To Give or Not To Give......Multivitamins

[SEA]

What are your opinions on MultiVs, pros and cons I'd love to hear them all, also if you have any recommendations, thanks :)

[JabberJaw]

We only take fish oil here as we eat lots of fruit and veg.

We use fish oil for skin problems, behaviour problems, and a whole stack of other wonderful things :D

I have 3x1000mg 3 times a day

Kids have 1x1000mg 2-3 times a day.

[BabyPaparazzi]

A friend is a microbiologist and once told me that I might as well flush them down the toilet because thats where they end up.

Unless prescribed for medical conditions he told me that most adults/childrens diets are adequete and although children sometimes have eating issues they will be getting what they require.

I think though it makes some feel more comfortable knowing that their kids are getting the top ups when needed. They personally give me headaches and make me feel ill, dr said my diet is very good and probably get a reaction to too much minerals.

[Myztiks#1Fan]

i give coop one and i also take a vitamin B tablet that is only able to be purchased by prescription only.

[BabelFish]

I will be giving my children fish oil. Absolutely. There is too much research and evidence (as well as our own personal experience) to show how beneficial it is for me not to. As long as it's sustainably produced, of course.

[Chunkydunks]

I don't think any supplement is necessary unless you have a proven deficiency. Some people feel like they are getting benefit from them though so its really a personal decision. With omega 3 supplements I've always been told that omega 3 works better when combined with omega 6 and 9 which a lot of the fish oil supplements just don't have. For an adult to get all 3 there is Udo's oil (the only thing I know with all 3 but there could be other things on the market) but I don't know if there is anything out there for the kids with all 3 and I certainly can't see a child downing a dose of Udo's a day lol.

The only time I've given DS a multi was when he was being very fussy. Other than that I've just tried to make our diet as varied and wholesome as possible.

[elissas]

My DS has ASD, so he's on the following supplements: digestive enzymes, probiotic, multivitamin, iron, magnesium/tissue salts, omega 3 (taken as chia seed and flax seed oil, I can't get him to take fish based ones).

I only use Floradix supplements for the kids for multis and iron - they do a kid's multi and and general iron supplement and they are fantastic. No artificial cr@p in them, and liquids. I dilute with water and he thinks they're yum!

I use Inner Health Plus for Kids, Schlussers Tissue Salts, and Genuine Nzymes Digestive Enzymes.

Very noticeable difference when he takes them to when he doesn't.

More importantly than multis for kids...

They should be on a probiotic. In fact everyone should be. We're lucky to have a water filter, but most kids are drinking straight tap water, which has ridiculous levels of chlorine (it's increased lately due to low water stores and the decline in water quality). Chlorine kills good bacteria in the gut. It's designed to kill bacteria, it just doesn't discriminate between good and bad!

All the gastros going around - kids are getting them so frequently, and with such ferocity! And in Melbourne for sure I've noticed that friends' kids who are sick more often, are in areas where the water stinks of chlorine even when you just turn on the tap! These kids have most likely got not nearly enough good bacteria to handle the bugs that are around.

Kids yoghurts (and commercial adult ones too) are not enough. They have very little probiotic value, they're glorified desserts. You really need the supplements like Inner Health Plus.

[JabberJaw]

I don't think any supplement is necessary unless you have a proven deficiency. Some people feel like they are getting benefit from them though so its really a personal decision. With omega 3 supplements I've always been told that omega 3 works better when combined with omega 6 and 9 which a lot of the fish oil supplements just don't have. For an adult to get all 3 there is Udo's oil (the only thing I know with all 3 but there could be other things on the market) but I don't know if there is anything out there for the kids with all 3 and I certainly can't see a child downing a dose of Udo's a day lol.

The only time I've given DS a multi was when he was being very fussy. Other than that I've just tried to make our diet as varied and wholesome as possible.


:no: As long as the fish oil is mecury tested and contains DHA and EPA they only do good things. They contribute to every different part of you body, not only inside but out.

There are many studies into the excellent results fish oil can do if taken daily.

It is often given in larger than normal does as a first attemp in removing ADD/ADHD traits in children and adults. It is used for skin (exzema,dermatitis,acne) it is used for Joint pain (arthritis,lupus), To lower high blood pressure, and also some evidence supports it to help with alzhiemers, many many things.

I have looked into fish oil for a long time now and have used it myself and also for my children, and have recommended it to others, who also have proven results.

You can use it on animals too.

We in Australia DO NOT eat enough fish or omega rich foods to contain enough in our body. If you ate fish everyday then you wounldnt need a supplement, and people dont eat things like flaxseed orsuch on a daily basis either.

Flaxseed oil is good to take for vegetarians, who want the omega's but dont eat fish.

[shelle65]

I give my DD a multivitamin as a bribe - she thinks they taste yummy! Every morning she has to get dressed, put her shoes on and have her hair brushed and then she is "allowed" a vitamin. If she didn't like them I wouldn't bother, her diet is fine.

[Poppetfish]

My DS and DD get multivitamins.

I was very sceptical at first but once I put DS on a multi and an added B12 suppliment. His behaviour and improved 10 fold and he is even talking. (ASD):goodvibes:

After I saw how much it helped DS, I got DD onto Pentivite liquid and she is now a little chatterbox.:yelclap:

[Chunkydunks]

:no: As long as the fish oil is mecury tested and contains DHA and EPA they only do good things. They contribute to every different part of you body, not only inside but out.

There are many studies into the excellent results fish oil can do if taken daily.

It is often given in larger than normal does as a first attemp in removing ADD/ADHD traits in children and adults. It is used for skin (exzema,dermatitis,acne) it is used for Joint pain (arthritis,lupus), To lower high blood pressure, and also some evidence supports it to help with alzhiemers, many many things.

I have looked into fish oil for a long time now and have used it myself and also for my children, and have recommended it to others, who also have proven results.

You can use it on animals too.

We in Australia DO NOT eat enough fish or omega rich foods to contain enough in our body. If you ate fish everyday then you wounldnt need a supplement, and people dont eat things like flaxseed orsuch on a daily basis either.

Flaxseed oil is good to take for vegetarians, who want the omega's but dont eat fish.

I'm not saying omega 3 on its own isn't any good. What I'm saying is I was told by several people that it works better when combined with 6 and 9.

[elissas]

My DS and DD get multivitamins.

I was very sceptical at first but once I put DS on a multi and an added B12 suppliment. His behaviour and improved 10 fold and he is even talking. (ASD):goodvibes:

After I saw how much it helped DS, I got DD onto Pentivite liquid and she is now a little chatterbox.:yelclap:

I hear you :)

My DD is on multis and iron too, and makes a massive difference to her as well.

Our food supply, including fruit and veg, is severely lacking in nutrients. The drop in nutrients over the last century is quite scary. And then we cook them and cook a lot of the nutrients out of them. Most vegetables are better eaten raw or only very lightly cooked (as in still crunchy). But here in Australia, we roast, bake, boil, till food is limp and almost devoid of nutritional value!

Plus there are toxins in processed foods etc that block the body's ability to synthesize or use nutrients. eg. tannins in tea, coffee and wine block iron absorbtion (no more red wine with steak!). Plus all the artificial stuff, preservatives, glutamates, petrochemical antioxidants etc they add to foods... Puts too much of a load on the body. The body's first port of call is to try and deal with the toxins. After that comes the work to use nutrients.

[NonnyMouse]

I think it's better to actually test to see what your body is deficient in, and then address that through food before resorting to mass produced, mass marketed, synthetic "vitamins" that usually incude a whole lot of stuff you don't actually need.

The only time I ever take them myself is when I am iron deficient, as my diet (even one high in iron) isn't presently providing enough to support me while pregnant and breastfeeding.

[caspar]

I think caution should be used with vitamin supplements. They can be harmful eg vitamin e. If you already have a healthy diet most of the water soluble dose just goes down the toilet.

We take fish oil and pro biotics.

[elissas]

We regularly see our naturopath/kinesiologist and assess what dosages are required, we don't just follow the recommended blindly. She checks all of our blood at our appts, can see what is lacking, what our diets are like. She can pretty much tell me what I had for lunch!

[SEA]

Thank you all for your input, I went to the Chemist and bought Fish Oil Omega3 today (I got the Efamol, Efalex liquid), my youngest liked it but my eldest as always) didn't want anything to do with it. I will wait until we see the GP for the MultiV, I don't want to give them something that they may not really need. But on the other hand they don't eat as much as I want them to and they are a bit on the skinny side.
They have Yokult most days and they both love it, so that's their probiotics covered.

[elissas]

SEA - Effalex is good. To be honest, I wouldn't consult a GP on this topic, as they're not really trained in nutrition (god knows why, it's the key to good health) and most wouldn't have a clue.

Your best bet is a naturopath or dietitian.

If your gut is telling you they're not always getting enough, then that is probably more trustworthy than any professional telling you what they need.

Quite often the only way to know if they need it is to try it, even on a half dose, and monitor how they go, chnages in behaviour etc.

Iron is excellent at increasing appetite. If you're concerned they don't eat enough food, then an iron supplement can increase appetite quite significantly.