I have many vitamins.
Many vitamins that sit, untouched, on my messy bathroom shelves until they expire. I don’t know what it is, but I cannot bring myself to become a routine vitamin-swallower (totally a word).
My iron level is at an all-time low, and I’ve got a bottle of iron supplements RIGHT BY THE SINK so I will remember to take one when I brush my teeth. But I never take it. Because I don’t feel like it. Because the 3.2 seconds of swallowing time is a real inconvenience. I would rather feel like I am going to pass out every time I stand up and have my vision go black around the edges than take a tiny little pill once a day.
It makes no sense. I know that.
I have other vitamins, too. Ones that will boost my energy, apparently. But I would rather just drink six cups of coffee a day. Same diff.
But not, at all.
I think the core of my hesitation to faithfully take vitamins is that I am a skeptic at heart. Will these really make me feel any different? Any better?
But then our household gets hit with flu after flu and I start to wonder, well, it couldn’t hurt to try them out. Do you swear by vitamins and supplements? Probiotics? Snake oil by the barrel? Any specific brands or types you would recommend to a suspicious old soul like me?
I’m with you, Amanda. I hate taking vitamins and supplements. My husband is a huge believer, so we have bottles and bottles of the things, and he takes a big handful every day, but me? Nope. That’s what food – healthy, colourful food, heavy on the fruits and vegetables – is for. If I’m feeling slightly under the weather, I will load up, though – oil of oregano under the tongue, mega-doses of chewable C, D, garlic, echinacea, the whole ball of wax. Usually does the trick in fending off the nasties.
I did take Floradix liquid iron supplement when my hemoglobin dropped after my daughter was born (there’s a theme here, ladies!). Yellow dock makes the iron more absorbable. A spoonful of liquid is much easier to take than swallowing a pill.
Amanda, I would love to introduce you to our Canadian made, all natural, Adult Essentials vitamins that are pectin based and in a gummy form. Nothing to swallow. They taste great too. We can’t help you with iron – that one you will have to swallow : ) . . but the rest – Vitamin D, Multi, Omega 3s, B-Complex and B12 I’d love to send to you to try. I guarantee you will remember to take them, because they taste that good you won’t be able to wait to take your vitamins every day! I’m sure a few UrbanMoms can vouch for us : )
Deb
I hated taking iron too – it upset my stomach and no matter how diligent I was with it, my levels never seemed to come up. On a friend’s recommendation, I purchased a liquid iron supplement called IRONSmart and it is AMAZING. Tastes like Baileys and no upset stomach. AND my levels have come back up!
I don’t go crazy over supplements and cleanses and green shakes and whatnot, but my daughter’s psychiatrist recommended 1000IU of vitamin D daily for all family members, and we’ve been taking these plus a multivitamin pretty well daily all winter and we haven’t even had a sniffle. And with two schoolkids and a full-time teacher in the house, it’s pretty darn well miraculous to not bring home a single cold by the end of January. We take the gummy vitamins, and they’re like a little treat after dinner. Shoppers even makes a gummy vitamin D, so that’s great if folks hate to swallow tablets.
I tend to be anemic too (as does my oldest daughter). The reason I avoid taking my iron is because it’s so damn constipating. To me it’s a choice of the lesser of two evils. Sometimes I take the supplements and deal with the constipation, other times I’d rather deal with the anemia and have freely-moving bowels. Sucks, though.
After I hemorrhaged with both my first two kids, I was crazy enough to have one more kid. But, because I have low iron levels to begin with, it was crucial that I take iron supplements during my third pregnancy, and let me tell you, I had SO MUCH ENERGY!!! But, a while after baby #3 was born (uneventfully, PTL!!), I stopped taking them and I know my hemoglobin levels have dropped lower than they should be and I know I should take them again, but alas, I too have been avoiding it.
Always been a believer in getting vitamins from food but I swear by Vitamin C crystals (I think the brand is NOW). It’s become part of my morning routine and has so far kept me from getting the flu =) if there’s one vitamin to take, especially in the winter, C is it
Just take them – they’re good for you. Force yourself. 😉
After Jeremy was born I hemorrhaged (good times), so my iron levels and blood levels in general were very low. I was feeling horrible until I started taking Hema-plex. It’s an incredible iron suppliment that also contains other things, for total blood health. If you want fast results, this is the iron suppliment for you! I always felt amazing within half an hour of taking one. It’s a powder inside a capsule, rather than a hard pill, so it doesn’t taste as gross, and it doesn’t cause constipation like a lot of iron pills do.
I also used to get a lot less colds when I still lived with my parents and they shoved thousands of miligrams of vitamin C down my throat every day. Vitamin D is also supposed to help prevent colds and flus. It’s nice because it comes in such TINY pills. If you get the ones for babies/kids they just disolve in your mouth! So you don’t even have to swallow a pill.
I’ve totally been neglecting my prenatal vitamins this time around…. I felt terrible about it, but my midwife says it’s okay while I’m sick since I wasn’t low on folic acid to begin with. I’m supposed to start taking it when I feel better, and I’m starting to feel better but haven’t taken one yet….