Can Someone Recommend a Good MultiVitamin?

[romantico]

I would like to start the new year off by taking a multivitamin. I've changed my diet over the past 2 months and have noticed not only me losing some weight but I also feel better and have more energy. All I take now is a couple fish oil vitamins a day and a couple aspirin. I'd like to start taking a multivitamin, but am overwhelmed by the selections out there. I am a guy turning 40 this year who plans on exercising a little more than usual as well as eating a better diet. Any recommendations on a good vitamin? Thanks!

[HopeHoops]

1. Whatever the drugstore brand is - same shit, much lower price. Get the womens' if you need iron.

Always go with the store brand. That's one of the few things you can rely on - that the stated content is what you are getting. Fuck Tylenol and Motrin - get the acetaminophen and ibuprofen. The only thing you get by buying a name brand vitamin or drug is the advertising that clogs up the television and makes up the better part of Reader's Digest. That's where the extra cost goes.

As for a better diet, just cut out the meat. If you're worried about "what to eat", try books by Mollie Katzen or (forget the author, other than "Lauren") "Lauren's Kitchen".

[romantico]

2. THANKS!

I was looking at either Centrum for men or GNC's brand multivitamins. Thanks again!

[HopeHoops]

3. GNC's kind of expensive. Go for a drug store or family-owned grocery store brand.

[GalleryGod]

4. Thanks! I thought so...

:hi:

[NewJeffCT]

8. agreed

the generic brands that are the equivalent or centrum or one-a-day or whatever should be fine. Just make sure to get one that is age & sex appropriate - they have them for men & women and for over/under the age of 50, as well as youth vitamins. (well, under 50 and over 18 is "adult" and over 50 might be "silver" or something like that)

[old mark]

17. Store brands are the same as the big name brands, but many dollars less...

compare the ingredients and what you get, and go with the store brand that suits you best. Many big stores have exact matches for "specialized" multivitamins (Like Centrum Silver, etc) that are identical, just much less money.

We have been doing this for almost 20 years.

mark

[cbdo2007]

5. You may need to try a few to see what works for you.

I took One A Day for awhile and they were just fine. I didn't notice a difference in the way I was feeling but also no side effects.

Recently I tried the Rainbow Light, Just Once Men's One Multivitamin (amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Mens-One-Energy-Multivitamin-tablets/dp/B000EEDZ7M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293117825&sr=8-1 ) because they got the best reviews on Amazon for a cheaper multivitamin.

After a week or so taking them, my side started hurting like in my kidney area. Not sure why but I stopped taking them and the pain went away. Something there wasn't working for me but other people seem to like them based on the reviews.

Other person is somewhat correct and somewhat not - many times generic is same, many times it is different. Once thing is different absorbtion rates - the Rainbow Light ones have a very high absorbtion rate while many generic store brands do not. Waht's the point of taking a multivitamin if only half of it is absorbed? I don't know, probably just try a few for a month each and see how you feel. Good luck.

[romantico]

6. Thanks

Yeah, there are just so many and what works for one person may not work well for the other. Thanks again for the replies!

[Kali]

12. most people excrete the vast majority of any vitamins

it is said that here in the US we have the most expensive pee in the world (we are the biggest market for this type of shit - always looking for a PILL to fix everything)

eat a varied, balanced diet and you will not need these things

[reflection]

7. Centrum has always worked well for me.

At least I think it has. My blood tests usually come back straight as an arrow so I don't think I'm getting too much of anything...

[supernova]

9. Check the Vit list

to make sure there isn't too much Vit A.

I've seen a lot of multi vits that have 5K and up Vit A. If in a form other than beta carotene, as in food, it is toxic. Other than that, off brands are just as good as the national ones.

I currently I use One A Day for women (pre 'Silver)

[Phentex]

10. Storebrand version of Centrum is what we use. Last time I bought them...

I noticed many more specialty versions: men, women, teen, extra c, etc. I had to look hard to find the generic centrum multivitamin for both of us! :)

[NV Whino]

11. Trader Joe's multivitamin

inexpensive and has everything you need. There are several variations. Read the labels.

[IcyPeas]

18. they have a new multi with Probiotics I am using...

I trust Trader Joe's quality and they are reasonbly priced.

[Kali]

13. eat right and you don't need extras

a small amount of aspirin is good, but watch taking too much it can cause ulcers and other bleeding problems

no need for wasting money on vitamin pills if you are eating a good, varied, balanced diet - nutrients from real food are far superior to that in pills

having said that, the biggest bang for the buck would be a store brand pre-natal, maybe a little extra C - and you sure don't need to take them every day, couple times a week will keep you topped off just fine.

[astral]

21. It's not true anymore we can get all we need from food.

Our farmlands are totally stripped of nutrients and the produce grown on them does not have the nutrients in it if it isn't there to be gotten from the soil in the first place.

[Kali]

24. that is utter nonsense

nothing would grow at all if there were no nutrients

and even if some lands are damaged and the soils poor, there is plenty of good farm land, gardens and soils most everywhere

even conventionally farmed whole food is better nutrition than eating over-processed garbage and trying to make up for it with pills

[astral]

26. Your disagreement with me is making a different point

that I don't totally disagree with. Sure, eating conventionally farmed food is better than eating over-processed garbage, but the facts about the nutrient-depleted soil exist whether you are are aware of them or not. Anyone who grows their own produce can enrich the soil. The chemical fertilizers used by farms are for the purpose of faster / bigger rather than more nutritionally-dense.

And, since I said that I suppose I should go find a link on the matter:
http://www.physicalnutrition.net/soil-mineral-depletion.htm
SOIL MINERAL DEPLETION: Can a healthy diet be sufficient in today's world?
Dr Linus Pauling, twice noble prize winner, said “you can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency”. Yet, all over the world, minerals are disappearing from agricultural soils at an alarming rate. In 1992, the official report of the Rio Earth Summit concluded “there is deep concern over continuing major declines in the mineral values in farm and range soils throughout the world”. This statement was based on data showing that over the last 100 years, average mineral levels in agricultural soils had fallen worldwide – by 72% in Europe, 76% in Asia and 85% in North America.
______________________________

And here's an interesting quick-ref list:
This is natural sources of minerals and some symptoms of deficiency in each:
http://www.naturalhealthcaretoday.co.uk/minerals.htm

examples:
Mineral IODINE / Natural food sources: Mushrooms, iodised salt, fish, kelp, meats, fresh vegetables
Mineral Deficiency Symptoms: Obesity, irritably, dry hair, nervousness, cold hands and feet, goitre
Health benefits: Regulates energy production and rate of metabolism, enhances thyroid function, needed for prevention of goiter, good for healthy hair, skin, nails, teeth

Mineral MAGNESIUM / Natural food sources: Molasses, whole grains, honey, nuts, tuna, bran, green vegetables, bone meal, fish, cereals, milk, eggs, meat, peanuts, shellfish, pulses
Mineral Deficiency Symptoms: Confusion, nervousness, tremors, nausea, weakness, muscle cramps, insomnia, loss of apetite, premenstural tension.
Health benefits: Catalyst in the utilization of carbohydrate-fat-protein, phosphorus, calcium, potassium; good for energy; healthy maintenance of bones, arteries, heart, nerves, teeth

______________________________

In summary, being healthy takes a lot more effort than it used to. We don't 'know it all.' We learn NADA about true health in school. We usually learn nothing useful from our parents. It is a sad fact that most of our sickness and poor health in this country comes from this.

[Kali]

27. I can't find that quote anywhere

except alt-health sites - do you have another source?

In 1992, the official report of the Rio Earth Summit concluded “there is deep concern over continuing major declines in the mineral values in farm and range soils throughout the world”. This statement was based on data showing that over the last 100 years, average mineral levels in agricultural soils had fallen worldwide – by 72% in Europe, 76% in Asia and 85% in North America.

It isn't really a very logical statement anyway, - a depletion of ALL nutritional minerals of 85% in North America? How can I find this supposed statement out of the Summit? Or anywhere else reputable (not vitamin sales sites or other alt-health) for that matter.

[kayakjohnny]

14. I've always like Source of Life products...

I can actually feel the dfference when I take them, which is only periodically.

[Kaleva]

15. Yes.

[UTUSN]

16. GNC had one back in my fringe-Hippie days.

Back when natural foods and vitamins got hot.

There was a thing for Dr Roger J. WILLIAMS, a professor who discovered Pantothenate Acid, one of the B vitamins, when B-complex was popular for "steadying your nerves." When we learned, told one another, that the B(s) needed to be taken together in a complex, in the proper proportion to one another, as in yeast.

And I went back to vitamins off and on for decades after, but in my old age I have (learned? been told?) that some of them, not to mention

[UTUSN]

19. Whups, didn't finish the post, got interrupted. Vitamins might interfere with prescription meds

not to mention that other kinds of supplements (ginko, the other stuff).

[romantico]

20. Not

not taking any prescription meds. I'm gonna try either Centrum or some vitamins from Trader Joe's. Thanks again for the help.

[emilyg]

22. My Dad took Centrum - lived to 93.

[TroglodyteScholar]

23. Eat good food.

Multivitamins mostly just make expensive piss.

[Kali]

25. ...

:thumbsup:

[BrklynLiberal]

28. Vitamin Shoppe. Online or a store. They have a great variety and good info.

[grasswire]

29. I have been following the recommendations of a famous cardiologist...

...regarding vitamins and supplements, and it has changed my life.

Here's the list of supplements for cardiac health for women:

1- Coenzyme Q10

2- L-carnitine

3- B Vitamins (folic acid, B12, B6)

4- Carotenoids (lutein)

5- Magnesium/Calcium

6- Vitamin E

7- Vitamin C

8- OPCs (grapeseed, pycnogenol)

9- Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)

10- NAC (N-acetylcysteine)

Plus I take omega 3 and vitamin D and cranberry extract.

Just the coQ10 and magnesium took me from feeling every day that it might be my day to die, to not giving that possibility one thought!

Stephen Sinatra, M.D., practices both alternative and western medicine, and is proactive in his approach to cardiology and associated illnesses -- meaning he doesn't wait until someone has had an MI to intervene.