FORUMS > Vitamins & Supplements Forum Rules

A few months back I started on at a health food distributor. 90% of the product we move is supplements so as you'd guess I've been buying loads (50% off wholesale price!!? HELL YES). However I'm up to nearly 36 pills a day now. They are as follows:

Pure Glucosamine 500mg x4

Greens force (24 “superfoods”) x 12 pills

Multivitamin x 3 (this is not a one a day pill)

Omega 3-6-9 (330mg/276mg/140mg) x 6

Berry force (antiox support) x 3

Serratia Peptidase x 3 (15mg per pill)

Co-Enzyme Q10 100mg per day

Ginko Biloba 60mg x 3


So yeah, lots of pills! I split them up into 3 helpings and swallow those directed to consume on an empty stomach first, wait a half hour or so, then eat breakfast/lunch/dinner and consume the pills directed to be taken with a meal.

So far the only negative side effect I've had is gas but only if I don't take the right pills on an empty/full stomach.

Just wanted other peoples opinion about taking so many pills. Anyone else take this much?

-Steve

No ? Has anyone advised you to take these things ? Do you know if you actually really need em ?. Do you actually have deficiencies ? The only thing I take is a protein/carb shake after working out and an isotonic drink after running. It is being said that too many vitamins can screw you up just like too little. The amount of pills you take seem excessive to me. I am not a doctor and can not really comment if this is actually great, counterproductive or anything but I got a feeling in the gut that starting to steam veggies and eating with variety, have a glass of multivitamin juice you will be better off, just my 2 cents..at least that is what my doc told me, try to eat fresh foods, don't ever microwave, eat with sense, eat lots of different foods, best thing you can do. Extreme deficiencies would come up on a check anyways. To me the 3432433 kinds of supplements are a big huge hype to make money, when I can get the same benefits from just eating smart.

There is a pretty neat tool if you are concerned about vitamin/kcal intake. It is called cronometer, you can analyze your meals concerning vitamins/minerals,protein/carbs....It works on mac and pc.

Stevieboi saidI'm up to nearly 36 pills a day now.

Just wanted other peoples opinion about taking so many pills. Anyone else take this much?

-Steve

Here's my opinion. You need to get a new job ASAP. One that doesn't involve anything you can ingest or apply topically.

I think the best way to look at supplementing is to determine what you lack and then find an approach to supplement yourself with a product in order to make up whatever it is you might be lacking.

I had to do this with my mother. Over the years she'd read some brief article on certain products and made a B line to the health food store in order to add it to her ever growing collection of capsules and pills. She's very generous and would find things for me too. But I finally suggested to her that it's best to assess your weaknesses and then find supplements to counter balance a deficiency. It got to the point that I was taking a ton of pills to and I don't find that to be necessary.

I take these supplements:

Multivitamin (either Centrum or One a Day)
1800 MG of Caltrate calcium pills (3 pills taken at different times of the day for best absorption rate)
Fish Oil
Vitamin C (3g taken at 500mg increments as it's a water based vitamin and taking it every couple of hours is the best way for a time released effect)
Raw honey (3TBSP a day)

This is about it. I also eat very well and get a ton of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.

Some supplements (like fat solubles and things like Selenium) can be toxic if you take too much. Never self-prescribe; if you have questions visit a Nutritionist, Naturopath, and/or get some blood work done by your General Practitioner to see where you are deficient.

From the little I know, most supps are within decent ranges and aren't going to hurt you if you take them, but you are right to feel reticent with the amounts you are taking. Check with a professional.

You may be slightly off on your supplements, perhaps by a margin of about 33 pills per day.

Putting premium gasoline with a turbo additive into a Geo Metro won't make the car run like the new Batmobile. Even for a high-end sports car, the benefits of fuel "supplements" are apparent in only a narrow range of performance.

Same thing with out bodies. Most supplements are ineffective even for guys who are already truly pushing their bodies and training regimes to the absolute limit. But some can work for some guys in that small population.

You didn't post anything about your workouts, but it is hard to imagine that your training intensity and volume could possibly come close to matching your supplement obsession. Toxicity may or not be a concern, as you are making your body deal with not just the individual supplements, but interactive effects between them (there just aren't many studies that examine the effects of 16 different supplements taken at the same time). And perhaps with your discount you don't care about wasting all of your money buying more than twice as much supplements as you would without a discount. But some supplements can reduce the capacity of your body to produce their compounds on its own, and that's just not worth it unless you are getting a specific training benefit.

Absent a specific physiological basis for each supplement like Muchmorethanmuscle described, I'd drop most of them except the multivitamin and your fish-oil-equivalent.

My pill regimen is:

An aspirin a day (doctor's order) as a blood thinner

A multivitamin when it's not summer and thus I'm eating less fresh produce

A protein shake after I lift weights

A fish-oil tablet when I get into the habit of it (rarely)

I agree with the others, definitely talk with your doctor about all of this. In general, water soluble vitamins (such as C) are not toxic if taken in small excess of recommended daily allowances, but be particularly concerned about the fat-soluble ones (A, D, E, and K). They tend to accumulate, so be much more careful about them. As for the "green force" pills, that just sounds like a rip off, really.

Remember that more isn't always better. 1 dose of a multivitamin a day can be good for you; twice as much is probably worse for you than none, and definitely worse than 1 dose.

No amount of crazy supplements will be able to replace the benefits of having a really great balanced diet. Instead of taking the berry force whatever, why not eat a handfull of fresh blueberries (LOADED WITH ANTIOXIDANTS) on your cereal in the morning or with a bowl of activia (probiotics, awesome); switch of a once-a-day multivitamin (if you really think it's necessary); instead of the green force EAT SOME SALAD, fresh greens like spinach and arugula and romaine lettuce (stay AWAY from the iceberg) and some cooked greens like swiss chard or beet greens are loaded with good stuff plus they have fiber to keep everything moving along down there.

I really feel like people are overmedicating instead of eating better and taking better care of themselves (hello? Have you seen all of the perscription drug commercials on US television?) Go have a chat with your doctor or a pharmacist and see what they think, though. I think 36 pills a day sounds like waaaaaay too many.

I agree with Bunjamon.
I eat about 2 to 4lb of fresh fruit and veggies a day. Blueberries are great and help to improve short term memory function.

Most of the fruits I buy are frozen and I add about 2 cups of fruit to a smoothie at a time and do it 3 to 4x a day. This is what has made the biggest difference in my life as far as feeling more energized and feeling healthier. I don't get this type of feeling from taking pills.

When it comes to making my fruit smoothies I have what's called a Vita-mixer. It's a glorified blender that has a lot of power. I use this to make my fruit smoothies. Don't simply juice. Juicers throw away all the fiber which is important to include in our diets.

I mix fruits and veggies together and then add either flavorless or vanilla flavored protein powder for a healthy meal.

yeah, 36 pills sounds like way too many!

Look at your output to determine if your input is whack. What color is your pee?

Also don't ever take supplements regularly. The body will just adjust and build up defenses against them.

Think of supplements like oil in your car...You don't fill up on oil...you fill up on gas.. real food.

Invest in hair analysis if you want to prove something to yourself.