Am I taking too many supplements?

Question

I take like 8 pills in the morning, 5 at the afternoon and 5 at night. Antioxidants, omega-3, multi-vitamin, other two to support my inmune system, acidophilus, another supplement for an energy boost. Is it too many vitamins? Do they offer the same benefits if I'm taking them all together?

Answer 1

I take much more but each one has a specific reason for my health........  idea: take vitamin survey on www.drweil.com and see what you need...   Also, I recommend capsules or softgel caps only.......the hard vitamins don't always dissolve and our sewers are filled with them. Often they show up in xrays in people's stomachs and have never dissolved!! I am soooo happy you do take supplements....  most people are not getting what they need from our modern western diet.  STAY HEALTHY!

Answer 2

If you eat a healthy diet including fruits and veggies, fish twice a week,  do moderate exercise for 30 mintes daily, don't smoke and manage stress, you won't need any supplements.

It is always best to get your anti oxidants, vitamins and omega 3s from food, not pills.

Answer 3

For me it is too much.  Do you know that a tablet needs how much weight to pound it?  As I remember more than 5 pounds that your stomach needs a lot of time to grind it.  In the recent study from Denmark about taking some certain types of supplements wouldn't enlong your life; on the contrary, it will kill you and much easily caught cancer or short life cuz toxication of these supplement.  Especially omega-3, vit E and something like antidioxidants.  If you got a balance diet, why spend so much money on these synthetic waste.

Answer 4

No, not too many if your diet is inadequate. Ask your favourite Naturopath how to use them together for the best synergy effect. The wrong combo is causing sometimes unwanted competition between them.

Answer 5

It is not how many you are taking but the quality you are taking. If you see a professional nutritionist ( natural type) who says the best multi vit for you is 6 tablets a day, that is not too many. Don't just take a volume of pills and not know why you are taking them for YOUR BODY. You may not need "this pill or that" and your particular body may need more of "this vitamin or this trace mineral or herbal supplement." If you want to give your body the maximum benefit, see a professional. They can help you learn about your unique body and its' nutritional needs. In time you will learn your own body's needs and will be able to feel when you need more (vit c) or whatever etc.

Answer 6

I would keep taking some and ditch the others. A multivitamin is good, if your diet is inadequate. Omega-3's are great, especially if you are not a fish eater. The acidophilus is good too if you have stomach issues (make sure it is in the fridge otherwise its pointless). The antioxidants, immune support and energy boost are most likely pointless. Many antioxidants in pill for are not even on a comparable level to those found naturally in fruits and veggies. Is the immune support much more than a megadose of vitamin C? If it is mainly vitamin C, then that plus a multivitamin adds up to way more than 100% DV for the vitamin. When you have much more than 100% DV of any water soluble vitamin (like C) it just exits in your urine since your body has no use for it. Basically, I'd make sure you are only taking the recommended amounts on the bottles, and make sure ingredients do not overlap. You CAN OD(ex. too much vit E puts you at risk for heart disease) on these things. If not that, then you end up with very expensive pee!

Answer 7

My most important advise is to only try new supplements one at a time and make sure you know how it's effecting you.

I made the mistake of supplementing too much too fast in the past.

If your comfortable with how the supplements are effecting you, you should be fine, for the most part.

Occasional re-researching wouldn't hurt if you going to supplement long term.