As I talked about on the Sweet Vegan Spills the Tea podcast, episode 14 there are many ingredients that are not vegan-friendly in vitamins, supplements, probiotics, prebiotics and certain medications. Here is a list, as promised, of as many as I could dig up for you.
- Bone Meal: Derived from animal bones and can be found in calcium supplements.
- Carotene (Provitamin A, Beta Carotene): Can come from animal tissue.
- Collagen: A fibrous protein in vertebrates.
- Cysteine (L-Form, Cystine): can be found in duck and chicken feathers and cow horns, but most that are used in food comes from human hair.
- D3: Most vitamin D3 forms come from fish oil or lanolin (the oil found in sheep’s wool).
- Estrogen ( Estrone, Estradiol): From cow ovaries and pregnant mares’ urine. Used in birth control pills.
- Fatty Acids: Can be one or any mixture of liquid and solid acids, caprylic, myristic, oleic, palmitic, stearic, or behenic. Can be used in vitamins and supplements.
- Fish Liver Oil: Cod-liver oil and fish liver are used in vitamins and supplements.
- Fish Oil: Marine oil from marine mammals.
- Gelatin: Obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments or bones with water, from cattle and pigs.
- Glutamic Acid: An amino acid found widely in animal tissue and used as an antioxidant.
- Glycerides/Glycerine: From animal fat and used in some supplements.
- Lactobacillus probiotics
- Lactose: A milk sugar that comes from the milk of mammals.
- Lethicin (Choline, Bitartrate): Present in all living organisms and obtained for commercial purposes from eggs, nerve tissue, blood, and milk. If it is made from “soy” it will be stated.
- Linoleic Acid: An essential fatty acid used in vitamins.
- Lipase: An enzyme from the stomachs and tongue glands of calves and lambs.
- Probiotics
- Propolis: A resinous substance collected from bees.
- Progesterone: A steroid hormone that is often derived from animals.
- Steroids (Sterol): From various animal glands.
- Tyrosine: Sourced from chicken feathers.
- Vitamin A: Can come from fish-liver oil (e.g., shark-liver oil), egg yolks or other animal sources.
- Vitamin B12: Usually from an animal source.
- Hyaluronic Acid: Sourced from rooster combs.
- Glucosamine: Made from shellfish.
- Chondroitin: Manufactured with the cartilage of sharks.
