multivitamins...yay or nay

LilMissFoodie

For now, I'm going with this - "The role of nutrition should be to build us up, not to replace — and thereby weaken — our internal defense, repair and growth capacities."

I think that's a great approach. Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but the question was about the value/benefit of a MV, right? If someone takes a MV thinking that allows them to eat McDonalds 4 times a day, then that's not a negative towards MV, that's just stupidity on the part of the person, right? So saying MV, or supplements in general are bad because they replace nutrients in natural form is a bit misleading, isn't it?

Couldn't you say that taking supplements to replace is abusing (or at the very least misusing) the supplement?

Even then name "supplement" suggests they are not a replacement but rather an addition, a supplement to what should be an otherwise healthy diet.


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But if you are eating adequately then you don't need a multivitamin, I thought that was implied.

jazzybean1

They work for me...I take ionic minerals and vitamins from maximum vital power as they are easier for your body to absorb.

jazzybean1

I am having a hard time taking the ones I have. Super Nutrition Simply One Women , that the place recommended.
They make me so nauseous. Does that get better? The only ones I seem to be ok with is when I take my kids Gummy Vites LOL. But they have a few carbs and sugars.
Anyone else feel gross after taking them?

Its usually the folic acid amounts that can make you nauseous...i used to get super sick then started taking them right at bed time and was fine...

NPetrakis

I say yay, but not to the solid horse pills they sell as health supplements.

A good vitamin is one that can be completely digested AND absorbed.

The giant tablet variety mostly gets "passed" and then it's mostly whole. The reasons are so;

1. Taking them on a full stomach or within a few hours of eating.
Best utilization time is on an empty stomach. Say, right when we wake up so it's in there maybe an hour before breakfast. Our system devastates the tablet when it's in there alone so it at least has a chance to be absorbed. A morning drink of water or coffee/tea is fine. Just give the pill 30-60 min to break up before eating. Where the bottle says take 2-4 a day they're assuming the pill is mostly passed and you need multiple tabs to get the dose. Problem with vitamins is, take 1 or 5 you can't tell if it's made a difference.

One CAN "overdose" on certain vitamins and feel gross. B12, Iron, Manganese, etc can be overdone. Food is best, always.

2. Taking them before bed.
We're digesting the food of the day and the stomach isn't empty. i think it takes 4 hours (?) for the stomach to move a full volume of ingested food along. So...yea.


Vitamin tables also do not contain the most absorbable form of the vitamins we need. Food does. The vitamin supplements that MOST mimic food are liquid in form and require refrigeration OR the children's "chewables". Yep, the old Flintstones vitamins are waay better than the UBER MENS MULTI BODY ++ brand. Because you absorb what you ingest, and kids get the very best.

Note, liquid multi vits are $$$

missourichick

Women's One a Day Multivitamin. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

AGREE!

Best multivitamin I've ever tried!

NPetrakis

it would be cool if the site would breakdown foods by vitamin content as well, so people could see that with a balanced diet the multi isn't really needed. Unless of course there's a medical reason to supplement something like iron or calcium.