How to Choose the Right Vitamins and Suppliments for You
With the health food shelves growing fuller by the day, choosing the right suppliments for you and your family can be challenging. Want to get past all the hype? Here we answer your questions about suppliments and demystify the whole shelf. As with any major change in your diet, be sure to consult a physician before taking vitamins or suppliments espcially is you are pregnant, nursing or have a health concern.
Why take vitamins?
For decades we’ve heard that you don’t need vitamin supplements if you eat well. In our fast-paced, convenience-based lives however, it probably doesn’t hurt to top up with a supplement that’s close to the Recommended Daily Intakes or RDIs. This may be especially true for women and children who typically don’t eat as much as men. A supplement is named appropriately for its purpose; it is meant to supplement a healthy diet, not replace an unhealthy one. You still need to eat plenty of disease-fighting plant foods like beans, nuts, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, along with some milk products, meat and fish for optimal energy and long-term health.
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Where should you buy vitamins?
It doesn’t matter where you buy supplements; they all contain basically the same ingredients. Most supplement companies buy their vitamins from the same small group of multinational manufacturers. What varies between brands is the amount of each nutrient and whether any extra “frills” like ginseng, ginkgo or green tea are thrown in. There is little evidence that meaningless amounts of these frills found in vitamins do anything for you. A 30-day supply of the best multivitamin/mineral supplements on the market cost between $2 and $9.
What do the fancy claims mean?
Beware of fancy claims like “high potency, super, complete or all natural” which may not mean anything. A basic brand can often contain the same nutrients as a “multi-potency” brand. There are lots of specialized formulas marketed to women, men or older adults that include names like “hair force, enhanced energy, pms forte or stresstabs.” Health Canada does not regulate these claims. Companies are on their own when it comes to making claims; consumers are on their own when it comes to interpreting them.
Are chelated minerals better?
Chelate means claw-like. In theory, a chelated mineral may be better absorbed because it is protected from binders in food. In practice however, it may not be worth the extra cost. Chelated calcium is 5-10% better absorbed but costs five times as much.
When should you take vitamins?
Most experts recommend taking them with meals for better absorption. For calcium however, take no more than 500 mg at a time, preferably at night, separate from a multivitamin. High doses of calcium can impair iron absorption. If you are on prescription medication, ask you doctor or pharmacist about the best time to take vitamin supplements.
Do children need multivitamins?
The same theory for adults applies to children in that a supplement is meant to supplement a healthy diet. Since many adult formulas supply doses which exceed the RDIs, a child over 2 years old should take a children’s multi containing vitamins, minerals and iron.
What should I look for when choosing a multivitamin?
While it is illegal in Canada to print the RDIs on supplement labels, the following tips will help you to figure out if you are getting enough of the nutrients you need in a multivitamin/mineral supplement which I refer to as a “multi.” Nutrients are expressed in a variety of units with “mg” meaning milligram, “ug” meaning microgram and “IU” meaning International Units.
- Vitamin A: you don’t need to take more than the RDI which is l,000 RE or 3,330 IU of Vitamin A palmitate or acetate. Taking more than l0,000 IU of this fat-soluble vitamin may increase the risk of birth defects.
- Beta-Carotene: if you don’t see Vitamin A on the label, you will likely see beta-carotene. The body converts beta-carotene to Vitamin A. Beta-carotene may not cause birth defects, but it has been shown to increase the risk of cancer in smokers. Best advice is to load up on green and orange fruits and vegetables instead. If you do supplement, don’t take more than l5, 000 IU beta-carotene.
- Folic Acid: look for 0.4 mg or 400 ug to help reduce the risk of birth defects like spina bifida and cleft palate. Folic acid may also help reduce risk of heart disease and colon cancer.
- Vitamin D: look for a multi with 400 IU, especially if you are over 50 years. You can also get Vitamin D from milk, fatty fish and the sun.
- Phosphorus: the less, the better. You want less than 500 mg in a multi, as most people get more phosphorus than they need from food sources.
- Iron: for those who don’t lose iron on a regular basis like men and post-menopausal women, 0-10 mg of iron is enough. Children and pre-menopausal women tend to have lower iron stores so 10-14 mg is safe. Too much iron can be constipating and nobody should take more unless their doctor says so. Red meat and organ meats are high sources of dietary iron.
- Iodine, Manganese, Chloride, Molybdenum, Boron, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid: ignore these. There is no evidence that you need more than food supplies.
- Nickel, Silicon, Tin, Vanadium: ignore these. We’re not sure if they’re needed in humans at all.
- Copper and Zinc: make sure your multi has some of each. Look for 9 mg zinc and 2 mg copper. Too much zinc can impair absorption of copper and can even depress your immune system. Taking high doses of zinc has not been shown to shorten a cold. It’s safer to suck on a zinc lozenge.
Courtesy of Fraser Valley Health Region Community Nutrition located in Abbotsford, BC Canada
