in the sand” approach, beyond looking for the “not tested on animals” line on products. Not something I’m proud of. In doing some online research for this blog entry, I came across the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is a group of “Doctors and laypersons working together for compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion.” Its Web site has a wealth of information on the use of animals in research and education, and the alternatives that it promotes.
What about you? How do you approach vitamins and medicines as a vegetarian?
