Vitamins
 

I've taken them off and on for a number of years now. I've also taken the single capsule multi-vitamins, and the multi-vitamin packs (6 different pills per day). I want to get started on them again, but have a couple of simple questions. How do you decide which one to take? And how do you really know how effective they are?

As I am on the downhill side heading towards 50, I'm also looking at some of the brands that offer additional supplements/nutrients that are more important for older men.

I used to take the GNC multi-vitamin. I've taken Centrum. And now a buddy of mine wants me to start on Wellavoh (which is the Trivita brand of multi-nutrients). The costs range from $40-$50/month for some of these down to $20/100 capsules (basically a 3-month supply).

What do you use? And how do you determine if they "work"?

I read recently in Consumer Reports that the average person has no need for vitamin supplements...

Not trying to sound snarky but I would just ask your doctor.

Not only that, but that most vitamins you'll see at the stores are not controlled by FDA or anything and, except for certain brands, are not guaranteed/verified to have in them what they say they have. I only take a multi-vitamin (though since I've stopped drinking as much milk, I am contemplating adding a calcium supplement), I look for the USP logo (though it verifies the contents, it costs money, so just because it isn't there doesn't mean the vitamin isn't good....): USP Verified Dietary Supplements

/tk

I think depending where you live vitamin D can be a good bet. In New England studies have shown taht nobody gets enough vitamin D through sunlight and diet, so I think that's important. The rest can depend on your diet, I think. If yo'ure vegetarian you'll probably want to take B-12, etc. If you don't eat a lot of fruit you might want to take vitamin C, etc.

Vitamin D pretty much kills any cold I've ever gotten in about a day.

I would suggest checking out this site and possibly the book Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements by Lyle MacWilliam. Vitamins can be a great help, one highly recommended company is USANA. There multivitamin Essentials is one of, if not the best, multivitamin on the market for a reasonable price. If you would like they have other quality vitamins for vision, joints, etc available as well.

This is a "balloon race" based on a Google spreadsheet. It shows the effectiveness of various supplements. It doesn't show multi-vitamins, but if there's something specific you're worried about (e.g. high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc) you can see what is most effective for that.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.ne...l-supplements/

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... placebos...

I'm not sure that vitamin D can be metabolized quickly enough to work to stop a cold that's already in your system. However, I think that vitamin D is widely understood to be important in immune function and is recommended as a simple method to increase immune response.

Heh

I know it has some real effects - unlike echinacea and the herbal supplement market. I'm just saying that taking Vitamin C after you have a cold and seeing the cold disappear a day or two later is not exactly cause for scientifically valid causation.

(I also do believe in the power of placebos and, for lack of a better term, positive thinking when it comes to minor ailments. Well, that and 8 hours of sleep.)