Vitamins & Supplements Part 1: The Minimum You Should Be Taking

Life In The Low Carb Lane: Vitamins & Supplements

After watching the Internet low carb lists for over three years, I’ve come to the conclusion that as far as vitamins, minerals, and supplements are concerned, there fundamentally only two “kinds” of people:

• Those who hate taking vitamins and/or minerals and supplements either don’t want to take any or want to take the absolute minimum
• Those who very much believe that vitamins, minerals, and supplements are important and therefore take a lot of them

This article is aimed at the first category of people, those who dislike taking vitamins, minerals, and supplements. I will be discussing the minimum vitamins, minerals, and supplements I feel everyone (not just low carbers) should be taking. I will also examine several of the readily available brands of multivitamins currently on the market and will provide you with a chart for comparison.

Cautions

I am not a medical professional, but have done quite a bit of reading on this subject. The opinions I express below are just that – opinions – and you should always discuss any changes in your vitamin/mineral/supplement regime with your own doctor and/or pharmacist. This article is meant to be a simple overview to point you in the right direction.

I will not recommend specific doses of the various vitamins, minerals, and supplements. It is up to you to do your own research, consult with your doctor or pharmacist, and decide what is the right dosage for you.

If you take prescription medications, it is wise to ask your doctor or pharmacist about any potential interaction between the prescription medication and any vitamins, minerals, or supplements you would like to take.

Be careful to buy vitamins, minerals, or supplements that have no added sugar, wheat/gluten, or milk products/lactose. All these things add carbohydrates to them and are unnecessary.

When buying minerals such as calcium and potassium, look for chelated on the label or in the product name. Chelation involves combining minerals with amino acids, and doing so improves the absorption of minerals so that your body will more effectively absorb them.

Most vitamins, if stored tightly capped or closed in an opaque container in a cool, dark place, will remain viable for two to three years, but always check the expiration date on the container and buy the freshest vitamins that you can. I have heard reports from several low carbers who have recently bought vitamins and, when they got home, found that the expiration date on the container was already past!

Standard Reference Materials

I have used a number of books as reference materials, but a good basic library can consist of very few books. The ones I have used the most, all available in paperback, are:

Dr. Atkins Vita-Nutrient Solution by Dr. Robert C. Atkins
Earl Mindell’s Vitamin Bible by Earl Mindell

Vitamins & Supplements: Understanding The Labels

Vitamins, minerals, and supplements are manufactured in a variety of standard measurements, the most common of which are:

• IU = International Unit
• mg. = milligram
• mcg. = microgram
• g. = gram
• gr. = grain

In addition, it is helpful to know that:

• AMDR = Adult Minimum Daily Requirement
• MDR = Daily Minimum Daily Requirement
• RDA = Recommended Daily Requirement

The Minimum

I believe that the basic vitamins/supplements which everyone should be taking are a good multivitamin, extra vitamin C, a calcium/magnesium/zinc combination, and potassium.

A good multivitamin is essential because we do not eat perfectly – whether we are low carbers or not. Our food choices are often dictated by what is available, what we like to eat, and what we can afford. Even though we do strive to eat healthily, not many of us keep the extremely detailed records needed to ensure that we are getting all the nutrients and micro-nutrients we need. We simply don’t have the inclination, or if we do, then we don’t have the time. A good multivitamin is a nutritional insurance policy and guarantees that we don’t lack basic, essential elements in our diet. I will discuss how to choose a good multivitamin in more depth later in the article.

But there are multivitamins and then there are multivitamins. The least expensive is not always the best buy. There is little or no governmental oversight on the quality of the ingredients in vitamins, so look for a brand name or manufacturer you trust, and then carefully review the vitamins, minerals, and supplements that are included in the multivitamin you are considering purchasing.

But who can remember what Multivitamin “A” provides when compared with Multivitamins “B” and “C,” especially if they are from different Internet sites or different stores? You’d have to have a photographic memory, something I long for but simply do not possess. (My husband has said that I am not to worry about getting Alzheimer’s Disease; nobody will be able to tell the difference.)

To help you in your comparisons, I am providing a printable chart that you can easily take to the store with you. The amounts of vitamins, minerals, and supplements provided by the Atkins Basic #3, Centrum Silver, Member’s Mark Advanced Multi with Herbs (from Sam’s Club), and OneSource Mature (from Walmart) are already included in the chart. There are two blank columns for you to write down the vitamins, minerals and supplements provided by the multivitamins you want to compare with these.

Comparing Multivitamins Part I Table

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, and since low carbers tend to drink more water than most non-low-carbing individuals, we tend to flush Vitamin C out of our systems more thoroughly than do people who do not consume as much liquid as we do. For this reason, I not only suggest taking additional Vitamin C, but either taking time-release capsules or taking it in two separate doses – in the morning and again at night.

I divide my Vitamin C supplementation into three doses – in the early morning, at lunch, and again at bedtime. I suppose that I could get the time-release capsules, but I would still want to take one in the morning and one at night. In addition, they are more expensive than regular capsules or pills, and I’m cheap.

Calcium is a mineral that is essential to develop and maintain healthy bones and teeth. There is more calcium in the human body than any other mineral. The average amount in a human being’s body is 2 to 3 pounds, and 20% of an adult’s bone calcium is reabsorbed and replaced annually!

Calcium in combination with magnesium at a very specific ratio of 2:1, is beneficial for cardiovascular health, and zinc is essential for the synthesis of protein, which is why I recommend getting a calcium/magnesium/zinc combination. This is the most efficient form, since you reduce your vitamin intake from 3 pills or capsules to one, and the calcium and magnesium will already be in the correct proportion.

I divide my calcium/magnesium/zinc intake into three doses the same as I do the Vitamin C: early morning, lunchtime, and bedtime.

Potassium is a mineral works in combination with sodium (salt) to regulate the body’s water balance and to normalize heart rhythms. Since potassium and salt are both water-soluble and low carbers drink a lot of water, I feel that we should take in additional potassium.

In the United States potassium is only available in 99-milligram pills, which provide just 3% of the RDA (Recommended Daily Amount) of potassium. Personally, I take three a day at the same times that I take my Vitamin C and the calcium/magnesium/zinc capsules.

Vitamins & Supplements: Next Time

In my next article, I will delve deeper in to additional vitamins, minerals, and supplements that many people take, explain how to use Dr. Atkins Vita-Nutrient Solution to target your supplemental regime to you own specific needs, show hot to devise a vitamin/mineral/supplement shopping list, and provide printable charts to make it easier for you.