Should I take multivitamins/calcium supplement?

[Kelodie]

Hi everyone,

I am not the kind of person who eats balanced meals all the time. In fact, I think there's a lot of room for improvement in my eating habits. Anyway, I was wondering:

1) should I take a multivitamin?
2) I don't eat/drink a lot of dairy (usually 1 portion a day) because I simply don't like milk, cheese, etc. Should I take a calcium supplement?

What are your views on multivitamins and supplements? I'm 28 and I feel healthy, but I think I may not be getting everything I need from my food intake.

[CeilidhOnTheRun]

Whenever I feel I may be lacking in some way I take them - but I believe that healthy balanced eating is really the only way to get what you really need, nutrients from food are just absorbed so much better.

[moof324]

I'm a lifelong believer (since age 2!) in multivitamins...in fact, I still take a flinstones kid's chewable every day (I have pill-swallowing issues, so I prefer the chewable kind Plus, they're in orange and cherry flavor (and grape, but I also hate grape) ..yum! Oh, and they still provide adult nutrients, including folic acid...important if you ever want to be a mom!)

If you're not getting 3 servings of calcium through dairy and other foods, then I would also say yes to a calcium supplement--but I'm not sure how they interact with other vitamins, I thought I read somewhere that calcium and vitamin D shouldn't be taken together at the same time, or was it calcium and iron? Something about they impede nutrient absorption.

But way to be proactive in keeping healthy with nutrients, and good for you that you recognize what your diet needs to be better every day!

[CeilidhOnTheRun]

I think Vitamin C is supposed to help with calcium absorption.

[Georgiana]

From what little I know, it sounds like you're probably not getting enough calcium... I think Moof's right, that 3 servings a day is about the minimum. However, supplements aren't the only possibility - there are non-dairy sources, although I can't remember any good ones off the top of my head, and you can get stuff like orange juice with calcium added. I *think*, although I'm not absolutely sure, that it's still possible for women to build bone mass into their 30s, as opposed to merely avoid bone loss, so you're wise to be thinking about it now rather than later.

As far as multis go, in an ideal world I'd eat a perfect diet, including mucho produce grown in soil that hadn't been stripped of its nutrients. Needless to say, that world doesn't exist in this universe, so far as I can tell, so I take a multi, and try to improve my diet one small step at a time... progress, not perfection!

Georgiana

Edited to note that I have no medical training whatsoever

[Nicholas]

I don't eat a perfect, balanced diet and once in a while pop a multi vitamin. They say it can't hurt and may help. That's as scientific as I can get.

[ultraslacker]

I thought I read somewhere that calcium and vitamin D shouldn't be taken together at the same time

no, Vitamin D HELPS the calcium absorb. That's why most calcium supplements come with D added. :)

I take a multivitamin on days that I remember and it's convenient. Like nick I figure that it will probably help and if not, it doesn't hurt anything. Multi-vitamins are just a bit of an extra boost in that regard. They are not a substitute for eating well, but they can help fill in the gaps since very few people are able to eat the perfect balance of nutrients every day.

I recently started taking a calcium supplement in hopes that it will help my stress fracture heal more quickly. Again, it may not make a difference but it doesn't hurt to try!!

[Jwolf]

or was it calcium and iron? Something about they impede nutrient absorption.

Yes, you are thinking of calcium and iron. But it's not the calcium-- it's the carbonate in the calcium carbonate that binds to the iron and makes it not absorb well. This is only if you are taking iron supplements and calcium supplements alone-- if you take a properly formulated multivitamin, it's not an issue.

(I take a prenatal/postpartum multivitamin when I remember, and it contains both iron and calcium. No, I'm not planning on any more babies , but my doc recommended it as having a good formulation for women like me who tend to be low in iron.)

And yes, vitamin D does help calcium absorption, but most of us have no problem getting enough vitamin D (our bodies use sunlight to convert cholesterol to vitamin D, so if you have dark skin and/or live in the northern climates, vitamin D supps might be in order, too).

[Kelodie]

Thanks everyone - that is good feedback. I'll try to work more on my diet and take a multivitamin / calcium supplement when it doesn't provide all I need.