Supplement Daily Allowances

[conniebky]

I have a question or just a general wondering about vitamins. I take Fish Oil, Magnesium and B Complex.

I was taking a multivitamin everyday - I THINK THAT'S WHY I KEPT HAVING REACTIONS TO EVERYTHING I ATE FOLKS - they're not gluten free.

Anyway, does anyone know why, on the bottle where it says Daily Value = (whatever) - why do some say 1000% or 500% and wouldn't that be bad for your body to take so much more than is recommended? And who recommended it in the first place? My B Complex has 1000% of all the B's......

does anyone have any insight on this? And why is Magnesium important to people with gluten issues?

[kareng]

I know some vitamins like Bs get excreted if you have more than you need. If you are having difficulty absorbing it, sending a lot down the tube means that the healthy parts of your intestines have a lot of the vitamin to eat. I take Mg because I have heard it helps with calcium absorption. My iron, calcium,B12 and D were all very low because only the undamaged part could absorb them. Making sure I put a lot in, helped to be sure there was always some to get absorbed.

[sb2178]

The ones with very high values are almost definitely water-soluble-- basically, in a healthy person with normal absorption, you would absorb it but then pee out extra (see bright yellow pee post B-vitamins). In someone with impaired absorption (celiac!), you may or may not be absorbing it all so the mega doses may be helpful.

Minerals can be overdosed on-- iron, for example, can be fatal and calcium can lead to generally painful deposits. But, the problem with dosing is that you're probably impaired and not absorbing all of it to start with, so playing with your doses may be necessary. There are published upper limits if you're worried but want to take extra with a definitely safe range. In an outright deficiency, you can go over the upper limit (see my awful high dose iron experience, and yours if you have one like it).

In fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K), you can absorb too much and then you can end up with toxicity because your body will just store it. Nutrition is not perfectly understood (see sub-optimal vitamin D daily value), and of course how much you absorb varies with the condition of your small intestine. If you're having problems digesting and absorbing fat, that would majorly impair the absorption of A,D,E, and K. Toxicity can be pretty devastating if it isn't caught early (liver failure is one example). Note: pregnancy is one time to be very careful to not get too much vitamin A!

As long as your doc keeps an eye on your levels, you should be okay and possibly better off with slightly higher than RDA doses for the fat-solubles. Basically, the only way to know your condition for sure is to test and evaluate progress unless you have been clinically deficient and can evaluate based on improved gross symptoms (like easy bruising and vitamin K deficiency, or night blindness and vitamin A deficiency).

Magnesium has been shown to be low in people just diagnosed with celiac disease; don't know about later after there has been some time for healing. It's pretty important for a handful of functions from muscle contraction and nerve function through bone structure... good food sources include green leafy veg, dried beans, and whole grains.

Hope that was helpful. Let me know if I need to clarify or you want more details.

FYI-- nutrition policy degree, not a clinical degree so i don't have disease specific training, more general you need to know the basics to develop policy...

[knittingmonkey]

And why is Magnesium important to people with gluten issues?

Here's a website that can answer your magnesium question. I use their Magnesium Gel w/Seaweed, they have by far the best magnesium supplements I've ever used. If you get too much magnesium, your BMs will get loose, then you need to back off. But of course that is if your BMs have become "normal" since you started gluten-free.