help me choose vitamin supplements?
I'm 21, college student with overload school schedule, my bad eating habit is that I don't like veggie and milk. I'm considering some supplements but there are many kinds of them, I'm afraid that taking to many vitamins will harm my body.
for sure I will take:
Omega 3
Calcium, people said that it should come with Vit-D
the others I'm considering are:
multivitamins
balanced B
Vitamin A (working on computer a lot!)
potassium (my psy class taught me that we need K+ & Na+ for neurons 'firing' process, I don't like banana by the way)
melatonin 3mg (I'm high energy at night, trying to change my body clock, can naturally stay up until 6am if I don't want to sleep)
magnesium
zinc
Vit-C
Vit-E
folic acid with DHA
CoQ10
By the way, I'm currently moving from south to north, literally, from year round warm weather to a brutal winter place. Unfortunately, I have to take classes from a CC and my Uni which add up to 26 credits. Please give me advice on what supplements I should take that benefit me, keep myself physical and mentally healthy, especially for the cold days coming.
Thank you very much.
September 4th, 2010 - 02:52
Yes, Omega-3 is a great option as long as it’s good quality… Fish Oil is great for the health of the brain, skin, and cardiovascular system as long as you don’t mind the taste. ;-) That already covers the DHA, so you can chalk that one off your list, too.
Calcium is essential for bone health, but you want to make sure you don’t take more than 600 mg at any given point in time as the body can’t absorb more than that at a time. It’s also good to take that with the Vitamin D and Magnesium to help the absorption.
A multivitamin is a good idea, but most of the rest you list is already in there as well so you don’t want to overdo it. If you take a good high-potency multiple, you can skip the Potassium (assuming it’s in there), Zinc, Vitamins A and E, and Folic Acid… the C and B complex will vary depending on what’s in the multiple and your personal needs. You don’t want to take too much Zinc, A, or E as they can build up in your system if you take too much, plus you’ll get plenty of A between the multiple and most food you eat (most naturally yellow foods have Beta Carotene in them, even fruits).
Melatonin is really helpful for resetting your sleep cycle, but I would recommend that you not take it for more than a month unless you’re still having trouble sleeping. It’s not that you can get addicted to it, but your body can get used to it and can cause problems with stopping it when people take it long-term. I’d also recommend avoiding any caffeine, sugar, or exercise within 2-3 hours before "bed time" to make sure that’s not keeping you up. ;-)
CoQ10 is very good for heart health, cellular energy production (so don’t take it at night), healthy oral tissues, immune system, and it’s even a good antioxidant. It’s rare for people in their 20s to need it, so the cost may not justify the benefits for you depending on your situation, but it wouldn’t hurt.
As far as moving to the north, I’ve lived in MN and ND for all of my life and it can get really cold (duh). You get used to it, but make sure you buy a good jacket in the area you’re moving to and make sure you buy long-johns for those really cold ones. I say to buy it in that area because the "winter jackets" in the south are like fall/spring jackets in the farther north. ;-) Good luck with school and the move and I hope I was able to help!
September 4th, 2010 - 02:52
Hi!
I have tried most vitamins under the sun and believe it or not, the best I have found to work for me are : Spring Valley w/Herbs & Minerals Daily Pak Maximum Multivitamin 30 Ct. The box has a 30 day supply of packets which contain 6 vitamins each. Here’s the link with the nutrient content :http://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-Valley-w-Herbs-Minerals-Daily-Pak-Maximum-Multivitamin-30-Ct/12444653
Good luck at school!!!