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Vitamins: Tablet form


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Do you take multivitamins or any specific vitamins to supplement your diet?

On a regular basis? Sometimes? When did you start? Why?

When did you stop? Or why don't you bother?

I figure I eat a pretty balanced diet and the one thing I have to monitor, perhaps, is protein which no capsule or tablet is going to supply as far as I know. Yet I have a friend who swears by her colorful stash. Very healthy, very fit, great cook, loves fruits and vegetables, eats seafood and meat, drinks milk. Sits down each morning with a tall glass of water and swallows about a dozen vitamins purchased at a Health Food store.

I'm mostly skeptical, but have read that it's standard to recommend taking multi-vitamins while losing weight which is something I am doing in a very moderate, long-term fashion through portion control and exercise.

I also found the brief discussion of vitamins in "Unhappy Meals" interesting (Michael Pollan, NYT, January 28, 2007).

Thoughts?

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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Unless you have a vitamin deficiency, your body absorbs maybe 10-15% of the vitamins from a tablet, and excretes the rest in the urine. My understanding is that those of us lucky enough to live in the Western World are not likely to suffer from nutritional defficiencies unless our food consumption is significantly reduced (say, less than 1,500 kilocalories per day).

I only take multivitamin tablets if I have reason to suspect that I may have a temporary vitamin shortage (most often, this means taking one with a big glass of water after I've spent a long evening indulging my cocktail-related interests).

--

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Funny you should bring this up. I was reading an article, recapping a study, that showed that calcium derived from food was much more valuable to the human body than calcium derived from supplements.

Click for article

From the article:

"Only about 35 percent of the calcium in most supplements ends up being absorbed by the body," senior author Reina Armamento-Villareal said in a statement. "Calcium from the diet is generally better absorbed, and this could be another reason that women who got a high percentage of calcium in their food had higher bone densities."

I knew it all along.

:rolleyes:

I do take a minimum of supplements, but tend to pay more attention to nutrional density in my diet. My "condition" requires that, but my palate demands it.

Anne

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nope, no vitamins. I actually have a multivitamin bottle that I haven't used in probably 2 years. I eat such a varied and healthy diet that I don't really worry. I eat a lot of vitamins, veggies, legumes, grains, fish, and very little red meat so I don't need to worry. I also rarely get sick and the last time I was ill was 2 years ago and I had a really bad sinus infection

my boyfriend on the other hand eats NO vegetables or fruit and eats a lot of hamburgers, hotdogs, potato chips, french fries, etc and is always sick. Lately I've been making him eat salads so hopefully that will help him out

BEARS, BEETS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
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because I eat no fish/seafood I take Flax seed oil caplets for the omega 3s, I also usually take a multivit & a calcium tab as well for "insurance" but I confess I am not good abut remembering to take them all the time...

And I understand that your body absorbs the vitamins much more efficiently if you take them with food, so I try & remember to have them with brekks or lunch...

Do you suffer from Acute Culinary Syndrome? Maybe it's time to get help...

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I have to take iron, because of a deficiency, but it's not as easy as "take tablet, and now I have iron" My doc told me it was something that builds up over time, and stored in your liver. After starting fresh on a iron suppliment regimen, it takes 21 days or something, for your body to absorb and start using it. I don't remember exactly, but iron is the only thing that I take regularly.

I do keep a bottle of multis that I take on hangover days (or the night before, if I remember). Or, if I've had a busy week, not paying attention to what I consume, just dashing down fast food, I take them.

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I also take a standard, generic, multivitamin as a back-up. I also take fish oil or flax oil capsules on the advice of my doc who claims it lowers cholesterol about 10%.

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I tend to be anemic no matter what my diet unless I take a daily supplement, so I take iron each day. I also take calcium citrate because my calcium intake tends to be a bit low (I've tracked my daily foods and calcium is always lower than it should be). Other than that, my diet is pretty varied and I get what I need from that.

Kathy

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. - Harriet Van Horne

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I am of the school that buys vitamins then stares at them on the counter till their expiration date is past. Then I throw them out and sooner or later buy more and do the same thing.

The children take gummy vites in the winter months and sometimes I will have one too for the fun of it, though they claim I am stealing their vitamins when I do so I have to hide in the kitchen and eat one very quickly! They taste pretty good and do seem to help quicken recovery from common colds, particularly if they take one regular gummy vite and another gummy vite with echinacea in it. The dark cherry ones are the best. :smile:

Something odd happens often when I do take real vitamins - they make me nauseous, sort of like the same feeling you can get from drinking tea with a very high tannin level. I've heard that this does happen to other people, from doctors. It's not just me. :biggrin:

It is difficult to think of the concept of someone taking handfuls of vitamins each day if they don't really *have* to. :blink:

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I took daily multiple vitamins for a while, but I thought they made me feel odd. Tried different brands. I heard Tina Turner on Oprah one day saying she did't like the way they made her feel. Good enuf for me! Really though - I eat an enormous variety of foods, the 5-a-day veggie thing is a joke for me as I always exceed that, and I try to rotate and balance colors (orange veggies, deep greens, fiber, whole grain, etc) My supplement popping horrendous eating ex was always sick, and I had my once a year common cold.

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I am of the school that buys vitamins then stares at them on the counter till their expiration date is past. Then I throw them out and sooner or later buy more and do the same thing.

Something odd happens often when I do take real vitamins - they make me nauseous, sort of like the same feeling you can get from drinking tea with a very high tannin level. I've heard that this does happen to other people, from doctors. It's not just me.  :biggrin:

It is difficult to think of the concept of someone taking handfuls of vitamins each day if they don't really *have* to.  :blink:

We must be sisters. I tell myself I *should* but never can get them past my throat......I get a major gag reflex with vitamins. Smell? Maybe....my aunt used to put liquid vitamins in our OJ when I stayed with her. Don't do too well with OJ, either, unless it is enhanced with vodka or champagne :wink:

As for the nausea? I wa told that taking them at night help. No go. Then I just wake up nauseated........bleh. Good eating, that's what I say !

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I took daily multiple vitamins for a while, but I thought they made me feel odd. Tried different brands. I heard Tina Turner on Oprah one day saying she did't like the way they made her feel.

Something odd happens often when I do take real vitamins - they make me nauseous,

As for the nausea? I wa told that taking them at night help. No go. Then I just wake up nauseated........

Mm mm mm. Tina Turner and we three.

What's love got to do with it, I ask you.

:smile:

We don't need no stinkin' pills. :raz:

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most nutritionists seem to recommend that all americans take a multi-vitamin to ensure that all of the daily requirements are meet. However, this is also negating the fact that most Americans eat some other form of supplemented food ( ex: Total.) and it is possible to get to much. I don't usually remember to take one but I do think they serve a purpose. At the same time, it is widely known that vitamins and minerals from FOOD is the way to go because the nutritional makeup of the food itself works synergistically and is therefore more beneficial to the body, and the researchers are still not sure why. I think when they recommend that Americans take a multivitamin they are looking at the "average" american that lives on processed low quality food.

" You soo tall, but you so skinny. I like you, you come home with me, I feed you!"- random japanese food worker.

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i took prenatal vitamins for several years BEFORE i got pregnant as recommended by the WHO. They recommend that all women of childbearing age take vitamins especially folic acid all the time, just in case.

It was a good thing too. The moment i got pregnant i lost the abiltiy to eat. I lost 10 pounds the first trimester and my total weight gain for the whole 8 month i was pregnant was 14 pounds. They usually recommend that you gain 20-30lbs.

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i drink happily, smoke occasionally and get stressed regularly so i do take lots of vit. C and a multivitamins. as a female, i also take iron and calcium regularly. i figure everything i take is excreted when not assimilated so i'm not getting potentially toxic stuff stored in my liver. but it's all backup and supportive role - the bulk of my nutrients come from my mostly veg/fruit-and-whole-grain-heavy diet.

i used to never take supplements but a nutritionist friend convinced me to supplemt a bit. no megadoses of anything though. and no pills that give mde gag reflex when i open the bottle (you'd be surprised)

Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin.

P.G. Wodehouse

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Yes, a multivitamin twice a day, and a couple of other supplements as discussed with my doctor to address certain specific personal needs. I started the multivitamin when I started my reduced carb eating plan as a safety net, and it seems to work for me so I keep it up.

I take no megadoses and as few pills as possible because I do believe my varied diet takes care of most of my nutritional needs.

Marcia.

Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted...he lived happily ever after. -- Willy Wonka

eGullet foodblog

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Don't get me started on 'Health' food stores and their rows and rows of pills and potions...

I did have a housemate who basically ate very little other than pasta and a whole concoction of pills - he said it was cheaper than fruit and vegetables.....

I love animals.

They are delicious.

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I take 7000 iu of Vit. D3 once a week.

There have been studies indicating it is a good cancer preventative, including a recent Nebraska eye-opener. After that report the Canadian Cancer Society recommended 1000 iu per day, and I was advised that a weekly dose could be taken, as the body stores it.

Will it work? It will take a few years to know, but D3, and the summer sun, are inexpensive and accessible.

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Don't get me started on 'Health' food stores and their rows and rows of pills and potions...

I went in to a local health food store to get some tahina a few years ago and overheard the 2 sisters behind the counter (with their bug eyes induced I'm sure by taking too much iodine) doctor bashing - talking about how doctors push pills on unsuspecting innocents. Meanwhile they were ringing through about 15 bottles of various "they must be healthy because they are natural" drugs for their customer.

I got to thinking how when I see a patient if they leave with any prescription, it's usually for just one medication, and usually for a limited time. I often spend longer talking someone out of a drug they don't need when the quick way would be just to give them what they asked for.

I bit my tongue, paid for my tahina, and left.

I take some B12 and folate - in hopes of staving off the inevitable alzheimers. I started some Vit D a week or so ago, based on a recent study. That will probably last about one bottles worth.

Edited by Kerry Beal (log)
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Vitamins also make me (gag, nauseous, etc etc). But I would like to take a daily multivitamin. Has anyone else with this problem come up with a solution? I have tried gummy bears, flintstones, and Centrum liquid, to no avail.

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Vitamins also make me (gag, nauseous, etc etc). But I would like to take a daily multivitamin. Has anyone else with this problem come up with a solution? I have tried gummy bears, flintstones, and Centrum liquid, to no avail.

Take them a little later in the day, and make sure you take them with food. Helps as much as anything will. It's usually the iron and calcium components that tend to be the most nauseating.

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Pills are difficult for me, too, especially if they are large, and have a smell that I want to reject. I use a sport cap bottle of water: one squirt to flush my mouth, then I pop the pills and immediately wash them down with another strong squirt of water. :shock::shock:

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