Multivitamins - Your views / recommendations?

[Red Squirrel]

When I donate blood they always tell me my iron is super high, maybe beans is what does it for me. I eat those fairly often as it's something easy and half decently healthy.

One of these days I should go for one of those tests that show all the different levels though. Like to see if I'm low or too high in some things. Is that something you can just ask your family doctor to do? When I went for a general checkup he barely did anything, got a couple vaccine boosters and that's about it lol. But now that I hit 30 maybe there's more stuff they do once you reach that age. It's been a few years since I went.

 

[MrSquished]

Did some reading on live food vitamins vs synthetic vitamins and got a bunch of mixed results.

Gonna stick with live foods vitamins for now though

 

[Jaskalas]

Unless your diet is abysmal, I don't think vitamins are valuable.

Exactly this.

Unless it's deemed beneficial to your health, I'd stay aware from known causes of kidney stones. You don't want those.

 

[Crono]

When I donate blood they always tell me my iron is super high, maybe beans is what does it for me. I eat those fairly often as it's something easy and half decently healthy.

On the plus side, you can play this anytime you enter a room.

 

[BoomerD]

I take them. I like expensive pee.

That's about it. For MOST people, MOST multivitamins just make expensive pee. VERY little of the actual vitamin contained is absorbed (adsorbed?) by the body, and the rest just passes out.

 

[tynopik]

I take two multi-vitamins weekly (112.5 mcg of Selenium).


Per webmd.com...

The tolerable upper limit is:

• Adults, 400 mcg per day for adults and adolescents 14 years and older.

also from webmd:

"Selenium supplements are associated with a risk of skin cancer"
"men who already have high concentrations of selenium in their bodies nearly double their risk of aggressive prostate cancer if they take selenium supplements"
"people who took 200 micrograms a day of selenium were 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes"

yeah, no thanks

 

[Red Squirrel]

On the plus side, you can play this anytime you enter a room.

Using farts instead of the guitar!

 

[Red Squirrel]

That's about it. For MOST people, MOST multivitamins just make expensive pee. VERY little of the actual vitamin contained is absorbed (adsorbed?) by the body, and the rest just passes out.

I wonder if some are better than others when it comes to that. I would figure anything that says "slow release" is probably better. You probably want to take them with food though, or without? Wonder what is better. It probably matters.

 

[tynopik]

When I donate blood they always tell me my iron is super high, maybe beans is what does it for me.

or maybe it's Hemochromatosis

 

[Xstatic1]

also from webmd:

"Selenium supplements are associated with a risk of skin cancer"
"men who already have high concentrations of selenium in their bodies nearly double their risk of aggressive prostate cancer if they take selenium supplements"
"people who took 200 micrograms a day of selenium were 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes"

yeah, no thanks

I'm a female.

I don't spend a lot of time outdoors, in fact, I'm sure I'll have to supplement with Vitamin D at some point.

Type 2 diabetes is generally attributed to poor diet & lack of exercise. I have family who are type-2 diabetics, because they put on a few pounds and don't exercise.... I'm careful with my weight (even though I'm a dessertie/foodie), and I exercise regularly and rarely drink soda because I don't ever wanna be diabetic.

Again, the amount I take---2 multi-vitamins a week is equal to 112.5 mcg of Selenium. This vitamin brand (Super Nutrition) and dosage (2/week) works for me.

 

[lxskllr]

or maybe it's Hemochromatosis

People of Celtic (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton etc.), English, and Scandinavian origin[10] have a particularly high incidence of whom about 10% are carriers of the C282Y mutation on the HFE gene associated with HLA-A3[which?] and 1% suffer from the condition.

Sounds like a solid bet for the squirrel. Worth looking into while he's still young. Might be fixable before incurring permanent damage.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I do not know how it is in the US, but for as far as i know, here in the Netherlands what is written on the label must be in it.
I use multivitamins, next to a healthy daily diet of fruit and vegetables. And although some might say it is unnecessary, i found out that instead of getting colds, i just get an hour of sneezing and an evening of being tired and a strong desire to sleep and next day i feel fine. Besides that i do not get sick as often anymore as i used to. I know i have some intestine issues, so for regular people with a normal digestive tract, it may not do much, but it does for me.
Also, i like to compare it with people who eat a large amount of fruit and vegetables, and for sure, these people will piss out a lot of those vitamins and minerals they consume. But i see that this might very well be very beneficial for the bladder and prostate and urine tract. Normally, only urine as waste comes through the bladder and prostate, but someone who consumes lot of fruit and vegetables will have a bladder , urine tract and prostate that is flooded with vitamins and minerals as well. And this might be beneficial. I see it like this, when i consume fruit and vegetables and multivitamins, the excess and disposed vitamins and minerals pass my bladder and prostate so that may be beneficial over 40 years or so.

edit:

As a sidenote, normally i have over sensitive hearing and i have a tendency to wonder of in my thoughts, i have difficulty to shut sounds from the environment out. But since i start taking multivitamins as well, i have improved concentration and helps me focus.

edit:
and removed grammatical errors.

 

[Red Squirrel]

or maybe it's Hemochromatosis

Hmmm would the blood check catch that though? Like if the number is out of range.

 

[magomago]

meta studies indicates they are useless (i.e. lots of papers that shows "maybe it helps" and "maybe it doesnt" results in a "hmm no real effect you can prove right now, if there is any").

only vit d and b12 helps for obv reasons...

anyone comparing fruits and veggies to vitamind pills woefully misunderstand the former. The former has fiber for your gut bacteria, and it has lots of phytonutrients. Furthermore, there are synergistic effects between vit/min and these phytonutrients that you can't get taking pills. Of course, they also have calories for energy, something that pills dont' have at all.

 

[UnklSnappy]

I only take D and B12 because of deficiencies that showed up on blood work.

 

[tynopik]

Hmmm would the blood check catch that though? Like if the number is out of range.

IANAD, but do you have the actual lab results?

In males and postmenopausal females, a serum ferritin value of over 300 ng/mL (670 pmol/L) indicates iron overload

otherwise, ask your doctor

on the plus side, donating blood is an actual, effective treatment

but ask your doctor

finally, ask your doctor

 

[dullard]

Based on that, I would not say they are fully unregulated. They certainly couldn't have "nothing they claim to have" because that would be false and/or misleading which is prohibited.

One of many, many tests:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43429680/...nt-have-nutrients-claimed-label/#.WOuIhvnytpg

After testing 38 multivitamins for a new report published online this week, researchers at ConsumerLab.com discovered that eight contained too little of specific nutrients, two contained more nutrient than claimed and three improperly listed ingredients.

The studies are all very similar. You might not get anything close to what you think you are getting. Maybe "fully unregulated" is going to far. Would you accept, "sell for years and or decades until they get a cease and desist letter" instead?
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1532311-supplements.html#document/p1

 

[nakedfrog]

When I donate blood they always tell me my iron is super high, maybe beans is what does it for me. I eat those fairly often as it's something easy and half decently healthy.

One of these days I should go for one of those tests that show all the different levels though. Like to see if I'm low or too high in some things. Is that something you can just ask your family doctor to do? When I went for a general checkup he barely did anything, got a couple vaccine boosters and that's about it lol. But now that I hit 30 maybe there's more stuff they do once you reach that age. It's been a few years since I went.

Yes, your family doctor should probably be able to set you up with a CBC.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Stumbled across these, but very pricey!

https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/multi-vitamin-elite?affid=ThrnFx1072858

I'm late to this party, but agree with the consensus that multivitamins are not really necessary for normal healthy people who have reasonably good eating habits.

However, my doctor advised me to start taking a multivitamin when I had to resort to a mineral supplement to address a deficiency found in otherwise routine blood work. His reasoning was that mineral supplement can interfere with the normal uptake of vitamins, so I need to put more vitamins in. I guess it can't hurt.

Like the OP, I was launched into a confusing search for what vitamins to take. I've tried a few different kinds without noticing much of an effect. For what it's worth, I'm taking a Thorne vitamin at the moment:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018CK49Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, pretty expensive (and you take 4-6 massive capsules a day), but they have several varieties that let you pick one that is tailored more to what you want and they tell a good story.

 

[futurefields]

For me I notice a difference, but I also have a fairly poor diet, high in protein but really low in fruits and veggies

I've done a lot of research and for me I really like Source Naturals Life Force, it uses good forms of vitamins and minerals, like methyl b12 versus cyano, and chelated, highly bioavailable forms of minerals versus the basically worthless -oxide forms in most multis

 

[FeuerFrei]

Woow. I picked up some potassium citrate today - 99mg. Within minutes my heart palpitation ceased, the achey weak sensation in my femoral artery ceased. Inflammation is dying down. Smell, touch senses restored. And teh recommended daily potassium allowance is 4700mg.

 

[TheVrolok]

Hmmm would the blood check catch that though? Like if the number is out of range.

Ferretin is not a test ordered routinely.

Yes, your family doctor should probably be able to set you up with a CBC.

At a fairly basic level, a CBC won't reflect the iron overload in hemochromatosis.

Generally it's a diagnosis made when it has already caused another problem (diabetes, cirrhosis, etc.) and you're trying to figure out why.

 

[nakedfrog]

Ferretin is not a test ordered routinely.

At a fairly basic level, a CBC won't reflect the iron overload in hemochromatosis.

Generally it's a diagnosis made when it has already caused another problem (diabetes, cirrhosis, etc.) and you're trying to figure out why.

I was just addressing the "Like to see if I'm low or too high in some things. Is that something you can just ask your family doctor to do?" question...

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Woow. I picked up some potassium citrate today - 99mg. Within minutes my heart palpitation ceased, the achey weak sensation in my femoral artery ceased. Inflammation is dying down. Smell, touch senses restored. And teh recommended daily potassium allowance is 4700mg.

Uhh, you might want to see a doctor, not assume a multivitamin is your fix. Heart palpitations and loss of sensory perception is not normal.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Uhh, you might want to see a doctor, not assume a multivitamin is your fix. Heart palpitations and loss of sensory perception is not normal.

Not so much that that senses had failed, but my appreciation of their input has been heightened due to my clear headedness.
Still have concerns about circulation though this morning.