The Singularities of Multivitamins
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The Daily Ritual
Do you take a daily vitamin? Most of us do. Very few of us (myself included) eat all the fruit and vegetables we need on a daily basis. But, thankfully, this isn't necessary to get the nutrients we need. I rely heavily on juices and nectar. I make the effort to get my vitamins, minerals and nutrients from the source: I substitute spinach leaves for lettuce, include a veggie or fruit whenever possible with a meal, but I know it's still not enough. So, I keep good, quality juices in the fridge: V8 andV8 Fusion, Oddwalla andBolthouse juices and nectar, and POMWonderful. I rotate them daily, drinking a small glass with breakfast in the morning. And I take a multivitamin.
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Those of us who do take a daily supplement have our favorite. We're faithful to it. We've been taking it for a number of years. But, what do you know about your favorite multivitamin? Why do you like it? Is it actually doing what you believe it's supposed to be doing? Do you know what it's supposed to be doing?
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They're only as good as the food you eat
It's important to point out that a multivitamin is a supplement, not a replacement. And a supplement can only work as well as the quality of food you're ingesting. If you don't eat fruits, veggies or juices of any kind, your daily vitamin -no matter how good or expensive it is- cannot replace the essential nutrients which your body is being deprived of. You've got to ingest a natural vitamin source for those supplements to work.
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The Science of Absorption
A little know fact about the science of multivitamins is absorption. Too much of one nutrient or mineral can interfere with the absorption of another. Most vitamin consumers do not know this, and most vitamin makers rely on that. The common selling point of a daily supplement is, "We have more ingredients (vitamins and minerals) than the other guy,' and/or "We have higher concentrations of these ingredients." If your daily supplement is one of the "more of everything" -and typically more expensive- brands, chances are you're body is being robbed of essential vitamins and minerals, just as your wallet is being robbed of essential dollars and cents.
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There are several good supplement makers who incorporate the science of absorption when making their vitamins and they deliver a balanced, quality product. The brand I like -and have been taking all my life- is Centrum. They touch on the subject of absorption, and how too much of one will interfere with another, in some of their commercials. They offer a variety of supplement types, depending on your age and lifestyle: Performance, Junior, Silver, Materna, liquid, Forte, Protegra, Cardia, etc. All good products, scientifically balanced for specific types. And, very importantly, they are reasonably priced.
I am blissfully ignorant of all the specifics of vitamin absorption: How much of nutrient "A" does it take to cancel out nutrient "B," and how much of nutrient "C" does it take to optimize the absorption of nutrient "D."?
Haven't the foggiest.
But, I know Centrum does, so I rely on them to do the science. I simply pay them for their efforts with my loyal patronage, and reap the rewards of a balanced intake of vitamins, nutrients and minerals that keeps me feeling good... all of the time.
The Centrum website
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Story and layout: LemonadeMultimedia
The End of the Centrum Tabs Era
Because of feedback received at this hub, which supports other bits of information I'd picked up here and there about better absorption of liquid-form multivitamins and raves I've heard about bee pollen, I'm going to make the switch to one of the two. I'm leaning towards bee pollen - it's a natural. A little Wikipedia research reveals some very encouraging facts. Check this out:
- All the essential amino acids
- A full spectrum of vitamins, especially B12 and E, with significant amounts of B1, B2, B3, B5, C and vitamin D.
- Various minerals including calcium, manganese, phosphorous, iron, sodium, potassium, aluminum, magnesium and copper
- Trace elements and enzymes (including antioxidants), and co-enzymes, pigmants, xanthophylls, carotenes, sterols, phytosterols, lignans, isoflavones and flavonoids.
- Hormone precursors -which stimulate hormone production and help anti-aging
- Carbohydrates and fatty acids
I'd never heard of xanthophyllis, phytosterols or lignans, so I turned again to Wikipedia:
Xanthophylls are yellow pigments from the carotene group. They are responsible for the color in chicken egg yolks.
Phytosterols are a group of steroid alcohols, phytochemicals naturally occurring in plants. They have cholesterol-lowering properties.
Lignans are a group of chemical compounds also found in plants and particularly in flax seed. They act as antioxidants.
Another site lists these benefits of bee pollen supplements: Athletic performance, digestive assimilation, rejuvenation, general vitality, skin vitality, appetite, haemoglobin content, sexual prowess (always a good thing!), and, probably something only I would be interested in, healthy weight gain.
I do believe we have a winner folks!
Feedback always welcomed.
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CommentsLoading...
Many people believe just that. I guess it hasn't really been pointed out to them the difference between "'supplements' and 'replacements.'
Thanks for reading, Sweetie. Always appreciated.
You know, vitamins are a subject that I feel I need to investigate more thoroughly in order to optimize my healthy diet and lifestyle goals. I just never can seem to really get into the idea. I don't take medicines when I can avoid it, and it's caused me to be really suspicious of taking any pills at all, especially the kind that I would be taking every day. It's good to hear sane people, whose opinions I generally trust, use multi-vitamins. I always thought they were for health nuts (the weird kind I mean). Perhaps I'll invest in a bottle and start a regimin, to see if I get any results.
Do you notice the vitamins helping you? Or if you forget a day does it affect you?
Thanks, man! And, definitely. If I run out and have to wait a couple days before I can replace them, I can feel the difference in my general energy level. It's amazing.
And, I feel exactly the same way about pills. Don't touch 'em, unless I absolutely have to. It's bad enough I'm forced to take them during hay fever season, but as soon as I can, I put 'em away till next year.
I think one of the Centrums would be a good choice for you. Check out the website, all the different ones are there. I like 'Performance.'
Hello...one thing I would add is that most multivits do not provide enough minerals which are more important than vitamins when it comes to muscle/joints and nerve conduction.
The juices you pointed out are great. I am big fan of Bolthouse, so much so that I called the company in Canada to press for greater marketing of their products.
Whenever shopping for vitamins or suppliments it is advisable to only buy from a company that adheres to GMP. This means they manufacture using the same standards that pharm companies do and this leads to a higher quality.
Nice job CW...
Nice nice, I'm going to look into that for sure. Thanks for the great advice
Thanks Funnebone. Agreed, that's why I'm so big on juices and nectar. One of my faves is Oddwalla 'Super Food.' It's dark green, looks disgusting, but sweetened with juices and honey and super good for you.
I'm distrustful of pharmacy (if that's what you meant by 'pharm') standards. I trust Centrum -and companies like them- because they adhere to the high standards of common sense and solid education, and are always updating their product - as new info and discoveries are made. Their not trying to just sell more product no matter what.
Jonno, you're welcome. Let me know how they work for you.
sorry...you should see a GMP stamp on the label of the bottle.
Pharmaceutical standards don't really comfort me either. So many garbage pills get released, then recalled because they're hurting people. Does the FDA regulate those standards? I really don't trust those guys.
And superfood rulz Walker! I get a version from Berkeley Bowl (a wonderful, all-organic grocery store in Berkeley, CA) that isn't by Odwalla, but it is really great quality green liquid food. It has like seaweed or something it I guess, and some other green foods that make it look horrible, but taste sooooo good. And it's good for you, that's the best part.
Funne, Who/what are GMP? Fill me in.
Jonno, ya there's definitely seaweed of some sort in there. Mega-healthy! People look at me like I'm drinking vomit (ha-ha) - as I'm twice their age and running rings around them.
Oh ya, Jonno, get your Centrum at Wal-Mart. I get a large bottle for under $8. It's great!
Yes we all need fruit and vegies fresh every day grow your own too. But also need that little extra zip that these vitamins can give you. I take fish oil every day and used to take glucosamine but having a rest from them at the moment.
I do believe we need to alternate our vitamins. And I am a little skeptical as to what exactly goes into all the vitamins. Are the cheaper ones less in goodness and just what is put into them that we do not know about.
Great thought provoking hub thanks for that
I've also heard that Bee Pollen is supposed to be really good, but to get the quality stuff is very expensive.
I don't know what goes into the bargain vitamins. I don't take them so have never looked. The best way to know would be to research the manufacturers. Do they know what they're doing, or are they just throwing a bunch of minerals & nutrients together? Some store brand items are made by the same people who make the name brand stuff. That info is typically on the label.
Thanks for reading, Eileen.
Constant Walker,
I have seen and felt a difference in multivitamins. I had tried Centrum and in my unenlightened days, the Wal-Mart brand. When I swithced to the 'premium' types, there was a difference in my energy level and in my appetite. Since going to the premium brand, we always return to them.
J D Murrah
Thanks for reading, JD. What kind are taking now? Just curious.
CW,
I've been a centrum man for a few years now, and I can honestly see a difference in my overall health. I take one in the morning and one at night, per advice from a trainer at 24 hour fitness. This is a good subject to do a hub on. Nice work cdub!
Thanks, man. You take two per day? Never heard of that being done before. I guess it's not so strange - not like you could OD on Centrum, eh? I might have to give it a shot.
Great advice, and I agree. I try to eat balanced, but the difference between when I have vitamins and when I don't is like night and day. I feel 20 years older and slower when I don't have them. Thanks for sharing this info!
Thank YOU, Jerry, for helping to varify the benefits of a good vitamin regimen. Many others are agreeing with you.
Constat Walker,
At present, I take some called "Life Essentials". They are a brand unique to a health food/vitamin store down here. I have heard that Blubonnet makes some good ones as well. I tried Mellaluca, but was not impressed. There is another brand I enjoyed, which I can not recall the name of, yet they have a green and yellow label and advertise in many of the health magazines.
Great! What's important is that they work for you. They're obviously doing something right, eh?
Graet hub, thanks! I know I should be taking a multivitamin, and I've heard from more than one person that fish oil is a big deal. What do I take? Nothin'! I should though. I'm going to check it out, asap.
PG, thanks for reading. Fish oil IS very healthy - particularly for the brain - but you can get that from eating fish (even tuna - but sardines or kippers are better), and it's not a multivintamin.
GMP is the good manufacturing process. Pharm companies have to adhere to strict quality controll processing. Batches need to be checked to make sure there is an equal distribution of ingredients. Vitamins are not regulated so any joe constantwalker shmo can form a vitamin company. When they adhere to GMP it means they use an industry standard of quality control.
Whenever you can eat foods, obviously, it it better than taking vitamins. any liquid solution is much better than pill form as a large percentage of pills go undigested. Quite often vitamins will show up on xray in the bowels.
Eating a handful of spinach is one of the best things you can do. Like CW said fish oil is great but so is Flax Seed Oil. Flax oil tastes much better than many of the other omega oils, I actually keep it in my frig and swifg it from time to time.
Honey is also fantaqstic to keep around. I think there was a great hub written about the benifits of honey.
Avoid any multilevel marketing vitamins though. They are often sold by unknowledgable pushy people and are often inferior products.
Thanks Funnebone. So I think I can trust Centrum. They've been around a very long time, and I trust their research.
Any of the omega oils are great, but I'm a seafood fiend, so I just go that route. And definitely honey is a power food, too. I eat a packet at work every now and then.
Ya, liquid vitamins are better than pills, I just recently learned that. Centrum also comes in liquid so when I buy vitamins next I'll be going with that.
Oh ya, the good ol' MLM vitamins. My only experience with them was with frickin' "Amway" - remember them? That was about 30 years ago. I did a side-by-side comparison with Centrum (I was even taking them then!) and blew 'em away to the idiot who was trying to sell them to me.
"Joe Schmo"? I would have went with "Joe Blow." Much funnier...
PS: the pic is funny - suits you... somehow.
Nice post constant walker. I take a Centrum every day!
Good for you. I've been a lot lately about liquids being better than tablets... tablets don't seem to be completely dissolving in the system. Centrum makes a liquid and I'm going to try it.
Thanks for reading, Smith.
Well done Contant on a great hub I take bee pollen which is natures multi vitamins tablet because it got everything in it and I also eat goji berries I give my kids a multi and my wife takes one to .
Nice post.Thanks for sharing :)
Hey Mulder, thanks for reading. I've heard a lot of good things about bee pollen, just haven't tried it yet. I also heard that if you don't get it from a health food store, you could be getting a sub-quality product - but there's one right by my place! I'm definitely going to give bee pollen a shot... it sounds really good. If I like it I'll have to update this hub. What are goji berries?
Hi BOTW, thanks for reading.
This is a very interesting hub CW.
I have tried Goji berries - but had to keep returning to the healthfood shop because I found that I couldn`t get the top off the bottle !!! (Is it me ??? )
Anyway - the third bottle and it`s top is now working fine.
Do the Goji berries work - I haven`t the faintest idea ........
Viv
Thank you, Duchess, and thank you for stopping by. I'm checking out goji berries -and the juice- right now. So far, the only price I've found is $35.00 for a liter and a half of juice - not counting S&H - so add at least another $5. Although my health is certainly worth it, I can't see myself putting out that much for a bottle of juice on a regular basis. But, I'm still searching around, and looking for a local retailer.
I like liquids! They will absorb better. Your article is very informative.
Thank you, KH, that's what I've descovered.
thats a lot to take into consideration, thanks!
Thanks for reading, Hair-tools.
Hi Constant, I take Moducare (an African wild potato extract) two capsules a day, MSM (two capsules a day) and barley green in capsule form. I also use fish oil as an additive to bolognese and curries. I guess it works for me!
Interesting hub and great comments.
Thanks Sixty. I've never heard of Moducare or MSM, but like you said; it's working for you.
Great hub, CW, and it helps explain a lot. I take vitamins every day and I also notice when I haven't taken them for a few days. In my case I need LOTS of extra vitamin D because of my osteoporosus. Seems even with the billions (LOL!!!) of IU's I take it isn't enough!
Glad you got something from the hub, Jeff. Yep, you've got to ingest a natural source for all those trillions (why not?) of IUs have something to work from. Milk, cheese, numerous veggies, sunlight (a half-hour walk 3 times weekly would do it, sans sunscreen!)... there's a lot of sources.
Man, you write some excellent hubs, my friend! I take daily suppliments in addition to eating what would be called a Mediterrainian diet. My wife is from Spain, so we get lots of fresh veggies, fruits, olive oil, whole grains and other things good for the body & soul.
Just the same, I know that some of the food we buy, while pretty good, has lost some of its nutrition over the days or weeks it has been stored & transported. So a suppliment is just the right thing to help make sure we get any nutrients we might be missing.
They are not, as you rightly point out, replacements for those who otherwise do not make healthy eating choices.
Great hub, and I hope you will expand in more hubs on the theme of good nutrition and eating healthy!
Thank you very much, Jeff. So glad you appreciated this, and it sounds like you and the wife have a very good diet... all the way around.
I have actually given some thought to doing a hub about good ("real") food, but my idea of good eating rarely agrees with others'. However, I would be the first to say that you have an excellent, over-all diet. Nothing difficult about it, is there?
Great info
u r so so so stiuped.
VMH, thank you. Why didn't I get this until two fucking years later ... HP?
Carbon, Before you call someone else "stupid," please learn how to spell it.
Story and layout: LemonadeMultimedia
SweetiePie Level 6 Commenter 3 years ago
Good advice. I always thought it was ridiculous how some people would only eat fast food, but they thought taking a vitamin would make up for their defencies in diet. We still need to eat fruits and vegetables also.