Take Your Vitamins

Most of us from an early age remember our mother imploring us to "take our vitamins."  I often get asked by patients what I think about taking vitamins and which ones they should take.  The array of choices is enormous and confusing.  Again, let me try to simplify.

I take vitamins every day.  I take no pills or capsules.  I don't like to take medication if I don't have to.  Now you may say, "Doc, these aren't medication, they are vitamins."  I frankly don't understand the logic of making a distinction between synthesizing vitamins and making them into pills and capsules and synthesizing other materials to be used to treat medical conditions.  Many medications are "natural."  We grind up the foxglove leaf and make something called digoxin.  If used improperly it is a very dangerous medication.  There are chemotherapy agents that come directly from the bark of the Yew tree.  Again, natural but potentially dangerous.  Just because something is purported as natural does not make it safe.  In fact, the vitamin/herbal remedy industry concerns me a great deal.  It is an unregulated industry.  Studies have been done analyzing the exact ingredients in some of these products.  One, claiming to aid in sexual function, found traces of Viagra in the tablets.  Others have found traces of Arsenic and Lead.  In my mind, the best way to take vitamins is in their natural form.  The more colorful your food is, the more vitamins we will get.  Make your goal to eat four to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

God's Vitamins

How much is a serving?  The size is relatively small, so this is not as hard as one might think.  It is basically a cup.  That is only six small baby carrots.  Most apples would be a cup and a half.  The CDC has a great website called, fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov.  We can and should receive almost all of the vitamins that we need through our diet.  It is always healthier to ingest the whole food, which includes fiber and other nutrients, than pills and capsules which don't.

Man's Vitamins

Let me discuss a few specifics.  First, what about Calcium?  Recent studies have shown the benefit of getting our calcium through dairy sources rather than supplements.  Most people need about 800-1200 mg of calcium a day.  Each serving of dairy has about 300 mg of calcium.  If extra calcium is taken, make sure it has at least 400 units of vitamin D with it.  Taking supplemental calcium without the vitamin D has been linked to higher rates of heart disease.  Take the calcium with a meal, which will help its absorption.  It does not matter if it is calcium carbonate or calcium citrate as our stomach acid will allow either to be absorbed equally as well.  If you are taking medicine that decreases stomach acid (like Prilosec, Prevacid, etc) then calcium citrate will be a better choice.

Vitamin D helps our body absorb calcium and we are learning of the many other benefits that it has as well.  It comes initially through plant products and most dairy (having been added or enriched).  We should get between 800-1000 units a day.  The active form of vitamin D requires sunlight.  We live in a society where we are getting less and less sun.  We know the dangers of skin cancer are real.  But as little as 15 minutes of sun exposure a day, 3 days a week is sufficient to activate our vitamin D.  The next time you see your doctor, ask if it is appropriate to check your level, especially if you have naturally darker skin.  It is harder for the sun to penetrate in these individuals and they will need more exposure to the sun or may need to take a supplement.

There are many vitamins sold to enhance "prostate health."  This varies from vitamin E to selenium and lycopene.  A very large study recently has shown that selenium is not beneficial.  Lycopene did help but not in the supplement form, only as a dietary source.  Your red fruits and vegetables are the ones that have lycopene.  Again, the more color in your food, the better.

If you have specific vitamin questions, leave a comment.  Remember always to take your vitamins!