Vitamins....any Suggestions For A Whimp?

[Turtle]

Okay...before I was dx w/ Celiac I took 2 chewable Flintstones everyday (per a nutritionist) b/c I am a whimp and can't swallow a typical "womens" daily vitamin b/c they are such horse pills. (yes, you're allowed to laugh at me )

Does anyone have any suggestions for either a decent tasting chewable vitamin or even a decent tasting liquid vitamin?

Also, to all the lovely celiac ladies out there...do any of you take extra calcium supplements? If so, any suggestions? Remember, i'm whimpy. I can't seem to swallow anything bigger than your standard tablet/capsule (i.e. tylenol, motrin, etc.).

Thanks!!

[Emme999]

Turtle,

Hello I just posted this on another thread, it's about calcium:

(This is going to be long!)

Here's some info on osteoporosis from "Dangerous Grains" (by James Braly & Ron Hoggan):

"A related paradox of osteoporosis and celiac disease is that calcium supplementation does not help to remineralize celiac patients' bones as much as magnesium supplementation. There is comparatively much less magnesium in our bones, so this information provides an important clue to the fascinating puzzle of the impact that gluten can have on bone density.

Not only is magnesium important to the activation of bone-building osteoblasts that deposit calcium and add collagen to our bones but it is also a factor that aids in repairing the parathyroid gland. This is a gland that produces the hormones (PTH) that regulate most of the body's calcium metabolism. These hormones signal the kidneys to recover calcium from the urine, to elevate blood levels of calcium, and to activate vitamin D, which signals the intestine to absorb calcium from the food we eat. Clearly, adequate dietary calcium is of little value if we are not getting enough magnesium for the parathyroid gland to function properly.

For these reasons, dairy products and calcium supplementation may actually have a negative impact on the density of our bones, exactly the opposite of what we were taught to expect. It also counters the simplistic advice to consume calcium supplements alone and/or dairy products that are often offered to many individuals with declining bone density. Magnesium, calcium, zinc, boron, and vitamins D and K, all reported to be deficient in many celiacs, are absorbed from the intestine by the same mechanism, called "active transport." Loading the digestive tract with calcium alone overwhelmingly invites this part of our absorptive capacity with a single mineral, albeit the most common one in the body. This approach is shortsighted and, quite frankly, harmful. It risks causing a deficiency in magnesium and other necessary minerals, which are less abundant and frequently deficient in our diets. Magnesium and phosphorus deficiencies caused by excessive calcium intake may paose a much greater risk of causing bone mineral loss. Further, the risk is largely independent of the traditional suspect in gluten-induced bone damage - malabsorption. The key issue is the balance of relative quantities in which these minerals are available, either in our diets and/or the supplements we consume."

Hope that helps!

- Michelle

[princessfuzzball]

If you don't mind pineapple, I'd reccomend Pioneer brand viatmins that I found at Whole Foods. They are chewable and combine a good set of all the vitamins we should be getting. These vitamins also list what they are free of, and my the list is quite long! It's free of such things as soy, wheat, gluten, corn, nuts, ect. ect... I have been using them for a while, and I love them!

[KaitiUSA]

Does anyone have any suggestions for either a decent tasting chewable vitamin or even a decent tasting liquid vitamin?

I take Liquid Vitamins Plus(ultra absorbable) from Utrition. This vitamin seems to work well for me.

[Turtle]

Cool, thanks! I love pineapple!

[Emme999]

Hello

I was just thinking about vitamins (I do that a lot ) and how important bioavailability is and the crucial aspect of having certain vitamins together... and.. . well, it's complicated But there is this nifty little link I found that might make it easier to understand.

Open Original Shared Link

But basically there are two rules - when you are trying to improve your bone density, you need a calcium *complex* - not just calcium, and the other is that antioxidants need each other to be effective - just taking vitamin C wont be anywhere near as valuable as taking it with other antioxidants (selenium, vitamin E, CoQ10, carotenes, etc.).

Also - if you can do capsules, that's one of the best ways to go - technology has advanced things so much that they break down really fast once they are inside of you! With our limited nutrient absorbing abilities (as celiacs) that's probably pretty important.

Oh - one other thing - when taking calcium (in any form) be sure to take it in divided doses, that alone can improve your absorption rate by as much as 80%. So be sure to take it in little doses 2-3 times per day.

I'm a vitamin junkie - I hope that I can be of service

- Michelle

[Guest MelissaB]

Has anyone ever tried Viatciv? I was actually at a celiac far and they had a doctor doing bone density tests and handing out Viactiv. I called the company and they said it's gluten free but I'm still hesitant.

[hthorvald]

Yes, Viactiv is gluten free. I've been taking one 500 mg with lunch and again with dinner since being diagnosed. It's the only brand that doesn't upset my stomach. I tried the Viactiv vitamin chews, and while they don't upset my stomach, they have a terrible after taste.

On the calcium note, when I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I was also diagnosed with osteopenia (early stage of osteoporosis), and after one year, my bone density increased and I am now just out of the osteopenia diagnosis.

Eat 'em and enjoy!

H.

[carriecraig]

Thanks everyone, it is great to hear that Viactiv is gluten-free. I was diagnosed with Celiac on June 13th, so all of this is very new to me. I found this forum by doing a google search, and I'm glad I did!

Carrie

[tarnalberry]

I just wanted to reiterate the magnesium issue. There have been a couple of studies on the need to make sure celiacs, in particular, are getting enough magnesium (and vit D) for the body to use the calcium in building bone. Vit D shouldn't be overlooked either, particularly in light of the recent studies that the overuse of sun-screen in some populations has led to people having very low levels of Vit D. (Some med. groups suggest a short amount of exposure to the sun without any sun-block a couple of times a week, some say supplement and keep the suns rays off... )