JoeBloggs

Recently started taking vitamin supplements for a number of reasons, and wondered if what I am taking is a reasonable amount, and are there any side effects in taking them

Im currently taking the following

Omega 3 Capsules 1000mg
Vitamin C Tablets 1000mg
Vitamin E 400 IU
Zinc 15mg

These are daily amounts

I know I could probably do with changing my diet also, which mainly consists of 1 Sunday Roast meal a week

Occasional Cereal Shredded Wheat Fruitiful / Cheerios Triple Berry (if not cereal then cereal bars, Nutri Grain etc)

Lunch is either a a couple of sandwiches or 3 egg, 3 bacon, 3 sausage, 3 black pudding, 3 tomatoes, mushrooms and 3 toast

evening meals usually occasional Pasta, Pizza, Pies, chicken n chips etc

Cheers

Joe

Alas

Water soluble vitamins such as C have excess dumped in urine so are ok. Fat soluble vitamins are more difficult and can cause problems if too much is taken such as Vit D
See article
www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09315.html

OllyK

You can overdose on water if you take enough of it and people have overdosed on oral ascorbic acid (vitamin c).

If you're a healthy adult with a good diet you shouldn't need suplements unless you have some medical condition, in which case follow directions by your doctor. If you do take supplements, follow the instructions on them or ask your pharmacist.

JoeBloggs

I am reasonably healthy

One of the reasons I posted this thread was that I noticed the RDA for Vitamin E is 2100% which is quite high, and been reading that too much isnt that good for you

Joe

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

There have been lots of arguments over Vitamin E over the years.......one of the original problems was that vitamin E blood levels are difficult to determine and depended on if the blood samples were collected in glass or plastic !!

......... unless you have serious skin problems even a western diet should cover it !!

Shaun

JoeBloggs

I dont have skin problems, but there are a number of reasons that i am taking the vitamins

and hopefully wont be for a great length of time, possibly 3 months or so

Perhaps I should add that I am a smoker (approx 20 day) and I know I should give them up too

lpski1

if you jump around too much, you'll rattle

Reality

Whatever reason you're taking vitamins (presumably to improve your health) this has gotta help more .

Sounds like you're tackling the wrong issue first from here !

suprabeast

if you're eating a decent balanced diet then the vits are unnecessary. of course if you aint eating enough then its a different story!

Oh and if you stopped smoking, you WILL eat more

JoeBloggs

Im trying to change my diet so it is more balanced, hence now starting to eat pasta etc I do eat fish now too but not as often as I would like, (cos I do like a bit of fish )

Smoking I know is the biggest one, and is something im trying to get help on

As I said tho, the vits are for a reason, other than just to improve health

Joe

StickyMicky

its all about grilled salmon fillets IMO

Ken 275

Your body can't store Vitamin C for longer than 24 hours and you end up just pi$$ing out the excess so a regular intake is required. (Bananas are also great for Potassium which improves mobility.) It's also water soluble so when you cook the veg all the water which you pour away also contains all the vits. There's a lot to be be said for the Old Cabbage water...

From memory, D & E are just fat soluble. Milk,two veg varieties properly prepared and some red meat and a bit of fruit should suffice your evening intake.

Pasta is nice but it's really just a carbohydrate hit unless you make it with some meat or veg through it. It's just processed flour after all.

I agree with the previous posters - a balanced diet is the answer. There shouldn't be a need to resort to tablets.

I can't handle Broccoli though and I speak as a Food Scientist. I know it's really good for you but I draw the line at this one, however if you like it, eat as much as you can. Wunderveg!

JoeBloggs

I do like Broccoli, and can eat quite a bit, and usually do on a Sunday

Ive heard Spinach is also good too, but not had any of that for quite a while (didnt do popeye any harm )

The supplement is hopefully only short term the pasta and fish are really just an alternative to the pies, pizzas, chips etc

I do like bananas too, but whenever I buy them I forget they are there and dont end up eating them !!

As regards to veg, I do prefer them to be crispy, and not overcooked, so as not to lose most of the vitamins in them

Not going to drink the cabbage water tho, and dont even mention sprouts !!

Joe

King RA

the vitamins you need to worry about are A and some B's. I take at least 5 times more vitamins than you have listed and suffer no ill effects.

richmilly

I mirror most of the above posts, Water soluble vitamins cant be stored as reserves so any extra is just excreted in urine, the fat soluble vitamins A,E,D and K can be stored and too much of these can cause problems.

A balanced diet will allow you to intake all the needed vit and mins without supp, so when you can finish taking the supp in 3 months or so as long as you are eating healthily vit and min supp is an unnecessary expense.

Also yes you can suffer from taking in too much water, its called hyponatremia, basically you sweat, and as sweat is mainly made up from sodium or salt, your body salt levels decrease, ingesting large amounts of water then dilutes your remaing body sodium even more, causing dizzyness and in severe cases i.e. ultramarthons - death! So always best to drink a sports drink or squash, or even add a very small amount of salt to your drink to allow you to replace that lost in sweat.

Cheers
Rich

Aaquil

Fat soluble Vitamins remember ADEK. Vitamins A, D, E and K if you take too much they will accumulate in your cells and cause as many if not more problems than deficiency. Water soluble in excess you just wee them out. Be careful get advice from a good local health food store or GP?

There may be problems with too much of the others you have listed if in doubt leave it out or reduce dose.

Aaquil.

JoeBloggs

Its just the Vitamin E I was concerned about as I had read that it may shorten life !!

The main reason for taking the supplements is to help with fertility, and I have read countless web sites that list those vitamins as good ones to take to increase fertility

I am changing my diet also to try and get a more balanced intake

Joe

Aaquil

Eating less rubbish and not smoking helps as well.

^OPM^

when i started a bit ago taking some vitamin c tablets i found that i was having to do more number 2's -stopped taking them and im back now to once every 2 days -i can eat loads of raw brocolli tho-specially nice with vinegar on it

Abdabz

1 poo every 2 days You must be able to read entire novels when it's your time to go

I take 1 multivitamin tablet with water every other day and a cod liver tablet on the other days. I poo and wee normally and am very active. I also have lovely skin and am really attractive to the opposite sex