Multivitamin vs Individual Supplements

[Traveller]

Hi All,

I wondered what your thoughts are on taking individual supplements vs just taking a multivamin. I think that with individual supplements it's hard to stay motivated and keep taking them when you don't feel a noticeable difference and it's also expensive to buy so many different ones. On the other hand it's easier to take a multivitamin regularly but it might not have the right quantities to make any difference.

Also, if anyone knows and good multivitamin brands in the UK then feel free to share.

Thank you

 

[Tsukareta]

I cant really take large pills that are solid, and when I tried multivitamins in the past they are like that, those pills are too rough and big that I cant swallow it, I can only do small ones like vitamin D, thiamine or allergy tablets. I have heard that in USA its popular to put vitamins into chewy sweets, I don't know if thats a thing in the UK though, and I am on a highly restricted diet at the moment where I minimise sugar and limit carbs.

 

[Traveller]

I cant really take large pills that are solid, and when I tried multivitamins in the past they are like that, those pills are too rough and big that I cant swallow it, I can only do small ones like vitamin D, thiamine or allergy tablets. I have heard that in USA its popular to put vitamins into chewy sweets, I don't know if thats a thing in the UK though, and I am on a highly restricted diet at the moment where I minimise sugar and limit carbs.

Yeah some of those tablets are huge but I think you can soluble ones that can be dissolved in water as well.

 

[Wishful]

Individual supplements are best for testing to see whether they have any effect. The only value I see for multivitamins is for people who are on a diet seriously deficient in many nutrients. I suppose there are some people who do benefit from higher-than-normal-diet-levels of some nutrients, but I expect those are mostly just one or two nutrients.

When I developed this disease, and didn't yet know about ME, I did buy some multivitamins just to see whether there was anything in there that helped. That's way cheaper than buying all the nutrients separately. In my case, there was something that gave me full temporary remission. I bought individual vitamins, and it turned out not to be any of those. For minerals, I started with what I had on hand: some copper wire in vinegar (copper acetate), and tincture of iodine. The iodine did the trick. Sadly, the benefits were only temporary, and it stopped working after the first few doses. I still think that cheap bottle of multivitamins/minerals was worthwhile. In retrospect, I should have tried eggs first (natural multivitamin/mineral supplement). Just don't try to swallow those whole.

 

[lenora]

I have never heard of putting large vitamins in sweets, but in something like applesauce, perhaps. Best to break them in two. Yours, Lenora

 

[L'engle]

I'd opt for individual vitamins. Otherwise you can never figure out which component is causing what problem if you get side effects.

I found a b complex didn't give me a noticeable benefit, but b1 and b2 together did. Also my be complex gave me a headache which I think was due to added choline as I got the same headache from a choline supplement. May have been the inositol (b3) which was also in the supplement.

As well you might need some nutrients and not others. Something that provides a 'balanced' amount of everything might not give the right quantities for you.

 

[pamojja]

Both have their use. With multivitamins-minerals one never get therapeutic doses of most nutrients. But are a good assurance that one doesn't get a deficiency in any of the unexpected ones. Problem with nutrient deficiency is, that it can take decades till they take their health-toll. And at which progressed bad state then sometime need redicolous high therapeutic doses to correct. And often for a long time.

While individual nutrients are the only way for therapeutic doses in case of existing health difficulties. Where one often doesn't know their neccesary co-factor nutrients at the beginning - becoming depleted by use of high dose individual nutrients - and where a multi at least partially covers that.

So even with clear indication by health conditions for one or the other high dose individual nutrient, future health conditions with old age, less absorbtion of nutrients or any other of many causes, an additional multi makes them slightly less likely.

But as always: Start each supplement - multi or otherwise - with the smallest possible dose and increase gradually over weeks, months and years. To get a better picture of their effects, or always also possible side-effects.

 

[Tsukareta]

I don't know if it really is making any difference but I do try to take vitamin E everyday ( I heard its an antioxidant ), often I will take 1 or 2 NAC, sometimes a combination of B vitamins ( pure encapsulations ),
and this powder ascorbic acid vitamin C. I worry that magnesium makes me worse for whatever reason, can't say for sure, but I was trying 2 types of that. I cant take too much Vit C because it acidifies my stomach too much, but I know about another type thats 'bufferred', but haven't tried it yet. My vitamin D is high which my doctor is concerned about because my calcium level became high recently, so I stopped taking vit D.

 

[pamojja]

I think that with individual supplements it's hard to stay motivated and keep taking them when you don't feel a noticeable difference and it's also expensive to buy so many different ones.

When one experiences remissions with therapeutic doses, which of course can take many years to accomplish with conditions considered non-reversible by standart of care, motivation to continue to take becomes less of a problem. Watever it takes, disabilities aren't an viable option for me.

I cant take too much Vit C because it acidifies my stomach too much, but I know about another type thats 'bufferred', but haven't tried it yet.

Usually too little stomach acid, betain-hcl, is rather the problem most encounter. Ascorbic acid is very mild an acid compared to that. But you can always add up upto half its amount of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of water, to change it to sodium ascorbate, and pH-neutral.

Personally I've take in average 25g per day of pure ascrobic acid each day during the last 14 years, experienced a couple of remissions, and tested blood has mostly been too alkaline, improved now. But I also took lots of magnesium and potassium too, due to deficiencies.