Vitamins: where do I start?

KarlyHK
KarlyHK Posts: 114 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I dont know where to start with vitamins. Right now I take pre natals (I'm NOT pregnant). I chose to take them cause I know they have large amounts of vitamins.

Anyway. If I wanted to get off the pre natals. Where would I start with vitamins?
Do I get A, D, E, K, C. Everything?
Folic acid? Omega?

Ah! So many questions!
«1

Replies

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Well, what vitamins and minerals are you short on? Answer that and you have your answer.
  • KarlyHK
    KarlyHK Posts: 114 Member
    Well I can look at my log and see. But I suppose I should have worded it better.

    If I'm getting into muscle building do I need to take more vitamins of a certain kind? Or do I take the same amount of vitamins whether i am working out hard or barely working out?
  • marm1962
    marm1962 Posts: 950 Member
    edited November 2016
    most people start with a generic multivitamin.............We must have been posting at the same time and mine got put under yours. So just ignore this post.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    Vitamins don't have anything to do with working out. Taking vitamins is only useful if you have a deficiency - any excess comes out in your urine. You don't get extra healthy for taking extra. If you're concerned, get your bloods done and see if you have deficiencies.

    I take Vitamin D because I have been severely deficient in the past, and a huge number of people are D deficient because you don't get much through food. It mostly comes through sun, and for various reasons a lot of people don't get out in it a lot.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Get a blood test from your doctor and see what vitamins you are actually deficient in. Other than that, most vitamins are just a waste of money.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Your log won't answer the question because the database does not always have all the micronutrients listed, or listed accurately.
  • KarlyHK
    KarlyHK Posts: 114 Member
    Thanks guys I wasn't sure! I know I need Vitamin D because of battling depression in the winter.

    I'll probably switch to a multi vitamin instead of pre natal.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    KarlyHK wrote: »
    Thanks guys I wasn't sure! I know I need Vitamin D because of battling depression in the winter.

    I'll probably switch to a multi vitamin instead of pre natal.

    Unless you have had a blood test to confirm this, you actually don't know this. There are many causes of depression.
  • KarlyHK
    KarlyHK Posts: 114 Member
    Try living in Oregon.
    It's something most of us go through. And when I take vitamin D during the winter my quality of life is better.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    I take a Centrum multivitamin, plus an extra 2000IUs of D every morning because I have prostate cancer and D has been shown to help with active surveillance outcomes. Also, I don't get much sun, especially in the cold months here in northern Illinois.
  • veggie16mfp
    veggie16mfp Posts: 114 Member
    Had a similar chat with the hubby today. I also take a pre natal vitamin everyday, a v D and a calcium with D vitamin everyday. I take the pre natal because it was the best vitamin I could find. However the longer I am in the healthy eating zone the more I would love a vitamin tailored just for me. Correct amounts of vitamin D & all the Bs with some healthy oils thrown in. Don't know why I cant just get some made up especially for me!

    KarlyHK wrote: »
    Try living in Oregon.
    It's something most of us go through. And when I take vitamin D during the winter my quality of life is better.

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    If you are still of childbearing age, a prenatal is not a bad idea because it has extra Folic Acid. This prevents a specific birth defect that happens in the first few weeks of pregnancy, often before the woman even knows she's pregnant. So Folic Acid is a pretty useful preventative.

    So is vitamin D for those of us in the northern latitudes, so good call there.

    The rest, well, as others have said, all depend if you are deficient or not. It can get quite expensive to try and adjust your vitamins to specific deficiencies, so the multivitamin is looking good for that, too.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited November 2016
    i don't think you should take anything just because someone else on the internet does, personally. i do take glucosamine, but that's because i already have rheumatoid arthritis and i don't want to add osteo if i don't need to. and magnesium, but only when night cramps get me. calcium for bones since i don't do milk and there doesn't seem to be much point in doing weight-bearing exercises for their bone-density benefits, and not give your body the means to dense up your bones. i try to keep some kind of vitamin c thing going, because connective tissue. but i don't do it with pills. as others have mentioned, vitamin d is a thing because we don't see the sun from november to april round here.

    those are the only things that are even indirectly related to me lifting. and i take them for my reasons, not just because i lift, so your needs might be different.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    I take a prenatal multivitamin while I'm dieting. I'll probably drop it once I'm in maintenance. Vitamin D for doctor diagnosed deficiency. Finally, fish oil because I loathe seafood and can't get it the old fashioned way.
  • KarlyHK
    KarlyHK Posts: 114 Member
    I think I'll stick to my prenatal (maybe switch to multivitamin) and D vitamin.

    I use to take fish oil.
    I should do that too probably cause I also don't like seafood. I'll eat canned tuna every now. Sometimes I go weeks between eating cans of tuna so fish oil would probably be good for me!
  • amgerbin
    amgerbin Posts: 49 Member
    get a complete work up with a doctor. Unless you do, you are just guessing at what your body needs.
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    I take a prenatal, calcium, magnesium, and vit D. Calcium (and the vitD to use it) is a must for me because my daughter is still nursing.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I'm in the "only supplement your deficiencies" camp. I take an iron supplement because I'm wildly anemic; I don't take anything else because I get plenty of the other micronutrients from my diet.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    I take a couple supplements vitamin c , msm ,spirulina , a probiotic and I need to find a vegan vitamin d to take for winter

    Oh I also sometimes take b12 but I don't take it often cause I react to it

    I take the msm to help my joint pain and also for beautiful skin
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    @salembambi This is the vitamin D all four of my vegan friends swear by -- it doesn't look prohibitively expensive and it's a high dose. Hope it helps!
  • divajoni
    divajoni Posts: 52 Member
    edited November 2016
    I suggest you look into herbal tea infusions. the infusion process makes generous vitamins/minerals contained in nettle, oat straw, and/or alfalfa very assimilable. here's a good place to start learning: https://www.wildwoodinstitute.com/articles/long-herbal-infusions.html
  • Mary_Anastasia
    Mary_Anastasia Posts: 267 Member
    I second getting full labs done for a metabolic/vitamin panel. If you're looking at muscle building, you could try researching amino acids and their sources, but it'd be best to consult a trainer familiar with your desires and techniques.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I don't take any supplements because there is very little evidence that they are necessary. I do eat well balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veggie. My grandmother lived to 96 and she didn't take anything either. I think I'll just follow her example unless my doctor advises me otherwise.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    I don't take any supplements because there is very little evidence that they are necessary. I do eat well balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veggie. My grandmother lived to 96 and she didn't take anything either. I think I'll just follow her example unless my doctor advises me otherwise.

    If you have a deficiency, then yes, there is a necessity for a supplement. I, for example, have a doctor diagnosed Vitamin D deficiency. However, just randomly telling everyone to take a multivitamin just because, that definitely would be unnecessary. I think most people here would agree that a visit to the doctor is the best option for choosing possible supplement.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited November 2016
    I take a daily multivitamin formulated for women. Also just started additional D3 because I don't get nearly enough sunlight to make enough on my own, especially over the dark months. I am really hoping it will help me with my SAD.

    I also take melatonin, which seems to be helping my sleep quality.

    The way I see it. It won't hurt to take them and it isn't very expensive so why not?

    UNless my Dr advises otherwise I will continue. I did notice a dramatic improvement in my energy levels when I started the Multi.
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
    I THINK IT DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL. I HAVE SOME HEALTH ISSUES THAT BENEFIT FROM CERTAIN SUPPLEMENTS. I AM A VEGETARIAN, I DO HOT POWER YOGA DAILY...ALL OF THESE I TOOK TO MY SPECIALIST AT A HEALTH ORIENTED STORE AND ASKED. I ALSO DO A LOT OF RESEARCH ON MY HEALTH ISSUES, SO I KNOW WHAT I NEED. SOME TAKE NONE AND OTHERS TAKE WHAT THEY NEED, IT IS TOTALLY UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL. JMO
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    I don't take any supplements because there is very little evidence that they are necessary. I do eat well balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veggie. My grandmother lived to 96 and she didn't take anything either. I think I'll just follow her example unless my doctor advises me otherwise.

    If you have a deficiency, then yes, there is a necessity for a supplement. I, for example, have a doctor diagnosed Vitamin D deficiency. However, just randomly telling everyone to take a multivitamin just because, that definitely would be unnecessary. I think most people here would agree that a visit to the doctor is the best option for choosing possible supplement.

    I FIND MY OWN RESEARCH MORE HELPFUL THAN A DOCTOR. BUT THE DR. CAN RUN LAB TO SEE IF YOU ARE LACKING IN SOME AREA. RESEARCH.... YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH!
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    Why are you yelling?
  • crissy976
    crissy976 Posts: 91 Member
    canadianlbs wrote: »
    i don't think you should take anything just because someone else on the internet does, personally. i do take glucosamine, but that's because i already have rheumatoid arthritis and i don't want to add osteo if i don't need to. and magnesium, but only when night cramps get me. calcium for bones since i don't do milk and there doesn't seem to be much point in doing weight-bearing exercises for their bone-density benefits, and not give your body the means to dense up your bones. i try to keep some kind of vitamin c thing going, because connective tissue. but i don't do it with pills. as others have mentioned, vitamin d is a thing because we don't see the sun from november to april round here.

    those are the only things that are even indirectly related to me lifting. and i take them for my reasons, not just because i lift, so your needs might be different.

    Do the glucosamine tabs really work for you? I have arthritic issues, especially from my Lyme disease, and I know my mom swears by them.
  • crissy976
    crissy976 Posts: 91 Member
    There's really no problem with taking a multivitamin every day. Doctors even recommend it for children. Whatever your body doesn't absorb it will pass through your urine anyway, as long as it's a water soluble vitamin. If you notice it makes you feel better than by all means take it! Lol.
    I take a regular, generic brand (Walgreen's) multi.

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