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I am interested in taking a multivitamin as a supplement to my diet. Every multivitamin I look at contains 600% of this and 400% of that - I don't really want to see numbers that high. I don't even really want to see 100% - I would be most comfortable with seeing 20% across the board. I am not looking to get all of my micronutrients from this pill, just use is as a supplement to the food I am eating. Googling doesn't turn anything up. Does anyone know of such a product?

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What is your level of activity? Did you try to buy supplements at your local drug store or in (sport) supplements shop? – StupidOne Aug 23 '12 at 14:30
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I am using a product called fruits and vegetables… – Informaficker Aug 23 '12 at 15:52
Haha, "a product called fruits and veg"? ... a product? That is a good one. Fruit is very good throughout the day too. – Kevdog777 Aug 23 '12 at 15:56
We generally expect a direct and obvious connection to some aspect of fitness; I don't see that here. Please see the FAQ. – Greg♦ Oct 11 '12 at 19:35

closed as off topic by michael, VPeric, FredrikD, Informaficker, Greg♦ Oct 11 '12 at 19:35

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2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

As long as you are on a healthy diet you should not have to worry about your vitamins.

I am quoting from an answer from Skeptics.SE on the same topic:

There answer is not necessarily a simple "yes" or "no."

[…] Vitamin supplements are all about avoiding a vitamin deficiency. There really is no added benefit to getting more vitamins once you're at sufficient levels. The trick is that it's not that easy to keep track of whether or not you are.

[…] No, you do not need vitamin supplements if you get sufficient levels of vitamins anyway. There is no added benefit to getting more than enough vitamins.

[…] It is worth looking into whether or not you belong to any of the risk groups, to assess whether or not you would be in need of supplements, or perhaps, and preferably, a change of habits. For a healthy adult to take multi-vitamins sounds to me like hedging your bets, but a pill a day won't get you intoxicated either.

From another answer to a related question from skeptics.SE:

[…] So basically the recommendation is to eat plants, not to eat vitamins. Vitamins are not a good substitute for eating a lot of veggies in this sense.

If you are concerned that you might suffer from some kind of deficiency you should -in my opinion- adjust your diet before taking supplements. There is no good reason to avoid eating fruits and vegetables on a diet I would call healthy.

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That's all great, but you didn't list sufficient levels for active person. E.g. RDA for vitamin C is 90mg, but very active persons due to high level of free radicals in body should take up to 2g (2 222% of RDA). Try to eat enough veggies and fruits to hit 2 g of C (e.g. to get to this number, you would need to eat 29 oranges). Not to mention it's very expensive. – StupidOne Aug 23 '12 at 18:01
@StupidOne could you provide a reputable source that supports your claim? The 2g you cite is the upper tolerable limit looking at wikipedia. Doses above 1g can even cause diarrhea, which will flush out even more nutrients. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C#Daily_requirements – Informaficker Aug 23 '12 at 18:16
healthy-vitamin-choice.com/athletes-requirements.html Reputable sources are at the bottom. It's a little bit tricky to give you neutral source for such high intake because there are littery millions of "studies" sponsored by supplement industry. If you really want to know the optimal need for your body, you should consult with sport medicine doctor. – StupidOne Aug 23 '12 at 18:32
I can agree to the last sentence. Whatever, since the OP only asked for 20% RDA supplements I don't think he is training on an olympic niveau. Also you will not engage in competition daily, I too get me one or two high carbo gels and bars when on competition and drink water supplemented with minerals, but not on a daily basis. You should start with a healthy diet and only take supplements when you feel that it is not enough (thats pretty much what my nutritional medicine doctor said). – Informaficker Aug 23 '12 at 19:40
I work out, and I eat plenty of fruits and veggies, of a rather varied sort. Even so, when I actually enter all of the food I eat in a given day into a nutrient calculator, I end up being deficient in several vitamins. For example, zinc is one vitamin that I rarely get enough of. I could just add a cup of pumpkin seeds to my diet every day, but when I do this kind of adjustment for every vitamin I need, I just end up with too large a volume of food for me to eat in one day. Maybe I need to expand my stomach. – Steven Gubkin Aug 23 '12 at 22:34
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up vote 0 down vote

I think it is based on what your body can handle.

For example, if the bottle says it has 512% Vitamin B, your body will consume a percentage of that and the rest will be dumped out, when you attend the bathroom. That is because most vitamins are water soluble.

Read this article: Yahoo Answers - the answer is a bit straight to the line for how I talk.

My brother is a body builder, and he told me that he never takes vitamin pills, he injects them, as his body will take more that way, as it goes straight into his blood. He also said, if you take a pill, your body will absorb 60% of the pill.

So if you see something that says it contains 20% of this, then your body will probably only absorb about 60% of it.

Hope this helps!

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