What types of vitamins do you REALLY need?

[superseiyan]

I'm assuming being a 'normal' woman or man, who exercises reasonably frequently, eats reasonably well if not a diet.

Beyond a multi-vitamin is anything necessary?

I've heard that Anti_Oxidants, Omega 3s, CoEnzyme Q10 and Vitamin Cs are also essential.

That said:
1) I wonder how many pills one can take.
2) Does quality or price point really matter?
3) How to separate propaganda vs. credible research?

[Honeywith4bees]

I have read, and I'm sorry that I can't link to the article or research that supports this, that the only supplement that is truly worthwhile, is Fish Oil. I also have been told by a man who runs the supplement department at our health food store, that the "cleanest" brand (as far as mercury contaminants goes), is Nordic Naturals. Personally, I take 4000mg a day, divided up in three doses.
Since I have been doing this, (along with Yoga and better nutrition), my chronic health problem has nearly disappeared!

[funchy]

You only need the vitamin pills for the vitamins your body is deficient in. In other words, if you had an ideal diet, you would not need all these pills and supplements.

Then look at what the average diet is:Lots of sugar/starch with too much (usually fatty) meat. Very little fruits/veggies. Almost everything is processed, preserved, canned, stale, or just plain not fresh. Then we overcook it.

vit c is easily available in sources such as citrus. Antioxidants are from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Omega 3s can come from diet, but from what I understand fatty acids such as Omega-3 get out of balance when we do eat such an unhealthy diet in general. CoEnzyme Q10 is made in the body, so you should not need it in a pill.

While I am absolutely in favor of giving your body what it needs, claims made about supplements are often made by those SELLING the supplement. Unless there is a FDA requirement amount established, it's not even clear we need to take supplemental amounts. And in the case of natural compounds, you really don't know how many units of active product are in each 500mg pill; all you know is the pill contains such-and-such herb or such-and-such oil.

[sepiagal]

Originally Posted by funchy

You only need the vitamin pills for the vitamins your body is deficient in. In other words, if you had an ideal diet, you would not need all these pills and supplements.

I have two conditions treated by orthomolecular medicine. When you have deficiencies you have to take high doses of vitamin supplements to correct those deficiencies. So any type of ideal diet would not be sufficient to treat these types of deficiencies.

There is a relatively new approach which looks at your genetics to determine your nutritional needs. There have been many mutations identified already. Its considered a mutation when more than 1% of the population has that genetic variation.

Vitamin D is low in a lot of people who do not live in the south (of the US) and who do not spend a good deal of time outdoors. I don't think that is related to any genetic or other metabolic conditions that result in deficiencies.

When it comes to the American diet fiber is the No. 1 dietary deficiency, I've read. That I think is one thing our diet may be lacking that so far is not about some condition or SNP (mutation).

If you take supplements because you think you need them or you think they may help in some way that may be more about wishful thinking. In nutritonal genetics there are some nutrients that some people can have a problem with. Sulfur is a problem for those with the CBS SNP. And folic acid for those with MTHFr SNP.

It isn't always about deficiencies, you can have metabolic problem that means a lack of a specific enzyme to metabolize a specific nutrient.

The right doctor can help you indentify what nutrients you need to supplement.