Can I get some advice?

[LookingForward]

I've been taking quite a few supplements, and I don't feel like I'm knowledgeable enough about them to ensure I'm not making any mistakes. I've heard that some fat-soluble vitamins can be problematic, that if you take too much it's stored and your body has a hard time eliminating the extra, which can cause problems. BUT I have no idea which vitamins that applies to. I just want to make sure I'm not doing any harm, can anyone help?

Also, input on supplements that I SHOULD be taking, but am not currently, would also be very appreciated! I've been considering CoQ10, what do you think?

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to give!

Here is the list of all I'm taking, taken from my fitday:


My multi-vitamin has the following:

PLUS the multi also has the following that didn't have spots to include it in fitday:

• Vitamin K 25mcg
• Biotin 30mcg
• Iodine 150mcg
• Chromium 120mcg
• Molybdenum 75mcg
• Chloride 72mg
• Potassium 80mg
• Boron 150mcg
• Nickel 5mcg
• Silicon 2mg
• Tin 10mcg
• Vanadium 10mcg
• Lutein (Tagetes ercta) (flower) 250mcg
• Lycopene 300mg

Here's the breakdown of my nutrition for 1/3 - 4/19 (from FitDay):


I'm obviously getting a LOT of some stuff, are any of them cause for concern? Thanks again.


Edit for anothre question: I've also heard about vitamin supplements not really being efficiently absorbed or used by the body. Are there brands to choose that would be better than others for this? How do I know how much of each supplement I'm REALLY getting? Is there a way to compensate for this that you experts would recommend? Thanks again!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Can I get some advice?

go to the goals section of your fitday and tell fitday to track all the vits and minerals then check and see how much you are getting in your foods and supplementsd ansd you can see if you are oow in anything.

too much of any vit can be bad just as too much of any mineral can be bad too. Vits and minerals swallowed do not mean you are absorbing and utilizing that much of it though as fiber and other things in your foods can effect it.

Dr Atkins has a section in DANDR with all his recommended stuff.

your doc at your next check up can do a simple blood test and tell you if you need addititonal stuff if you think you are low.

Happy low carbing.

[LookingForward]

Re: Can I get some advice?

Thanks for the reply!

Is the chart above not showing what you are talking about (Nutrition as Percent of RDA/AI)? I use fitday PC, not fitday on the web so the tracking and reports are different for me. That chart INCLUDES vitamins, so is probably not quite accurate since, like you said, my body won't utilize everything that I'm taking as supplements.

I was hoping for some insight on the specific supplements I'm taking, especially if anything is obviously too much or a problem. I don't see that I'm low on anything other than magnesium. I was also hoping for some info about if some vitamins/brands are better than others for absorption/utlization. And CoQ10 is something I'm considering, is it worth it (it's expensive).

[2big4mysize]

Re: Can I get some advice?

Beef, organ meat, soy oil, spinach, broccoli and peanuts are foods high in CoQ10 and the body naturally makes it too. I'd skip it and save your money.

there are lots of debates about natural vits vs synthetic but many vits are locked in foods and not accessible to the body either so just go with what you got and see how you feel. the foods in induction are limited but once you get to OWL you can aquire just about all the vits and nutriants our bodies need. Most of Dr Atkins recommendations are based as he says on the fact we had poor diets and made poor food choices for vits and minerals before we started so we were deficient.

Are you planning to get pregnant with the extra folic acid? many of the induction vits are high in folic acid.

Why the extra selenium? it is found abundantly in the Atkins acceptable foods and is in your vit too Are you iodine deficient?

[LookingForward]

Re: Can I get some advice?

I'm HOPING to get pregnant, but I wouldn't call it planning, since I've been trying for about 6 years now.

I am glad you said that about the CoQ10, it's just so expensive and seems like something my body is handling fine on its own. Do you know if peanut oil has the CoQ10, or is it in other parts of the peanut? I use peanut oil frequently.

I'm trying to remember why I added Selenium. I did that during boot camp, when we re-read the chapter on vitamins. OK I just looked back at my boot camp journal, and here's the reason I said for adding extra selenium: "Selenium, I also added after the re-reading, because my multi only contained 20mcg and Atkins vitamin has 50 (which is still only 71% of what's recommended)"

I don't think I'm iodine deficient, at least not that I'm aware of.

I also found this in my boot camp journal and meant to ask about it: "The Vitamin E/C I take just out of habit, having believed it helps build the immune system. But they're WAY huge doses, 833% of C and 1333% of E per softgel. That worries me a little! My justification was that if it wasn't safe they wouldn't sell it in such a huge dose, but I hate to just take that for granted." Is there any problem taking such a large does of these?

One more question, if you don't mind... what is the difference between folic acid and folate? I gather that "food folate" is only found in foods, and I appear to not get quite enough of that. What foods are high in folate so I can try to boost my intake?

Thanks so much for your help, I really appreciate it!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Can I get some advice?

they are slightly different but they are both the same B vitamin. foods high in folic acid (added to the food)and or folate are listed on many websites but Atkins aceptable foods are green leafy veggies (spinach has over 50% of the RDA for a serving)brocoli, brussel sprouts, and asperagus, OWL legumes like pintobeans, lentils and black beans, nuts and seeds like sunflower and peanuts, induction special catagory foods like avocados. the folate is in the nut not the oil.


Too much vitamin E can be harmful too so don't go overboard with it. for yrs they thouth it helped hearts so heart folk were downing it like craqzy only to discover it made conditions like CHF worse.

Selenium is found in foods too and it is very hard to be deficient in it. usually folk eating poor soil grown foods will be deficient in iodine too was why I ask.


Vitamins are not magic pills and if you are getting enough in your foods you will just flush the watersoluble ones down the toilet

[killerbombshell]

Re: Can I get some advice?

I am not a vitamin expert, but the Potassium is one that I think you need to be careful about. Too much can definetely be bad for you. I only take it as needed when I get leg cramps; not regularly.

[LookingForward]

Re: Can I get some advice?

Thanks a TON, 2big, you're a godsend.

killerbombshell, I agree about the Potassium. I only take it because I analyzed my nutrient intake for the first several weeks on Atkins and I was really low on potassium every day, to the tune of less than 50% RDA. I only take a 90mg tablet, which is only 3% of RDA, so I feel I'm barely upping my intake at all, but just wanted to do a little something. Looking at my nutrition from March 1 to present I only get 58% RDA of potassium, from all sources. I'm actually concerned that I don't get enough, but I don't want to dabble in taking too much, either.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Can I get some advice?

ask your doc about the potassium. I needed 3 OTC pills a day back in my extened induction but once I got going in OWL didn't need it any more. it is water soluble so you can lose lots very easy based on your fluids and Atkins diuretic effects.