Do you take vitamins?

[lorraineb]

I was reading an article that says that Americans have the most expensive urine in the world because of all the vitamins that they take. The gist of the article was that most people who take vitamins are wasting their money because those vitamins get flushed out of our systems right away without doing much to help us. This is especially true the article said of people who mega dose on certain vitamins.

This got me thinking whether my daily vitamin is something that I thought was helping me, but actually might be the wasting a small amount of money.

What are your thoughts? Do you take vitamins? Have you done any research as to whether taking the vitamins is helpful, or have we all been conned into thinking that this is beneficial for us, but we are actually wasting our money?

[rennigade]

I dont personally take vitamins. I probably should. I know I dont get enough of the "things" I need. There are far better vitamins than the standard multi vitamin that a lot of people take...but even those are better than not taking anything at all.

Its no secret that your body can only absorb xx amount of something...and the rest gets wasted.

[ResistanceXP]

"The best investment in life is health and knowledge."
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" -Benjamin Franklin

Personally, I don't take vitamins either; I try to eat as healthy as possible. But yeah, I should probably take one.
I would research on what each Vitamins do specifically first and get the calculations right to know which one you have a deficiency on. I think most people who buys vitamins may be getting more than they need already. This will help you justify your purchase a little better.

[kork13]

I typically take a daily multivitamin, but it's nothing too special -- I normally just buy bulk bottles of Flintstones chewables. Day to day, I don't notice much of a benefit. But when I'm sick (I just got over a cold), I find that taking the vitamins definitely help to reduce the intensity/duration of an illness compared to when I don't bother. I kicked this cold in a (fairly manageable) week, vs. my normal 2-3 weeks of sheer misery.

[snafu]

'... most people who take vitamins are wasting their money because those vitamins get flushed out of our systems right away without doing much to help us. This is especially true the article said of people who mega dose on certain vitamins.'
This is the view our doctor takes. Blood work will identify any deficiency, just ask doctor to add test next time blood work is ordered. There is a lot of controversy just now over the fillers in these products and ratio of filler to herb as there is no defined standard.

[AggieLife]

I just take a multivitamin with breakfast every day. Along with some oatmeal, fruit, orange juice. So definitely a supplement.

I think I mostly take one because I grew up with my parents giving me a vitamin every morning.

[hamchan]

I don't, and I think unless you have a medical need for them they are a waste of money.

[bennkar]

I have vitamins, of different types I have gotten for free (except for the Men's Health multivitamin). I take the multivitamin 4 times a week, and the others 1-2 times a week. I agree that overdoing it makes no sense, so I try to use them sparingly to help me, not to overwhelm my system. And as for the multivitamin, on a per tablet basis it costs around $0.15, so I think I can afford it .

[mmmlb]

I take the chewy multi-vitamins from Costco and fish oil.
I can't tell if it's helping me or not but they taste good.

[Caoineag]

I don't take vitamins since my body doesn't have the ability to process them. I do however have a smoothie every morning full of fruits and vegetables. I am a big believer in eating foods that give me the vitamins I need.

[Tabs]

I take multivitamins, Omega 3, and am trying out L-Arginine.

I work out almost every day, and I admit my diet is far from ideal.

Multivitamins are designed to be an insurance coverage, so yes, while any excess goes through your body, if you happen to have any nutritional holes that need to be plugged, then the multivitamin will basically help you meet your daily needs.

While this may be entirely subjective on my part, I do operate much better and am in a better mood when I take my daily vitamins. And yes, I am aware of the placebo effect, and I don't think that is it. I think it really does make a qualitative difference in my life and my work outs.

Our health-- especially preventative health-- is very important, and I think it's one of the few things that are worth spending the money on. My recommendation is to get some appropriate multivitamins (especially ones that contain D3) and give it a try for a month. If you notice no benefits whatsoever, especially if you are eating healthy, then you can be fairly confident that you are fine without it. However, if you are like me, you may find that it really does improve your mood, your sleep, and your overall recovery from working out or a hard day from work.

[rennigade]

I don't, and I think unless you have a medical need for them they are a waste of money.

It sounds like you put a lot of time and research into your thoughts. Could you please provide some data to back that up.

[bjl584]

I don't. I've heard pros and cons. I've read that a lot of vitamins are sub par and don't get absorbed by your body. They just pass right through. I try to eat healthy and get all my essential vitamins with food. I feel pretty good most days, so it works for me.

[hamchan]

It sounds like you put a lot of time and research into your thoughts. Could you please provide some data to back that up.

This is what I have been told by more than one doctor including my internist, and since I did have a serious vitamin deficiency in the past (absorption issues, not dietary) yes I did do a lot of research almost 10 years ago. They also checked every single other vitamin level in my body and none were low. My internist told me that vitamin deficiencies in the United States were incredibly rare, and mostly only happened with either very restrictive diets or if something else causes problems with absorption.

[FrugalFish]

I take just a couple. Mostly single ingredient vitamins for specific reasons. Most are not taken long term, but a few weeks here and there. About the only thing I take consistently and daily is calcium (less than recommended- because less is more and they change the rules too often).

I know someone who is one of those mega-dose maniacs. She takes probably 80 pills a day and I find it scary. There must be a point where your body is working harder and suffering detriment just trying to get rid of all the excess compounds.