I take multi V from 1st endurance and it seems to do the work.
I don’t know a lot about the first endurance multi-v but I would guess it’s pretty good. Their Optigen is pretty good so I’d guess that they would make a good multi. However, I did look at what it has in it and a lot will end up in your urine. I’ve never tried it myself but I’m guessing you have a brightly colored urine (i.e. vitamins that are being excreted via your pee).
Hammer Nutrition Daily Essentials - Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme and Mito R Caps. Could have nothing to do with the supplements but I’ve hardly been sick since taking them and I recover from hard workouts very well. I’ve been taking them for two years.
same here… nobody mentioned hammer… are they junk or what
My wife likes to say that people who buy supplements already eat a better diet than most. I think she’s probably right but still I take them. Always looking for that edge.
same here… nobody mentioned hammer… are they junk or what
Never used them, but they are being sued over possible steroid contaminations by a couple triathletes. There was a thread on here, I think called “Hammer to fall” or something like that.
I use just a generic multi, occasionally supplementing with creatine, that’s about it.
John
In one word… USANA. I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m biased since after taking the products and getting amazing results with my own health, I decided to become a USANA Associate , but the accolades speak for themselves… don’t just take my word for it:
-Highest rating among 1500 Adult Nutritional supplements from U.S. and Canada tested in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. I encourage anybody to look up what products they are now using and compare them. http://www.comparativeguide.com/guides/adultguide.html
-$1 Million guarantee to any athlete who tests positive for a banned substance due to consumption of its products
-Official Nutritional Supplier to the U.S. and Canadian Olympic Speedskating Teams (how strict is drug testing for Olympic Athletes?)
-Official Nutritional Supplier to the Sony Ericsson WTA Women’s Tennis Tour
-USANA products are manufactured to Pharmaceutical GMPs (good manufacturing practices), even being listed in the PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) for pharmaceutical-grade “Over The Counter” and Prescription meds.
-USANA’s Children’s Vitamins received the highest rating among over 160 Children’s Supplements in the Comparative Guide to Children’s Nutritionals http://www.comparativeguide.com/guides/childguide.html
They are like a network marketing company and most network marketing companies make great stuff, but they still use compression & shilack as binding agents in their adult vitamins. Plus, they use tar in the children’s vitamins. At least the company knows that the binding agents aren’t great so it compensates by having you spread the dosage out during the day. So at best they are no better than Centrum and still not as good as the Isotonix.
I have to admit I don’t know anything about this brands skin care line and it may be great, but my guess is that isn’t not as good as Mary Kay, Motives or Timeless Prescription (which are the best on the market).
I’m gonna show my newbie-ness here and admit that I have never heard of either of the products you’ve referenced. However, what you said about the valve in the stomach makes sense. I take basic old One A Day vitamins, and a few other generic drug store vitys. What do you think about full vs empty stomach with those? If I’ve understood you, then empty is the way to go, as absorption takes place in the intestines?
Thanks for your time.
Most nutrients get absorbed in the intestines. You are correct on this. The stomach acids do destroy some of the vitamins as they break them down so if you are taking an isotonic vitamin that the body doesn’t recognize as foreign, you want to have an empty stomach. However, some vitamins such as CoQ10 should be taken with food because they are absorbed better this way.
The best advise I can give you is read the packaging and follow the directions. If the vitamin doesn’t tell you when to take it look it up online and find out how it is best absorbed.
If you are taking a vitamin that is making your urine a strong color. Get a different brand because the water salable vitamins are not get absorbed, you are urinating them out.
If you are taking a vitamin that is making your urine a strong color. Get a different brand because the water salable vitamins are not get absorbed, you are urinating them out.
Soluble. Salable relates to ability to be sold.
Also, if your urine is a strong color, it may just be that you are dehydrated, or that you are already consuming a diet with enough variety, and the vitamins that are being excreted are unnecessary anyway, or even that your vitamin supplement has excess levels of various vitamins. Changing vitamins won’t do anything different if those are the cases.
And, if you are deficient and peeing out vitamins anyway, then you have more problems than what vitamin to take… 
John
if you are dehydrated your urine will be the color of apple juice, not a strong, bright yellow. Yes I did make a type-o and yes it could mean that you are taking in too many water soluble vitamins at one time in which case change your multi-v. However, it is much more likely that the absorption rate is poor and that is why you are expelling them.
This isn’t the venue for debating but I beg to differ in your statement that USANA vitamins are no better than Centrum. I can copy and paste all I want, but if the U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams are willing to put their trust in a product, and if that product is given the highest rating over 1500 other supplements by an unbiased Comparative Guide that uses 18 standards of measure (including absoption, bioavailabilty and dosage consistency), and they are even listed in the PDR, well… then maybe this is all just blind faith???
Ultimately, whatever you put in your body is your choice, whether it be food, vitamins, or anything else for that matter. If you don’t think it matters then go with whatever you (or your wallet) thinks is best.
Ultimately, whatever you put in your body is your choice, whether it be food, vitamins, or anything else for that matter. If you don’t think it matters then go with whatever you (or your wallet) thinks is best.
Hello,
My name is Robert Kunz. I am the VP of Science and Technology for First Endurance. We are the makers of MultiV. As a representative of First Endurance, I know full well that most will look at this post as a biased opinion of our vitamins. This is not my purpose. What I want to do is clarify many blatantly incorrect statements made through the course of this string. I have formulated MultiVitamins for many of the largest dietary supplement companies in the World and have done so for over 15 years. There is a lot of false information being thrown out and most is due to consumers lack of education on the subject. I do not blame consumers, I blame the media for this. One of the primary misinformed statements you always see is that dietary supplements are not regulated…this is incorrect, the FDA and DSHEA do regulate vitamins, how they are made, their dissolution and the claims that can be made. Some do sell products illegally which do not follow the regulations. I did want to take a minute to clarify many incorrect statements in the string on Multivitamins…see below and please e-mail me back for clarifications.
-“Made to USP quality and potency standards.” 90% of the vitamins purchased from suppliers and sold in the US are USP grade. USP for their own benefit makes requirements in order to use this ‘seal of approval’. It has NOTHING to do with the quality of the product or testing that is basically the same as ‘pharmaceutical grade’. USP requires you PAY them a yearly fee and requires that 75% of your formula uses USP grade vitamins. So if a formula like our MultiV offers additional ingredients like Ginkgo, Grape Seed Extract, Turmeric, Green Tea…etc and less than 75% of the ingredients are USP, you CANNOT use the USP seal. As you can see this is Silly and by no means offers any additional quality in products.
-If you have a solid diet…and I truly mean solid, not just ‘well I don’t eat McDonalds’, then a one-a-day multivitamin will give you some assurance that you won’t become deficient.
-The RDA is NOT designed to offer a level of vitamins for optimal health. The RDA is simply set to offer a level of protection from deficiencies. This is very, very important to realize!
-“Eat a balanced diet and don’t worry about it” There is some truth in this if you are part of the ‘general population’. Most RD’s will tell you this is all you need and its because RD’s are trained exclusively in foods and have NO training on supplementation nor do they have training in the needs of elite athletes. This is not much different than saying, just use your old Mountain bike and you will finish that Olympic Tri. True, but by no means ideal.
-'Long list of references posted by Niezgodafitness. These references are NOT studies done on Multitech. These references are independent studies done on individual ingredients. The same studies can be used to support most vitamins assuming they use the same source and the same dose.
-Isotonic, which means ‘same pressure’–Our digestive system has a wide range of osmotic pressures which offer ideal absorption. IN many circumstances positive pressures offer superior absorptions than Isotonic. This descriptor has been used for years as a selling point for endurance supplements with practically no basis. Furthermore ALL vitamins are ISOTONIC, so its simply a mute point even brining this up. The fact that Isotonix claims this as a benefit offers insight to their understanding of basic physiology. Or, their marketing department went haywire.
-“no fillers”- There is no definition of fillers. There is also no way to make a tablet with out using binding agents, which some define as fillers…this is playing with semantics. Isotonix has binding agents just like all other vitamins. And if its built in a USP facility as most are, the are all subject to the same regulations of dissolution standards, meaning their tablet must dissolve in 45 minutes. Again, this is marketing going haywire!
-“Pills that use compression come out the same way.” You CANNOT make a pill without compression. Period. Again if manufactured at the minimum GMP standard facility, the all MUST pass a dissolution test.
-‘Shaklee uses medical grade glaze.’ This is the same as pharmaceutical grade glaze and also known as lacquer or coating. If your tablet is coated, it likely uses this glaze.
-‘Isotonix absorption rate is worse when taken with food because you body has already closed the valve in the bottom of the stomach. Because of this you no longer get the benefit of taking in an isotonic solution.’ This is simply wrong and I clarified why above. It is clear that some companies take physiology definitions and apply them to their products to try and sell a marketing advantage. Take you MultiVitamin with food…period!
-“Highest rating among 1500 Adult Nutritional supplements from U.S. and Canada tested in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. I encourage anybody to look up what products they are now using and compare them. http://www.comparativeguide.com/guides/adultguide.html” This comparitive guide was written by Lyle MacWilliams who happens to be on the board of USANA and has a stake in their sales…HIGHLY BIASED!!
-USANA products are manufactured to Pharmaceutical GMPs (good manufacturing practices), even being listed in the PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) for pharmaceutical-grade “Over The Counter” and Prescription meds." Any MultiVitamin willing to dish out $75,000 per year for a listing can get listed in the PDR. It means nothing.
-However, I did look at what it has in it and a lot will end up in your urine." It takes time for your body to adapt to the absorption of any vitamin you take. The longer you take it the better your absorption. Yes your urine will turn yellow, but this is the case with any vitamin you take. Our MultiV is designed SPECIFICALLY for the demands of endurance athletes, and made in a Pharmaceutical Grade facility (much higher standards than GMP). Furthermore the power behind this formula is not in the vitamins and minerals, its in the other ingredients you find. This also comes with a wealth of research, unlike the many other vitamins out there.
“If you are taking a vitamin that is making your urine a strong color. Get a different brand because the water salable vitamins are not get absorbed, you are urinating them out.” There are entirely too many variables that change the color of your urine. Stating that if your urine turns a strong color then change to another brand is naive and again simply wrong.
“I can copy and paste all I want, but if the U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams are willing to put their trust in a product, and if that product is given the highest rating over 1500 other supplements by an unbiased Comparative Guide that uses 18 standards of measure (including absoption, bioavailabilty and dosage consistency), and they are even listed in the PDR, well… then maybe this is all just blind faith”
-These teams do look for quality companies, but in the end its a business decision based on MONEY. The Comparitive guide is highly biased.!
Finally, I could not leave without leaving a link to the research on our endurance specific multi-vitamin.
Niezgoda, Based on your lack of response should we assume what rob kunz says is accurate?
He is correct on many points but is wrong about man. Isotonix do not use fillers or glazes and do not use binding agents. They are not a pill. Pills do not need a binding agent to stay together. For example if you remember about 15 years ago protein pills were popular among body builders. They were bound by compression not glazes. All vitamin supplements are isotonic when broken down. However, the process of breaking down the supplement destroys some of the vitamin and it will not be absorbed as well. They are many different things that can influence urine color. I made an incomplete statement and over generalized. Think of it this way, take an cheep vitamin and watch your urine turn an almost neon yellow, stop taking it and it turns back to normal. An excess of B’s and some other vitamins will make your urine bright yellow like nothing else.
So expensive urine right?
Here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16655168/
However…if you haven’t bought Flintstone Completes in a few weeks, they recently changed (slightly) the flavor. Arrrrghhhh…a bit more tangy. Damn kids messing up the consumer research.
White bottle - old flavor
Purple bottle - new flavor
Who can resist these lil guys?
Zoom in on Great Gazoo. Is he wearing a Spiuk or a Giro Advantage 2? By the way, your Wilma’s too high.
I always feel like my day starts off just a bit worse when it starts with the great gazoo.
I’ve been taking Life Extension Mix Caps for approximately 10yrs. They are a comprehensive multi. with a host of anti-oxidantes and plant polyphenols. I also always questioned absorption. The multicaps are a loose powder in clear gelatin capsules and you take them spread out through the course of the day like your meals. If you want to find out what research they have you can look them up on-line. My own experience has been good the most prominent thing being I have not missed a day of work or been sick in the last 10yrs. A few times I felt like I was run down and maybe getting a cold but took a break from training and never ended up getting sick. Previous to this I would usually get sick a few times a year.