Vitamin/Supplement Gurus - 10 Questions

[IdentityCrisisMama]

1. Why does the pee turn color with similar amounts of vitamins depending on the brand of vitamin?

2. Is the pee color a sign that your body isn't absorbing the nutrients or does not need those nutrients? If so, do you consider that "wasteful".

3. Can you elaborate on the fat soluble vs. water soluble issue?

4. Which vitamins do we need to be careful to not get too much of and why?

5. Do some nutrients (either fat or water soluble) get used up at different rates? Do some water soluble nutrients last for more than 24 hours? Or do all water soluble nutrients need to be replenished at a consistent daily rate?

6. What is your opinion on the daily allowance of many mulit-vitamins/prentals and the fact that we are still eating food with presumably plenty of nutrients on a daily basis?

7. If I take a lot of folate (for instance) on one day, and skip the next am I not "covered" that following day? Does it really need to be replenished like that?

8. How do you feel about the "daily allowance" thing in general. Didn't we used to eat more seasonally and, therefore, get more of certain nutrients during one season and more of another the next? Should we be thinking in larger time blocks like perhaps a week, month or even season?

9. What is your feeling on how there seems to be trends, almost fads when it comes to "what everyone's taking these days".

10. What do you consider the latest and greatest in vitamins these days?

Thanks!!

[JaneS]

Great questions!

1. Why does the pee turn color with similar amounts of vitamins depending on the brand of vitamin?

The B2 (riboflavin) excess washes out and turns it yellow as its a water soluble vitamin.

2. Is the pee color a sign that your body isn't absorbing the nutrients or does not need those nutrients? If so, do you consider that "wasteful".

Maybe, depending on what health issues you are trying to address, high amounts of some might be needed by the body at certain times than others.

3. Can you elaborate on the fat soluble vs. water soluble issue?

Fat soluble vitamins are A, D, K and E. They are stored by the body and too much can be toxic, more on that below. Water solubles are B and C, they wash out of the body relatively quickly and need to be taken or eaten more often and cannot take too much of them and become toxic. Although synthetic C (ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate) can give you a wicked case of the runs it's not toxic at large doses, in fact can neutralize other toxins.

4. Which vitamins do we need to be careful to not get too much of and why?

Not really if they are whole food form of the fat soluble vits.

This is THE biggest fallacy of vitamin A toxicity for example. Unless you are taking 100,000 IU per day of true vitamin A in food form (retinol) it is not toxic and not teratogenic. The studies done on vitamin A were done on the chemical form (retinyl palmitate et al synthetic forms) which acts differrently in the body and it capped at 5,000 - 10,000 IU and proved to be teratogenic at higher doses. Traditional diets routinely ate 20,000 - 50,000 IU of retinol from liver, seafood, butter and egg yolks every day with radiant health.

Vitamin D, the synthetic D2 form at 50,000 IU is still prescibed by doctors now for low vitamin D blood levels which is ridiculous. It has side effects. Instead, taking 10,000 IU of natural D3 from lanolin or fish oil raises blood levels gradually in a month or several. Although there is a protocol at www.vitamindcouncil.org to take many times that in D3 in the event of illness with no safety concerns.

I think the upper level for E is 600 IU per day. It's a fabulous antioxidant and again, the natural whole mixed tocopherols form from wheat germ oil or palm or rice is much better than the synthetic form in most standard vitamin pills.

5. Do some nutrients (either fat or water soluble) get used up at different rates? Do some water soluble nutrients last for more than 24 hours? Or do all water soluble nutrients need to be replenished at a consistent daily rate?

Yes. No, much less than 24 hours. Yes.

ETA: for example the half life of chemical vitamin C is short a few hours at best. Which is why most experts who use ascorbic acid say to take it several times per day. However, this is why I much prefer whole food vitamin C, b/c the bioflavonoids that are in such high proportion keep the C circulating in the blood longer. Plus you need to take much much less, like a quarter gram as opposed to the standard several grams dose of synthetic ascorbic acid.
http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/wh..._ascorbic_acid

6. What is your opinion on the daily allowance of many mulit-vitamins/prentals and the fact that we are still eating food with presumably plenty of nutrients on a daily basis?

Synthetic multis and prenatals are crap at best and harmful at worse.

Our food is franken food these days. If it's not processed to all heck (white flour has 10% of nutrients as whole wheat and then artificial vitamins are added back.)

The farmers usually don't replenish minerals in the top soil. Animals are fed junky grains that are not their natural diet and literally their food products are less nutritious: meat, eggs, dairy, all of it is higher in nutrients if they are on pasture which most animals are not.

For example we get pastured eggs, where the chickens are out in the sun and eat lots of bugs.... the yolks are crazy orange which signals higher nutrients suchj as more vitamins A, E and K and omega 3s.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-...gs.aspx?page=4

7. If I take a lot of folate (for instance) on one day, and skip the next am I not "covered" that following day? Does it really need to be replenished like that?

Not sure, can also depend on how much your body needs a larger amount of folate too (MTHR gene mutations).

8. How do you feel about the "daily allowance" thing in general. Didn't we used to eat more seasonally and, therefore, get more of certain nutrients during one season and more of another the next? Should we be thinking in larger time blocks like perhaps a week, month or even season?

The Daily Allowance is BS. We should be thinking much higher nutrient foods period. See my WAPF fed link in my sig.

We do need much more vitamin D to get us through winter with above average blood levels for example and also depending on how far from equator we live.

9. What is your feeling on how there seems to be trends, almost fads when it comes to "what everyone's taking these days".

Absolutely. Trends tends to be simply over-processed, well-marketed cheap crap. Except lets say, Acai and Camu and Raw Cacao, now those are interesting superfoods.

10. What do you consider the latest and greatest in vitamins these days?

The natural superfoods like liver and liver capsules, whole food vitamin C (amla, acerola, camu), high vitamin cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil, and companies like Megafood and Standard Process that make high doses of vitamins from whole food sources.

Minerals are also super super important!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Thank you VERY much, JaneS!! I'm going to take the night to absorb your answers and will post in the morning. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Originally Posted by JaneS

The B2 (riboflavin) excess washes out and turns it yellow as its a water soluble vitamin.

I feel as if I have noticed some vitamins Rainbow Lite, for instance turning my pee yellow and the comparable (in B2) daily made by New Chapter doesn't. Do you have any opinions on that?

Originally Posted by JaneS

Fat soluble vitamins are A, D, K and E. Water solubles are B and C...

Stupidest question award...is that all the vitamins? You mentioned minerals - are all the rest of the things like calcium, magnesium, foliate and etc. minerals? I'll be looking that up for myself so you don't feel like you're helping someone who won't help themselves.

Originally Posted by JaneS

5. Do some nutrients (either fat or water soluble) get used up at different rates? Do some water soluble nutrients last for more than 24 hours? Or do all water soluble nutrients need to be replenished at a consistent daily rate?

Yes. No, much less than 24 hours. Yes.

Would it be safe to assume that the vitamins that need to be replenished over the course of a 24 hour period are vitamins that are fairly easy to find in a wide range of diets?

Originally Posted by JaneS

Synthetic multis and prenatals are crap at best and harmful at worse.

Powerful stuff! When I was pregnant with DC I didn't take any supplements - I just ate really well. I'm trying to do supplements this time. I think they are "food based" (New Chapter) perhaps on the crappy end of the "good vitamins". I'm not sure. What do you say to people taking things like Target Gummys or even Rainbow Lite (which I understand used to be a great company but has expanded and is no longer that great)?

Originally Posted by JaneS

The Daily Allowance is BS. We should be thinking much higher nutrient foods period. See my WAPF fed link in my sig. [/B]

I have read some WAPF stuff. It's actually the only diet/nutrition type book that has ever resonated with me. Even though I don't feel that I have the room for a full fledged dedication to it, I try to do some things (bone broth) and I often find myself recommending the book to the diet/food "orphans/wanders" in my life. I figure if I've got to hear someone going on about this amazing new nutrition/diet idea...it may as well be that one!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Originally Posted by JaneS

The natural superfoods like liver and liver capsules, whole food vitamin C (amla, acerola, camu), high vitamin cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil, and companies like Megafood and Standard Process that make high doses of vitamins from whole food sources.

Ok, thanks! I read about butter oil recently when looking into a vitamin K supplement for DC. I ended up just getting DC Garden of Life vitamin K. It doest seem to be helping her bloody noses. She's taking that along with cell salts. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this. I don't normally go out this far with the unusual supplements but DC was getting a lot of bloody noses and some mamas on MDC recommended the Cellsalts and Vit K.

The fish oils seem to range quite a bit in price and form.

Originally Posted by JaneS

Minerals are also super super important!

I'm going to look this up but would love if you had the time to elaborate.


Thanks again!! It makes me feel good that there are people out there who know the answers to these questions. I worry that we're such huge consumers of vitamins and supplement with so many of us having little clue about how it all works.

One more question!

Are you familiar with Dr. Mercola? If so, what is your opinion of him?

I feel like some of his information is really interesting but he's such a shameless salesman of his own product that I just don't trust him at all.

[KimPM]

JaneS gave some great answers. I'm just going to add:

I'd be careful not to get too much zinc...it's in balance with copper in your body. Too much zinc and it can throw the balance off.

You might consider how much iron you are getting from all sources, and your current iron status as indicated by blood tests. You generally don't need too much iron (unless you are iron anemic), and a small percentage of the population doesn't need any at all as they can't seem to get rid of it.

I'd say the "best" supplement is whatever is good quality, gives you what your body needs (varies with each individual person), and one that you are not allergic or sensitive to any of the ingredients in.

I'd also look for one that does NOT include a bunch of herbs and other stuff...these can be taken individually if necessary.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

One more question...

I know there is some issue with folic acid and folate. My New Chapter prenatal says "folate". Can I assume that's the "naturally occurring" stuff?

[Sativarain1]

good questions, I've often wondered about urine changing color as well, it really bothers me when I take a multivitamin and this has happend with Rainbow light and Trader Joes brand, and just recently Soloray. I really feel that I'm not absorbing what I'm meant to either, because it tends to make me go more.

You mention New Chapter is better? I saw a bottle of raw and whole food vitamins from them and wondered if it was worth the extra cost.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I'm not sure, Sativarain1. As you can tell from my questions I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to supplements. I can say that New Chapter does not turn my pee a color. They are a 3x/day pill as opposed to the Ranibow Lite 1x/day but I've taken all three New Chapters together and still have no pee change. I'm not sure why that is...though I suppose a good assumption would be that it's because one is being absorbed and the other isn't.

ETA: the pee thing bothers me too! I think it's because that never happens with food, yk? (I mean there's the asparagus thing but that's all I can think of)

One more question...

I looked into the two supplement brands suggested on this thread. I've also heard a lot of people recommend Thorn. What do you think of them? And, what about New Chapter? What's the "best" supplement brand?

[Sativarain1]

I was hoping more knowledgable supplement mama's would answer to this thread. I often wonder the same questions.