multivitamin: yes or no?
 

I'm torn about whether or not to take a multivamin. Dr. Atkins recommended it. When I read the ingredients in a simple one-a-day vitamin, it makes me feel ill. Talc, dyes, chemical garbage galore ingested daily. Ugh. So to get a little extra vitamin boost, you put your health at risk.

Today I bought a big jar of Walgreen's adult gummy multivitamins. No disgusting dyes or chemicals except for glucose and sucrose. Carb content per gummy is only 1 gram despite the fact that it's made with juice concentrates.

I'm really torn. Hmm, I think I said that already. I thought this might fill in any nutritional gaps, but it seems in order to be "healthier" you have to ingest toxins in one form or another. I'm thinking I'm better off just having chicken livers once a week.

What do you all think? What's your stance on multivitamins? Do you take them? If so, which one? If not, why not? I'm interested in hearing what you all have to say.

Thanks!

I don't take a multivitamin. I track my food on cronometer and use the results to help me determine where I may need to supplement and get individual nutrients instead of a multi. However it is possible to get multivitamins that don't have all those awful added ingredients. A good place to look is iHerb.com. iHerb lists all the ingredients of the products they carry so you can see what you are gettting. Of course they will cost you more but from my perspective it would be worth it.

Jean

I, too, don't take a multivitamin. I'll take a couple individual supplements like magnesium that I know are filling essential needs where I have deficits. I also take vitamin K2 (menaQ7 variety) and vitamin D3 at the times of year when I have little sun exposure. The K2 is specifically to encourage calcium to go where it's needed (bones) and not where it's not wanted (arteries). I keep it simple with these supplements and eat a good variety of healthy proteins and vegetables to get everything else I need.

I'm somewhat skeptical of multi-vitamins as many profess to have everything but the kitchen sink, and I'm never sure how much of this stuff is at the quality where my body can absorb what it lacks or whether it needs any of the other stuff. I know I no longer need iron at my age, and many multi's have this in spades. It's good that you're asking this question, as being thoughtfully discriminating about what you consume will enable you to find the correct combination of supplements. I started magnesium when I experienced muscle cramping during workouts, and it immediately provided relief, so my N=1 lead me to supplement with a good form of magnesium.

I threw away my gummies (they made me sleepy and hungry) and am now trying Centrum Vitamints, chewable mint-flavored multis. They've got some sugar alcohols and sucralose, which agree with me, and some blue food dye - ugh, but at least not a bowlful of Skittles. They have a good variety of vitamins and minerals and otherwise suit my needs. If my energy level improves without any adverse effects, hallelujah. If there's no discernible difference or if I wind up feeling worse, buh-bye. We'll see how it goes.

After three years, I just stopped taking a multi. I used to take Now Eve gel caps. I liked them because the dose was in three pills and I could take two at once without becoming nauseous. I believe my body really needed the multi as I had a lot of deficiencies that I was dealing with not only from years of poor eating but also from four debilitating preganancies where I vomited around the clock for six months straight.

I do still supplement quite a bit of individual vitamins and minerals. In a few years, I will probably have phased out all of them except mag, iodine, potassium, ubiquinol and k2 (in mk4). I've recently introduced a natural vitamin c which is having a wonderful effect on me, but I think once My weight is in a place where I can enjoy cantaloupe more frequently, I'll be able to cut the C as well.