Vitamin Questions

[cendrine]

I'm interested in what you guys's experience is concerning vitamins.

I read in a nutrition action article recently that studies have shown that taking vitamins, regardless of what kind, does not make a difference. I have a friend seeing results taking Shaklee, and my chiropractor swears by liquid health.

What do you guys do?

I know some of you are walking nutrition enciclopedias and I'm hoping to glean from you!

I take (among other things) the costco b-complex, but feel tired and fatigued anyway. So I'm wondering is it all getting flushed out because I hidrate so much? or is the body able to absorb what it needs and let the rest go?

What do you know about synthetic vs natural vitamins and does it matter in your opinion?

Anyone who has experimented with vitamins to see differences and feels like sharing, please do!

[WISH]

Hi Cedrine,
I've just started taking the GNC Women's Ultra Mega Active pack. I did Meso 1 without it, and was extremely tired and constantly starving! I started taking the pack with Meso 2, and notice a huge difference. I have much more energy, and am not ravenous. I would recommend it.

Wendy

[GMonkey]

I think that vitamins are important, but that megadosing is dangerous. I try to avoid anything with vitamin A, iron, and anything that goes too far over the RDA 100% quota. I take a few other supplements, though like 5HTP, Q10, Ginko, flax seed oil etc, but I never take more than one tablet per day, even though they recommend more. Someone on here recommended Flintstones.

[ksg68]

I know of two Mayo Clinic doctors who say that Flintstones Complete are the best vitamins on the market. That's what our whole family takes!

[desmondberg]

there is this one vitamin that gave me headache?
what's the cause of this?

although i have other medicine that made me really gain weight in just 2 months and everyone noticed it.. it is a vitamin that will help in increasing my appetite..

[dania]

Originally Posted by ksg68

I know of two Mayo Clinic doctors who say that Flintstones Complete are the best vitamins on the market. That's what our whole family takes!

Seriously?? Flintstones Complete? So, do you still only take the recommended dose for a child or how many do you take? I'll soon be going off of my prenatals, since I'm almost done breastfeeding, and will be looking for a new brand.

Dani

[ksg68]

Yes, seriously, Flintstones Complete (but it has to be the complete and not gummies or any other variety). We all take just one a day.

[dania]

Originally Posted by ksg68

Yes, seriously, Flintstones Complete (but it has to be the complete and not gummies or any other variety). We all take just one a day.

Thanks!

Dani

[JodelleFitzh20]

I have nothing against multi's but I don't take one. Vitamins are supplements, and the definition of a supplement is: "Something added, especially to make up for a deficiency" meaning that if your current diet is deficient of certain things you can supplement with others. But I'm a firm believer that if you eat the right foods in the right amounts your body will have all the nutrients it needs and you will not be deficient. I don't take a multi because I try to get all my nutrients from foods, eating omega 3 rich fish, 5-9 servings of vegetables and fruits a day, calcium rich greek yogurt with probiotics and complex carbs.
That being said, we must also note that todays mass produced food is void of alot of nutrients that we need so some supplementing some nutrients is not a bad idea. I do take a calcium/magnesium supplement because its hard to absorb those two from food no matter how much you eat. I also use flax oil and ground flax meal for extra omega 3's.
Before I figured out exactly what nutrients my body needed me to eat, I took a multi and I never felt any different, and I tried many different kinds. Now I just eat what I know i need to be eating and I feel like I have the energy of a kid on the playground! I feel better now than i ever have and it has nothing to do with taking a pill.
There are those that can't fit in to their schedule though all the food and nutrients or for allergy reasons or other reasons, so that's where a "supplement" comes in handy. But I say, if you can't eat yourself towards a healthier you, then why not. I believe food is medicine. You can choose the right medicine in the right dosage or the wrong medicine in the wrong dosage.

[kathryn]

I much prefer getting my nutrients from whole foods rather than supplements, and I avoid synthetic supplements like the plague (too many studies have shown that isolated supplements often have deliterious effects that whole foods do not, often having the exact opposite effect expected. One study on beta carotene for reducing cancer risk had to be ended prematurely, because the cancer risk of the study participants actually increased (using isolated beta carotene supplements rather than whole foods containing alpha/beta and all the other carotenoids as well as their cofactors).

I do take a multivitamin based on raw, whole foods (Vitamin Code) and a B-12 spray, but I'm starting to switch more towards taking Vitamineral Green instead of the multi.

One thing to be aware of is that nowdays, so many foods are 'enriched' with vitamins (usually synthetic ones the body does not know how to process) that it's easy to get too much (and too much of something like vitamin A---especially in synthetic form--can be very dangerous).

I also think it's important to eat organic as much as possible, and/or to grow your own food. Organic foods have been shown to have higher levels of nutrients, sometimes containing nutrients completely missing in conventionally grown produce.