Need advice on vitamins -any doctors in this forum???

[jmacguff]

hi. i posted a question earlier in one of the existing threads about what vitamins should i get. everyone said one without iron. so i got this 'one a day for men 50+' -- but for 4 days that i have been taking it, i always experience acidity, my tummy really hurt! i compared the contents to that of my old vits from costco (kirkland) and the only thing added in the 'one a day' that's not in my kirkland vits is GINKO BILOBA.... with the kirkland vits, i never had problems before. could it be the Ginko biloba?

on my 2nd day of taking the 'one a day', i took PEPCID before eating my lunch, then took the vits after finishing lunch - my tummy didn't hurt alright, but is it perfectly alright to keep taking pepcid just to avoid stomach ache? won't it lessen the effectivity of the vitamins? or should i change my brand, get something else? i really hate to be wasteful though. yah it's only $11...but still......

[SkinnyGirlInTransit]

Have you always been taking vitamins after a meal? If not, then that's probably the answer.

Otherwise, is there a higher potency of vitamin c in these tablets? Vit C has a high level of acid, which may cause an upset stomach.

You may want to also consider splitting the tablets and taking them at different times of the day.

[msanjelpie]

I also take the one-a-day mens 50+ advantage, same as you...

I have tried taking them in the morning and get very nauseous with stomach cramps. The only time I seem to be able to take it is with a large dinner... I wondered if it was the Lycopene since I didn't have that in my last multi-vitamin... but who knows what the culprit is...? Since I've been taking it at night with a big meal I have had no stomach upset with the pills...

This pill has:

Vitamin A - 2500 IU - 50%
Vitamin C - 120 mg - 200%
Vitamin D - 400 IU - 100%
Vitamin E - 33 IU - 110%
Vitamin K - 20 mcg - 25%
Thiamin (B1) - 4.5 mg - 300%
Riboflavin (B2) - 3.4 mg - 200%
Niacin - 20 mg - 100%
Vitamin B6 - 6 mg - 300%
Folic Acid - 400 mcg - 100%
Vitamin B12 - 25 mcg - 417%
Biotin - 30 mcg - 10%
Pantothenic Acid - 15 mg - 150%
Calcium - 120 mg - 12%
Iron - 0 mg - 0%
Iodine - 150 mcg - 100%
Magnesium - 100 mg - 25%
Zinc - 22.5 mg - 150%
Selenium - 105 mcg - 150%
Copper - 2 mg - 100%
Manganese - 4 mg - 200%
Chromium - 180 mcg - 150%
Molybdenum - 90 mcg - 120%
Potassium - 40 mg - 1%
Ginkgo Biloba - 120 mg
Lycopene - 600 mcg

[jmacguff]

thanks for the replies, guys!

msanjelpie - my previous vits from kirkland has the same amount of lycopene, so i dont think that's the culprit...

SkinnyGirlInTransit - yeah ive been doing the after-meal eversince i was little.
about vit C, i've also been taking 2000 mg of vit C from GNC --all by itself and never had problems...

oh well, it'll be very hard to isolate whatever the culprit is, in this case... i just have another question related to it - CAN I JUST GO BACK TO TAKING MY OLD KIRKLAND VITAMINS? IT HAS IRON, BUT AT 18mg WOULD THAT CAUSE ANY PROBLEM AT ALL? IM NO EXPERT AT THIS, BUT 18mg SEEM TOO LITTLE AN AMOUNT.....

[SkinnyGirlInTransit]

Jmac, The other culprit could be fillers. Many vitamins contain fillers like coal tar, soap, and sand to bind the vitamins together. These have been known to cause an upset stomach. That would upset anyone! Buying 'whole' vitamins prevents this issue.

Re: Iron. 18mg of iron daily is WAY more than we need. Iron is not excreted, so you keep storing the iron you consume. At most, you lose 1mg a day from skin/hair/nail loss, not 18mg. The excess 17mg is then stored in your body. If too much accumulates, it can damage the brain, heart & liver. Pretty scary stuff. If it can be avoided, we should.

Good luck!

[msanjelpie]

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you've been taking the Kirkland for a long time and you haven't noticed any ill effects... I have always been leary of the 'no iron' thing because Atkineers are eating the same foods as before we have just cut out sugar and starch... doesn't seem to justify the difference if you know what I mean...

I just went to fitday.com and my daily intake of iron yesterday was 6 mg... now that's fine for me because I'm not anemic, but I'm thinking that your Kirkland pills which are the same as Centrum basically are taken by millions of people... and I can't imagine that they are all gonna get brain damaged... (not by iron anyway )

It's up to you of course...

------------

Research:

Vitamin C in massive doses, increases iron uptake from food... Healthy people usually absorb about 10 percent of the iron contained in the food they eat. The body has no natural way to rid itself of excess iron, so extra iron is stored in body tissues, especially the liver, heart, and pancreas. Iron is a mineral used by the body in the production of red blood cells. Specifically, iron is used in the production of hemoglobin, which is the main protein in red blood cells. Hemoglobin carries oxygen throughout the body, so without iron, the tissues, muscles, and other systems do not receive adequate oxygen, and thus cannot function properly. This leads to fatigue and poor health. Iron supplements can increase energy levels and your ability to learn. Iron in the body can help eliminate fatigue and muscle weakness. Iron also benefits the immune system, thus people who consume enough iron tend to have better overall health.

In more sensitive patients, ginkgo biloba side effects such as gastrointestinal discomfort may be noticed. Ginkgo works by increasing blood flow to the brain, and through the entire body's network of blood vessels, which supplies oxygen and nutrients. Other side effects include; headaches, restlessness, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

I think you are right about the Ginkgo being the culprit...

[liv]

I was just going to add that us women also lose some iron during our period. I lose a lot and have to supplement with loads of iron pills. I take them with some vitamin C rich food.