Multi Vitamins

I take a lot of vitamins but usually only because I think that they may help with recovery or to improve my performances. And I thought that they may be a good idea for general health.

Most of the time, yes. Because it's what I've always done -- literally always, from when I was a kid. I don't think it actually helps, to be honest. Right now, for example, I'm on an off period since I ran out and haven't ordered a replacement. And I feel exactly the same.

I'm surprised there would be any major link between multis and increased disease incidence, as it's also well documented that most cheaper/affordable multis have almost zero absorption. (Pretty much anything in the compressed tablet form factor falls into that category.)

I think the idea that vitamins are a good idea for general health (which I used to believe) comes from marketing, and as the other poster said, the habit of taking them from a young age. However, here's one of the more recent studies:

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Dietary supplements, such as over-the-counter multivitamins, do “more harm than good” and can increase the risk of developing cancer and heart disease, according to research in the US.

The study by the University of Colorado, which reviewed several trials involving thousands of patients over a decade, showed that those who took extra vitamins and minerals were more likely to have health problems.

Taking more than the recommended dosage beta carotene – a supplement advertised as a boost to the immune system – was found to increase the risk of developing lung cancer and heart disease by up to 20%, according to the university."

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/21/vitamin-supplements-increase-risk-cancer-heart-disease-research

I only buy individual vitamins, but I would like to buy a complex

I take b-12 and D3 on doc's advice. Generally think normally healthy person on balanced diet doesnt need multi vitamin. Think they are just a superfluous minor racket.

should pregnant women take folic acid?

should people that stay indoors all day take a vitamin D supplement?

Four year old thread... but...

The RDA is based on what the average person needs to stay "not sick." I don't want to just be "not sick," I want to be in optimal health.

The RDA is based on the average (i,e, sedentary) adult. We, as runners, destroy more muscle tissue, rebuild it, and put our bodies under more extreme physical stress in one week than the average person will do in years. It makes sense that high-level exercisers would need more nutrients than a couch potato, but the RDA doesn't factor that in.

As we get older, the body's ability to utilize nutrients declines as our cells become less efficient. One remedy is to make sure the body always has a surplus of nutrients to do its job.

Overwhelmingly, people do not eat healthy.

It's hard to get even the lowest RDA of some vitamins in a normal diet. Take vitamin D, for example. You'd have to eat 15 egg yolks, 300 glasses of 2% milk, 5 glasses of whole milk,1 serving of wild caught salmon, 3 servings of farmed salmon, or two tins of tuna to get the RDA. Other than the people who drink large amounts of whole milk, who does that!!!??

I take over 2 dozen supplements every day. I tend to avoid hard pills so it's almost all capsules and gels. When I had to go off my supplements for two weeks prior to surgery in April and again in July, I could feel the difference... loss of energy, aches and pains, tiredness.

I suspect that the studies showing increased disease among those who take vitamins would find that many of those people do NOT exercise. Surprise! Supplements aren't magic pills. They work in conjunction with exercise, sleep, lack of stress, good diet, and weight management to promote good health.

Oops, "lack of stress" is misleading. Some stress is a good thing. I should have said, "stress management."

There's some evidence, but the test group was limited to men 50+:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1380451

Take them if you need them. My legs get swollen so I take a vitamin that helps me pee off the extra fluid to bring the swelling down. Really helps but not everyone needs it. Talk to your doctor is the key message about vitamins and take them if you need them but not if you don't.

Which vitamin makes you pee so your legs get less swollen? Do you have to much pee in your legs?

I realize this is an old thread, but if you actually read these articles/studies it is talking about people who take more vitamins than the recommended dosage. Not that people who take a multi are at a higher risk, people who take MORE. So the take away shouldnt be that supplements are bad, just that you should not take more than recommended. Aside from that its also best to scrutinize the product you buy as there have been other studies showing that often times supplements dont even contain the thing they are supposed to and are instead just filler as the regulations on this stuff is like nonexistent.

walkingfastlol wrote:

Which vitamin makes you pee so your legs get less swollen? Do you have to much pee in your legs?

Bottle says furosemide.

I do, but mostly just out of habit. I realize that they are mostly just a way to make your pee more expensive…but I’ve just always taken them ever since I was a kid.

I do take an additional Vitamin D supplement which I actually think is helpful (particularly for mood in the winter). And I take fiber too to keep the #2 💪.

No.

I eat like crap so why not...yes