I tested the digestibility of different multivitamins

[Moyer]

Somone posted a link to a site a while ago about the digestibility of multivitamins. The site was about pregnant women taking multis & folic acid, but it was still relevent. I don't have the link anymore, I just saved their instructions in a word document. These are the instructions they gave for testing your multi :

"Drop your vitamin tablet into a half cup of vinegar and stir gently. Every five minutes or so give it another stir. Within 20 minutes your vitamin should be completely broken down -- if not dissolved, at least separated into tiny particles."

There are some problems with this. First off, I would think that stomach acids are much more potent than vinegar. Second, I don't know any reason for 20 minutes being the cutoff point. You could actually argue that a pill that's harder to break down would be absorbed better, much like casein protein.

Nevertheless, I tested some different pills today.
1. Equate Mature
2. Equate Mature, broken in half
3. Centrum
4. One a Day Men's Health
5. GNC Women's Ultra Mega (1 pill, which is half of a serving)
6. Spring Valley 1000mg Flax oil cap
7. Tylenol tab

4 minutes: Tylenol tab broken down into tiny particles.
13 minutes: Flax cap broke & flax oil leaked out.
26 minutes: ½ Equate Mature & Centrum completely broken down into small particles.
28 minutes: Flax cap split lengthwise into two pieces
31 minutes: Whole Equate Mature completely broken down
50 minutes: One a Day Men’s completely broken down
1hr30minutes: GNC Women's Ultra Mega has broken down some, but still remains basically whole.

Comments:
-You can't compare Equate Mature & regular Centrum directly because Equate Mature contains many extras that Centrum leaves out. The Centrum tab was the smallest multi tab in the bunch. GNC Women's was the biggest.
-I was a little surprised that Equate Mature was broken down faster than One a Day Men's, because they contain roughly the same ingredients.
-GNC Women's Ultra Mega looks horrible compared to the others, but it doesn't get completely digested.
-Breaking most vitamin tablets in half is easy and does speed up digestion, but may not make a difference in the end result.

1 True Conclusion:
-Most, if not all, multi tablets are completely digested. It's a total myth that they simply pass through whole.


This may or may not be useful, but food for thought if nothing else.

 

[ryansm]

Had some time on your hands huh?

 

[DmitryWI]

LOL I should start doing something like that too, when I got nothing to do at work.

 

[Aeternitatis]

This is exactly why I take NOW Eco Green Multi in capsule form. You can be sure those capsules get digested; they damn near dissolve in your mouth. I've run tests on various tablet multivites and was usually not happy with the results.

 

[Beowulf]

I pursposely buy capsules instead of tablets for this exact reason. I use Twinlab Two Per Day w/o Iron. The only thing separating you from the vits is that thin gelatin cap

 

[shootmeagain]

This is not completely unbiased info, by any means, but gives one view of the 'vinegar test'...

Does the Vinegar Test Work?

In the absence of other factors (such as being 'timed release') and other methods of determining dissolution, I think the vinegar test is actually a fair assessment.

"The United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc. (USP) has established manufacturing standards for vitamins and minerals with regard to quality, purity, potency, and the dissolution and disintegration properties of supplements. However, only a few manufacturers state on the label that their products meet the USP requirements. It therefore has been suggested (Blonz, 1996) that consumers test questionable pills themselves, by placing them in half a glass of vinegar, to simulate the acidic environment of the stomach. According to USP, calcium supplements should dissolve in 30 minutes, magnesium supplements in 45 minutes; for vitamin E tablets, a 45-minute disintegration is acceptable, and for multivitamin and mineral combinations, a 60-minute dissolution." -- Journal of Medicinal Food, 1998

 

[MorganKane]

I normally use the GNC megaman.
The color of my piss indicates that it does disolve.

 

[Syr]

I would like that someone test AOR powder mix and particularly the rice bran coating they used:
http://www.aor.ca/proddetail.asp?prod_id=307

These are my next multivitamin

 

[D_town]

I use AST Multi Pro 32X and my piss looks like Mountain Dew.

 

[B5150]

Digested, as in broken down is one thing. But isn't part of digestion the evacuation and or excression of waste product. I would be more interested in the absorption of the vit/min. Just because it digests/breaks down does not mean it is not passed/excreted as waste by the body if it cannot absorb it. No?/Yes?

I was under the impression that vitamins that discolor your urine are vitamins that are not being absorbed and are being passed by the digestive system. Vitamins that have higher absorption do not discolor urine.

 

[WhutEvr]

I was under the impression that vitamins that discolor your urine are vitamins that are not being absorbed and are being passed by the digestive system. Vitamins that have higher absorption do not discolor urine.

This is correct. Excess and unabsorbed vitamins/minerals/protein will cause any type of "evacuation" to change color.

 

[natedogg]

I've taken GNC's MM vitamins for over 4 years now. Never did I have discoloration of urine. Of course I chug water likes it's cool. I recently decided to change brands because of cost. I bought some NOW Eco Green Multi vitamins. Not ony are they a shitload cheaper, but it contains more of what the GNC brand does per serving and then some.

 

[D_town]

The Multi-V I take is highly potent. I believe it is too potent to be fully absorbed. I think my body is absorbing as much as possible, then excreting the rest/ leftover as neon colored urine. If my body isn't absorbing it's maximum potential, then I need to rethink my Multi-V. However, the brand I use is fairly cheap and like stated before, full of vitamins and minerals.

 

[Aeternitatis]

Digested, as in broken down is one thing. But isn't part of digestion the evacuation and or excression of waste product. I would be more interested in the absorption of the vit/min. Just because it digests/breaks down does not mean it is not passed/excreted as waste by the body if it cannot absorb it. No?/Yes?

I was under the impression that vitamins that discolor your urine are vitamins that are not being absorbed and are being passed by the digestive system. Vitamins that have higher absorption do not discolor urine.

Exactly! And this is why I use *cue commercial*

The all natural and amazing Eco Green Multi Vitamin by NOW Foods. It's fully absorbed and never turns your wee-wee yellow!

Seriously though, I've been pimping this one since I can remember. It's highly effective and rather cheap.

 

[natedogg]

Exactly! And this is why I use *cue commercial*

The all natural and amazing Eco Green Multi Vitamin by NOW Foods. It's fully absorbed and never turns your wee-wee yellow!

Seriously though, I've been pimping this one since I can remember. It's highly effective and rather cheap.

Cheap is right. $27.99 for 240 tablets at BN. One bottle will last approx. 4 months. Will gauge effectiveness after I run out of the Mega Man stuff.

 

[Aeternitatis]

I get mine in the capsule form (a little more expensive) at the local supp store at $12 for 100 caps.

 

[shootmeagain]

Anything is cheap when compared to GNC. Come in on the *insert certain day/timeframe here* and we'll take 20% off of our 60% markup!
:rofl:

 

[judge-mental]

Digested, as in broken down is one thing. But isn't part of digestion the evacuation and or excression of waste product. I would be more interested in the absorption of the vit/min. Just because it digests/breaks down does not mean it is not passed/excreted as waste by the body if it cannot absorb it. No?/Yes?

I was under the impression that vitamins that discolor your urine are vitamins that are not being absorbed and are being passed by the digestive system. Vitamins that have higher absorption do not discolor urine.

if its absorbed and than excreted it will color the urine
if its not absorbed it will color your feces (sh*t)

 

[asap nutrition]

I would like that someone test AOR powder mix and particularly the rice bran coating they used:
http://www.aor.ca/proddetail.asp?prod_id=307

These are my next multivitamin

What is the price of that multivitamin?

 

[captain chet]

I have noticed a lot of posts where people are taking a multivitamin without iron in it. If anyone has a link to a post discussing why iron is considered bad id like to see it as ive just bought a 120 count bottle of centrum performance which contains iron.

 

[Pioneer]

I use AST Multi Pro 32X and my piss looks like Mountain Dew.

hahah same here

 

[Syr]

What is the price of that multivitamin?

Dunno, it wasnt cheap anyway, like 40-50$ for a tub. But unfortunately is discontinued. The new product, Ortho Core is in caps (bleh).

 

[Syr]

I have noticed a lot of posts where people are taking a multivitamin without iron in it. If anyone has a link to a post discussing why iron is considered bad id like to see it as ive just bought a 120 count bottle of centrum performance which contains iron.

Men dont need extra iron. The intake with food is enough. Iron compete with zinc in assimilation and, well, you know the importance of zinc.

 

[Scottyo]

Men dont need extra iron. The intake with food is enough. Iron compete with zinc in assimilation and, well, you know the importance of zinc.

I disagree, and always have disagreed with people recommending w/o iron. Especially if your a college student reluctant to eat your dining halls red meat, or just do not eat a lot of red meat in general...then iron is very important. At one point I was actually supplementing with extra iron due to some deficiencies noticed in lab tests.

 

[Matthew D]

due Scotty but an overload of Fe can be just as bad as deficency in it. In most cases, if you have a good diet you are getting enough iron.. which is needed by the red blood cells to bind oxygen.

 

[Matthew D]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15162251&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=2

Int J Sports Med. 2004 May;25(4):306-13. Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
Effects of iron intake through food or supplement on iron status and performance of healthy adolescent swimmers during a training season.

Tsalis G, Nikolaidis MG, Mougios V.

Laboratory of Sport Hygiene and Nutrition, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Maintenance of a normal iron status is important for swimming performance during training and competition. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether 1) the iron status of healthy adolescent swimmers changes during a training season of six months, and 2) increasing daily iron intake affects iron status or performance. Forty-two (21 male and 21 female) swimmers, aged 12 - 17, without anemia or iron deficiency were divided into three equal groups. Group A received an iron supplement of 47 mg per day, group B followed a dietary plan rich in iron (providing, on average, 26 mg per day), and group C had a regular diet. Blood samples were taken before the beginning of the study and at the end of each of three training phases (moderate intensity training, high intensity training, and tapering) for the determination of hematological and iron status parameters. To evaluate performance, swimming tests at different distances were conducted along with blood sampling. The results showed significant fluctuations of iron status during the training season, including an increase in erythrocyte parameters during moderate intensity training. No significant differences in iron status or performance were found among the three groups. In conclusion, iron status and performance of healthy adolescent swimmers were affected by training irrespective of iron intake ranging from one to over five times the RDA over a period of six months.

Publication Types:

* Clinical Trial
* Controlled Clinical Trial


PMID: 15162251 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

[Syr]

I disagree, and always have disagreed with people recommending w/o iron. Especially if your a college student reluctant to eat your dining halls red meat, or just do not eat a lot of red meat in general...then iron is very important. At one point I was actually supplementing with extra iron due to some deficiencies noticed in lab tests.

The average man doesnt need extra iron supplementation. Of course particular cases can be different, like yours. About me, I always ate a lot of red meat (without suffering ANY problem) and not so often spinach and asparagus which are two vegetables very rich in iron. Since I sted a BB nutrition, I variate my protein sources more but I still never had an iron deficiency.

 

[Iron Warrior]

I always thought that guys should only take extra iron only if they were anemic ?