I'm just asking because right now, I'm not taking any. When I was taking multi-vitamins I really didn't feel any different than when I wasn't taking them. So do you any of you swear by taking multi-vitamins on a daily basis or feel that it's really not necessary unless the doctor suggests it?

If you already have a more clean lifestyle(No excessive drinking and or drugs, healthy eating habits and moderate exercise) you might not need it as much as those whose lifestyles are more the partying kind. I told a friend of mine who drinks a bit that he should start taking them and he noticed a positive difference in how he felt after a night out once he got on a regular basis of taking them. For myself I take them and they make me feel more energized fo the day.

[Edited 7/8/12 19:04pm]

I'm kind of a slacker when it comes to taking my multivitamins regularly, but my skin looks better, my nail, and I am anemic which can get severe when I'm not careful. I know I don't always stick to the proper eating habit, and a lot of times I just can't eat everything that I need to. So yeah I notice a difference nothing drastic like increased energy levels, but I feel a little more upright. And Grammy took them, over 90 no blood pressure problem, no diabetic problem, limited heart disease issues, so why not.

I definitely feel "better" when taking a multi-v.

For about 6 months I procrastinated in getting some. Now that I bought them and taking them daily, I feel "better". Can't describe it...just like more of a spring to my step or something. I'm also Vitamin D deficient, so that has alot to do with it I think.

Okay thanks for the responses guys!

I take them, but I honestly have no clue whether they make a difference to anything but my pee!

missfee said:

I'm just asking because right now, I'm not taking any. When I was taking multi-vitamins I really didn't feel any different than when I wasn't taking them. So do you any of you swear by taking multi-vitamins on a daily basis or feel that it's really not necessary unless the doctor suggests it?

It depends on a person's diet. Fruits and veggies should give a person enough of the vitamins they need. However, many people do not eat the required daily amount of fruits and vegetables. I take multi-vitamins a few times a week. They have Gummy adult vitamins that I will try soon.

Dalia11 said:

missfee said:

I'm just asking because right now, I'm not taking any. When I was taking multi-vitamins I really didn't feel any different than when I wasn't taking them. So do you any of you swear by taking multi-vitamins on a daily basis or feel that it's really not necessary unless the doctor suggests it?

It depends on a person's diet. Fruits and veggies should give a person enough of the vitamins they need. However, many people do not eat the required daily amount of fruits and vegetables. I take multi-vitamins a few times a week. They have Gummy adult vitamins that I will try soon.

yes, if you ate like a chimp or an ape, you'd comsume a tableful of organic fruit & veggies every day. Most people don't do this.

I think juicing is a good way to get a concentrated dose of vitamins without having to spend hours and hours munching on a raw stalk of chard. But even then, you'd be going through like $20 of organic veggies every day in order to get enough.

[Edited 7/9/12 11:44am]

I don't take a multi - but I do supplement specific vitamins and minerals. I've had a vitamin D deficiency, so I take that pretty much year-round. I also take magnesium every day - most people are deficient due to our food being grown in mineral-deficient soil. Plus it makes me "go" first thing in the morning - always a plus.

In the winter, I also take NAC - a powerful anti-oxidant and immune booster. It helps me ward off colds and whatnot. (When I'm doing a show, I'm often swimming in a new germ pool - so this is important.)

I probably should take a thyroid support vitamin - but I always forget these, since they're high in B vitamins and so should be taken in the morning.

And I take theanine every day. Not a vitamin - it's a supplement that is the calming part of green tea. It chills me out a bit without making me sleepy, which I like.

NDRU said:

Dalia11 said:

It depends on a person's diet. Fruits and veggies should give a person enough of the vitamins they need. However, many people do not eat the required daily amount of fruits and vegetables. I take multi-vitamins a few times a week. They have Gummy adult vitamins that I will try soon.

yes, if you ate like a chimp or an ape, you'd comsume a tabeful of organic fruit & veggies every day. Most people don't do this.

I think juicing is a good way to get a concentrated dose of vitamins without having to spend hours and hours munching on a raw stalk of chard. But even then, you'd be going through like $20 of organic veggies every day in order to get enough.

Plus, you remove the fiber and concentrate the calories - neither of which most people need.

I was taking a combined calcium/vitamin D deal but I stopped recently and I didn't notice any difference.

I should really start taking it again, as I know I probably don't get enough calcium.

I definitely plan to increase my vitamin D in the winter, though, as I hope it will improve my SAD/ward off depression. I was on antidepressants last winter so I didn't bother but I'm off them now and I'd like to stay off them if possible.

NDRU, You have a point. Whatever is easier for a person. I eat at least 4 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables daily. Some people are now saying that Organic foods are not any better than non-organic foods?

[Edited 7/9/12 11:51am]

Dalia11 said:

NDRU, You have a point. Whatever is easier for a person. I eat at least 4 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables daily. Some people are now saying that Organic foods are not any better than non-organic foods?

[Edited 7/9/12 11:51am]

It depends on what you mean by "better". In general they're going to have the same nutritional content, but the organic food is missing the chemical pesticides and hormones and whatnot, the things that can potentially be bad for you, especially in larger quantities.

I buy organic about 60-75% of the time and I wash my fruits and veggies thoroughly. I believe it helps in the long run, but I'm not sure I can quantify how much.

CarrieMpls said:

I was taking a combined calcium/vitamin D deal but I stopped recently and I didn't notice any difference.

I should really start taking it again, as I know I probably don't get enough calcium.

I definitely plan to increase my vitamin D in the winter, though, as I hope it will improve my SAD/ward off depression. I was on antidepressants last winter so I didn't bother but I'm off them now and I'd like to stay off them if possible.

You will be amazed at how much the vitamin D helps with the SAD. My winter mood (not to mention my immunity) has improved a lot since I took care of my deficiency. In the winter, I take 5000 IU of vitamin D a day - even now that my vitamin D level is "normal."

Have you had your vitamin D level checked? Normal range is between 30 and 100 nmol/L (though readings below 50 are still not optimal for bone and overall health). In 2007, mine was 17. The last time I had it checked (about a year ago), it was 59.

Still working to get it up to 70-ish. Because D is a fat soluble vitamin, it can take a looooong time to get it to where it needs to be.

CarrieMpls said:

Dalia11 said:

NDRU, You have a point. Whatever is easier for a person. I eat at least 4 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables daily. Some people are now saying that Organic foods are not any better than non-organic foods?

[Edited 7/9/12 11:51am]

It depends on what you mean by "better". In general they're going to have the same nutritional content, but the organic food is missing the chemical pesticides and hormones and whatnot, the things that can potentially be bad for you, especially in larger quantities.

I buy organic about 60-75% of the time and I wash my fruits and veggies thoroughly. I believe it helps in the long run, but I'm not sure I can quantify how much.

I have read some sources that say organic is way more nutritious. Of course, I am not a scientist, so I have no clue.

That is why people should learn more about Nutrition and the foods they eat.

NDRU said:

CarrieMpls said:

It depends on what you mean by "better". In general they're going to have the same nutritional content, but the organic food is missing the chemical pesticides and hormones and whatnot, the things that can potentially be bad for you, especially in larger quantities.

I buy organic about 60-75% of the time and I wash my fruits and veggies thoroughly. I believe it helps in the long run, but I'm not sure I can quantify how much.

I have read some sources that say organic is way more nutritious. Of course, I am not a scientist, so I have no clue.

Wow! I was not aware of that at all! Very interesting.

Genesia said:

CarrieMpls said:

I was taking a combined calcium/vitamin D deal but I stopped recently and I didn't notice any difference.

I should really start taking it again, as I know I probably don't get enough calcium.

I definitely plan to increase my vitamin D in the winter, though, as I hope it will improve my SAD/ward off depression. I was on antidepressants last winter so I didn't bother but I'm off them now and I'd like to stay off them if possible.

You will be amazed at how much the vitamin D helps with the SAD. My winter mood (not to mention my immunity) has improved a lot since I took care of my deficiency. In the winter, I take 5000 IU of vitamin D a day - even now that my vitamin D level is "normal."

Have you had your vitamin D level checked? Normal range is between 30 and 100 nmol/L (though readings below 50 are still not optimal for bone and overall health). In 2007, mine was 17. The last time I had it checked (about a year ago), it was 59.

Still working to get it up to 70-ish. Because D is a fat soluble vitamin, it can take a looooong time to get it to where it needs to be.

I've never had it tested, no, but perhaps I will ask for it next time I have a physical.

My bf takes it as it's hugely beneficial for folks with MS. They even think it may correlate to contracting it, as almost no one who grows up & lives around the equator gets MS and the vast majority of cases are folks who live in the upper parts of the hemispheres.

I think there's a lot we don't yet inderstand about it.

CarrieMpls said:

Genesia said:

You will be amazed at how much the vitamin D helps with the SAD. My winter mood (not to mention my immunity) has improved a lot since I took care of my deficiency. In the winter, I take 5000 IU of vitamin D a day - even now that my vitamin D level is "normal."

Have you had your vitamin D level checked? Normal range is between 30 and 100 nmol/L (though readings below 50 are still not optimal for bone and overall health). In 2007, mine was 17. The last time I had it checked (about a year ago), it was 59.

Still working to get it up to 70-ish. Because D is a fat soluble vitamin, it can take a looooong time to get it to where it needs to be.

I've never had it tested, no, but perhaps I will ask for it next time I have a physical.

My bf takes it as it's hugely beneficial for folks with MS. They even think it may correlate to contracting it, as almost no one who grows up & lives around the equator gets MS and the vast majority of cases are folks who live in the upper parts of the hemispheres.

I think there's a lot we don't yet inderstand about it.

It may also be linked to cancer prevention. Southern US states have lower incidences of many types of cancer - and the thinking is that better opportunities for sun exposure (and vitamin D synthesis) year-round may be a factor.

There's a lot we don't know. And since it's pretty hard to actually OD on vitamin D, I figure an ounce of prevention...

Genesia said:

CarrieMpls said:

I've never had it tested, no, but perhaps I will ask for it next time I have a physical.

My bf takes it as it's hugely beneficial for folks with MS. They even think it may correlate to contracting it, as almost no one who grows up & lives around the equator gets MS and the vast majority of cases are folks who live in the upper parts of the hemispheres.

I think there's a lot we don't yet inderstand about it.

It may also be linked to cancer prevention. Southern US states have lower incidences of many types of cancer - and the thinking is that better opportunities for sun exposure (and vitamin D synthesis) year-round may be a factor.

There's a lot we don't know. And since it's pretty hard to actually OD on vitamin D, I figure an ounce of prevention...

I take a weekly pill of Vitamin D @ 50,000IU (prescription)

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

It may also be linked to cancer prevention. Southern US states have lower incidences of many types of cancer - and the thinking is that better opportunities for sun exposure (and vitamin D synthesis) year-round may be a factor.

There's a lot we don't know. And since it's pretty hard to actually OD on vitamin D, I figure an ounce of prevention...

I take a weekly pill of Vitamin D @ 50,000IU (prescription)

Yup. When my deficiency was first diagnosed, I was on 10,000 IU every other day.

I take a B/C/magnesium in the morning and with dinner D/calcium

I was also taking iron sachets in the morning but I ran out

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

It may also be linked to cancer prevention. Southern US states have lower incidences of many types of cancer - and the thinking is that better opportunities for sun exposure (and vitamin D synthesis) year-round may be a factor.

There's a lot we don't know. And since it's pretty hard to actually OD on vitamin D, I figure an ounce of prevention...

I take a weekly pill of Vitamin D @ 50,000IU (prescription)

that's a big one! I take 2000iu each day

I'll preface anything I say by stating that I am no expert and make no claims to being anything other than a layman on this topic and not a particularly knowledgeable one either. And I’ll also acknowledge that nothing I’m stating should apply to specific supplementation due to medical requirements (folic acid, vitamin d, that stuff). I’m just posting because there is a broad belief that vitamin usage is a harmless way to top up for any short-comings you may have in your diet, and that may not be the case.

Most of what I’ve read has stated that there’s no benefit to be gained for most people from routine supplementation, and in there may be a danger to it for some specific forms. Rather than try to put this into my own words, I’m just going to cite a few passages from Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science and Michael Specter’s Denialism.

I'll also add that the studies showing increased mortality among some forms of supplementation are only establishing correlation, not cause - there could be 'sick-user' effect in play, for example.

From page 154-5 of Denialism:

From page 105-107 of Bad Science:

ZombieKitten said:

PurpleJedi said:

I take a weekly pill of Vitamin D @ 50,000IU (prescription)

that's a big one! I take 2000iu each day

I'm really deficient.

PurpleJedi said:

CarrieMpls said:

NDRU said:

I have read some sources that say organic is way more nutritious. Of course, I am not a scientist, so I have no clue.

Wow! I was not aware of that at all! Very interesting.

It makes sense that "regular" produce is engineered to last long and be pretty, and there would be some kind of tradeoffs as a result.

I took them for YEARS...my doc had me start taking them when I was 15 as I was a horrible eater...and I wasn't getting the necessary nutrition. I also used to get sick ALL the time.

Seriously, as soon as I started taking them I definitely felt better...more energy, wasn't getting sick very often, and when I did it wouldn't last long. During my 20s/30s I literally can count on one hand how many times I had a cold. Everyone around me would be sick and I would be the one ok.

So last year my current Dr told me to stop taking them as he felt they were making my blood too thick...enough so that I was prone for blood clots and also as I eat MUCH healthier now, he felt there simply wasn't a need. So for the last year I haven't taken them...and guess what...I am up to 4 colds this year. Other than that I don't really feel any different. I am considering taking them again, as these colds are really getting on my nerves. But now I have to take the over 50 ones ( ugh, I know...but I am only 40!!) as they don't have iron which makes the blood thick.

Poplife88 said:

I took them for YEARS...my doc had me start taking them when I was 15 as I was a horrible eater...and I wasn't getting the necessary nutrition. I also used to get sick ALL the time.

Seriously, as soon as I started taking them I definitely felt better...more energy, wasn't getting sick very often, and when I did it wouldn't last long. During my 20s/30s I literally can count on one hand how many times I had a cold. Everyone around me would be sick and I would be the one ok.

So last year my current Dr told me to stop taking them as he felt they were making my blood too thick...enough so that I was prone for blood clots and also as I eat MUCH healthier now, he felt there simply wasn't a need. So for the last year I haven't taken them...and guess what...I am up to 4 colds this year. Other than that I don't really feel any different. I am considering taking them again, as these colds are really getting on my nerves. But now I have to take the over 50 ones ( ugh, I know...but I am only 40!!) as they don't have iron which makes the blood thick.

they make vitamins just for men that don't have iron in them. I never take iron supplements (I'm 40)

Poplife88 said: