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Multivitamins really necessary?

nuttynutskin

nuttynutskin

Bluelighter
Joined
May 15, 2011
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I'm currently back on a healthy diet and take fish oil and vitamin d. I take a multi too but I'm wondering if it's even necessary. Thoughts?
 
There's a pretty strong case against multivitamins, but many of the studies that show no significant benefit are poorly done.

If you're eating enough veggies and fruits, there's absolutely no need for multivitamins.
 
Have you ever considered getting a nutritional blood panel along with a complete hormone panel? Get one before beginning your vitamin regime and then get one within a respective time limit later. I personally had success with a cobalamin test. For a long time I took my B12 via sub-lingual route of administration and was still getting very poor blood tests. I switched to I.M administration, used hydroxocobalamin and it was a day/night feel during the day and my blood work was in the higher end spectrum of the given range at my age. I think it was something like 200-700 pg/ml? You'll figure out real quick what vitamins aren't working. I was even using methylcobalamin which is superior to cyanocobalamin and still had malabsportion issues. (cyanocobalamin is metabolized into methylcobalamin)

Just get a full nutritional panel and it may open your eyes to quite a few things you thought you got enough of. The hormone panel would just be added information regarding the effects of proper micro-nutrients in the body.
 
I'm currently giving consideration to a multi-vitamin to supplement my (poorly done) vegetarian diet. Until I'm able to get a better handle on the whole thing. More ideas on the subject would be cool.

I mean how big a difference are we talking when it's said that a natural source of nutrients is much better sdlkgjsdkgnbn etc etc than a pill or whatever? Like purity and bio-availability and shit. That argument right there is pretty much the whole reason I haven't started one yet although that kind of ignorance is probably having a pretty big impact on my health (good and bad maybe?)
 
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The problem with multi-vitamins and majority of vitamin supplements is they are not always created with the highest quality analogues due to an attempt to reduce the production cost. As I mentioned earlier for an example cyanocobalamin is the rudimentary analogue of cobalamin and it is generally rendered inactive during the digestive process. (Cyanide molecule is added to the cobalamin to allow to pass through the first digestive process without being subject to the caustic environment of the stomach. However, cyanide is a complicated molecule to metabolize and due to its interaction with the cobalamin it generally leads to inactivity and overall malabsorption.) Also the combination of vitamins that are put together in alot of "1 a day" supplements are known to negatively interact with each other and lead to inactivity/malabsorption. People misinterpret the idea of using a daily multi-vitamin. It is there to supplement a good diet not to replace one.
Personally, I buy majority of my vitamins in bulk form which allows me to individually take various vitamins throughout the day and also allows me to create space between a few that have negative interactions and hopefully reduce the possibility of malabsorption. Only down side is you may have a few like pantothenic acid (B5) that are hardly water soluble and turn into a slime in water. Those I just put the measuring spoon in my mouth and immediately chug back water hoping not to choke on it.
 
Right now I'm still taking fish oil, vitamin d, and vitamin e now at the recommendation of a nurse for liver issues. That and eating a bunch of good food. I still got a big bottle of Flintstone's chewables but after those are gone I'll probably quit buying multivitamins as I'm pretty damn sure I'm getting all the nutrients I need. And without a doubt I believe it's best to get your vitamins and nutrients from food, but what I'm taking are just to supplement my diet.
 
I take multi-vitamins out of habit, even though i tend to contradict myself and believe a lot of the nutrients go to waste. It is sitting in my cabinet when I take the rest of my pill/powders so I just don't argue with myself and take it regardless. I take Centrum 50+ Male. My top vitamins that in no way shape or form I let myself go without (unless I'm waiting on package in mail for restock) is...
B12-either use methylcobalamin or hydroxocobalamin
Zinc (I favor zinc picolinate from experience) 50mg a day
B5 (I mega-dose 4-5G every 3 days)
Chromium- Most people don't realize that they are completely deficient in this vitamin. Plays a MAJOR role in energy, metabolic efficiency, and its biological components
Vitamin C- I take 2G a day. 1G in the morning. 1G at night. If I feel something coming on I just mega dose it for its antioxidant and immune boosting support.
AAKG- (Arginine alphaketoglutarate) Scientific studies are skeptical and misinformative about it. Its the intermediate precursors for nitric oxide metabolism and arginine is also a precursor for nitric oxide synthesis. L-Arginine is what you find in every single pre-workout supplement. It promotes vasodilation and widening of blood vessels, which in turn promotes muscle synthesis. Studies have also indicated high dosing of L-Arginine resulted in massive increase in resting levels of growth hormone.

Also its good that your smart enough to take vitamin E in conjunction with your Omegas. It protects the free fatty acids and allows the highest rate of adsorption.
 
Thanks for the responses! I'll definitely look into some of the other things you mentioned.
 
I like to take all kinds of essential ingredients from healthy food. But if somehow you're not able to have balanced food you can get multivitamins or food supplements to overcome the deficiency.
 
The confusing part about taking micronutrients is that the DRV for each mineral/vitamin is also based upon the extremely outdated 2,000 calories a day ideology. For those that are very active and partake in a lot athletics I would consider that concept of supplementation to be categorized as sports medicine due to the day/night contrast between an average individual and someone who is pushing themselves to the limit 5 days a week.
 
I used to walk around like a bottle of pills. These days I've pared it back time and again, until I'm left with generally just a few additions:

Fish Oils
Eve Primrose Oil (GLAs)
Vit D
Magnesium Malate
Zinc (+copper)
Niacin
(and if I'm out of Brazil Nuts, Selenium)

However I eat up to 1kg of mixed fruits and veggies plus seeds and nuts a day.
 
I take fish oil, aspirin, chelated zinc, magnesium, turmeric, real coffee, and a multivitamin every morning just about, but from what I've read the multivitamin is not really necessary and--because it contains beta-carotene, selenium, vitamin A, and alpha-tocopherol--could actually be a waste of money that is also doing more harm than good.
 
I take things I know I've had problems with, or that I think I can discern a positive impact from supplementing:

- iron when needed
- B complex
- magnesium
- vit D
 
laugh said:
spend the money on good food/healthy diet instead of wasting on vitamins.
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I generally agree with and preach this.

Unfortunately many people don't know how to eat healthily from a diverse range of foods and still get the full range of nutrients. And sometimes even with a good diet it's difficult to realistically get all you need without extracts of some kind, especially with industrial farming methods.
 
CFC said:
Unfortunately many people don't know how to eat healthily from a diverse range of foods and still get the full range of nutrients. And sometimes even with a good diet it's difficult to realistically get all you need without extracts of some kind, especially with industrial farming methods.
Click to expand...

Healthy food items also tend to be expensive, which is why many people have bad diets.
 
I feel a lot of people also don't know how to balance out the healthy-ness with just good food. Unless you are trying to do photo shoots or competitions I find is really unnecessary to overload on supplements or the healthy food.

I generally buy my eggs 60 at a time. Runs me about 9 bucks and last 5-7 days. 5lbs of chicken I buy ever 3-4 days and that runs about 11.50 a bag. My fruit (bananas, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries) I buy fresh and usually end up spending around 15-20 bucks a week depending on what I do throughout my day. If you head to the right store you can get your granola, nuts, legumes basically for dirt cheap in bulk settings. My food budget is generally 500 a month on the low end and if I'm on cycle and maximizing supplemental needs then it has gotten close to 1500 US dollars that is. Besides my multi vitamin I get all my aminos, minerals, vitamins etc is massive bulk. I don't waste my time with protein supplements. Gotta shop smart. Wal-mart and Costco isn't always the best. Sometimes those hole in the wall shops in the middle of nowhere got everything you need.

I rarely eat veggies which isn't the best balance. Only used when it is necessary to meet certain dieting criteria I'm using or experimenting with.
 
Multivitamins are just a scam

To me it's common sense that a pill isn't going to replace a balanced diet.

Also I think it's bullshit that it's expensive to eat fruit and veg.
 
If you get a nutritonal blood panel especially for a few key ones like B12, they accurately depict levels and you can get results on your before and after when you supplement with a high quality vitamin. The problem that multi vitamins pose is alot of the variations they use in attached molecules differ between each choice and sometimes have a day/night solubility and bio availability ratio. If I could I would get all my vitamins in a form I could IM or do a sub-q shot. Going through the stomach and GI tract destroys alot of nutrients. That is why oral steroids are generally methylated. To survive first digestion!
 
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