This could be one of the most exciting posts I’ve written to date. Hopefully you’ll quickly realize the sarcasm in that sentence. This is going to be a very repetitive post because I want to share the vitamins I take every day and what I get from each.
I was originally planning on writing about what I do when it’s too cold to work out this week. But when I woke up this morning and went to start typing I opened the wrong file without thinking.
I don’t have all the uses of these listed. There is plenty of information at https://ods.od.nih.gov/ about all the benefits and details of them all. I just wanted to focus on what I use them for. Some have repeated benefits because the way one vitamin helps with something may be different than how another helps the same thing.
The brands I try to buy from are Carlson Labs, Nature’s Way, NOW Foods, Garden of Life, MusclePharm, Rainbow Light and Irving Naturals. I don’t remember what the specific reason was for choosing these but when I was first looking into vitamins when I started my health care journey these were the ones I narrowed it down to. I just remember it was based on the quality and types of ingredients used.
To store all my pills and make sure I remember to take them I have two of these pill sorters. I have tried using weekly sorters in the past but I never want to refill them every week. I found this one about a year and a half ago and only having to refill them once a month helped me get into the habit of taking my pills every day. When you see how many pills I take you’ll understand why I have two and am considering buying a third.
The Individual Pills
The first pill I take is Fish Oil. It’s made from anchovies, sardines, and mackerels, and has 350 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids. Fish oil helps with my brain health and joint health. There is a history of memory loss in my family and I want to do everything I can to postpone it.
Saw Palmetto helps with prostate health. The recommended daily amount for me is 320 mg. My multivitamin has 160 mg so I take an additional pill to make up for the other 160mg that I need.
Magnesium helps with migraine prevention. The recommended daily amount for me is 400 mg. My multivitamin only has 25 mg so I take a magnesium glycinate pill to get 400 mg more. I used to have migraines on a regular basis so I’d rather be a little over the recommended amount.
Milk Thistle helps with liver health. I couldn’t find any consistent information on recommended dosage so I found a pill with 175 mg.
Iron helps with energy, immune function, and healing. The recommended daily amount for me is 18 mg. The pill I take has 36 mg.
I also take a probiotic capsule to help with my intestinal health. Because this is such a generic term the recommended dosage is just one capsule.
In My Multivitamin
The multivitamin I take is the ADAM Superior Men’s Multi from NOW Foods. I looked at few different brands and variations before I ended up choosing this one. It has almost all the things I want to have in a twice a day pill.
Vitamin A helps with immune function and vision. The recommended daily amount for me is 5,000 but my multivitamin gives me twice that.
Vitamin C helps your body’s immune system. The recommended daily amount for me is only 60 mg. My multivitamin has 250 mg, which is nice because it helps me stay healthy when I’m near all the sick people during back to school season.
Vitamin D helps keep your bones strong. The recommended daily amount for me is 1,000 IU. I get this all from my multivitamin but I also like to supplement a little during the winter when I’m stuck inside.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant and helps with healing. The recommended daily amount for me is only 30 IU. My multivitamin has 150 IU.
Vitamin K helps with blood clotting. The recommended daily amount for me is 80 mcg which I get from my multivitamin.
Thiamin, or vitamin B-1, helps with the nervous system. The recommended daily amount for me is 1.5 mg. My multivitamin has 25 mg.
Riboflavin, or vitamin B-2, helps with red blood cell production. The recommended daily amount for me is 1.7 mg. I get 25 mg from my multivitamin.
Niacin, or vitamin B-3, helps with cholesterol levels and digestion. The recommended daily amount for me is 20mg. I get 35 mg from my multivitamin.
Vitamin B-6 helps with immune function. The recommended daily amount for me is2 mg. My multivitamin has 25 mg.
Folate helps with red blood cell production. The recommended daily amount for me is 400 mcg which I get from my multivitamin.
Vitamin B-12 helps with converting food to energy. The recommended daily amount for me is 6 mcg. I get 120 mcg from my multivitamin.
Biotin helps with energy storage. The recommended daily amount for me is 300 mcg which I get from my multivitamin.
Pantothenic Acid, or vitamin B-5, helps with hormone production. The recommended daily amount for me is10 mg. I get 50 mg from my multivitamin.
Calcium helps with muscle contraction. The recommended daily amount for me is 1,000 mg. I only get 55 mg from my multivitamin so I also take another pill with 350 mg, which I take two of per day for 755 mg total.
Iodine helps with metabolism. The recommended daily amount for me is 150 mcg. My multivitamin has 225 mcg.
Selenium helps with cancer prevention. The recommended daily amount for me is 70 mcg. I get 200 mcg from my multivitamin.
Copper helps with tissue formation. The recommended daily amount for me is 2 mg. I get 500 mcg from my multivitamin.
Manganese helps with cartilage health and healing. The recommended daily amount for me is 2 mg which I get from my multivitamin.
Chromium helps with proper insulin function. The recommended daily amount for me is 120 mcg which I get from my multivitamin.
Molybdenum helps with enzyme production. The recommended daily amount for me is 75 mcg which I get from my multivitamin.
Alpha Lipoic Acid helps regulate blood sugar. The recommended daily amount for me is 100 mg. I only get 25 mg from my multivitamin but I don’t supplement to get the rest of it.
Choline helps with metabolism. The recommended daily amount for me is 550 mg. I only get 25 mg from my multivitamin but I don’t supplement to get the rest of it.
CoQ10 is an enzyme that helps with heart health. The recommended daily amount for me is 30 g. I only get 10 mg from my multivitamin but I also supplement more in when I work out.
Disclaimer: Although I have done a significant amount of research before preparing this post, I am not an expert on this subject. My intent is to help people who may be interested find some more information. If you decide you would like to try this yourself, please do some additional research and use common sense.
A Life, Ensnared 