Sheer Balance

by Brett Blumenthal

My friend Laura asked if I took a multi-vitamin and if I thought it would be smart to do so.  I admit, I’m sometimes not as diligent as I should be, but I do recommend a basic multi-vitamin.  Why? It is an insurance policy.  Sometimes, we eat well, sometimes we don’t.  Sometimes we get our vitamins and minerals and other times we just get a percentage of them.  A multi-vitamin provides you with the ability to say “I know I’m getting my Recommended Daily Intake of vitamins and minerals, every day, no matter what I’m eating.”  Granted, this isn’t your green light to eat poorly and not think about what you are actually putting into your body, but it is helpful in making sure that you are getting what your body needs regardless of travel, crunched lunch times, lazy dinner solutions, etc. 

Taste and Tummy Concerns

Laura also mentioned to me that with all her good intentions, she really didn’t like the way a certain brand tasted.  Yep…this probably holds true for a lot of multi-vitamins.  Think about it, there are tons of nutrients in a little pill…and they are raw…they are not wrapped up into a yummy piece of food.  What to do? Take it with something to drink to help wash it down.  Another thing to be aware of is that certain multi-vitamins are formulated to give you an extra punch of a nutrient.  Many women’s formulated vitamins have extra iron to make up for tendencies of slight anemia highly prevalent in women.  These can do a number on your stomach.  I remember the first time I took one on an empty stomach, I felt nauseas and dizzy.  Yuck!  There are two solutions to this:

1. Take it with food…this will coat your stomach and protect it from the queasiness
2. Find one that has a Time-Release formulation – this releases the nutrients throughout the day as opposed to all at once

Whatever you do, do try to take the multi-vitamin.  It can’t hurt you, it can only help.  If you have a favorite type or brand, let us know!