Do I need a multivitamin?

[scottd47102]

I'm looking for a good multivitamin. I know centrum is popular but popular doesn't always mean good right? I am taking a off brand multivitamin but whenever I pee it makes it like a really funky color, so I'm wondering if it's even going into my system.

If I get too much of a vitamin or mineral is that bad for my body? Not like OD on vitamins but just like if I get more than I need.

What is the best multivitamin?

[cookey]

Personally I don't take a any suppliments and I don't think they're necessary because you can get everything you need from food.
I have taken B suppliments in the past to help with depression when I'm not eating properly tho.
I think the yellow in your urine comes from the B vitamins in your multi vit.

[karmadust]

when you take a multivitamin, it is usually packed with way more than your body can absorb at once. your body takes what it needs and the rest leaves in your urine - hence why it's bright yellow or orange and may smell like your vitamin. the majority of stuff in your multi isn't stored by your body, so it flushes out and you don't have to worry about it.

if this bothers you, you might want to choose a multivitamin that you need to take three or four times a day. these have a lower concentration of vitamins and minerals, so your body absorbs all of it and then a few hours later is ready for more. it's kind of a pain, though, to remember to take a pill four times a day.

i eat a pretty balanced diet, though i'm not a die hard health nut, and vitamins really make a difference in how i feel. especially the Omegas and B vitamins. i start feeling kind of "down" if i skip them for a few days on end. so personally, i love my vitamins and definitely recommend them!

[scottd47102]

So would centrum be ok?

So is my body being hurt in any way by these excess minerals and vitamins that are being flushed out of my system? Like my kidneys or liver?

Thanks

[howdawg]

I believe Centrum contains gelatin (and other animal products) so it's not really vegan.. I would recommend Rainbow light Just Once.. It's certified vegan.. search for it on google and you can buy it.

[karmadust]

So would centrum be ok?

So is my body being hurt in any way by these excess minerals and vitamins that are being flushed out of my system? Like my kidneys or liver?

Thanks

If you do not already have kidney or liver problems, a multivitamin will not hurt you. Now if you were going to take 10 full strength multis a day for the rest of your life, then yeah, you might run into a problem in the future, but that's just common sense. Just follow the directions on the label - scientists and nutritionists have figured out what percentage of vitamins and minerals are acceptable to put in your vitamins.

I use New Chapter Organics Probiotic Nutrients (the Women's Daily, but they have others). They are vegan. My flax seed supplements are Nature's Way brand, and I have struggled to find capsules that do not contain gelatin - I finally settled on these which contain gelatin from non-bovine sources....I don't know what the other sources are, but it's as good as I could find. My B-complex is Trader Joe's brand. I'm pretty happy with all of those.

[howdawg]

Here's a vegan flax seed supplement.. Hope it helps! http://www.veganessentials.com/catal...l-capsules.htm

[herbwormwood]

It is possible to overdose on vitamin D and some of the B vitamins, through taking supplements, this can be dangerous. So check your supplement does not contain these and if it does, be careful not to take more than one kind of supplement which could inadvertently cause an overdose. Don't take supplements of more than the RDA of these vitamins each day.

[Fifty9]

I don't take vitamins, with the exception of some fortified foods like nutritional yeast and such. There is a possibility of vitamin toxicity (Vit A for example) but that's not really my concern. For the most part I don't think people are going to overdose on a single multivitamin a day. I just think that people rely on them, and use them as an excuse to support their poor dietary choices. Also, there have been numerous studies showing that certain vitamins are not effective when taken by itself, or removed from its natural food package of other vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytochemicals.

On the other hand, there is evidence to support that it is of some benefit to take certain supplements like B12. (Something that should be found in a multivitamin). I don't personally take anything beyond what is already fortified in certain foods that I buy, but I wouldn't argue it as a bad idea.

Just remember that there is no substitute for a healthy diet.

[RachelJune]

Well, I've recently started taking a daily multi-vitamin again - iron with multivitamins. Maybe I'm imagining it, but I have been feeling better - I feel more energetic and am able to concentrate better at work

I'm also taking a protein supplement (hemp protein drink powder - 100% organic hemp seed), increasing my fat (including 1 tbsp omega oil blend every day) and calorie intake, and have cut right down on the coffee to only 2 or 3 cups a day (from around 10!!). So any improvements in my general well-being are likely to be a combination of all of these changes...

Personally, I don't see a problem with taking a multivitamin so long as it goes alongside a healthy, balanced diet. I try my best to eat well but I'm not an expert on diet and nutrition, so taking a multi-vit is my safe-guard if you like, just to make sure I'm getting everything I need.

[wmenke]

I know that it is possible to get all the recommended vitamins/minerals in a vegan diet, but lately I know that I haven't been getting enough, especially calcium/magnesium.

I want to get a multivitamin, but it only has 20% of the daily recommended calcium. Do you guys think it would be ok to get an additional calcium/magnesium supplement as well as the multivitamin?

[steven1222]

Response to the last post: You do not need a calcium supplement. The RDA of calcium is designed to compensate for losses that are caused by intake of animal protein and also to benefit the dairy industry; 200 milligrams per day should be enough, unless something is causing you to excrete excessive amounts of calcium.

It is possible to overdose on vitamin D and some of the B vitamins, through taking supplements, this can be dangerous. So check your supplement does not contain these and if it does, be careful not to take more than one kind of supplement which could inadvertently cause an overdose. Don't take supplements of more than the RDA of these vitamins each day.

Taking 2 to 4 times the RDA of B vitamins is harmless.

[Roxy]

Response to the last post: You do not need a calcium supplement. The RDA of calcium is designed to compensate for losses that are caused by intake of animal protein and also to benefit the dairy industry; 200 milligrams per day should be enough, unless something is causing you to excrete excessive amounts of calcium.

If this is true, that's very good news for me.

[Kiran]

Apparently ..... Vitamins 'increase risk of death'

From.. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/28022007/39...k-death-0.html

Vitamin pills are commonly taken to boost health, but a new study has found that they may in fact "significantly" increase the risk of death.

Scientists from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark found that vitamin A, vitamin E and beta carotene taken singly or with other supplements "significantly increase mortality".

The researchers found no evidence that Vitamin C could increase longevity, while selenium tended to reduce the risk of death.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved analysis of 68 previous trials of the five antioxidant supplements, involving 232,606 participants.

The Copenhagen team singled out 47 "low-bias risk" trials, with 180,938 participants, as being the best quality. Based on these studies, the supplements were found to be associated with a 5 per cent increased risk of mortality.

Taking beta carotene was associated with a 7 per cent risk, vitamin A with a 16 per cent risk and vitamin E with a 4 per cent risk, while there was no increased mortality risk with vitamin C or selenium.

The report authors wrote: "Our findings contradict the findings of observational studies, claiming that antioxidants improve health. "Considering that 10-20 per cent of the adult population (80-160 million people) in North America and Europe may consume the assessed supplements, the public health consequences may be substantial."

[Fifty9]

Supplements are different than the whole-food sources; sorry to say it, but there is no substitute for a healthy diet.

Calcium is really not as big of a deal as it's made out to be. People have this fear of osteoporosis, but it's not a disease of calcium deficiency. People who have osteoporosis often have a very high calcium intake. In fact, there has never been a single case of calcium deficiency ever reported in the scientific literature. There is plenty of calcium in vegetables and fruits; it's been shown that one cup of cooked kale has as much calcium as one cup of milk.

Iron supplements worry me greatly, as iron toxicity is a genuine concern as well as iron being a very powerful oxidant. Plant foods are naturally adequate in iron, and you don't have to fear reaching those dangerous amounts. For men, the only way to reduce your iron count is to lose blood, so it's something you should pay attention to.

[herbwormwood]

I don't think healthy people need iron supplements. But if someone had a blood test which showed they had iron deficiency anaemia, and they was a medical reason for it, they would need supplements.

[Korn]

The RDA of calcium is designed to compensate for losses that are caused by intake of animal protein and also to benefit the dairy industry; 200 milligrams per day should be enough, unless something is causing you to excrete excessive amounts of calcium.

Hi Steven, do you have any links to sources documenting this?

[nervine]

Fuck supplements. The only one I take is B12. Eat fruit and veg.

[mjj48]

I take the Veg 1 multivitamin supplement from the Vegan Society, the dose is one a day.

Because it's made by them I feel safe knowing it is providing everything I need, at least that's the way I see it. I do eat healthily but there are some days when I'm just too busy to eat at set times etc, and my good intentions go out the window. It's quite cheap too, as you get a full 3 month supply in one bottle .

[Korn]

Because it's made by them I feel safe knowing it is providing everything I need, at least that's the way I see it.

Hi mjj48, it may be a useful supplement to food for vegans or others who need extra nutrition, but with all due respect - I don't think it's meant to provide 'everything you need'...

Just like with other people, some vegans need multivitamins, while others don't, but what we need is based on what we eat too little of (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, anti-oxidants etc), what we consume too much of (coffee, sugar and other 'nutrient-binders/killers) + other individual factors. I don't think The Vegan Society would market a supplement as 'providing everything you need' - not only because they know too much about nutrition to do that, but also because there's no such thing.

I don't want to spoil the party, but contrary to what many non-vegans and some vegans believe, there's no such thing as 'eat a multivitamin and you're safe'. I totally understand that people may want to take multi-vitamins, but IMO we're 'meant to' get the nutrients we need from food (and sunlight: vitamin D), not from pills...

[mjj48]

Sorry, I didn't word it very well - what I meant was on days when I'm too rushed to make sure I eat properly (days when I'm really busy) taking the multivitamin helps to ensure that at least I'm getting something on those days rather than not many nutrients at all. Like a sort of insurance policy if you like that at least my body is getting something good those days.

I appreciate that they aren't a substitute for a good diet, and most of the time my diet is really healthy, just the odd days when I really am too busy to eat properly and have to grab whatever is around where I am at the time.

Hope all that made sense (it did in my head lol) .

[Korn]

What you write makes totally sense in my head too. (Just remember that Veg-1 seem to be specifically designed to use in addition to food (it contains "only" 7 nutrients) - for what you describe, there may be other supplements that are more suitable.)

[mjj48]

Morning .

I take calcium as well, but not because I feel my diet is lacking in it but because I have hip problems and need to make sure I get as much calcium as I can for my bones *is old* lol .

When I remember back to what my diet was like when I ate meat, I wonder how I stayed alive lol, I think I lived on takeaways and microwaved meals - no nutrients whatsoever lol .

[herbwormwood]

My understandng of the disadvantage of relying on supplements is that tablets are often very poorly absorbed.
There is no guarantee that our digestive system will absorb all of what is in a tablet supplement it and it is possible for them to pass right out in our poo without being broken down and absorbed at all.
I don't see any harm in taking them as backup to a good diet but if a person is "too busy to eat properly" they should re-think their daily schedule or menu plan so they do have a balanced diet.
What is more important than eating healthy enough to avoid deficiency?
Even if a person is for example a nurse on a 16 hour shift they can take a lunchbox in with them that they make up the night before.
Nutritional deficits at any time in life can cause a lot of problems for us later on so it is up to us to take proper care of ourselves.
No one else is going to do it for us!

[mjj48]

Whilst I agree in principal, sometimes it just isn't possible to re-think a schedule unfortunately. Plus there are some days, for example on holiday, where I'm limited to the food they have available there (I really don't want to have to prepare my own food on holiday, one of the joys of going is getting someone else to cook lol. We usually go to Butlins, half board).

Besides which, life's too short to become too obsessed with nutrients etc - if you see what I mean . Important, yes of course, but I don't have the time or inclination to go overboard personally.

Hope all that made sense, taken my medication and it makes me very sleepy, hence the waffling lol. I'll shut up now .

Jay