Advice on best multi vitamin to take

[KayPoole]

My iron levels came back quite low yesterday so GP suggested taking an over the counter multi vitamin with iron in. But there's so many different ones, could anyone recommend the most effective? Also she said to take it with orange juice, but I'm keto, so would rather not. Does OJ really make a difference?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

KayPoole

There is no good multivitamin. They're not recommended here for many reasons - they contain too little of anything to help low levels or deficiencies, they tend to contain the cheapest, wrong form and least absorbable of active ingredients, they often contain things we should only take if tested and shown to be low or deficient, eg calcium, iron, Vit D, iodine, and if they contain iron then this affects the absorption of everything else as iron needs to be taken 2 hours away from all other supplements except Vit C.

So as your GP has said that you have a need for iron, why is she not prescribing this and monitoring you (essential when taking iron supplements)?

What exactly was tested and what were the results, can you please post them along with their reference ranges.

The reason you were told to take orange juice with iron tablets is because Vit C aids absorption of the iron (and can help prevent constipation which is quite common when taking iron tablets). It doesn't have to be orange juice, you can take a Vit C supplement at the same time as the iron tablet.

[KayPoole in reply to SeasideSusie]

I do worry when buying vitamins. Having been through the rigmorale of getting a decent magnesium.

Ferritin 25ug/L Range (15-200 ug/L) she suggested as its only low, not out of range, then an over the counter dose will be enough.

I have received back my Vit D results today:

Vit D 64.9 nmol/L - Range (71 - 200 nmol/L)

I'm lost as to what kind of strength Iron and Vit D supplements I will need?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to KayPoole]

KayPoole

Ferritin 25ug/L Range (15-200 ug/L) she suggested as its only low, not out of range, then an over the counter dose will be enough.

Seems like you GP is wrong according to NICE

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

in which case she should be prescribing iron tablets BUT have you also had an iron panel done to confirm this and ensure that your serum iron isn't too high, if you already have a good serum iron level then taking iron tablets will raise it and may take it too high and too much iron is as bad as too little. Rather than just buying your own iron tablets I think you need to discuss this further with your GP and give her the link to the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary and ask for an iron panel.

Vit D 64.9 nmol/L - Range (71 - 200 nmol/L)

I'm lost as to what kind of strength Iron and Vit D supplements I will need?

The Vit D Society and Grassroots Health recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L.

To reach the recommended level from your current level, you could supplement with 3,500-4,000iu D3 daily.

Retest after 3 months.

Once you've reached the recommended level then you'll need a maintenance dose to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

Doctors don't know, because they're not taught much about nutrients, but there are important cofactors needed when taking D3.

D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.

D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking D3 as tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray.

For D3 I like Doctor's Best D3 softgels, they are an oil based very small softgel which contains just two ingredients - D3 and extra virgin olive oil, a good quality, nice clean supplement which is budget friendly. Some people like BetterYou oral spray but this contains a lot of excipients and works out more expensive.

For Vit K2-MK7 I like Vitabay or Vegavero brands which contain the correct form of K2-MK7 - the "All Trans" form rather than the "Cis" form. The All Trans form is the bioactive form, a bit like methylfolate is the bioactive form of folic acid.

Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.

Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds if taking magnesium as tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

[KayPoole in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for your guidence. I have learnt so much in these last couple of weeks

🥰

I have ordered both the Doctor's Best D3 and Vitabay K2.

I have been taking magnesium L-Threonate for about a year, but never knew that I had to take it 4 hours from thyroid meds. Is it the same with the D3 and K2? Is there a particular time I should take these?

It relation to the Iron level, I'm waiting on the GP to call back again (think shes getting fed up with me now!) I need to ask her to carry out an iron panel to check my serum level as I don't want to have too much iron. Is this correct?

Thanks again for taking the time and effort to help xx

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to KayPoole]

KayPoole

I have been taking magnesium L-Threonate for about a year, but never knew that I had to take it 4 hours from thyroid meds. Is it the same with the D3 and K2? Is there a particular time I should take these?

D3 should be taken 4 hours away from thyroid meds.

K2 is fine 2 hours away from thyroid meds.

D3 and K2 ideally you would take separately. As they are both fat soluble vitamins they need to be taken with some form of fat (fattiest meal of the day, maybe a full fat yogurt, some cheese, etc) and will compete with each other for the fat. The Doctor's Best softgel does have extra virgin olive oil to aid absorption so you might get away with taking K2 at the same time providing you take some extra fat. I take Doctor's Best and the Vitabay but I do separate them - D3 with breakfast and K2 after my evening meal (largest meal of the day for me).

It relation to the Iron level, I'm waiting on the GP to call back again (think shes getting fed up with me now!) I need to ask her to carry out an iron panel to check my serum level as I don't want to have too much iron. Is this correct?

Well, the level of 25 does, according to NICE, give you a diagnosis of iron deficiency so you would probably automatically be prescribed iron tablets. If you are then you should be regularly monitored and when you have these repeat tests then I would ask for the full iron panel to keep an eye on your serum iron level as well as ferritin.