the best multivitamins?

[Brett Hagmann]

What is the best multivitamin for athletes? Right now i'm taking Mega Man Sport by GNC...but i have the feeling im spending way to much money for something subpart. Whats the best?

[Paul Neuhaus]

http://www.nutraceutical.com/search/view_product.cfm?product_index=4731

http://www.nutraceutical.com/search/view_product.cfm?product_index=4401

I've taken different multis over the years, and I've learned that you don't need to spend a lot of money for a big name brand when it comes to vitamins, but they must be very pure and good quality. These are the ones I take, and so far this has been the best "bang for my buck". I take 1 multi in the morning, and 1 C at night, and I feel great. I haven't caught a cold all winter.

I think Shawn Baier is on the wagon with Solaray vitamins also.

[D.J. Satterfield]

Brett -
I take the same thing as you, very happy with them.

[Paul Neuhaus]

I've taken a few different "commercialized" "name brand" multis in the past. Ever since switching to the Solaray vitamins, the only difference I've noticed is that I'm saving a lot of money. Before, I was just paying for the name.

[SBaier]

Yeah Paul turned me on to the Solaray... I like them a lot. Easy on the stomach, and have a great profile!

[Luke Paskins]

Solgar, without a doubt...no yeast,wheat,whey,dairy,nuts etc... and time release formula. I take their pancreatic acids,vitmain b-complex,zinc,calcium,spirulina and vegan enzymes!

Full endorsement.

[Alex Devenyi]

I'm cheap, so I just take One-A-Day for Men.

[Matt Meinrod]

I've been taking Twinlab Dual Tabs for 7 years or so. I'm definitely open to suggestions and trying new things, but I definitely have ZERO complaints from my multi's.

[imran faruq]

I've been taking Centrum for nearly 2 years now. I don't know why doctors all round the globe recommend them...I don't think the absorption is very good. Need to switch...soon.
Anyone tried multi vit/min by Healthcrafts or Natural Factors?

By the way I take Vit C with Rose Hips by GNC. That seems to help a bit.

[Cassidy Drake]

Animal Pack

[Eric Jett]

Matt, which do you take? Or, did you take a year ago?

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=TL-1118

OR

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=TL-1119

And Paul, your link doesn't work. Been a while, but you have some good ideas on post-workout shakes, so maybe you have an idea about mulltis too... :p

[Paul Neuhaus]

And Paul, your link doesn't work. Been a while, but you have some good ideas on post-workout shakes, so maybe you have an idea about mulltis too... :p
Solaray

Here's a link to their multis
http://www.affordablesolaray.com/multiples.html
I use the "Once A Day High Energy". Look at the price and do the math, and it's a steal compared to the over-marketed name brands. These mutlis also have an excellent profile.

Vit C
http://www.affordablesolaray.com/vitamin_c.html
I use the C 1000 2 Stage Time Release later in the day.

Digestive enzymes
http://www.affordablesolaray.com/4801.html

[Michael Ambrose]

I purchase all my stuff online at Vitamin Shoppe, their brand. I take the multi-vitamin/mineral w/o iron, time release B complex/C, high gamma E (cholesterol issues) and MSM. About $100 gets you a years supply (minus the Vitamin E).

[Eric Johnson]

I purchase all my stuff online at Vitamin Shoppe, their brand. I take the multi-vitamin/mineral w/o iron, time release B complex/C, high gamma E (cholesterol issues) and MSM. About $100 gets you a years supply (minus the Vitamin E).

Michael, what is the idea behind without Iron? I Don't know anything about that and am curious why the option without Iron.

Thanks.

[Michael Ambrose]

The doctor monitoring my cholesterol suggested it. There was something in my blood work that suggested that I was getting too much iron from my diet and the supplemental in the multi-vitamin/mineral was not making things better. Excess iron is supposed to have a negative impact on HDL colesterol and increase LDL cholesterol. I'm not sure of the mechanism as to how happens. I was unlucky enough to inherit my father's cholesterol issues (his was 375 at one point). My diet has a minimal effect on it, my liver produces it like crazy. I'm on statins, eatting well and trying to get some more aerobic work in to help my HDL levels.

[Derek Williams]

Michael, what is the idea behind without Iron? I Don't know anything about that and am curious why the option without Iron.

Thanks.

Most multivitamin / mineral formulas made for men do not contain iron. Iron is one of the minerals that it is easy to get too much of. Pre-menopausal women need much more of it than men do because they lose so much hemoglobin during their period each month, and need to replace the lost iron. Men do not have this loss. Also, iron is pretty easy to get in the diet, so if men take iron, there is a chance of getting too much. It's more of a safety issue than anything.

[Paul Neuhaus]

I purchase all my stuff online at Vitamin Shoppe, their brand. I take the multi-vitamin/mineral w/o iron, time release B complex/C, high gamma E (cholesterol issues) and MSM. About $100 gets you a years supply (minus the Vitamin E).
Vitmain Shoppe recently opened a store here in Appleton. I've heard from some very reliable sources that Vitamin Shoppe does NOT make their own products. They buy from whatever manufacturer they can get the best deal from in bulk, package it, and slap their own label on it. Therefore, you never know what you're getting from one month to the next, how pure it is, etc.

I wouldn't swear my life on this info, but the info came from reliable enough sources that I'm not willing to spend my money on their products.

[Derek Williams]

The doctor monitoring my cholesterol suggested it. There was something in my blood work that suggested that I was getting too much iron from my diet and the supplemental in the multi-vitamin/mineral was not making things better. Excess iron is supposed to have a negative impact on HDL colesterol and increase LDL cholesterol. I'm not sure of the mechanism as to how happens. I was unlucky enough to inherit my father's cholesterol issues (his was 375 at one point). My diet has a minimal effect on it, my liver produces it like crazy. I'm on statins, eatting well and trying to get some more aerobic work in to help my HDL levels.

One thing you could look at as far as the LDL / HDL is your thyroid. Hypothyroid (low thyroid) patients will often have high cholesterol, especially LDL. Some (including me) have taken Icelandic Kelp and gotten their thyroid back "up to speed" without having to use prescriptions like Armour Thyroid. Low Thyroid function is a tricky thing. Some people, like me when I had it, have a low body temperature but their thyroid function tests (T3, T4, Reverse T3, TSH, etc) are all normal. In Chinese medicine, Kelp (called Kunbu in TCM) is the remedy to use for goiter, which is a related condition. It can also be used for high cholesterol. I prefer the Icelandic variety, as I trust the source much better. I am not convinced that Chinese herbals are free of heavy metals, but Icelandic goods are.

Other supplements known to remedy high cholesterol are Flax Seed Oil and Red Yeast Rice. If you get Flax Seed Oil, make sure to buy it refrigerated, transport it in a cooler, and put it in either the fridge or freezer as soon as you get home. It is a fragile oil and will go rancid easily. If this happens, the beneficial actions are lost. It is not hydrogenated like the oils on the shelf at the store that stay good forever. Don't buy any flax oil that is not refrigerated. It will be rancid and very likely ineffective.

Hope this helps. Google the info I told you about. There is a wealth of info out there on these things.

BTW, as to my credentials, I will be graduating from acupuncture school next August.

:I:

[Michael Ambrose]

Derek, I should look into the thyroid functioning. I have another issue that I am being treated for that may also have a thyroid component. Need to chat with my doctor some.

[ADAMBAUER]

I use the NOW brand Liquid multi gel. They work great for me.

[Steve Slater]

Ultra 4 by beverly international take 2 am w/ breakfast 2 pm w/ dinner

http://www.beverlyinternational.net/productpdfs/Ultra_4.pdf

[Eric Johnson]

The doctor monitoring my cholesterol suggested it. There was something in my blood work that suggested that I was getting too much iron from my diet and the supplemental in the multi-vitamin/mineral was not making things better. Excess iron is supposed to have a negative impact on HDL colesterol and increase LDL cholesterol. I'm not sure of the mechanism as to how happens. I was unlucky enough to inherit my father's cholesterol issues (his was 375 at one point). My diet has a minimal effect on it, my liver produces it like crazy. I'm on statins, eatting well and trying to get some more aerobic work in to help my HDL levels.

Thanks for the info. The main reason I was asking, is that I tend to bruise fairly easy and my wife told me it was because I am low on Iron. I think it is because she hits so dang hard :BB:

[Robert Mullener]

Vitmain Shoppe recently opened a store here in Appleton. I've heard from some very reliable sources that Vitamin Shoppe does NOT make their own products. They buy from whatever manufacturer they can get the best deal from in bulk, package it, and slap their own label on it. Therefore, you never know what you're getting from one month to the next, how pure it is, etc.

I wouldn't swear my life on this info, but the info came from reliable enough sources that I'm not willing to spend my money on their products.

I worked for the Vitamin Shoppe for 2 1/2 years, first in New York and then as a Store Manager in Texas. Alot of the basic Vitamin Shoppe products are manufactured by third parties, but that is standard with most companies in the industry, especially with basic vitamins and minerals. There are alot more name brands out there than there are manufacturers. However, we were privy to the list of manufacturers, and they were all reputable. (IE Twinlab, Solaray, Nature's Best, New Chapter, etc.) So for most Vitamin Shoppe brand stuff it is just like buying generic brands in the grocery store. Same product at a cheaper price.

Now VS does have some of it's own formulations, especially their Physician Endorsed line. Those products are made just for VS and are proprietary blends.

Just to add to the discussion, I use Nature's Way Alive! Whole Food Energizer multi-vitamin. I have used it for almost four years now, and think it is the best bang for the buck.

Robert

[Phillip Stevens]

IMO best multi is a varied diet. If you have a solid diet fruits, veggies, whole grains, meat etcv. Then tack on a simple multi, and fish oils your covered.

If lacking in diet, well a greens supp would help, and a very quality multi like LEF, expensive but quality

[Michael Ambrose]

Eric, Your welcome. I bruise easily too. May not be the iron. I also have a decent pain threshold. So I often bump into things or do things to myself and think nothing of it. A day later I have bruises and I have to think back to what I did to get them!

BTW - learn to block her shots or a least duck!

Thanks for the info. The main reason I was asking, is that I tend to bruise fairly easy and my wife told me it was because I am low on Iron. I think it is because she hits so dang hard :BB:

[Jerame Linnell]

I use Elite Training Packs from vitamin world. I is like a generic animal pack. Most multi formulas give me heartburn but these just give me the fish oil burps. :disgust:

[Matt Makousky]

I take a few things that I found very good for me.

http://www17.netrition.com/now_b12_liquid_page.html

http://www17.netrition.com/now_adam_page.html

Very good multi vitamin

Also take this but in the pill form

http://www.netrition.com/now_green_phytofoods.html


M2

[Derek Verret]

NOW's Adam is very good. I take the Ester C as well. No sicknes for years.

[Adam Keep]

I take flintstone chewables. The orange ones are the best. I eat a pretty well rounded diet and don't feel I need much more, plus if I take anything with any more potency my skin will break out. Not sure why it does it, but it just does.

[Kevin Cronin]

Bumping an old thread, but what the hey.

What do you guys look at when choosing a multi? I've been using Prolab's Training Paks, and I like them well enough. I ran out a bout a week or two ago and just picked up some Eckerd's brand as a stop gap until my next order from DPS. Then I started looking at the breakdown of vitamins and minerals between the two, and while Prolab had more of a lot of the vitamins and minerals, it wasn't ALL of it, and Eckerd's actually had a bit more of some vitamins adn minerals. Then I decided to compare the two with some other brands and now I'm really confused. Prolab seems to have less vitamin A than a lot of the others, but more vitamin B. Should I be worried that I'm not getting 25,000 IU of vitamin A per day? is 100 mg of Vitamin B2 overkill?

To sum it up, what are the key vitamins and minerals you guys check for, and what are the minimum and optimal levels of each that you expect?

[Brandon Campbell]

I take the safeway brand children chewable multivitamins, They are like flinstone vitamins. But in the shape of zoo animals. The Tigers make me agile, The elephants make me strong, and the kangaroo's make me more explosive!!! :LOL:

I not joking thats what i take HAHA

[Dan Harrison]

APEX Performance Multivitamins, I take 2 in the morning. I also take enough Vitamin C on a daily basis to kill a schoolbus full of large, ugly children. APEX is the best one I've found, and I base that on how I feel when I use them. I feel sluggish and crappy when I try other multis, and when I go back to APEX, I feel like a man of steel again. You can get them at any 24-Hour Fitness and they are priced very well.

[Adam Keep]

I take the safeway brand children chewable multivitamins, They are like flinstone vitamins. But in the shape of zoo animals. The Tigers make me agile, The elephants make me strong, and the kangaroo's make me more explosive!!! :LOL:

I not joking thats what i take HAHA

Awesome!!!

See I do take the flintstones and the Freds make me bowl better and stutter more, the Barneys make me more timid and I do what I'm told, the Wilmas make me cook better and look sexier in animal fur, and the Dinos make me lick anyone who walks through my door. Now that I think about it I should stop taking this crap, I'm becoming Dan Harrison with every tablet. Sorry Dan everyone else does it and I just wanted to fit in. :D

[Dan Harrison]

Awesome!!!

See I do take the flintstones and the Freds make me bowl better and stutter more, the Barneys make me more timid and I do what I'm told, the Wilmas make me cook better and look sexier in animal fur, and the Dinos make me lick anyone who walks through my door. Now that I think about it I should stop taking this crap, I'm becoming Dan Harrison with every tablet. Sorry Dan everyone else does it and I just wanted to fit in. :D

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA Best post EVER!!!

[davebeers]

the best multivitamin is the one you will take every day