Vitamins/Supplements

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droogievesch
droogievesch Posts: 202
in Food and Nutrition
What ones (brands included please) should I be taking?

The vitamin/supplement aisle at the pharmacy is daunting, and there are entire stores dedicated to them. I am completely lost as to what ones are actually beneficial, and what ones are the same as flushing my money down the toilet. On top of what types to take, I know that some brands are better than others. I've heard certain vitamins lose most/all benefits based on how they are processed. I really thought I was getting all the vitamins I need through diet, but it turns out I'm not getting nearly enough.

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  • droogievesch
    droogievesch Posts: 202
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    Or is there any other way to get everything I need?
  • mmlyn
    mmlyn Posts: 8
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    You will get 1000 answers to this one.

    A complex multivitamin is a good idea, and docs these days are all over Vitamin D (shoot for 1000 IU each day unless you hang full body in the sun for a while).

    I also do Vitamin C, Chromium Picolinate, CoQ-10 and that is about it.

    Stay with common brands in major stores and you will be fine.

    Other than these things, you should probably ask your doctor. BTW, I take CoQ-10 because I am on statins for cholesterol, and chromium to help regulate blood sugar. The chromium is more controversial than the other items here.

    Good luck,
    M
  • droogievesch
    droogievesch Posts: 202
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    You will get 1000 answers to this one.

    A complex multivitamin is a good idea, and docs these days are all over Vitamin D (shoot for 1000 IU each day unless you hang full body in the sun for a while).

    I also do Vitamin C, Chromium Picolinate, CoQ-10 and that is about it.

    Stay with common brands in major stores and you will be fine.

    Other than these things, you should probably ask your doctor. BTW, I take CoQ-10 because I am on statins for cholesterol, and chromium to help regulate blood sugar. The chromium is more controversial than the other items here.

    Good luck,
    M

    Thanks! I've heard so many things about multivitamins (for example: If they are heat pressed that it ruins the structure of them and your body can't digest them). I've also heard that certain vitamins can't be absorbed into the body without other vitamins/foods. I just don't want to buy something assuming it's good for me because the label says so because I know the companies really don't need to back their products up scientifically.
  • tehzephyrsong
    tehzephyrsong Posts: 435 Member
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    None of us can tell you what supplements you specifically need because we're not your doctor. Go make an appointment and ask about it. You'll probably have to get some bloodwork done to check for specific deficiencies. If memory serves, vitamins B12 and D, as well as iron, are commonly deficient in women. Your doc will tell you what you need; ask what foods contain the vitamins and minerals you're missing and in what quantities, and if those foods fit into your budget (both financial and caloric), start eating them. If they don't, buy supplements. I'm a fan of Sundown Naturals; they sell easy-to-swallow gelcaps at reasonable prices.

    Thoroughly research any other supplement you might want to take (like ginkgo biloba, or ginseng, or balsam, or something else purported to "enhance" something rather than make up a deficit of a needed substance - a lot of "enhancement" supplements are basically placebos), and then ask your doctor about it.
  • bkbaird
    bkbaird Posts: 2 Member
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    I am manager at a GNC (General Nutrition Center) and to answer your question you are right not all brands are created equal. Anything that is a "one-a-day" Multivitamin is absolute garbage. Like you said the way they process the supplements compromises it's bioavailability, whether your body will break it down or not. Also if the vitamins do not state the form that they are in then the company is trying to hide something from you like they are synthetic which means your body will not even recognize it nor utilize it.

    The average female should be supplementing with (in order of priority):
    1.) Women's Multivitamin ex: GNC Women's Ultra Mega Active or Energy and Metabolism
    2.) Calcium: needs to be calcium citrate malate ex: GNC Calcimate Complete
    Between those two you will have 3600 IU of D-3, a 50 B-complex, 1300 mg of Calcium
    Today's reccommended value is 2000-5000 IU of D-3 and 1200-1500 mg of Calcium
    3.) Fruit and Vegetable supplement: GNC SuperFoods Supreme
    4.) Protein Supplement should always be whey protein isolate even if you are lactose intolerant you will not react because it
    is so pure. ex: GNC Whey Iolate 28 or Wheybolic extreme 60
    5.) Omega-3 1000 not omega complex which included 3,6 and 9 ex GNC Triple Strength Omega 1000

    The farther down the list it get more and more specific on your unique needs so it is recommended to do yearly visits with the doctor and have your levels checked
  • mmlyn
    mmlyn Posts: 8
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    Dude, you are a walking advertisement. 5000 IU of D3? Are you daft?

    Fruit and vegetable supplement? What?

    I don't think so.

    You are right about Omegas (I recommend Fish oil or flax seed oil gel caps). Also, protein isolate is good for exercising and body builders because it gets digested so quickly. For slower absorption a mix is fine.

    M
  • bkbaird
    bkbaird Posts: 2 Member
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    Fruit and vegetable supplements are high in vitamins and antioxidants so if you don't eat a wide variety of nutrient dense fruits and vegetables your diet will be void of their nutrients. So if you find yourself only eating broccoli, great beans, or asparagus, a few times a day at max your nutrient intake will not even compare to with 1 scoop of the powdered supplemental form.

    Doctors recommend the same of vitamin D3 as well as clinical studies.

    I recommend isolate protein because a lot of individuals are allergic to lactose and the isolate is lactose free.

    Again these are recommendations and ideas of how you can improve and take the next step.

    Please list your credentials M-Dude,

    B
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Honestly, my doctor said that unless your diet is absolute crap you don't actually need to supplement. Mine is however so I use the one a day chewable* (otherwise they make me nauseous- not the best but at least it's something, and taste great!) ... and the Greens from "it works" are super yummy mixed into smoothies! I tried the superfood from GNC, still have both bottles, not a fan of the flavor at all. Once had a doc tell me that for whatever reason the flintstones vitamins tend to work amazingly for people with iron deficiencies, I'd imagine the other supplements they have get absorbed as well but IDK. 20 minutes in the sun daily gets you your Vitamin D, this is accomplished for most people on their way to work, but if you are deficient your doc can suggest something.

    edit to add:
    Or is there any other way to get everything I need?

    Proper well balanced diet.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
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    I just take a highly rated probiotic. I will probably start supplementing calcium, that's the one thing I'm not getting enough of in my diet.

    Studies show that multivitamins are pretty much useless. Prenatal vitamins and certain vitamins for men over 50 to prevent cancer are the only ones that show any real impact Many people feel better taking them anyway, and it's not going to hurt as long as you're not taking megadoses, so as long as you have the money and want to give them a try, go for it.
  • Maverick60
    Maverick60 Posts: 17 Member
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    See your doctor!
    What one person recommends can be absolute crap for the next.
    That's the bottom line.

    I can't recommend what I take as I have no idea about you, and that should be rule for all the stuff you're being told here.
    Some vitamins and minerals don't absorb properly in the presence of others (Zinc doesn't get taken up properly in the presence of calcium but they're both in multivitamins ?!), some work better on an empty stomach, some are water soluble, some are fat soluble...

    I used to take an Omega oils complex for my joints until discovering a growing research based body of evidence suggesting that these chemicals were linked to the most aggressive form of prostate cancer. I now use glucosamine for my joints. Some pharmacists will tell that there is no point in doing so, other will recommend it (and these are hospital pharmacists, not proprietors of chemist stores).
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
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    i take centrum complete multivitamin as per my docs instructions

    i use a vitamin spray because of the b12 levels in it

    every 12 weeks i get a b12 shot as per my docs instructions

    i take vitamin d at 4000iu as per my docs instructions

    i take iron as and when my doc prescribes it depending on my blood levels

    i have a malabsorption problem and tend to be vit d and iron deficient at times and just cant keep my b12 levels up
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
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    Go to a doctor and get blood work, see if you're deficient in something. If you are, take that. Most people could stand a low dose of vitamin d each day.

    Other things to consider taking regardless of bloodwork:

    Omega 3
    CoQ-10

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