Is centrum a good multivitamin ?

Always fascinating to see someone use a computer/laptop/cellphone to argue against science on the internet. But you are right, the FDA hasn't done any good in the world of medicine and is all about the money. :rolleyes:

BTW, you clearly have little knowledge of pill/capsules/troches/suppositories. Your experience with doctors, although not impossible, is incredible unlikely. Most doctors have little knowledge about over the counter vitamins, so I wonder in what circumstances you happened to find several that all spoke out against one particular brand. Most healthy people rarely would have cause to talk to a doctor...

Happy New Year Zen and everyone else! Seems I missed a couple replies here since I last posted. I'm not following you on your first part about being fascinated to see someone (I assume you mean me) use a computer/laptop/cellphone to argue against science on the internet.
I wasn't trying to argue anything, just stating my opinion based on what I read, was told by others in the medical field whom I assumed knew what they were talking about, and I also even tried to use a little logic. This was 15 or so years ago that I was doing this research to find a better vitamin/mineral supplement for personal use so my facts are probably a bit clouded by now. The key point has always stuck in my head though...natural source is better. That's all I needed to remember.

Also to clarify, it was at a health supplement seminar I attended back in the 90s where I heard this info and it wasn't one particular brand they were all speaking against, they just made reference to some of the more common store bought brands like Centrum, Flintstones, the generic pharmacy branded comparable brands etc.

One of the reasons I was also told to find something more natural sourced was because of this, and pardon me if I use the wrong terminology here - chemically manufactured brands like (for example) Centrum, Flintstones, One a Day, etc are produced by combining specific amounts of each nutrient into capsule/tablet form and packaged. Natural source supplements tend to differ because when they use the natural extracts of the plant you can also benefit from the other nutrients is those plants, which may have benefits that we haven't even discovered yet.

Secondly you're right, I know next to squat about pills, capsules, troches, etc. Hell I don't even know what a troche is. If Cougar is right and you are a pharmacist then I'd say to the OP to listen to you because I'd assume you're obviously way more qualified to speak on the matter than I am.

Anyhow, hopefully there are no hard feelings on the matter, the OP asked a question and I gave my 2 cents based on personal experience. If I was given wrong info then my apologies.

That being said, IMO it still makes sense for anyone looking to start supplementing to do their research before spending their hard earned $$ on whatever the popular brand is just because they have a bigger marketing budget to advertise their product.
 
I get my vitamins from Puritans Pride.
www.puritan.com always has a buy 3 get 4 free deal or some such.
(hope I didn't break any rules there, I am not a vitamin pusher).
High quality vitamins manufactured in their own plant.
Extremely good pricing, I just buy a year's worth at a time.
I take the "MegaVitAMin" one a day, an Omega three fish oil, and a magnesium to enhance my calcium intake.
My diet is pretty poor in the fruit and vegtable dept., so I like to make sure that I am getting all my micronutrients.
There is also ample evidence to me that hefty doses of anti-oxidants - et al, can and do help mammals avoid diseases such as cancer.
I'm not much impressed by the low-grade Centrum type stuff.
my .02

pete
 
Here's an example of what I was talking about.

http://www.oandpbusinessnews.com/view.aspx?rid=74375

I just breezed through the article but noted they mention that the Dr recommended testing the solubility of the tablets in a glass of water. Is this a credible source of info? I have no clue.


Quote: "Dr. Reed suggested that practitioners try a simple at-home test: drop samples of commonly recommended supplements into a glass of water and time them to determine dissolution rates. Doctors can then be sure to recommend the best vitamin to suit the patient’s need, she said."

And another one. Again I don't know if this is a credible source but the fact alone that there seems to be so many Google hits on the topic should make one realize that it is an issue regarding the solubility of tablets in general, not just multi vitamin supplements.

http://azenrichinggifts.blogspot.com/2008/09/bedpan-bullets.html

Quote: "According to Dr. Julian Whitaker in a special report, "The Great Vitamin Hoax", nurses call undissolved multivitamins "bedpan bullets", and say they see a lot of them. Natural digestive enzymes are essential to break down many of the multivitamin supplements and minerals that people take. The workers at sewer treatment plants joke about the undigested multivitamin supplements they see in their screens, which they call the most expensive sewage in the world. Imagining paying for supplements, and then not being able to break them down because of lack of digestive enzyme. Americans are flushing millions of dollars of supplements down the sewer because they don't take digestive enzymes to help break down the supplements."
 
Whether the pill dissolves in your digestive system or not is really secondary compared to whether or not there is any positive effect to be had.

As an insurance policy, vitamins are rather an ethereal one at best. You're more likely to do harm than good, especially with megadoses of fat-soluble vitamins.

But what do I know. Take Harriet Hall's word for it.

Also, what's the harm?
 
As an insurance policy, vitamins are rather an ethereal one at best. You're more likely to do harm than good, especially with megadoses of fat-soluble vitamins.

Agreed, fat soluble vitamins can store up in the body and create toxicity.
Water soluble anti-oxidants OTOH can act as free radical deactivators and help to repair the telemeres on chromosomes.
Not really an insurance policy IMO; more of a guerilla repair department.
With regards to your references, it's still all a crap shoot.
You can find anyone willing to say anything when it comes to the efficacy of various nutritional supplements.
The hardest part for me is deciding who I am going to believe.
I myself find the hucksters on late Sunday night AM radio infomercials particularly depressing.

pete
 
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Yeah I agree it seems like a crap shoot. That's part of the problem though, who are we to believe? There's so much misinformation out there that what's the average Joe to believe? One can only do what research they can and make a decision based on that and hope for the best.
Not to sound cynical but IMHO nowadays most of the big manufacturers only care about their bottom line. Not just with multivitamins but with drugs in general. To me it's ridiculous the number of TV ads I see now for medications for diseases I've never heard of. What's even worse is the disclaimers at the ends of the commercials talking about the possible side effects. Half of them sound worse than the original illness they're trying to help.
Off topic I know but I just had to get it out! LOL
 
Unsure about exactly what you're trying to find, before using any medicine or herbs you need to consult a physician. To learn more or to become knowledgeable you can go through some great sites like MayoClinic etc ... also you can get a free e-book on multi vitamin here http://www.multivitaminstruth.com
 
Tl;dr

Multi vitamins are not good because each vitamin needs to be absorbed one at a time. If you take them at once the human body doesn't absorb the full value.

You should be eating foods that contain vitamins you need as some vitamins are not the real thing ie vitamin c which is not the same as eating a whole orange.

Vitamin industry is very snake oil too.
 
Tl;dr

Multi vitamins are not good because each vitamin needs to be absorbed one at a time. If you take them at once the human body doesn't absorb the full value.

You should be eating foods that contain vitamins you need as some vitamins are not the real thing ie vitamin c which is not the same as eating a whole orange.

Vitamin industry is very snake oil too.
Tl;dr

This thread was started in 2010 and last updated in 2016.
 
Only time I'd take a multivitamin is if my diet was poor and I mean really bad or I was on something like a PPI. I eat healthy and my blood work over the years has always come back fine without taking vitamins.
 
Timbo , yes they can be very helpful but not by the every nutrient in the world method. There are tests to determine your vitamin and mineral levels and the proceed from there Scientifically ! I know too many people who have benefitted some greatly but never by guessing .Doctors don't get nutrition training so don't ask them

Have things changed ? YES !! Most drug and supplement makers , sadly , are now owned by investment companies ! At one timr doctors got 5 hours TOTAL in nutrition training. We know more about cow nutrition than people nutrition ! :eek:
 
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I take Centrum a couple times a week. Although I don't check the toilet to see if it's been dissolved, I do have an elder family member that was taking over the counter, grocery store calcium+ D vitamins and separately a grocery store's brand seniors' multivitamin at work.

Without the Ca + D vitamins for a week her fingernails would crack. The senior vitamins (which I didn't want her to take) had something like 2000% of the FDA's recommended amount of vitamin B (can't remember which B), and it would give her energy to work 12 hour shifts. She was almost 80 at the time, working two full time jobs. These were the least expensive options at the local grocery store (basically generic) and they had significant and noticeable effects.

Additionally, a large amount of tablets/oral medicine we take is destroyed by stomach acid before it gets to the small intestine where much of the absorption happens. Personally, I would be concerned with tablets that broke down too easily.

Red meat can take a couple days to pass through the body. Maybe take a vitamin pill when you eat red meat if you are worried about absorption.
 
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