Multivitamins?

HadjiQuest

I baught some centrum yesterday, but noticed that they're pretty much a free-for-all of junk for both genders. So, now I'm going to go back and try again.

What should I be looking for in a multivitamin? I'm specifically looking for Vitamins D, and whichever B fights fatigue and depression.

Thanatos

Your body can only process so much of most vitamins. The rest of it just gets pissed out.

What's the particular problem with taking a multivitamin that covers most of your bases?

HadjiQuest

Thanatos wrote:

Your body can only process so much of most vitamins. The rest of it just gets pissed out.

What's the particular problem with taking a multivitamin that covers most of your bases?

The problem with the centrum is that it has a full female dose of iron. Males don't need to take iron at all, and so the suggested daily consumption rate for it is much lower. Now, this is a problem because studies are coming out saying that men who take supplements with iron in them are twice as likely to develop certain diseases.

Centrum also has alot of other shit in it that's probably unneccessary. I just want to know which essentials I should look for that won't have any type of negative effect.

bone daddy

HadjiQuest wrote:

The problem with the centrum is that it has a full female dose of iron. Males don't need to take iron at all, and so the suggested daily consumption rate for it is much lower. Now, this is a problem because studies are coming out saying that men who take supplements with iron in them are twice as likely to develop certain diseases.

Studies have come out saying this is almost entirely mitigated by donating blood three or four times a year. If you do that, you needn't worry about the extra iron unless you're getting a shitload of it from your diet as well.

HadjiQuest

Err....I don't think I'll be donating blood all that often.

Lucky Cynic

I usually take multivitamins in halves, and just try and eat more fruits and veggies, citrus especially if it is winter time. It usually works well and I feel more alert and active now than a few monthes ago.

Thanatos

bone daddy wrote:

HadjiQuest wrote:

The problem with the centrum is that it has a full female dose of iron. Males don't need to take iron at all, and so the suggested daily consumption rate for it is much lower. Now, this is a problem because studies are coming out saying that men who take supplements with iron in them are twice as likely to develop certain diseases.

Studies have come out saying this is almost entirely mitigated by donating blood three or four times a year. If you do that, you needn't worry about the extra iron unless you're getting a shitload of it from your diet as well.

Wait, so you're saying donating blood is good for you? Wow.

Sentry

GNC has a really good multi-vitamin that has pretty much everything you'll need in it. The problem with getting a multi-vitamin from Centrum or whatever is that, while they have 100% of the recommended dose, sometimes that isn't enough. The recommended dose is set by the FDA, which, as anyone knows, has its head so far up its ass as to be almost completely ineffective.

If you're active, you are probably going to need more then what you would get from a brand like Centrum, and if your not active at all, who cares, because any vitamin is better then nothing.

blincoln

HadjiQuest wrote:

Males don't need to take iron at all.

Er, I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. Maybe they're less likely to need it, but that's different.

stixs4321

Buy a cheap mutli-vitamin and purchase a B-50 Complex and take the B's three times a day. You could also purchase a good multi-vitamin from a health food store, it might say "high potency" or something along those lines on it and check for the B vitamins having 50mg, or mcg of each one.

Outside of that take;
cod liver oil, one tsp, once
magnesium, 250mg, twice
B-50 complex, twice(not with the multi-vitamin)

5-HTP is great, it works like anti depressant drugs by raising serotonin levels in the brain. It works pretty quickly and great at giving you motivation. I used to take it 100mg three times a week. You could try 50mg daily or 100mg depending on how you feel. Don't take it if your on anti depressants or something though.

What are you doing/taking for your depression at the moment???

bone daddy

Thanatos wrote:

bone daddy wrote:

HadjiQuest wrote:

The problem with the centrum is that it has a full female dose of iron. Males don't need to take iron at all, and so the suggested daily consumption rate for it is much lower. Now, this is a problem because studies are coming out saying that men who take supplements with iron in them are twice as likely to develop certain diseases.

Studies have come out saying this is almost entirely mitigated by donating blood three or four times a year. If you do that, you needn't worry about the extra iron unless you're getting a shitload of it from your diet as well.

Wait, so you're saying donating blood is good for you? Wow.

For males without any contraindicating health problems, anyway. I've never seen anything saying it has health benefits for women.

JWFokker

stixs4321 wrote:

5-HTP is great, it works like anti depressant drugs by raising serotonin levels in the brain. It works pretty quickly and great at giving you motivation. I used to take it 100mg three times a week. You could try 50mg daily or 100mg depending on how you feel. Don't take it if your on anti depressants or something though.

It's been shown 5-HTP is most effective when taken as a 100-300mg dose just prior to sleep.

HadjiQuest

I'm not doing anything for my depression at the moment.

5-HTP is hells expensive, as I've tried to get some before.

Think the store will take back these unopened vitamins?

Thanatos

HadjiQuest wrote:

I'm not doing anything for my depression at the moment.

5-HTP is hells expensive, as I've tried to get some before.

Think the store will take back these unopened vitamins?

It would surprise me if the FDA allows them to take returns on vitamins.

HadjiQuest

Thanatos wrote:

HadjiQuest wrote:

I'm not doing anything for my depression at the moment.

5-HTP is hells expensive, as I've tried to get some before.

Think the store will take back these unopened vitamins?

It would surprise me if the FDA allows them to take returns on vitamins.

God damn I flushed away my last $7.

Trillian

bone daddy wrote:

Thanatos wrote:

bone daddy wrote:

HadjiQuest wrote:

The problem with the centrum is that it has a full female dose of iron. Males don't need to take iron at all, and so the suggested daily consumption rate for it is much lower. Now, this is a problem because studies are coming out saying that men who take supplements with iron in them are twice as likely to develop certain diseases.

Studies have come out saying this is almost entirely mitigated by donating blood three or four times a year. If you do that, you needn't worry about the extra iron unless you're getting a shitload of it from your diet as well.

Wait, so you're saying donating blood is good for you? Wow.

For males without any contraindicating health problems, anyway. I've never seen anything saying it has health benefits for women.

If you're a male with hemochromatosis (you store too much iron in your body) donating blood a couple times a year will save your life. For anyone else, it's just a nice thing to do on occasion.

GiantRobo

HadjiQuest wrote:

Thanatos wrote:

HadjiQuest wrote:

I'm not doing anything for my depression at the moment.

5-HTP is hells expensive, as I've tried to get some before.

Think the store will take back these unopened vitamins?

It would surprise me if the FDA allows them to take returns on vitamins.

God damn I flushed away my last $7.

Where'd you buy them?

Wombthrasher Deathmetal

There's nothing at all wrong with those vitamins. The dose of iron isn't enough that it'll do anything to you. If you're still wigged out about it for whatever bizarre reason, take them every other day.

I take 2 of those GNC Megamen multi-vitamins and 27 mg (150% of your recommended daily ) of iron everyday.

edit: Your urine will turn neon yellow once you start a vitamin regiment.

bongi

Cod liver oil is also very good for you, but should only be taken during the winter.

Machismo

I read recently that the average male, after he stops growing he retains about 1 mg of iron in his body per day of his life. This can cause pretty serious problem, apparently.

Now, I am 25, I stopped growing only a couple of years ago (my growing period was longer than most). I also give blood approximately every 3-4 months (as often as I can) and work out a lot (i believe iron is used in muscle construction). I am not going to worry about extra iron until my thirties, I am sure.

Walter

blincoln wrote:

HadjiQuest wrote:

Males don't need to take iron at all.

Er, I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. Maybe they're less likely to need it, but that's different.

No, it is correct. Males have absolutely no natural way of eliminating iron from our bodies since we don't bleed 4 days a month. Its not a good idea to take a supplement with iron in it.

Dalboz

Too much iron can cause constipation. Unless you have some other serious health problems, that's probably the worst that will happen. Most doctors do not recommend taking iron supplements unless you are a pregnant woman or have an iron deficiency. The only way for the body to remove excess iron is to bleed, which is why menstruating women can sometimes take it. Or you can give blood.

Also, as for the body flushing out what's not used (we've already covered iron), this only works for water soluble vitamins, like Vitamin B and C. Vitamin D and E are fat soluble, so your body will store them and they can build up. Vitamin D supplements are usually not recommended as a few minutes in the sun each day and a balanced diet will usually provide you with enough.

For myself, I take Jarrow Mineral Balance, which is an iron-free multi-mineral capsule. The only problem with it is that, since it's in powder form in capsules and not compacted, you need to take six of them a day to get your recommended doseage (I take three in the morning and three at night). I also take Twinlabs Vitamin B-100 Complex, a Vitamin E complex gelcap with mixed tocopherols (I don't remember the brand), and Costco brand Vitamin C with rose hips and bioflavonids. The Jarrow Mineral Balance sounds kind of like what you are looking for.

Senjutsu

Dalboz wrote:

Vitamin D supplements are usually not recommended as a few minutes in the sun each day and a balanced diet will usually provide you with enough.

This is a prevalent misunderstanding. You skin generates Vitamin D when a significant area of it is exposed to very specific frequencies of UV radiation corresponding to a UV Index >3 and and the solar angles around midday, provided you have no sunscreen on. In Northern latitudes above 30º during the winter the combination of clothing, solar angle, and reduced daylight hours mean that the amount of solar exposure you'd need given the little body area exposed is impractical to achieve, and vitamin D deficiency is fairly common.