Female multi-vitamin?
May 22, 2011 8:31 PM Subscribe
Looking for a female multi-vitamin?
I'm female, 23 years old, exercise regularly, have a fairly balanced diet (I don't get the best variety of fruits but try to eat bananas, apples, and chunky fruit yogurt almost every morning) and the most I know about vitamins is that I really should be taking a daily dose of calcium. I haven't taken vitamins since when I was a kid and had chewy Flintstones ones.
Is there a female multi-vitamin that would be best for me?
I've read somewhere that I should take calcium at night. Does this matter for vitamins in general?
I'm female, 23 years old, exercise regularly, have a fairly balanced diet (I don't get the best variety of fruits but try to eat bananas, apples, and chunky fruit yogurt almost every morning) and the most I know about vitamins is that I really should be taking a daily dose of calcium. I haven't taken vitamins since when I was a kid and had chewy Flintstones ones.
Is there a female multi-vitamin that would be best for me?
I've read somewhere that I should take calcium at night. Does this matter for vitamins in general?
I take my vitamins at night because I take thyroid hormone in the morning and you aren't supposed to take them together. What I've read is that you can't absorb more than about 500 mg of calcium at once, so it's best to divide the 1100 mg daily into two doses, with one of them at night. It's recommended that you take some vitamin D with the calcium and oyster shell calcium is not recommended (because of the possibility of it containing lead or mercury or something--sorry, I'm a little fuzzy on that one).
Apart from calcium, I don't know that a woman needs a different multivitamin than a man does; you might want one with iron if you have a heavy menstrual flow, though. This is the one I take; it's the most complete one I've found, and comes in a capsule, which I find easier to take than a tablet. Prevention magazine publishes (or used to, anyway) an annual guide to what you should be taking based on the most recent research, and I used that to choose my multivitamin.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 9:02 PM on May 22, 2011
Apart from calcium, I don't know that a woman needs a different multivitamin than a man does; you might want one with iron if you have a heavy menstrual flow, though. This is the one I take; it's the most complete one I've found, and comes in a capsule, which I find easier to take than a tablet. Prevention magazine publishes (or used to, anyway) an annual guide to what you should be taking based on the most recent research, and I used that to choose my multivitamin.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 9:02 PM on May 22, 2011
If you decide to just go with a standard, non-lady vitamin, I can vouch for Vitafusion Multi-Vites Gummies being very, very tasty.
posted by phunniemee at 9:04 PM on May 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 9:04 PM on May 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
I like these Rainbow Light Prenatal vitamins. I like that you only have to take one a day, and they don't upset my stomach like other vitamins do.
I also take a Calcium/Magnesium supplement when I remember. It does make a difference during my lady time when I take it.
posted by apricot at 9:16 PM on May 22, 2011
I also take a Calcium/Magnesium supplement when I remember. It does make a difference during my lady time when I take it.
posted by apricot at 9:16 PM on May 22, 2011
I also came to talk about gummi vites--I have VitaFusion (currently the pre-nates and the calcium) and can honestly tell you that I get excited about taking my vitamins, because they are delicious. They seriously just taste like candy, and they don't upset my stomach the way that other vitamins have. I used to be the sort to take a vitamin and vomit an hour later, and now I'm like OH, HEY, VITAMINS! I LOVE YOU!
Be aware that if you're taking a vitamin with iron in it (the ones I take don't have any) you're probably in for a few weeks of intestinal adjustments before you even out again. (Was that vague enough?)
posted by MeghanC at 9:18 PM on May 22, 2011
Be aware that if you're taking a vitamin with iron in it (the ones I take don't have any) you're probably in for a few weeks of intestinal adjustments before you even out again. (Was that vague enough?)
posted by MeghanC at 9:18 PM on May 22, 2011
I still take Flintstones vitamins (the with iron type). Every other type makes me sick to my stomach. I also take a separate D and Calcium when I'm extra good.
posted by rainygrl716 at 9:41 PM on May 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rainygrl716 at 9:41 PM on May 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
Calcium and iron block each other absorption-wise, so take them twoish hours apart from each other, and maybe avoid a multivitamin that has both. Tannins and phytates block iron absorption as well. Vitamin C aids it.
posted by elsietheeel at 9:51 PM on May 22, 2011
posted by elsietheeel at 9:51 PM on May 22, 2011
If you are looking for a brand, I really like NOW brand. They are the perfect blend of quality and value.
Here is the thing. Chances are you are getting all the micronutirents you need. Maybe not every day, but often enough. Just about any multi will get you to 100% if you are not mineral deficient. Keep track of your diet using a site like FitDay or Daily Burn to see where you are currently and decide what you need.
posted by munchingzombie at 1:10 AM on May 23, 2011
Here is the thing. Chances are you are getting all the micronutirents you need. Maybe not every day, but often enough. Just about any multi will get you to 100% if you are not mineral deficient. Keep track of your diet using a site like FitDay or Daily Burn to see where you are currently and decide what you need.
posted by munchingzombie at 1:10 AM on May 23, 2011
Best answer: The idea that particular brandings of multi-vitamins are somehow specially tailored for specific classes of consumer is one of the marketing discipline's more notable success stories. Sure, a brand specifically targeted at women may have a different composition than one specifically targeted for men, but the thing is that even your most basic multi-vitamin is so crammed full of vitamins that there's some question as to whether the human body can actually absorb them all. You're getting most of what you need from your diet anyway, so there's not a whole lot of evidence that any of these tabs do anything much for anyone.*
If you are an otherwise-healthy adult female, and it sounds like you are, just wander over to the supplement section of your supermarket and get a cheap multi-vitamin. Any will do. Or just skip it. You'll be fine either way.
*Except for kids and in those cases where there's a diagnosed disorder like anemia or Crohn's disease.
posted by valkyryn at 4:54 AM on May 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
If you are an otherwise-healthy adult female, and it sounds like you are, just wander over to the supplement section of your supermarket and get a cheap multi-vitamin. Any will do. Or just skip it. You'll be fine either way.
*Except for kids and in those cases where there's a diagnosed disorder like anemia or Crohn's disease.
posted by valkyryn at 4:54 AM on May 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
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I take Citracal because they're smaller than other calcium tablets.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 8:50 PM on May 22, 2011