Multivitamins without IRON

[Mistics]

I'm on the Induction phase again. Today I went to chemist's as I wanted to by some new polyvitamins, but they had nothing without the iron. The seller tried to sell me some vitamins without the iron, but as I read the contents - there were only about 10 different elements (Na, Mg, Mn etc.) and I know that you need to take A LOT more while you're on Atkins. And they had carbs too though. Of course I know that you can never take all of them, but at least I can try to take most of them. I found them listed here . The problem is - I can't find good and various vitamins without the iron. Could You please suggest me what to do? I mean, that would be crazy to by each box singly with different vitamins. As for other supplements - I use OMEGA-3 fish oil every day (with A, D and E vitamins) and also I use chrome pills every day. I know that many people here have had the same problem - where to get vitamins without the iron and how to get other vitamins you need during the diet! Many of the vitamins we get with meat, fish and other Atkins friendly foods, however not all and not enough for the daily dose.

[sadie147]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

Usually vitamins that are for seniors do not contain iron. Since you are in europe I can't recommend a brand, but look for anything that is for seniors.

If you can't find it, then maybe you can find one that has the lowest iron.

[Mistics]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

Thank you sadie147 ;]

One more question - is it possible to overdose K or Ca using a lot of different vitamins?

[jimmie 48]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

mistics, i'm glad you posted this. i had forwarded your message to bio and she was going to get answers for you. not sure if she did that or not. this will be good information for all of us.

[biogeek]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

Hi Mistics! Your problem is a common one with trying to find a good multi-vitamin without iron, sugar, yeast, starch, etc, and yet, have all the nutrients that we want. One thing that most folks need to realize with a multi-vitamin is that as a general rule, the supplement is geared for general nutrition. If you're trying to ward off colds or improve the condition of your skin & hair, additional supplements are needed in addition to the multi-vitamin.

So....to answer your question....there are brands of multi-vitamins that fits the bill, the trouble usually is, does your town carry such brands? The easiest solution is to find an on-line vendor that carries what you want and will deliver to your country.

In the US, Nature's Way is a good brand and has a really good multi-vitamin without iron, sugar, etc in it. Here's an on-line vendor that carries it:

http://www.herbalremedies.com/45110.html

I don't know about the vendor per se, but you may find other on-line vendors that carry something similiar with a fair shipping price to your country.

Whenever you decide to shop around, make certain to read the label carefully! I can't stress this enough. Be firm with the no iron rule as well as the no sugar & starch rule.

Regarding Vitamin K and calcium....the RDA for vitamin K is 1 microgram per 2.2 pounds of body weight, and most dosages are between 150-500 micrograms. Currently, there are no known side effects or toxicity with too much Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) which comes from plants. There are two other forms of vitamin K as well, but Vitamin K1 is the preferred form for our bodies. The caveat with Vitamin K however, is in regards for those that are on blood thinners under their doctor's care. I don't want to go into too much info here b/c then it can be another thread for Vit. K.

Calcium: There's been research with increased calcium supplementation causing kidney stones. The important part is to avoid or limit taking calcium supplements with "calcium oxalate" and find one with "calcium citrate." I can go into further chemical detail, but again....another thread. If you take calcium citrate, you're not going to have the problem of too much calcium and the issues of kidney stones are greatly diminished, if not gone.

Hope this helps!

[sadie147]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

I jsut came accross somethign interesting. The site I journal my food on has a custom nutritional label where I can track differnt RDa's (i bought the gold membership for this and it's awesome!). Today, my diet was eggs, cdn bacon, and chicken and nuts as far as proteins, and my iron was only 48% of the RDA, and that is including my one a day vitamin (that contains iron). They use the US RDA, for their #'s. I'm not a big red meat eater, and had beef one day last week, prime rib, and my multi and even that day only hit 65% of my RDA. I normally eat lots of protein, moderate net carbs for maintenance , usually 10 or 15%, and lots of nuts and whole foods.
Anyone have any idea what exactly it is on this woe, that would be higher iron? unless I was eating alot of beef (i normally eat 4-6 oz's) or red meat more than once a day, I don't see that it's an issue . Even at 65% if i had had another few ozs i can't see it being dangeriously high?

One a day weight smart contains 18% of the RDA for iron. maybe this is low for a multi?

Curious to see if anyone has really looked into it. Iron had been something that I didn't really concern myself with too much as i'm not a huge red meat eater.

this is todays nutritinal info for what I ate. the iron seems to be a safe enough %? even kinda low actually.

[biogeek]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

How many nuts did you have? They have some small amounts of iron, but not that much! There's also iron in eggs. If you want to post your menu, I can enter it in my nutrition program (can't remember what it's called, but it's from my medical nutrition class) and see if I get similar RDAs to your program. I can do it over the weekend when I have more free time.

I wouldn't be too concerned about having a low percentage in any particular day. Our bodies conserve most of the iron within us and it's reused, too. Very little gets excreted.

As a rule of thumb, 3 oz of beef provides about 25% of iron's RDA. For pork, it's about 40%. I don't know the numbers for eggs, beans, or nuts, but I can look them up later.

[sadie147]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

Actually it wasn't that it was low really that concerns me...but that we are supposed to have a multi without iron. I was just curious as to why dr. atkins thought our iron would be so high? Maybe it's assuming people would be eating larger quantities of meat? I did eat more red meat on induction, my portions are smaller in maintenance...perhaps that is why.

Dont worry about working out my iron amounts (but thank you for offering, you really do love this numbers stuff!), i'm not too concerned about it, I've just, never worried about it inthe past, but now am curious as to what it is on this woe that would cause high iron? i don't seem to have that issue. Though it might be higher if i was eating 10oz t-bones

[biogeek]

Re: Multivitamins without IRON

Jen, you know me too well about my love for numbers! LMAO

So, the issue with iron is that you definately don't want to be deficient, but you also want to be consuming the right kind of iron & not too much of the wrong kind.

The good kind of iron = heme iron. You get this version from eating red meat, pork, chicken, fish, other seafood. It is readily absorbed and used by the body, and any excess of heme iron does not accumulate & gets flushed away.

The bad kind of iron = non-heme iron. This is mostly in supplements and iron-fortified foods. The body will absorb a lot of this kind of iron, but not necessarily use it. Heme-iron is the preference for our bodies, but with the build up of non-heme iron, the levels continue to increase and eventually will cause disease.

I can't really speak for Atkins, but he probably assumed that people would eat enough meat (of any kind) and eggs to have enough good iron in them. Most healthy individuals do not need iron supplements. However, if someone is anemic or has thyroid issues, then the doctor can do a blood test to see what the iron levels are and supplement accordingly.