Vitamins - Routine - Absorption!
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Hello friends,
Below is a REPOST of a reply I sent to the "main board" about two weeks ago. Chrissy (from VaBeach) asked me if I'd also post it to OUR local board, so here I be.
Keep in mind, when I originally posted this, I was speaking to someone specifically (hello Lisa!) so if the following "reads strangely" that's probably why.
Also - I can't say this enough, what works for ME, may not be what works for you, or even what your doctor WANTS you doing. Also, this is a routine that *I came* up with for ME. If I'd listened to my surgeon and his suggested aftercare, I'd still be doing kiddies chewable and Tums for calcium. I have no doubt my body would be in all kinds of a deficiency turmoil, especially since I'm a DISTAL bypass!
Have a great week ~ Lei
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REPOST - Vitamins - Routine - Absorption!
This whole VITAMIN stuff get's really confusing and convoluted if you read enough message boards. I've joined about ten and all have a variance of some sort, so I just go with the 'standard' information and research the heck out of the variances.
My Bottomline? The BEST VITAMIN ROUTINE is one I'll actually TAKE and follow.
I read all the time where people, data, posts, etc... state that one pill can/could cancel out or drain another. What I don't ever seem to be able to find is what the PERCENTAGES are (in variances). I mean, are we talking 1%, 10%, 50% or a 100% LESS absorption?!?
If I were to take my vitamins in the wrong order and risk absorbing 10% less of it, but GAIN 100% compliance ratio by taking them, then I'm ahead of the game by 90%, right? Ive seen it time and time again, people become SO overwhelmed with getting the "routine" right (whatever the heck that is) and sometimes the stress and frustration of it all is enough to STOP!
If you think about it, the routine that most agree on has us popping pills every two hours. I was talking to my hubby this past weekend and told him, I find it IRONIC (at best) that before weight loss surgery, I was taking 2 pills a day. A thyroid pill and a multi-vitamin.
Now? Post Op, at goal, healthy and happy? I take a minimum of 22 pills a day. 1 Thyroid, the other in VITAMIN format. (8 calciums, 2 multi, 1 iron, 3 C's, 1 zinc, 2 B-complex, 2 Biotin, 2 Niacin, B-12 Shots twice a month) ...and a protein shake, or two, daily!
This is the routine Ive come up with and it's worked well for me.
Obviously my day does NOT start at the same time each morning, so I'll just give you the basics, minus the "real" time.
First thing - Thyroid pill (on an empty stomach)
2 hrs later - (after a light breakfast) - Multi, Calcium, 1 C, zinc, B-complex, Niacin and Biotin
2 hrs later - Calcium (most likely w/protein shake)
2 hrs later - Calcium
2 hrs later - Calcium, Multi, B-complex, Niacin, Biotin
Before sleep - Iron, 2 C's and ANYTHING I forgot or haven't taken yet. **
** That kinda goes back to my original theory, the best vitamin (and routine) is the one you'll do/take/follow.
I figure at the end of the day, if I have stuff I have NOT taken, it's better to take it all and risk partial absorption, verses not taking them and getting a 100% of NOTHING. I've heard (read) that iron should be taken first thing in the morning and calcium in the later part of the day but "Lei's Jury" is still out on that and I've yet to change things around. Doesn't mean I won't over time with more research....
....as I said in my previous response, pill poppin' is a life long learning curve!! If it works and you REMEMBER to take them, then you DO have it all down pat. Vitamins don't do any of us any good sitting in their containers and yours aren't.
Two things I do, that others may or may not do:
1) I have LARGE weekly pill holders that I use religiously and have since surgery. I sit down every Sunday, with my morning coffee, and I fill up the pill holder with my DAILY requirement for the entire week. I know me, I'm LAZY by nature - if something becomes too much of a cumbersome, I'll stop doing it. If I had to open my pill bottles DAILY and extract 22 pills, daily, I'd come up short. By doing it all at once, for the week, it's no big deal. ALSO, it helps to keep me on track and honest. I know each morning, when I pour out my daily allotment of pills/vitamins - that by the end of that day, I need to make it my goal to have TAKEN ALL OF THEM!
2) Every pill I put in my mouth I break up before swallowing. I used to use a pill cutter, but that became tedious after awhile (multiplied by 22 pills). Now I just toss them back and break them up with my teeth. The thyroid pill tastes like a SUGAR PILL, so I pulsify that with my teeth. The calcium pills, although a tad chalky have NO TASTE!! They are absolutely and completely tasteless, yes, those big ol' white horse pills, so I can handle pulsifying those too. The rest of the stuff ranges from mild to bitter, so that determines just how many times Im willing to bite into them.
Lei-Logic? If our bodies have problems absorbing the larger pills, it stands to reason, ANY help we can give it (by breaking up the pill) before it flushes through the intestines, can only be a PLUS to the final absorption ratio. If you have two glasses of water and toss a whole pill into one and a whole pill that's broken into pieces in the other you'll see a HUGE difference in how it reaches your intestines.
Hope most of that makes sense! Oh, and as with any [boring] DISCLAIMER, what works for me is NOT meant for all - ymmv
.
REPOST - Vitamins - Routine - Absorption!
This whole VITAMIN stuff get's really confusing and convoluted if you read enough message boards. I've joined about ten and all have a variance of some sort, so I just go with the 'standard' information and research the heck out of the variances.
My Bottomline? The BEST VITAMIN ROUTINE is one I'll actually TAKE and follow.
I read all the time where people, data, posts, etc... state that one pill can/could cancel out or drain another. What I don't ever seem to be able to find is what the PERCENTAGES are (in variances). I mean, are we talking 1%, 10%, 50% or a 100% LESS absorption?!?
If I were to take my vitamins in the wrong order and risk absorbing 10% less of it, but GAIN 100% compliance ratio by taking them, then I'm ahead of the game by 90%, right? Ive seen it time and time again, people become SO overwhelmed with getting the "routine" right (whatever the heck that is) and sometimes the stress and frustration of it all is enough to STOP!
If you think about it, the routine that most agree on has us popping pills every two hours. I was talking to my hubby this past weekend and told him, I find it IRONIC (at best) that before weight loss surgery, I was taking 2 pills a day. A thyroid pill and a multi-vitamin.
Now? Post Op, at goal, healthy and happy? I take a minimum of 22 pills a day. 1 Thyroid, the other in VITAMIN format. (8 calciums, 2 multi, 1 iron, 3 C's, 1 zinc, 2 B-complex, 2 Biotin, 2 Niacin, B-12 Shots twice a month) ...and a protein shake, or two, daily!
This is the routine Ive come up with and it's worked well for me.
Obviously my day does NOT start at the same time each morning, so I'll just give you the basics, minus the "real" time.
First thing - Thyroid pill (on an empty stomach)
2 hrs later - (after a light breakfast) - Multi, Calcium, 1 C, zinc, B-complex, Niacin and Biotin
2 hrs later - Calcium (most likely w/protein shake)
2 hrs later - Calcium
2 hrs later - Calcium, Multi, B-complex, Niacin, Biotin
Before sleep - Iron, 2 C's and ANYTHING I forgot or haven't taken yet. **
** That kinda goes back to my original theory, the best vitamin (and routine) is the one you'll do/take/follow.
I figure at the end of the day, if I have stuff I have NOT taken, it's better to take it all and risk partial absorption, verses not taking them and getting a 100% of NOTHING. I've heard (read) that iron should be taken first thing in the morning and calcium in the later part of the day but "Lei's Jury" is still out on that and I've yet to change things around. Doesn't mean I won't over time with more research....
....as I said in my previous response, pill poppin' is a life long learning curve!! If it works and you REMEMBER to take them, then you DO have it all down pat. Vitamins don't do any of us any good sitting in their containers and yours aren't.
Two things I do, that others may or may not do:
1) I have LARGE weekly pill holders that I use religiously and have since surgery. I sit down every Sunday, with my morning coffee, and I fill up the pill holder with my DAILY requirement for the entire week. I know me, I'm LAZY by nature - if something becomes too much of a cumbersome, I'll stop doing it. If I had to open my pill bottles DAILY and extract 22 pills, daily, I'd come up short. By doing it all at once, for the week, it's no big deal. ALSO, it helps to keep me on track and honest. I know each morning, when I pour out my daily allotment of pills/vitamins - that by the end of that day, I need to make it my goal to have TAKEN ALL OF THEM!
2) Every pill I put in my mouth I break up before swallowing. I used to use a pill cutter, but that became tedious after awhile (multiplied by 22 pills). Now I just toss them back and break them up with my teeth. The thyroid pill tastes like a SUGAR PILL, so I pulsify that with my teeth. The calcium pills, although a tad chalky have NO TASTE!! They are absolutely and completely tasteless, yes, those big ol' white horse pills, so I can handle pulsifying those too. The rest of the stuff ranges from mild to bitter, so that determines just how many times Im willing to bite into them.
Lei-Logic? If our bodies have problems absorbing the larger pills, it stands to reason, ANY help we can give it (by breaking up the pill) before it flushes through the intestines, can only be a PLUS to the final absorption ratio. If you have two glasses of water and toss a whole pill into one and a whole pill that's broken into pieces in the other you'll see a HUGE difference in how it reaches your intestines.
Hope most of that makes sense! Oh, and as with any [boring] DISCLAIMER, what works for me is NOT meant for all - ymmv
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