multivitamin w/iron bad?

[shming123]

I have heard that excess iron in a persons diet can be bad for you is this true? I am a 20 year old male, and i take Centrum Performance and it has 100% daily value of Iron in it.. is this ok? I only eat red meat once or twice a week max., but i do occasionally eat cereals and stuff with fortified with vitamins.. for example, i had a bowl of Total Raisin Bran, which also has 100% DV of iron.. is this bad? should i take a diff. multivitamin?

 

[gruppo]

The question is "why are you taking vitamins?" When was the last time you heard of someone diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency? Do you have reason to believe you are not getting adequate vitamins in your diet?

The vitamin industry has us believing that we have to take these things or bad things are going to happen to us. The obvious answer to that is just eat good food in a balanced diet. End of problem (assuming there ever was one).

Just my 2 cents, obviously millions of Americans feel a need to support the vitamin manufactures.

 

[closesupport]

The question is "why are you taking vitamins?" When was the last time you heard of someone diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency? Do you have reason to believe you are not getting adequate vitamins in your diet?

The vitamin industry has us believing that we have to take these things or bad things are going to happen to us. The obvious answer to that is just eat good food in a balanced diet. End of problem (assuming there ever was one).

Just my 2 cents, obviously millions of Americans feel a need to support the vitamin manufactures.

Ohhh no not Centrum, i purchasd those 3 or 4 yrs ago, i was admitted into hospital with suspectable menigitis, turned out it was down to excessive amounts of vitamin K and potassium in the centrum, caused me to suffer a stiff neck, sensitivity to bright lights, fatigue and dizzyness, my blood pressure was really low. I had a number of blood tests taken to see if it was meningitis. But it turned out the symtoms where down to a very low blood presure and excessive amounts of vitamin K

 

[shming123]

anyone else have any thoughts? i am a college student, and i don't eat the healthiest all of the time, but try to... but its pretty good overall, except i need to eat more veggies.

 

[gruppo]

anyone else have any thoughts? i am a college student, and i don't eat the healthiest all of the time, but try to... but its pretty good overall, except i need to eat more veggies.

Well, if you're a college student then I assume money is not abundant. Do you know how many veggies you can buy for the price of a vitamin pill. And veggies are all natural, support farmers, blah, blah, blah...

 

[closesupport]

Well, if you're a college student then I assume money is not abundant. Do you know how many veggies you can buy for the price of a vitamin pill. And veggies are all natural, support farmers, blah, blah, blah...

Vitamin B Complex
Vit B6 'appettite and concentration'
Vitamin C
Iron

 

[txbuckeye]

Shming123 I would recommend consulting with your doctor for good reliable advice on that. Take what you hear on internet forums with a grain of salt when it comes to your health.

 

[closesupport]

Shming123 I would recommend consulting with your doctor for good reliable advice on that. Take what you hear on internet forums with a grain of salt when it comes to your health.

i wouldn't recommend multi vitamin and minerals to anyone.

i would be inclined to seek advice from a doctor also. A doctor wouldn't recommend anything that could possibly hinder your health, although there is a few people on here that sell vitamins and suppliments that will recommend and direct you to there site for you to purchase such items.

so not necassarily are you getting what you need. you should really be trying to alter your diet to try and ensure you get the vitamins and minerals that you require.

why do you feel you need iron and vitamin supplements all the time anyway.

 

[xbgs351]

The question is "why are you taking vitamins?" When was the last time you heard of someone diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency?
.

The last time I had blood tests. Low in iron, zinc, B12, folate.

 

[closesupport]

The last time I had blood tests. Low in iron, zinc, B12, folate.

MY MOTHERIN LAW WAS THE SAME SHE WAS TOOK INTO HOSPITAL, BLOODTEST CAME BACK LOW BLOOD COUNT, AND REQUIRED IRON INJECT AND BLOOD TRANSFUSION.

 

[shming123]

MY MOTHERIN LAW WAS THE SAME SHE WAS TOOK INTO HOSPITAL, BLOODTEST CAME BACK LOW BLOOD COUNT, AND REQUIRED IRON INJECT AND BLOOD TRANSFUSION.

isnt a multivitamin just insurance if you don't get all of what you need? for the most part, extra vitamins can't hurt, can they?

 

[gruppo]

The last time I had blood tests. Low in iron, zinc, B12, folate.

And did your doctor Rx a multivitamin as the cure or suggest that you should have been taking one?

 

[gruppo]

isnt a multivitamin just insurance if you don't get all of what you need? for the most part, extra vitamins can't hurt, can they?

I believe your assumption is incorrect, but I do not have the facts in from of me to quote specifics. You should however do a little research on your own or talk to your doctor before making that assumption.

 

[Brunswick_kate]

The last time I had blood tests. Low in iron, zinc, B12, folate.

Diet?? Do you eat a properly balanced diet, 5-10 servings of fruit and vegetables, adeuqate sources of protein from either animal or vegetable sources, and whole grains?

 

[ubdawg]

the FDA recommends 45 milligrams of iron per day.(average person, note not active)

if you eat red meat regularly you probably get this amount, they also say if you do that when taking a multivitamin make sure it doesn't contain much more than 9 milligrams.

Kind of disappointed so many people are giving vitamins a bad rap. It just depends on your circumstances. For instance, a vegetarian would have a greater need for multivitamins with iron(green leafy vegetables contain fitates which hinder iron absorption). And any women who were considering getting pregnant would want a multivitamin for the added folic acid to prevent spina bifida.

On the comments about talking with your doctor, I would go one step further and talk with a nutritionist/dietician. Most doctors have little to no education in nutrition. Prime example: Tufts Medical school only requires one nutrition class for its doctors. Of course not saying that's the case with all doctors, but I can't remember the last time my doctor has asked or givin me advice on my diet. And diet is an large part of a person's health.

just my $.02.

 

[li0scc0]

This has to be one of the strangest threads I have seen here. Multivitamins are dirt cheap, the one I use I purchased 100 for $6. Since I take one a day, it costs me $0.06 a day (6 cents a day).

A multivitamin is without a doubt the best supplementation one can use, whether an athlete or not. It is important to note I am saying "multivitamin", not megavitamin. A megavitamin provides many times the %RDA (sometimes 33000% of the RDA of B vitamins), and is usually high priced and quite unnecessary.

 

[Smartt/RST]

I have heard that excess iron in a persons diet can be bad for you is this true? I am a 20 year old male, and i take Centrum Performance and it has 100% daily value of Iron in it.. is this ok? I only eat red meat once or twice a week max., but i do occasionally eat cereals and stuff with fortified with vitamins.. for example, i had a bowl of Total Raisin Bran, which also has 100% DV of iron.. is this bad? should i take a diff. multivitamin?

Iron deficiency in men is rare and can normally be traced to a significant dificiency in their diet when it does occur. With all of the fortified foods out there (especially in the sports nutrition world), I would be extremely surprised that you need to take any multivitamin at all. Specific E and C vitamins for extra antioxidants are appropriate for cyclists (also in just about every sports product you can buy), but everything else is readily available in natural foods in plentiful amounts (and in things like your cereal). You certainly can have too much of some vitamins, namely A, D and E, since they are fat soluable, but also iron (which, yes, can be damaging to your health if taken in large doses - and believe me, I've seen numbers you wouldn't believe! with the idea that it would make them transport oxygen better). When I do recommend a multivitamin (usually do to a very high volume of training/racing or dietary issues), I steer people away from the "100% of everything known to man" pills. This assumes you're not getting your vitamins from anywhere else. A multivitamin that gives about 30% of your needs is a more appropriate addition to your diet, if you feel you must take one at all.

 

[patch70]

I have heard that excess iron in a persons diet can be bad for you is this true? I am a 20 year old male, and i take Centrum Performance and it has 100% daily value of Iron in it.. is this ok? I only eat red meat once or twice a week max., but i do occasionally eat cereals and stuff with fortified with vitamins.. for example, i had a bowl of Total Raisin Bran, which also has 100% DV of iron.. is this bad? should i take a diff. multivitamin?

In the normal person, the body's regulation of iron is pretty good. You only absorb a small % of the iron you consume - often only 1 - 2%. If you are low in iron, your body will absorb more and vice versa.
Some people (eg those with haemochromatosis and even carriers of the gene for this) have an impaired regulatory system for iron absorption. They will not be able to reduce absorption when the amount consumed is high. It is unlikely you will fall into this category.
As stated above, you probably don't need a supplement. Either way, you do not need to be overly concerned about over-dosing on iron.
Remember also that you absorb very little iron from non-meat sources.
Finally, if you have a blood test done to check your iron level, the level of iron itself is generally not useful. It fluctuates wildly in all of us. The ferritin level is the indicator of your iron stores and if it is over 100, you are definitely not iron deficient. Also, a high level of ferritin does not necessarily indicate iron overload as it will rise with any inflammation in your body.

 

[LottomagicZ4941]

Excessive Iron for men is bad. My wife is pregnant and the Dr said for her to take take the prenatels(SP?) with Iron if she can handel them. They have iron free forumulas due to some women getting nausa from higher iron supplements.

www.lef.org is a non profit and they have an iron free multi and have warned that men not consume to much iron.

 

[patch70]

www.lef.org is a non profit and they have an iron free multi and have warned that men not consume to much iron.

That is wrong. If you don't have haemochromatosis, are not a carrier of the gene for this, and are not alcoholic, you will not get excess iron absorption. The body will compensate by absorbing only as much as is needed.

People who get very frequent blood transfusions for bone marrow problems are the other group that get iron overload (haemosiderosis). This is nothing to do with their diet.