Which multi-vitamin?

Thought I’d ask some experts here on which multi-vitamin should I be taking. Any certain reputable companies out there?
I have been taking Centrum, though I keep hearing that it is quite a useless tablet.

Could someone give me a few more choices so I can check the pharmacy and see if they have it.

Thank you.

I like Multibionta, check out the website here - .

It is hard to find good info about mulitvitamin comparisons. I’ve searched several times in the past without turning up anything reliable.

One thing that is pretty certain is men and post-menopausal women shouldn’t take a multi containing iron. An excess can cause problems.

Yes here are some that are good.

twinlabs

supernutrition

NOW

solaray

KAL

countrylife

These are all good companies. In buying a mult-vit/mineral, or mineral by itself, the key is to get one where the minerals are amino acid chelated, it will be more expensive, but worth it. Chelation increases the absorption up to 60-70% (from 5-10%). As far as I am concerned, if it is not amino acid chelated, you are almost throwing your money away.

If you must take a cheaper vitamin like Centrum (crap in my opinion), grind it to powder in a coffee grinder and take it either in a fruit or dairy smoothy, it will maximize the absorption.

Sparkyx

Men’s Health Magazine has rated vitamins and rated Centrum Silver, yes Silver, as number one and One-A-Day For Men as number 2. You don’t want to be taking any vitamin with Iron in it as too much iron is bad for men and men normally get plenty of iron from their diets.

gprent,

I stand by my original statement…garbage! Mineral absorption in the 5-10% range.

Sparkyx

I am curious why this is so. I having been taking this tablet for the past several months and it has made some difference in terms of hairloss and also it has antioxidants which are very good but if effects are very rarely noticeable.

Just very curious why everyone is against centrum ??

Thanks.

In my experience, no one multi on its own is enough. I also agree Cent rum is crapola. GNC’s Mega Men is probably one of the better ones. If you take it with a separate tab of 1000 IU of E complex and as much B- complex as you can handle, you will be surprised how effective supplements can be. If your Piss is not the color of lime Gatorade you’re not getting enough B. And if you have any ED issues or like myself are a senor or just want better sex and PE, add to this daily mix 3000 mg of NXO2 and you will never need the the blue pill. I have a prescription for both Viagra and Cialis and hoard them like a miser, but never take them anymore unless I expect an orgy.

But don’t listen to me I’m just a supplement junkie with a hard-on

BG

The really wide range of strong multivitamins are found in health food stores and also GNC will carry some choice. Grocery stores are not normally going to be carrying very strong multivitamins, though they do carry some individual bottle vitamins and minerals that can be taken along with the multivitamins they sell.

Ok, to be fair, the vitamin part of Centrum is fair. It just pisses me off when people are trying to do something good for their health, and these frickin’ vitamin companies put in inorganic mineral compounds ( oxides, sulfates, carbonates bound to the mineral they trumpet) which they know will only have 5-10% absorption (at best!). This is done because it is dirt cheap! They don’t give a crap that the poor old lady who is trying to take calcium to help her bone density, takes 1000mg and absorbs 50mg!!! And she wonders why she doesn’t do any better! My brother-in-law, buys amino acid chelated minerals for his cows, and pays $20 bucks for a 20lb bag of the stuff! Makes a huge difference for the animals too!

To sum it up, if your multi-vit-mineral has minerals that are amino acid chelated, it is usually a pretty fair vitamin, and it will cost more. Examples of poor absorbed magnesium is mag. oxide, mag sulfate. Excellent magnesium would be bound with orotates, aspartates, lactate, citrate.

Sparkyx

for those of you with elderly parents or friends who can’t afford the better ones, have them grind their Centrum up in a coffee grinder and add it to a fruit or milk smoothie. This will dramatically improve their absorption!

After reading your post I went and looked at my magnesium supplement and it’s oxide, darn it. It was cheap and I think I bought it at walgreens. On the other hand, maybe I absorb it better than some people—-I take it for muscle relaxation (I have a tendency to get some back trouble) as it seems to be working at least fairly well, and as an extra bonus effect it slows my heart rate from about 78 bpm to about 70 bpm. 1000mg a day is about my limit though because my stool will become too soft at higher amounts, even with this oxide bottle. It’s great for restful sleeping also.

beenthere,

Sounds like you are getting good absorption. I used to just suggest calcium and magnesium…now I recommend a multiple mineral. It is important to get all your minerals, and in proper balance. I also suggest a source for the rest of the minerals that are important for optimum human health. A mult-min will give you the 12 minerals we need the most of. I believe we need all 72! A good source for the rest is either seaweed (kelp works, and is cheap, just watch the iodine! Don’t exceed recommended dosages.) or Okinawan coral calcium. The price of coral calcium is coming down, and can be purchased at some Wal-Marts fairly cheaply.

Sparkyx

Would it work good if you add the powder of the multi-vitamin to orange juice, or does it have to be a fresh fruit?

Thanks for any help.