I never took multivitamin, now what kind of multivitamin should I take?

Hi anw559-ga,

The best type of multivitamin for anyone is in "ionic" or "colloidal"
form. This means it is in organic solution, and is very easily
absorbed by the body's cells where it is needed most. This is also
known as "high bioavailability". This is one of the most important
considerations when choosing a multivitamin because there are many
brands on the market, and some of them may have a wide range of
vitamins/minerals containted in a tablet, but may not be in the best
form for absorption by your body. For example, some brands of calcium
supplements use calcium carbonate, which is only 5% absorbable. The
rest passes through your body. In same cases you get a buildup of
toxicity if it is too much for your body to handle. Most colloidal
vitamin/mineral solutions are 50% absorbable. The following product,
Maximol Solutions, however, is 98% absorbable, and is a very high
quality product :

+------------------------------------------------------+

Maximol Solutions Liquid Colloidal Vitamin & Mineral Supplement
http://www.naturallyhealthyonline.com/maximol-solutions.php

[begin excerpt]

Probably one of the best and most trusted world-wide supplements is
Maximol Solutions.

Maximol Solutions will give your body all of the nutrients it needs,
to begin building perfect new cells from the moment you begin taking
it. Your body is continually making new cells to replace damaged and
sub-standard cells and as you increase your number of perfect cells,
you will begin to feel better, more active and make progress towards
optimum health.

Maximol Solutions is a naturally sourced, fully balanced, highly
bio-absorbable,
liquid supplement containing 132 nutrients, including all of the 12
essential minerals,
53 trace and rare earth minerals, 17 vitamins, 20 amino acids and 30
enzymes,
which are needed on a daily basis for excellent health.

It is a pleasant-tasting raspberry flavoured liquid with all of the
nutrients in the
ionic (sub-colloidal) bioavailable form so that up to 98% of them will
be absorbed, to enter the blood stream and begin working immediately.

The natural organic fulvic acid that achieves this remarkable
absorption feat is subject to worldwide patents - Maximol Solutions IS
unique!

People who take Maximol Solutions every day include:

 those suffering from minor ailments who want to return to good health
through
   nutrition rather  than taking prescription drugs.

 those who don't want their health to deteriorate as they approach
middle age,
   much as their parents' did.

 many amateur and professional sportsmen, including gold medal
athletes, who want to    maintain optimum health, especially during
training.

 people who want to live life to the full, whatever their age.

 many self employed people who know that the success and growth of
their business
   depends on maintaining  their good health.

 people suffering from long-term diseases, where prolonged treatment
has worn down
    their  body systems so that they are also suffering the effects of
nutrient deficiency.

Maximol Solutions really works because it guarantees 
all of the nutrients you need each day. 

Its natural sourcing and liquid form enables it to be up to 98%
absorbed.

It will have a dramatic effect on your general health and lifestyle.

[end excerpt]

+------------------------------------------------------+

Colloidal Mineral Supplement with Fulvic Acid for Better Health
http://www.vitalityconnection.com/minerals.htm

[begin excerpt]

Maximol Solutions Liquid Minerals

Feel The Difference! 
 
What Sets Our Colloidal Minerals Apart from All Others In the
Marketplace?
- Liquid trace minerals 
- Heavy metals removed 
- Most important 12 minerals standardized 
- Vitamin complex 
- Amino Acid complexes 
- 30 Enzymes 
- Patented liposomal multi-lamellar (layer upon layer) delivery system
dramatically increases the absorption
- Fulvic Acid for cellular life 
- Ionic Charged 
- Tastes great 
- MOST POWERFUL nutritional elixir -- no exceptions  

What Makes This The BEST Choice Liquid Mineral? 

We Have A Scientific, Unique Formula
We manufacture our own Minerals and we use Patented liposomal
multi-lamellar (layer upon layer) delivery system to dramatically
increases the absorption. We use patent-pending organic fulvic acid
complexes to greatly increase the bio-availability and cellular
vitality.

Fulvic Acid
Fulvic Acid is an organic electrolyte that is able to hydrate and
replenish the body during and after high-energy physical exertion.
Fulvic Acid is the carrier of the life giving minerals--it delivers
nutrients and picks up toxins and heavy metals to process them out of
the body.

Not Just Minerals
Maximol Liquid Minerals is loaded with minerals; a super-saturated
solution, plus a vitamin complex, amino acid complexes, and 30
enzymes.

Perfect Balance
Minerals need to be combined with each other in the proper balance in
order for them to be assimilated by the body and function at their
optimal capacity. Vitamins also need to interact with each other to do
their best work. When these ingredients are together they work
synergistically and become extremely powerful.

You Are What You Assimilate
A patented liposomal multi-lamellar (layer upon layer) delivery system
dramatically increases the absorption of Maximum Liquid Minerals. It
is the greatest nutritional elixir you can buy -- no exceptions.

Heavy Metals Are Out
We utilize an expensive process to eliminate the Aluminum, Lead,
Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic, and potentially heavy, toxic metal
minerals. No artificial colors, flavors, sugars, glucose, or
artificial sweeteners.

[end excerpt]


+------------------------------------------------------+

Here's another Colloidal Mineral solution from another brand :

Dr. Wallach's Colloidal Mineral ULTIMATE Product description  American
Longevity Majestic Earth
http://www.deaddoctors.com/html/13201.htm

[begin excerpt]

Dr. Joel Wallach's 
American Longevity 
Colloidal Mineral Product Line

Majestic Earth Ultimate Classic
32oz Liquid Supplement 
$38 Wholesale 
$55 Retail 

 A Liquid Vitamin, Mineral and Amino Acid supplement containing a
highly Bio-Available Complex featuring PLANT DERIVED MINERALS and
other Beneficial Nutrients
With today's active lifestyle virtually all of us are lacking in
vitamins, minerals or other essential nutrients such as amino acids
and essential fatty acids. With our farm and range soil and
subsequently our food supply largely lacking in minerals, it is a
growing belief that supplementation with all the known essential
nutrients is essential for optimal health! MAJESTIC EARTHTM


ULTIMATE is formulated to be so complete that little other
supplementation is necessary.

Also available: Tangy Tangerine, Sports Plus, and Ultimate Daily
(Tablets)

MAJESTIC EARTH™ ULTIMATE is the most complete full spectrum, dietary
supplement ever offered in liquid form. MAJESTIC EARTH™ ULTIMATE
provides super high potency vitamins, amino acids, chelated major
minerals, plus all trace minerals in highly absorbable organic
colloidal form.

In addition to the Full Spectrum of vitamins, minerals, trace minerals
and free form amino acids, Majestic Earth ULTIMATE also provides the
following specialized nutrient cofactors:

Grape Seed Extract: With the advent of the free radical etiology of
many diseases, the search for more and more powerful anti oxidant
yielding compounds has been underway. One of the most powerful such
anti oxidant nutrients to be discovered in recent years was found in
grape seed extract and pine bark. Also known commercially under its
copyrighted trade name Pycnogenol, this powerful anti oxidant has been
shown to provide numerous possible benefits to the human biochemistry.
In addition to protecting the other anti oxidant nutrients such as
Vitamin C, grape seed extract may slow the damage associated with
aging, restore elasticity and smoothness to the skin via its influence
on skin protein formation, strengthen capillaries, enhance circulation
and provide the greatest single anti oxidant source for cellular
protection presently known.

CoEnzyme Q10: Also frequently called ubiquinone, Coenzyme Q10 is also
a powerful anti oxidant similar to Vitamin E but offers additional
benefits in assisting the cells of the body in taking up available
oxygen. Since this powerful nutrient declines with age it is important
to take it in supplement form. Numerous clinical studies have shown
that Coenzyme Q10 may be beneficial in a wide variety of physical
conditions.

Superoxide Dismutase: Superoxide Dismutase or SOD is an enzyme. SOD
revitalizes the body cells and reduces the rate of cell destruction.
It removes the most common free radical, Superoxide, therefore it is
also an anti oxidant. SOD assists the body in the utilization of many
minerals including copper, zinc and manganese. Since free radical
damage tends to increase with age, increased amounts of SOD in
supplement form may be especially beneficial as we grow older.

Bioflavinoids: There has been a great deal of publicity recently about
the benefits of consuming red wine and its possible connection to
reducing heart disease. The active chemicals in the red wine are
bioflavinoids. These substances protect the heart tissue, while the
moderate amount of alcoholin the wine exercises a positive effect on
lipoproteins. Majestic Earth "ULTIMATE" contains 100 mg of
bioflavinoids per ounce. You have to provide your own alcohol if you
want it.

Dimethylglycline: Russian scientists have been studying this substance
for many years and feel strongly that it assists the cells of the body
in taking up and eventually using oxygen.

[end excerpt]

+------------------------------------------------------+



Google Search Terms :

colloidal vitamin mineral supplement
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=colloidal+vitamin+mineral+supplement


All in all, colloidal/ionic multivitamin/multimineral supplements are
the best for your body. They have the whole spectrum of elements,
including trace elements, that you body needs to keep in perfect
health, fend off sicknesses, and prevent disease in the long-term.
Studies have shown that many diseases of today are actually deficiency
diseases cause by inadequate absorption of trace elements from our
diet. Most of our commercial food is grown in minerally depleted
soils. Look for a good colloidal/ionic multivitamin/multimineral
solution for optimum health!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask for a Request
For Clarification. Thanks and have a great day.


Regards,

kyrie26-ga

The recommendation by kyrie may be excellent, but it is very
controversial. There is wide diversity of opinion on vitimun and
mineral suppliments, and few would agree tha colloidal suppliments are
better, or even real science. I recommend swapping with some of your
friends so you get a different formula daily. This is the shot gun
approach. Modern science still has a lot to learn about nutrition in a
pill (or colloidal solution), so good advice is to depend heavily on
fresh fruits and vegetables, plus 1/2 glass of water per hour, intead
of other beverages. Eat less animal products and processed foods.  
Neil

anw559-ga, 

Your question concerning vitamins, simple yet very important, comes on
the heels of a major paradigm shift by the American Medical
Association this summer concerning supplementation. It would be best
if I started my commentary by referring you to the JAMA papers:

Vitamins for Chronic Disease
Prevention in Adults 
Robert Fletcher / Kathleen Fairfield, MDs
JAMA 2002; 287:3127-3129
 
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n23/abs/jsr20001.html 

http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n23/abs/jsr20000.html 

[companion newspaper article at end of post] 


At the most _basic_ level of supplementation, you want to find a
multivitamin that: 1) will disintegrate within a reasonable amount of
time in the stomach (if it doesn't dissolve, no benefits!) [ US
Pharmacopeia standards:
http://www.usp.org/reporting/review/rev_038a.htm ] 
2) contains at least 100% of the RDA for the major (non-trace)
components, 3) for men and non-menstruating women, contains no iron
(issues of negative effects on heart health for men; risk of
hemochromatosis, a blood disorder caused by excessive iron, for both
sexes).

One of the co-authors of the JAMA study, Dr. Robert Fletcher (Harvard)
spoke to baseline types of vitamins they had in mind: "Fletcher said
most popular over-the-counter brands of multivitamins are sufficient
and cheap, costing $20 to $30 a year..."
[fr. "Vitamin a day just what doctors order" by Ronald Kotulak
ChicagoTribune science reporter / June 19, 2002]

"One-A-Day's Men's" or 'Women's", as just two examples, address these
most basic concerns.

http://www.bayercare.com/oad/oadmen.html
http://www.bayercare.com/oad/oadwomen.html 


However, overview of research and clinical data indicates that
significantly higher (but safe) levels of (for example) folate,
vitamins C, D, E and beta-carotene (A) than can be found in
"One-A-Day"-type formulations are required to reap greater health and
disease prophylaxis benefits.

Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, chief of antioxidant research at Tufts
University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center:

"'It's just wonderful that JAMA is publishing this information and
this recommendation. It's nice to see this change in philosophy that's
saying we can make public health recommendations based on this really
compelling set of data.'
Blumberg said the JAMA recommendations are also important because they
underscore a growing concept among nutrition experts that the
recommended daily allowances, or RDAs, for many vitamins are set too
low.
RDAs essentially were established to prevent symptoms of vitamin
deficiency disorders, he said. But there is growing evidence that
higher levels of many vitamins are necessary to achieve optimum
health..."

[The National Academy of Sciences, which sets RDAs, is revising its
recommendations based on the new evidence.]
[fr. "Vitamin a day just what doctors order" by Ronald Kotulak
ChicagoTribune science reporter / June 19, 2002]


Examples of multivitamins meeting these "early adaptor" standards
would be Shiff and Twinlab.

Schiff Single Day (purchase "no iron" version): 
http://www.schiffvitamins.com/productsearch_results.asp?p=3 

Twinlab multivitamins:
http://www.twinlab.com/vitamins.cfm 


It would be extremely prudent to take the time to familiarize yourself
with the basics of vitamin science and gain an overview of the
research. As your knowledge increases, you will be able to make
informed decisions about brands, importance of food sources, etc..

One area of assistance in this regard is the vitamin page, "BioBlog:
Multivitamins/minerals" (be sure to click the "Bioshields" sections
for each vitamin - they contain summarized research overviews dating
back to the early 90's):

http://bios7.tripod.com/bioblog/vitaminblog.html#vit 



To your health, 

Lancebowski-ga 



---------------------

BEGIN ARTICLE EXCERPTS


"Vitamin a day just what doctors order"
By Ronald Kotulak
Tribune science reporter 
June 19, 2002 

Reversing a long-standing anti-vitamin policy, the Journal of the
American Medical Association on Wednesday is advising all adults to
take at least one multivitamin pill each day.
Scientists' understanding of the benefits of vitamins has rapidly
advanced, and it now appears that people who get enough vitamins may
be able to prevent such common chronic illnesses as cancer, heart
disease and osteoporosis, according to Drs. Robert H. Fletcher and
Kathleen M. Fairfield of Harvard University, who wrote JAMA's new
guidelines.

The last time JAMA made a comprehensive review of vitamins, about 20
years ago, it concluded that normal people shouldn't take
multivitamins because they were a waste of time and money. People can
get all the nutrients they need from their diet, JAMA advised, adding
that only pregnant women and chronically sick people may need certain
vitamins.
That was at a time when knowledge about vitamins was just beginning to
expand. The role that low levels of folate, or folic acid, play in
neural tube defects, for instance, was not known, nor was its role as
a major risk factor for heart disease.

Many doctors have been telling their patients for years to take
vitamins. Nearly 1 out of 3 Americans take multivitamins and many of
them are afraid to tell their doctor for fear he or she would
disapprove.
But researchers hope that JAMA's endorsement will result in more
people reaping health benefits of a daily vitamin.

Health experts are increasingly worried that most American adults do
not consume healthy amounts of vitamins in their diet, although they
may be getting enough to ward off such vitamin deficiency disorders as
scurvy, beriberi and pellagra.
Almost 80 percent of Americans do not eat at least five helpings of
fruits and vegetables a day, the recommended minimum amount believed
to provide sufficient essential nutrients. Humans do not make their
own vitamins, except for some vitamin D, and they must get them from
food to prevent metabolic disorders.
[...]

Even people who eat five daily servings of fruits and vegetables may
not get enough of certain vitamins for optimum health, Fletcher said.
Most people, for instance, cannot get the healthiest levels of folate
and vitamins D and E from currently recommended diets, he said.
"All of us grew up believing that if we ate a reasonable diet, that
would take care of our vitamin needs," Fletcher said."But the new
evidence, much of it in the last couple of years, is that vitamins
also prevent the usual diseases we deal with every day--heart disease,
cancer, osteoporosis and birth defects."

Dr. Michael Sitrin, director of the University of Chicago's clinical
nutrition research center, said there is a growing conviction that
taking a multiple vitamin a day would improve overall public health.
But there are still some people who insist that advocating the use of
vitamins will encourage some people to pop a pill and continue to eat
their bad diets, he said.

Because foods contain thousands of vitamin-like compounds--many not
yet identified--that may be important for good health, vitamin
supplements should not be a substitute for a wholesome diet, Blumberg
said.
Follow-up articles are needed about the role of vitamin supplements in
reducing the risk of macular degeneration, cataracts, Alzheimer's
disease, immune dysfunction and other disorders, he said.

Nutrition knowledge lacking 

Fletcher and Fairfield said efforts to get people to eat healthier
diets have not been very successful. The nation's doctors need to
upgrade their knowledge about nutrition and tell patients to take
multivitamins, he said.
Current nutrition information is available from the National
Institutes of Health (http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements) and Tufts
(http://www.navigator.tufts.edu).

Dr. Catherine D. DeAngelis, JAMA editor, said the purpose of the two
multivitamin articles is to help busy physicians quickly incorporate
the new knowledge into their practices.
"Physicians are inadequately trained in nutrition," she said.
"Everybody talks about it and tries to do something about it, but so
far only a few places do it well."

The Harvard researchers reviewed more than 150 studies to determine
the health benefits of nine vitamins.
They concluded that suboptimal levels of folic acid and vitamins B6
and B12 are a risk factor for heart disease, neural tube defects and
colon and breast cancer; low levels of vitamin D contribute to
osteoporosis and fractures; and inadequate levels of the antioxidant
vitamins A, E and C may increase the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Although the articles did not make vitamin recommendations for
children, Fletcher said they probably should take a daily multivitamin
for the same reasons as adults.
"The old advice was that you ought to take a vitamin pill while you're
growing up, but once you become an adult you don't need them anymore,"
he said. "The new evidence counters that advice."
[...]

High potency vitamins also should be avoided because excessive amounts
of fat-soluble vitamins such as A and K can accumulate in the body and
become toxic. Three times the recommended dose of vitamin A can cause
some birth defects during pregnancy, he said.

Copyright (c) 2002, Chicago Tribune 

END ARTICLE EXCERPTS