Which is the best Multi Vitamin? and Protein Powder?

[AutumnBreez]

Want to order a good multi-vitamin and Protein powder but not sure where to start. So many out there.

Best Multi -Vitamin:

Protein Powder:

[doc]

There is alot of hype and advertising around vitamins and supplements like protein powder. As far as vitamins are concerned, just read the label. If there is 100% of everything - then its good. All the usuals like theregran - m and centrum are perfectly good. In fact better than good because they are a big manufacturer with a long safe track record. It is important to avoid mega doses. If some is good more isn't necessarily better. And in fact, mega doses of the fat soluble vitamins (A E D K) is toxic. There is some evidence mega doses of vitamin C can cause DNA breakage. So, just a plain old vitamin will do. Remember that the FDA does NOT regulate nutritionals (vits and supplements) so they can write pretty much whatever BS on the label they want: "Will make you rich and beautiful in 3 doses!"

For protein, remember animal sources are complete proteins (need nothing else e.g. milk, cheese eggs and of course all meats) Vegetable proteins are incomplete and must be paired in your diet. Legumes plus grains results in a complete protein.

[DeniseGoldberg]

...As far as vitamins are concerned, just read the label. If there is 100% of everything - then its good.

I've switched from using name-brand vitamins to using store brand. Most of my drugstore purchases are at CVS, and after comparing the ingredients / list of vitamins contained in the multi-vitamins between the name brands and the CVS brand I found they contained the same nutrients - for less money.

I also take extra calcium, per my doc's recommendation - and for that I use the CVS brand too.

[alison_in_oh]

I use generic One-A-Day (CVS brand). I am not comfortable with my calcium and iron intake from dietary sources, so my multi has 45% of my RDA of Ca and 100% of my Fe.

Protein powders are mostly for people whose lifestyle involves a lot of damage to their cells, requiring that they get a large amount of protein to fix their cells and grow new ones. This amount of protein would require vast amounts of calories to provide through food, so they drink the additional protein. So, basically, unless you're a bodybuilder or otherwise lifting a LOT of weight you don't need it. (Also, bodybuilders and powerlifters think they need a "boost" of easily assimilated protein right after a workout to ensure their muscles "grow". I'm not sure of the justification of this, but it's another reason to drink protein.)

Per the ADA position paper I gave you, "Plant protein can meet requirements when a variety of plant foods is consumed and energy needs are met. Research indicates that an assortment of plant foods eaten over the course of a day can provide all essential amino acids and ensure adequate nitrogen retention and use in healthy adults, thus complementary proteins do not need to be consumed at the same meal."

I find that it's incredibly easy to meet basal needs for protein without thinking about it on almost any diet. (Staple grains have a surprisingly large proportion of calories from protein, and the amino acid deficiency is easily corrected with a mild amount of variety -- it's even been proposed that your body can assimilate sloughed intestinal cells to stave off methionine deficiency.) But when you begin stressing your body with endurance exercise, simply putting thought to getting a good protein source at every meal (legumes or animal products, mostly) will do the trick.

[bounceswoosh]

There is some evidence mega doses of vitamin C can cause DNA breakage.

Eek! That scares me. When I was tracking my nutrition last year, *without* a supplement I was consuming several hundred percent of my RDA of vit C, just because I'm a green chili addict, and I also drink cranberry juice and ... well, for whatever reason, I was getting a *lot* of vit C.

[mtnbikenmama]

do you have a reference on the research, I'd be interested in reading about the info. Thanks,
donna

[doc]

I found this information in the NY times. Here is the article:

NATIONAL DESK | June 15, 2001, Friday

Vitamin C Pills Tied to DNA Risk

( AP ) 367 words
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 26 , Column 1

ABSTRACT - University of Pennsylvania study led by Ian C Blair finds that vitamin C pills that millions of health-conscious Americans take may actually help produce poisons that can damage DNA, a step toward forming cancer cells; findings do not mean that vitamin C causes cancer, but does sound warning about use of vitamin C pills; study is published in journal Science (S)

I did not read the original article.

Here is the original article:

Science 2001 Jun 15;292(5524):2083-6 (ISSN: 0036-8075)
Lee SH; Oe T; Blair IA
Center for Cancer Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania, 1254 BRB II/III, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6160, USA.

[mtnbikenmama]

I check into that , thanks for the info.
donna

[emily_in_nc]

Hi Autumnbreez,

I like TwinLab Daily One Caps (Multi-vit/mineral supplement WITHOUT iron). It's allergen free and has extra Folic Acid (good for the heart). Available at Vitamin World and probably many other places.

I like and use daily: Vitamin World's house brand of protein powder in vanilla flavor. Yummy!

Emily

[doc]

Hi Autumnbreez,

I like TwinLab Daily One Caps (Multi-vit/mineral supplement WITHOUT iron). It's allergen free and has extra Folic Acid (good for the heart). Available at Vitamin World and probably many other places.

I like and use daily: Vitamin World's house brand of protein powder in vanilla flavor. Yummy!

Emily

Why the huge emphasis on "without iron"? Most women do not get enough iron in their diet. It's especially difficult for vegetarians. Except for the rare person with hemochromatosis, the body can handle small excesses of iron just fine. Anemia is a very common problem in the USA despite our abundance of food.

[emily_in_nc]

Why the huge emphasis on "without iron"? Most women do not get enough iron in their diet. It's especially difficult for vegetarians. Except for the rare person with hemochromatosis, the body can handle small excesses of iron just fine. Anemia is a very common problem in the USA despite our abundance of food.

Iron supplements kill my stomach/intestines. I just can't take them. I am not even close to anemic, according to my hematocrit levels, which my doc checks regularly. I get plenty of iron in my diet (or am good at holding onto what I do have, even though I do menstruate), so have no need to take extra and mess up my tummy. That's all. It can be quite hard to find a multi-vit/min tablet without iron, which is why I put the emphasis there. I looked fairly long to find this one and have been very satisfied with it.

Emily

[bounceswoosh]

Iron supplements kill my stomach/intestines. I just can't take them. I am not even close to anemic, according to my hematocrit levels, which my doc checks regularly. I get plenty of iron in my diet (or am good at holding onto what I do have, even though I do menstruate), so have no need to take extra and mess up my tummy. That's all. It can be quite hard to find a multi-vit/min tablet without iron, which is why I put the emphasis there. I looked fairly long to find this one and have been very satisfied with it.

Emily

I don't really "get" the whole menstruation/iron problem. I mean, yes, we lose some blood, but it doesn't seem like it's that *much* blood, does it? I think I've lost more blood on some rides than I ever have during my period! Then again, I've always been blessed with light ones.

I get that blood contains iron, but do we really lose enough blood for it to be significant? Or is there some other factor I'm missing?

[alison_in_oh]

I don't really "get" the whole menstruation/iron problem. I mean, yes, we lose some blood, but it doesn't seem like it's that *much* blood, does it? I think I've lost more blood on some rides than I ever have during my period! Then again, I've always been blessed with light ones.

I get that blood contains iron, but do we really lose enough blood for it to be significant? Or is there some other factor I'm missing?

The idea is, that there are very few ways to get rid of iron. The main way is bleeding, including menstruation. Yeah, you only lose a few ounces of fluid per period, and only part of that is actual blood, but if you didn't menstruate, the iron you consumed would stay with you for a long time. I think heavy sweating also sheds some heavy metal.

So if you're a menstruator OR an endurance athlete, you need to replenish your iron fairly regularly. (If not, iron can build up and as a potent oxidizer it has been thought to contribute to some disease states, so for example sedentary non-menstruators shouldn't probably take it supplementally.) It takes some thinking to make sure to get it from diet (leafy greens, lentils, molasses, cooking in iron pots, fortified foods, red meats) so if you DO have ways to get rid of it (bleeding and sweating) then it shouldn't do any harm to take it in supplement form. But it can cause constipation so watch out for that!

[alison_in_oh]

Science 2001 Jun 15;292(5524):2083-6 (ISSN: 0036-8075)
Lee SH; Oe T; Blair IA
Center for Cancer Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania, 1254 BRB II/III, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6160, USA.

As far as I can tell, this study compares the damage caused by vitamin C in the *absence* of transition metals (like Iron) to the damage done *by* such metals. The conclusion? They're quite similar, and C might be a smidge more effective at promoting the reaction that results in the potential damage. But the thing of it is, C is so good at scavenging reactive oxygen, that it's pretty much used up by the copious free radicals in the body, which is why the transition metals had to be chelated off for the experiment to work. (The presence of transition metal ions in vit C solutions causes a relatively rapid loss in absorbance at 265 nm resulting from oxidation of vit C to its dehydro form. CuII is approximately 80 times more effective than FeIII at oxidizing vit C (20).)

The conclusion was that more studies need to be done, that maybe this is why C isn't therapeutic against cancer, and that people who are at risk for "lipid hydroperoxide-mediated DNA damage" might want to keep tabs on their vitamin C ingestion.

'Least that's how I read it.