Purpose of multi-vitamin

[Deleted]

I posted this a few months back on another forum and didn't get any really useful responses, other than a push to buy someones vitamins.

I have a question about the purpose of a multivitamin. I am completely serious in this question and not trying to get out of taking something necessary.

I was comparing various multi-vitamins and if you take out all the pills I don't absorb (non-dry ADEK, Calcium Carbonate,
Cyanocobalamin etc) and the pills I take separately there isn't much left in the supplement at all!

So, therein lies my questions ... what is the point of taking a multi? Particularly when you factor in malabsorption ...

I follow Michelle's DS plan with my own additions based on my health and individual needs, here is what I currently take, please note, I'm not asking for help on my labs nor am I asking for rec's on what to take different (at this time), I'm just wanting to know what I might gain. I've taken a multi since the very beginning and never questioned it until recently.

Multivitamin - 2
A - 150,000 IU/day
B-6 - 100mg/day
B-7 (Biotin) - 1,000mcg/day
B-12 - methycobalamin - 5,000 mcg/day
B-50 complex - 1/day
C - 2,000mg/day
D-3 - 50,000iu/day
E - 800iu/day
K-1 - 1,000mcg/day
Selenium - 200mcg/day
Folic Acid - 5mg/day
Alpha Lipoic Acid - 300mg/day
Zing - 100mg/day
Calcium - 3,000mg/day
Magnesium Citrate - 140mg/day
Magnesium Oxide (just added so it's new)
Iron - 24mg/day with Proferrin (changing this up a bit)


Thanks!

[califsleevin]

You are getting most of the biggies from your non-multi supplements, though you are missing some of the minerals and other B vitamins that are typically in a multi. Ideally, from a nutritional perspective, one shouldn't need a multi, getting most of what is needed dietarily and supplementing only what is deficient, but that can be a pretty long list after any WLS given the reduced intake volume and frequent diet composition limitations. I am seeing occasional Thiamine (B1) deficiency showing up in the VSG world, given the popularity of low carb diets and the primary source being grains, for instance.

Multis are generally specified for convenience and an aid toward patient compliance, and with the DS are usually relied on to fill in the gaps between the common malabsorbed vitamin/minerals - iron, calcium and ADEKs. You are doing a better job than most in filling in those gaps, but there would still be some gaps left if it weren't for the multis.

[Deleted]

My B1 was a little low for awhile so I did supplement with B1. I am currently out which is why it isn't on my list. I need to find a better B1 since I dislike the sublingual it came in..nasty!

[bldeck]

Multi vits for me give me more B then I need, so I don't take the suggested B supplements, it also works for my copper levels. Basically for me Multi vits supplement more everyday vits then the big ones that we are known to malabsorb.

Betty

[Happy DSr]

I look at the multi as a safety net for the miscellaneous vitamins and minerals that I don't specifically supplement. They are very low cost and give me that extra insurance

[mesa0102]

I asked Michelle (and the Facebook DS group) about this a few months ago, because I was considering dropping my multi due to my freakishly high copper levels. I was having difficulties finding a multi without copper and hated taking anything with copper in it when my level was double what it should be. She told me that there were trace minerals in there that I needed and probably wasn't getting elsewhere, and that she really discouraged me ditching them altogether. I ended up finding a specialty one online without copper because I didn't dare skip it.

[callmeEJ]

I supplement with B-12, but all my other B-vites were really high when I was taking a B-complex, so I stopped taking the B-complex. But I continue to take 2 multis so that I can get the B-vites that I probably don't get without taking the B-Complex.

[Deleted]

I look at my multi as the foundation of my supplement program. No sense in throwing bricks together without any foundation on which to build.

[RedSkittles]

I take it mostly for trace minerals. Manganese, chromium etc!