Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Vitamins

I've never been one to take a daily vitamin. But with my Healthier Me outlook, it feels like vitamins should fit right in! I remember my mom giving me vitamins. I remember once or twice buying them as an adult, taking them for a week, and then forgetting. When I was pregnant, I was better about taking my vitamins but it really was hit or miss. For a while, I was good about giving Teagan her daily vitamin but since Zach was born, we've been totally vitamin free in this house. I did some research and am going to be taking One A Day's Women's Active Metabolism and the Target generic of Viactiv calcium + Vit D daily chews. I also bought a chewable complete multivitamin for the kids. Jeff picked up a multivitamin, too. I'm really hoping that the vitamin I picked for me will prove to have an impact on my healthier lifestyle. Increased energy, more efficient metabolism, bone health, breast health- all sound good to me! Plus, being borderline anemic, I'm hoping that I remember to take my vitamin daily to ensure I get my 100% recommended daily Iron. Do you take vitamins? Any favorites, experience, tips, bad stories? Do you give vitamins to your kids? How do you remember to take it daily? Photobucket

12 comments:

Momza said...

Vitamins rock. I'd be a shlump without 'em! RAINBOW LIGHT is my fav brand, METAGENICS is good too.
And yup, the yahoos take 'em too!

Shell said...

I saw a gummy vitamin for adults. I might try that. I take chewable c, but need to take a multi again.

Mary said...

I'm a supplement fuh-REAK. I take Twinlab's Daily One (they are good because they don't have added sugars or artificial sweeteners, dyes, or yucky stuff and they are highly absorbable), a thyroid supplement (mine is low end of normal, but not low enough for a prescription med), Pysillium Husk in caps (because I like to, you know, poop), Fish Oil caps for Omega 3s. I also take zyrtec and two prescription meds. So every morning is a virtual PILL SMORGASBORD! The kids each get chewable Omega 3 supplements and a Flintstones chewable. We are Vitamin Achievers!

Valerie said...

We do vitamins...I have a multi-sure women's formula, with Vit D (1000 mg) chewable on the side).

The girls eat Flintsone gummies one a day, and 1/2 of my Vit D chewable daily.

Hubby buys them, takes them for a week, forgets for 2-3 weeks, starts again. But he gets a daily Vit D chewable because I hand those out at breakfast.

The extra Vit D for me is because I always test deficient (I don't do milk), and the girls don't really drink much milk either.

Jen K said...

I take Joe's Women's Health vitamins for skin and nails. It's a multi vitamin with extra stuff for strong hair, skin and nails. It's great! The serving size is actually 3 a day but I just take one a day.
I also take an oderless fishoil capsule every day too (also from Trader Joe's). I def can tell when I don't take the Women's Health for a while- my nails are a lot weaker but I don't actually know if the fish oil makes a difference.

Nancy C said...

I was really good about eating the gummy ones for adults, but I haven't bought more, so I've fallen off the vitamin virtuous horse.

Anonymous said...

Since I'm still a nursing/pumping mama, I'm still taking prenatals. I think I've taken them daily for 4 years now.
All of the rest of the family except the baby take daily vitamins also.
I will have to look at that calcium & vitamin D supplement though. I don't get enough.

yodaobi said...

I think I'm going to have to be the stick-in-the-mud here... If you are eating sensibly then you don’t need them. In fact sometimes they do more harm than good…
I take exception to taking magnesium and folic acid when pregnant. But it’s much better for the body to take your nutrients from FOOD… If you’re anaemic, eat a Steak and some greens, Lacking in energy SLEEP and eat a banana (high in both potassium and B6)
Multi vits are a waste of time… most of the time you just pee it out. The body is happier absorbing minerals and vitamins from food. So basically you might as well flush money down the toilet.
Excess amounts of vitamins can also cause damage before they get the chance to even make it to the toilet. High doses of vitamin C can cause kidney stones and excess vitamin B6 can damage nerve endings in fingers and toes.

Unknown said...

Hey Liz...I take a daily multi-vitamin plus another calcium. I was taking fish oil, but now due to the PCB reports today I am not sure if I'm going to keep taking that or not...I might just hold off for a while and see what else comes out. We do eat fish once or twice a week, so I probably don't need the supplement.

I don't really notice any difference when ON or OFF the vitamins, but I do think it's good for me...even just the extra calcium is a good thing for us gals. I just take them before bed. Not a huge fan of swallowing horse pills, but I can get them down! Although, I always have to pee in the middle of the night from drinking that glass of water with the vitamins!

Lori

Karen M. Peterson said...

I love the GNC Hair, Skin and Nails formula. When I remember to take it...

Eternal Lizdom said...

@yodaobi I believe the same thing. But here's the problem- in a single day, I don't eat nearly enough of the fruits and vegetables that I would need to eat to get those daily requirements. I would have to go to the market daily to buy fresh produce to really get the benefits of eating fruits and veggies. I wish I could say I got enough servings in now- but I don't. For breakfast, I usually have oatmeal and later, yogurt. Then, before a workout, I have a whole wheat mini bagel with peanut butter. For lunch, I've been eating a meal that has a small amount of fruit and a serving of veggies. For dinner, I'm getting a serving or 2 of veggies. Then I'm trying to squeeze in a couple of clementines or a banana after dinner. It's a struggle to get everything in that I need to get in- and in the variety of colors that I would need in order to get all the vitamins and minerals.

I see vitamins as a supplement to nutritious eating- not a replacement!

Kori said...

I just take a pre-natal vitamin every morning; I am not pregnant, but they have basically everything I need in my opinion. I think it is really important to take a vitamin of some kind.