Multi-vitamins

[HybridCrow]

Hello fellow litizens!

As a few of you may know, and if you haven't seen my post, I've stopped smoking and I have been smoke-free for about 9 days so far and w/out any cravings of any kind, AND I'm working on exercising more and losing hopefully 50 lbs in the next few months or so. At least before the Summer is out, that way Summer won't be a total waste to show off my new body.

Anyhow, my question is, How do I get the best multi-vitamin to use? It was suggested to me to use a multi-vitamin in my diet as well, and I wanted suggestions on good multi-vitamins that would really do me good. I'm new to the whole "pill-poppin' world" as they label it.

Thanks in advnce for any suggestions that would be VERY helpful in my goal I wish to achieve.

 

[Weird Harold]

Anyhow, my question is, How do I get the best multi-vitamin to use? It was suggested to me to use a multi-vitamin in my diet as well, and I wanted suggestions on good multi-vitamins that would really do me good.

One-a-Day and Centrum are established names that are sufficient for 99% of the population as a general multi-vitamin supplement -- including dieters.

Almost any multi-vitamin will fill your needs, unless you have some age or gender related need -- like more iron if you're a woman or more calcium if you're older and at risk for osteoporosis.

I take a Walgreens generic copy of Centum A-Z simply because it's cheaper than the name brands and/or other generic copies of other name brands -- it also comes in a 365 capsule bottle so I only have to buy some once year.

Your best bet to find the "right" multi-vitamin for your needs, is to consult doctor or nutritionist for advice on what your diet is likely to be lacking in the way of vitamins and minerals.

 

[mikeofokc]

Well first of all congrats on your progress so far in quitting smoking and setting the weight loss goal. I never smoked but I did do the diet change, exercise and vitamin thing to greatly improve my life and how I feel. What I found in my quest for knowledge is that everyone has an opinion, so give up trying to figure out who is right or wrong. Just keep reading and learning. It will give you something to do with your hands when the cravings come and make you an official expert like me and others like me who live in padded rooms.

On vitamins. You will find that if you eat a healthy diet than many health care professionals dont see are real need for vitamin suppliments. You will also find those that believe that taking a mega dose of vitamins helps the immune system and maximizes your chances for a healthier life. It really comes down to the right balance of the suppliments and your age and needs. There is also vast differences in the sources used for various vitamens so that even though the lable may say it has calcium or Vitamin E in it, it also is from where that mineral or vitamin comes from that makes it useful or not to our body. Welcome to the health nut industry.

I used a megadose vitamin. Originally from http://www.drwhitaker.com/ Health wise I was less sick but I was on better diet and less exposed to fast food problems. I do think there is definitly something to a good calcium suppliment because of my experiences before my health improvment kick.

My advise on those in the beginning stages of exercise is for you to use both cardio and resistance training exercises in moderation at first and allow your body to adjust easily to the increased activity. Many people quit early because they have muscle aches, dont feel good those first few weeks because of changes in diet and exercise and try to set a weight lose goal to difficult to achieve in the time they want to achieve it. Rather than setting a goal at first of how many pounds set it to eating right, proper suppliment intake, a good exercise schedule and the knowledge that this will make you feel better and eventually look better.

What makes us all happy is success. Setting a goal of how many times a week and how many hours we work out at a gym and then achieving that goal will make you feel good. If it is initally 2 to 4 times a week than it will also help you lose the weight. Certain cardio activities have been found to release endophins in your system which makes you feel good. A natural high so to speak. So now you may understand why some folks become gym rats. It not only feels good after a good workout, its good for us. Its amazing to me that I could go swim a mile or run 5 miles or lift weights for an hour and have more energy for the rest of the day.

Good luck. And in a month or two dont worry that your sex life has got better because you have more energy or that she wonders if your getting ready to leave her.

 

[lgwbp]

vitamins

If you are going to work out.. I think a multivitamin is essential for success... Centrum is a excellent multivitamin...Any multivitamin will not do. You have to be careful because some multivitamins are just rocks, they don't really help at all. Once you get into working out and you figure what you're missing in your diet, you might add some other vitamins. If you're planning to loose weight I would recommend a multivitamin and fish oils. You know the benefits of vitamins, but fish oils are good because they will get rid fats that you normally would not be able to get rid

 

[Weird Harold]

...What I found in my quest for knowledge is that everyone has an opinion, so give up trying to figure out who is right or wrong. Just keep reading and learning. It will give you something to do with your hands when the cravings come and make you an official expert like me and others like me who live in padded rooms.

On vitamins. You will find that if you eat a healthy diet than many health care professionals dont see are real need for vitamin suppliments. You will also find those that believe that taking a mega dose of vitamins helps the immune system and maximizes your chances for a healthier life. It really comes down to the right balance of the suppliments and your age and needs.

Good advice.

With the right diet, the only supplements you should really need is a good Sports Drink to replace the specific minerals you lose to sweat during excercise.

I've seen several recent news stories about how excessive vitamin intake can actually be harmful -- notably Megadoses of Vitamin E have been receiving some bad publicity recently.

 

[SweetErika]

Congratulations, HC!

I agree with the healthy, balanced diet being your primary focus. I'm missing some foods from mine, so I have gone the supplement route (after clearing everything with my doctor). For a multivitamin, I take a product called Vitalert, which is available at Costco. It has high amounts of everything, plus some of the generally safe herbs like ginseng and bee pollen. I was researching this a few months ago, and discovered a lot of the minerals in supplements (e.g. calcium carbonate) are in forms the body can't effectively absorb. So I also take a calcium citrate/magnesium/zinc and enteric-coated fish oil supplement for the Omega-3s. I have noticed my cravings for sugar and other refined carbs go down when I get enough B vitamins, calcium, and magnesium.

There's quite a bit of research that shows the antioxidants in things like green tea are beneficial to general health, and can speed up your metabolism and reduce appetite. The main study on tea had the experiment group taking 90mg of EGCG three times a day. But again, nothing's regulated, and most of products don't contain enough EGCG to do anything at all (instead, they have a ton of caffeine). Source Naturals 500mg Decaf Green Tea Extract with 175mg of EGCG is one of the best products I've found, and it's very reasonable. I'm not one to make claims, but I have noticed I've been sick far less and have felt better overall since I've been taking the extract and drinking a lot of decaf green tea.

 

[EJFan]

good work, hybrid... glad you could kick it with little effort. some people are just lucky that way i guess.

multivitamins are fine for the most part... just be sure you're not getting an overload of fat-soluble vitamins. an excess of them turn to fat, while an excess of water-soluble vitamins just get whizzed out.

if your diet is solid, probably the main concern would be to get EFA's because your body can't make them on its own. fish-oil caps should do the trick there. check with your doc to get accurate figures.

 

[6ingirth]

Congrats on the smoking thing. I am struggling with it right now, so I feel your pain!

One thing to add about the vitamins...the percentages that they go by are the Recommended Daily Allowances from the US Dept. of Health. They haven't been updated in several decades as I recall. One of the minerals that is a very low recommendation is zinc, whic if really really important for male sexual health. Every time you pop a load, you use up your entire daily recommended supply of zinc, which is 15mg. I have seen health web sites that recommend 45-50mg of zinc a day. So I supplement my Centrum with an additional zinc supplement.

Another supplement that I take is Goat Weed. Funny name, I know, but it's been used for 2 millennia in China as a sexual enhancement and aphrodesiac. It works! It also has other effects as well, none bad that I've noticed. Do a Google search as "Horny Goat Weed" and check it out. You can get a 45-day supply from Walgreens or Walrus-Mart for about $15. I love the stuff, and so does Mrs. 6...

 

[mikeofokc]

Opinions, See what I mean.

Everyone has posted some good info. As you will discover there is so much good info it is not only overwelming but sometimes contradictory at times. Even from the trained professionals you will get contradictions. The quanity, ratios, timing, sources of where the vitamins or minerals are derived and benefits. And thats just vitamins for which there has been some government studies, although ancient ones. Now add in the herbal suppliments and the world really gets confusing. I do believe in herbal remedies and benefits by the way and take some myself.

I havent tried "Horny Goat Weed," like I really need something to make me hornier. However men being men, I feel obligated now to give it a try. I just hope it doesnt come with a free channel changer attached or as a man I man become addicted.

There are many herbal suppliments that claim to benefit sexual health and performance. Some may work and some may kill you. Some like Yohimbe are down right dangerous. Iv tried many herbal suppliments, not sure they worked but Im a man and I will likely try the horny goat weed now, although the the senior suppliment is called "Horny Old Goat Weed." You think maybe Mr6 may loan me Mrs6 for an objective opinion as she has some experience with this?

Really the best thing is quitting smoking, losing weight, good diet, proper exercise, goal setting and an open mind. After a few months and 15lbs or so, the performance meter will look a lot better. Maybe we can even challenge Mr6 to a race to Mrs6. But watch out and avoid her giving you a iron suppliment with that old skillet. Her forearm swing is easy to duck but dont grin to soon and think you got it made because the back hand swing will knock you for a loop. And stay out of the goat pin, they all look the same especially with a knot on your head and stars in your eyes.

 

[miss_kate]

You have to be careful what you take... herbal pills are are huge industry and people LOVE to make money out of it.

I take B, IRON, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, ZINC as well as a womens vitamin. I also take a mountain of subscription pills- but i know what each of them does and how my body reacts to it.

Certain med's have to be taken with others (eg. Calcium & Magnesium) and some interfer with others so becareful not to over or under compensate.

Best option is probably to go to the doctor and get a blood test to find out what elements you are lacking in- that means you are sure to get the right suppliments.

 

[Guest]

You have to be careful what you take... herbal pills are are huge industry and people LOVE to make money out of it.

I take B, IRON, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, ZINC as well as a womens vitamin. I also take a mountain of subscription pills- but i know what each of them does and how my body reacts to it.

Certain med's have to be taken with others (eg. Calcium & Magnesium) and some interfer with others so becareful not to over or under compensate.

Best option is probably to go to the doctor and get a blood test to find out what elements you are lacking in- that means you are sure to get the right suppliments.

I couldn't agree more. When I was on those herbal vitamins, I ended up at the hospital. You have to watch out for those stimulants they stick in these vitamins anymore. Always, ALWAYS read the label when buying vitamins, and ask questions. But I would really ask your doc what is best for you. I think that's the best way to go.

And congrats to you!
Cheers to a much healthier life!!

 

[My Own Way]

I know I've already given you my opinion of this HC...but I just thought of a couple more things.

Someone else already said this...but watch percentages. Yes, they haven't been updated in several years, but at the same time, I found myself taking my multivitamin and an addition Vitamin E pill so that ultimatly I was getting like 1000% of my daily vitamin e intake. And I gained 5 pounds, which granted could be from a lot of things, but funny enough, I stopped taked that extra vitamin e and a week later the weight was gone. So I can't stress enough to do your research, talk to a doctor and find out what reasonable doses and percentages are.

Two, be careful what you take with what. In other words, find out what vitamins might react negativly with each other as well as with any perscriptions you're taking. Again, a doctor or pharmacist can answer these for you. You can also try to find it online, but I've found it's hard to get any good info on vitamins online because the amount of sites selling them far outnumber the sites that give you good info on each vitamin.

Finally, I've recently read, here on lit actually, of a poster who started taking Vitamin B-Complex and along with weekly exercise lost 11 pounds in two months, which really is a very realistic weight loss considering that it's seen as healthy to lose only 2 pounds a week.

Anyway....GOOD luck!

 

[fathom7]

One more into my wheelhouse of knowlege.

Everyone is saying all the right things here. Congrats, simple advice etc.

Here's four cents worth:

As you progress in knowing your own body, its makeup, its needs and your own activity level you can make decisions as to what to consumer and not consume.

The good beginnings are a standard multi-vitamin. No great need to pump up the volume with mega dosing right away. The challenges include insuring that the ones you take are ones that your body will use. How to tell? Stick with solid name brands at first. The suggestion of Centrum or One-A-Day are solid in that they deliver whatn the label.

As you get deeper into the health thing you can find things out about yourself and work with supplements to the degree you wish. The challenge is knowing what you need to know. This falls into two general areas:

1. Knowing yourself.
2. Knowing whose brand of what to consume.

The first part is of slightly greater importance. You should find out about your physiologic status. The deeper you go into this the better off you will be. I'll share one personal experience as an example.

Once upon a time (all truly GOOD stories start this way) I had a physical and found out that among the blood work results came the information that my liver enzymes (a measurement of liver health found trhough blood analysis) were "slightly elevated." Now there are three numbers in the panel and all three were just slightly high.

After several trips to an internist the following discoveriers were made:

A -- There was no cirrhotic damage to the liver.
B -- There was a "generalized" inflammation of the liver.
C -- There was no identifiable disease process.

After listening and "experimenting" with the Doc's suggestions the following results:

1 -- Elimination of fat soluble vitamins (I'm a devout supplement consumer) did nothing to change things.
2-- RE-introducing fat soluble vitamins did nothing to change things.

Going on my own I began to take Milk Thistle extract in supplement form.

Presto -- first one of the numbers in the liver panel was in the normal range and the others had decreased.
Chango -- continued consumption of the Milk Thistle brought all the numbers well within normal range and the inflammation cleared up.

Skeptic that I am -- I went off the Milk Thistle. It wasn't long before the numbers were up again. Back on the Milk Thistle and they were down.

Now that is the original A knowlege -- my body and it's needs. The second piece was the brand. Since I work in the industry I knew that there was (and is) one brand that is "for real" concerning Milk Thistle. That's the one I consumed and continue to consume to this day. It's been nearly 10 years now and my liver panel numbers are consistenty in the low normal range.

The same thing applies to virtually every other aspect of your own phisiology. That's why the following is true:

The more you know about your own physiology, the more able you are to taylor your supplement regimen to a most appropriate level.

This is work and some expense to be sure but the results are long-term health.

All of that said -- you've just made a significant step in taking control of your health. Start slow and don't get discouraged. If you have the inclination and the interest and the willingness -- there are lots of things you can do to maximize these positive changes. There's also a host of folks who are willing to be supportive for free (like even here) and their help is worthwhile too.

Best of it and keep going down the positive path.