Vitamins/Supplements?

[lilyflower]

Is anybody taking any types of vitamins/supplements? If so, what and how are they working?

[capella]

I take the one a day vitamins and I've definitely noticed an improvement in health. I don't get to eat well all that often and it's nice to know at least I'm getting some vitamin percentage bases covered.

[mishl982]

I take vitamin c pills and women's multivitamin pills. I think the Vitamin C pills have been working since I haven't gotten sick since I started taking them (but at the same time my roommate hasn't been sick to pass on to me). The multivitamin pills I take are the "Weight Sense" kind that is supposed to help me "maintain a healthy weight." Supposedly it controls my appetite, which I think is working, because aside from starving in the morning, I don't find myself snacking as often as I used to. I like these pills because they're different from diet pills that cause you to drop pounds, and add those pounds back on once you stop taking them.

[Kitty]

I take Calcium and Vitamin D. I don't really know if they're working or not - but I don't drink milk or eat very much dairy, and I am trying to take precautions. My grandma and great-grandma both had Osteoperosis.

I occasionally take a one-a-day multi-vitamin.

[shimmer728]

Calcium, because I don't drink milk. I've taken it for years.

[MetFanL]

I take a multivitamin, a multimineral (w/ iron) and a fish oil w/ breakfast. I take a calcium pill, an antioxidant (they're called radical fighters on the bottle) and another fish oil w/ lunch.

If you take a one-a-day or a calcium supplement, check the amount of calcium in it. Your body can't absorb more than 500 mg at a time and I think you need 1000 mg a day, so you might need to take a separate calcium at another time of day or take your calcium twice daily.

I ABSOLUTELY notice a difference in how I feel when I take my vitamins and when I forget for random reasons.

[HereComes30]

I take...

Multivitamin
Fruits and Vegetables tablet (5 servings of fruits and veggies in each tablet and from real fruits and veggies)
Omega-3 fish oils
CLA 500 - Conjugated Linolic Acid
Bilberry with Lutein (good for your eyes)
Triple Guard Mushroom (3 kinds of mushrooms...great immunity boosting properties in mushrooms)
Digestive Enzyme

Occasionally will also take Vitamin C when stuff is going around the office

[megrocks]

My parents are obsessed with vitamins. They each take about 10 different ones each day. Everyday I take prenatal vitamins and a biotin supplement to promote hair growth. I'm going to stop taking prenatals soon and just go back to a regualr multi-vitamin because they're not working. I also take a Viactive because I like the taste. Sometimes I also take a chewable vitamin C, but again, just because I like how they taste.

[Angyl]

I take a centrum and fish oil every day. when i'm getting a cold I'll take Zicam too...for me it works even better than vitamin C.

[midtwenty]

I'm taking prenatal vitamins, but I doubt you can get your hands on those. ;)

Before I got pregnant I was taking Oil of Olay's women's daily multivitamin. They are great and didn't give me that nasty vitamin afterburp that I'm prone to. They have 100% of everything, if I remember correctly. Including calcium.

[labrat2111]

I have multivitamins at home but I stopped taking them because even when I take them with a full meal they make me nauseous. I also used to take Vitamin C tabs but they give me terrible heartburn which I never got when not taking the tablets. Once in awhile I'll take B complex vitamins but I've been forgetful lately.

I don't worry about the vitamins much though. I eat a reasonably healthy diet and in winter when it's cold and flu season I try and get my rest and wash my hands a lot and that seems to keep me from getting sick. I've only had maybe 2 colds in the last 5 years and it's been at least 12 years since I've had the flu.

[paiger81]

Foltx-which is a doc prescribed vitamin for my B-12 defeciency
Multivitamin
Fish Oil Caplets
SuperLysine-immune system builder.

[lilyflower]

Okay, many people have mentioned here fish oil and Omega 3s. Has anyone actually noticed a difference with these. I just started taking them last week and I've yet to notice a difference (but I also JUST started taking them last week)

I've also been taking a multi and b-complex and I do have to say I've noticed a bit more energy from that. Beyond that? I don't see the benefits. I still feel generally run down and crappy.

[MetFanL]

Lily, I think of fish oil as more of a preventative measure. These are just a few things that studies have shown fish oil to help... If you're vegetarian, flax seed oil can be substituted for fish oil and get most of the same benefits.... I just don't know the recommended dosage of flax seed. I know fish oil is 1 gram twice daily.

(1) Brain function -- Family history of Alzheimer's, depression or even bipolar personality.... all are a result of an issue w/ brain function and fish oil helps b/c it's fat and so is your brain (of course, this is super simplified, but you get the idea).

(2)Heart health. Omega-3s have been shown to help people who have coronary heart disease or a family history of it or stroke and other heart events. If you're in the family history category, it wouldn't hurt to start taking it now.

(3) Immune system and Gastroinntestinal stuff. This is why I take it. Fish oil has been shown to help boost the immune system, so I start taking it when I had a crazy schedule. Also, if you have Crohn's, Colitis or IBS, you usually have low levels of something that fish oil supplements can help. My friend has Crohn's and her doctor recommended that she start taking fish oil (plus, she has a family history of Alzheimer's, so it's doubly important).

You can (obviously) get these benefits from eating fish a few times a week, but there is so much mercury in certain fish and you never know, that I'm a little leery of eating fish more than once a week, if that, and I try to eat different kinds, which don't always have the same omega-3 levels, so it's just easier to take the supplement. I think the liquid form is supposed to be better than the capsules, but...ewww...

That's all I know.

[Angyl]

I take my fish oil with Omega 3 for stomach issues. I jsut got diagnosed for IBS, and have been taknig ti to calm my stomach for a while...

supposedly I read soemthing once about it helping you lose weight...I'm guessing that's becuase it helps your digestive system act normally.