The supplement industry has been loosely regulated; thus, paving the road for companies to sneak in ingredients and use cheap alternatives, such as animal-based fillers and coatings. This might’ve gone unnoticed, but we are changing that right now! Since supplements can get away with not clearly signalling every ingredient used, you might be unaware of the sources and fillers that are used in most supplements.

Firstly, gelatin and stearate magnesium are often included as a filler or coating, but did you know these fillers often come from pork fat, hooves and tissue linings? Whether an ingredient was derived from an animal is not always clear, as companies may avoid using the word “animal-derived” in their ingredient labels, so as not to put off consumers and increase profit margins. You should know that there are thousands of technical and patented names for ingredient variations.

Regardless of your diet, we believe that being informed is one step towards making conscious decisions. Animal products are not the only way you can get your nutrients, they are just often the most common and cheaper option. This is why it is important to raise awareness about vegan supplements. Vegan vitamins are the most eco-friendly and ethical. They have also been shown to be more bioavailable, which means that our bodies absorb them easier and at a faster rate.  

One great example is omega-3, since most supplements come from fish, but it can be easily obtained from algae as well. It is extremely likely that the fish from which you get your vitamin were given supplements to enhance the quality of their omega-3 production, as they aren’t able to produce both EPA and DHA on their own and need to consume algae to acquire these nutrients. It has been proven that omega-3 derived from algae is just as effective as omega-3 from fish. By using a direct source of algal omega, we can get both EPA and DHA as well, and we reduce the likelihood of introducing other toxins from fish into our body. 

It takes 32 fish to create only one pill of omega-3! Think of all the fish food, resources and waste that this requires. On the contrary, algae are fast-growing, carbon-capturing and avoid the need for a “middle man”. Terraseed, however, has even taken it one step further by growing its algae source indoors to have minimal impact in ocean ecosystems, while also ensuring the cleanest source to everyone taking Terraseed’s vegan Multivitamin. 

Another example is vitamin D, which most commonly comes from oil found in sheep’s wool. The environmental impact of the process of extracting vitamin D from sheep is astounding. Terraseed sources its vegan vitamin D from a sustainable (as it is carbon-capturing, too) and cruelty-free alternative, available in abundance on mountainsides, rocks and trees: Lichen. A plant species related to algae and fungus which has no negative impacts on the environment.

Choosing vegan alternatives for supplements, regardless of your diet, is crucial to help avoid many problems, such as climate change, deforestation, plastic waste and water contamination (just to name a few of the many pressing environmental issues). Also, since many supplements include animal byproducts, opting for vegan supplements means saying no to animal cruelty and to the unethical practices of this industry! 

In other words, making this change is a way to align a healthy lifestyle for yourself with a healthy lifestyle for the planet, too. 

a healthy lifestyle for yourself with a healthy lifestyle for the planet, too.

With that in mind, Terraseed has put in a lot of effort to use the most sustainable sources for each vitamin, since your health and the health of the planet are Terraseed’s top priority, and they go hand in hand.