Hurraw! Lip Balm: Support JackNorrisRD.com
Thank you for reading JackNorrisRD.com! As you might have noticed, I have been upping my nutrition output lately. I’m hoping that most readers have found it interesting.
I’ve been trying to focus on answering the questions that so many vegans have. Almost any vegan is by default an advocate because you are going to get so many questions. My aim is to answer them as accurately as possible and without spin. I never set off to research a topic with the intention of finding studies to support my position, but rather to find out what evidence there is for various points of view. My opinion on many of the questions I answer changes as I research the subject for a post. And after posting, my readers often point out angles that I hadn’t considered — thank you!
There are not many places you can go for this sort of frankness. And the more you support this site, the more I can address additional topics. I currently have a nutrition inbox of almost 200 messages – many are questions or new information from readers that I am hoping to get to in the near future.
Here is what you can do:
1. Share it! Tweet it! Pass the posts onto friends who might be interested in vegan nutrition!
I currently have just under 1,500 subscribers, making this the least-subscribed-to blog in the vegan movement! (Actually, I’m not sure about that, but I wouldn’t be surprised.) I would love to see that rise to 2,000 by the end of February – it would make a huge difference.
2. I greatly appreciate direct donations – you can enter any amount:
If button doesn’t work, please click through to website. Thank you!
3. Buying stuff through the links below is this site’s largest source of support.
If you buy anything from Pangea through this link, you not only support me, but also the good people at Pangea who painstakingly research their products to minimize any impact on animals, the earth, and workers.
You can buy gift cards, compact discs, digital music downloads and most anything else through any of the links to Amazon.com below.
I am not someone who tends to be very product-oriented, but there is one I recently discovered that is simply amazing: Hurraw lip balm. Not only does it make your lips feel fantastic, but it lasts forever. I bought a stick last August and am still using it. I have the green tea flavor which I love, but even better is their coffee flavored stick that, in a rare act of shameless altruism, I gave to my beloved wife.
Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet from Amazon.com
Thank you very much for supporting this site – it makes a big difference!
January 25th, 2013 at 7:13 pm
Hi Jack,
I just sent off a donation to support your website and work. I was a long-time vegetarian (20+ years) before I became vegan four years ago. I’ve used your site a lot and really appreciate the resource. (I also saw you speak at the Veggie Fest in Toronto.) Thanks for everything you do to promote veganism and animal welfare.
January 25th, 2013 at 7:14 pm
Thank you, DJ! As you might know by now, I emailed you off-site, too, but thanks for posting.
January 26th, 2013 at 9:04 am
Hi Jack,
I have noticed an uptick in posts and I wanted to tell you that I appreciate and read each one. I do get LOTS of vegan questions, especially health related, so I try to gleen as much knowledge as I can from you. I’ve been out of work (writing a book!) for about 6 months now, so a donation is not really possible, but I will help you spread the word about your awesome work.
I have a personal question. Before I lost my health insurance, I went in and had my blood work done and everything was good (protein, B12 etc.) except my D was low. (26 ng/mL) I have never had a low number and I have never supplemented in my life, except drinking B12 fortified soymilk daily- thanks to you 🙂 but I guess getting into the 40’s, and not really stepping foot outside in the winter anymore, has depleted my D. SO I watched all of Dr. Greger’s videos on D and I guess an amount to recommend is controversial and difficult as different people absorb/react differently to different amounts of D.Also, it’s tricky cause too much D can cause the same problems as too little. What I got from him was to take 2,000 i.u. daily. I bought some VegLife Vegan D and it is 400 i.u. for one tablet and it recommends just taking that one tablet daily and says that 400 i.u. is the recommended % of daily value. Oy! Confusing! I was going to take like 5 tablets to get the amount Dr. Greger said, but should I take 5 times what the bottle recommends? What do you recommend???
Thanks Jack!!!
January 26th, 2013 at 9:13 am
Hi Hope,
Thank you for your kind words!
The Institute of Medicine recommends that vitamin D levels be between 40 and 50 nmol/l (16 and 20 ng/ml) – see http://veganhealth.org/articles/bones. So, assuming you have the units correct, your vitamin D levels are above what is recommended and you have no need to worry, in my opinion.
I recommend 1,000 IU per day for anyone who is not getting out in the sun when sunburn is possible. If you have deficiency, then I would recommend more, but, again, you don’t seem to have deficiency.
January 27th, 2013 at 7:44 am
Hi Jack,
Love your book and give it as gifts! You may have addressed this elsewhere, although I have tried to find your response to no avail. To your knowledge, have there been any studies showing the efficacy of the new-ish plant-based vitamin D3 made of lichen, compared to synthetic D2? I was thinking of doing a 3-month trial of each to compare my blood work since every”body” is different. Of course Mercola stresses that statistically, we will die if we take D2 over animal-derived D3.
Thanks for the great work you are doing!
January 27th, 2013 at 11:17 am
Mindy,
Thanks for giving Vegan for Life as gifts!
I don’t think there are any studies comparing the vegan D3 to D2. If you want to look into it further, you could either comment on this post:
http://jacknorrisrd.com/?p=2081, which was monitored by Chris at Vitashine the last I knew, or submit your question to Vitashine at the bottom of p. 2 of their FAQ: http://www.vitashine-d3.com/faq2.html
January 27th, 2013 at 11:35 am
Mindy,
When I first answered, I thought you were just joking about Dr. Mercola. But if you are worried about what he says, I would suggest requiring a high degree of direct evidence for anything coming from Dr. Mercola.
January 28th, 2013 at 9:10 am
You were correct the first time, Jack; I was being facetious about Mercola’s “warning.” 😉 Thanks for the link to your thread. I read it, and all of the comments. Until there is sufficient data, i.e. longitudinal studies comparing vegan D3 to D2, I will continue to take D2. It appears that there are 2 manufactuers of vegan D3: The Food Movement (Vitashine spray), and Nordic Naturals (drops). If time permits in your busy schedule, could you please email me privately? Thanks!
January 31st, 2013 at 2:25 pm
Thank you, JAck Norris!
I am a lip balm addict and have never found a satisfying vegan one – until now! Hurraw for me! and you can get it in the uk on Amazon too. yum and no going back.
Lippy matters to me. I’m inordinately excited by this discovery.