# Questions on Water Soluble vitamins. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682 "2011-11-02T20:54:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/1 "2011-11-02T20:54:21Z")
How long do they last before you need to replenish your stocks. How long does it take them to flush out of the body? Whenever I take a multivitamin in the morning, I wake up in the night to go to the toilet. I know the two are probably unrelated and I have just embarrassed myself šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/2 "2011-11-02T21:50:56Z")
Water soluble vitamins, which are all of them except A and D, should be taken daily. Your nightly urination may be due to the excess water you drink when swallowing them. If I had to get up only once in the night to void, Iā€™d be happy. But Iā€™m 74 and getting up several times at night is par for the course, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/3 "2011-11-02T22:16:13Z")
Thanks barbitu8. I take them in the morning and I swallow them without water, so excess water cant be the reason ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/4 "2011-11-03T02:30:54Z")
It is unnecessary for most people with a reasonably normally varied diet to take vitamin supplements at all (with the possible exception of D, if you donā€™t get much sun). Yes, water-soluble vitamins (or rather ones excess to requirements) flush out of your system fairly quickly, but that is not a problem if you are getting them from your diet, as you almost certainly are. As you suspect, your night urination problem is not caused by your morning multivitamin habit. Actually, depending on your age, it may not be a ā€˜problemā€™ (as opposed to an annoyance) at all. Most people (men, anyway) once they get fairly well into middle age, have to get up to pee at least once a night. If you are in your teens or your twenties though, and not loading up with liquids before bedtime, it might be worth seeing a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/5 "2011-11-03T02:43:56Z")
A, D, E, and K are the fat-soluble vitamins. You CAN OD on them, because they are stored in the body. Other vitamins and minerals are water soluble, but we do have a limited supply in reserve. Your body is pretty smart, though. If you take more of the water soluble vitamins than you need, the body will usually excrete the excess in your urine. If you want to be really in-the-know, take a peek at your urine color several hours after taking your vitamins. It will usually be a bright yellowā€“thatā€™s the excess Vitamin B. You might even smell a ā€œvitamin-yā€ aroma from the bright yellow urine. Thatā€™s why mega doses of water soluble vitamins are wasteful. You end up flushing away what your body doesnā€™t want. There have been cases of people who have taken prolonged mega doses of Vitamin C. If they STOP taking the mega doses, they develop scurvy. If you are still going tinkle too frequently, see your doctor. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/6 "2011-11-03T03:10:12Z")
On a related note, when is enough of a water-soluable vitamin enough? Many people think they can pop Vitamin C tablets all day becuase they taste like candy, are healthy, and are water soluable. Well, every aqueous solution has a saturation point! I wonder if the excess doesnā€™t precipitate out into kidney or gall stones, as examples? Surely, there is a limit, but what? Any SDope on this? Any links one can cite? ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/7 "2011-11-03T11:22:54Z")
Is there a point in striving to get 100% RDA of vitamins through my diet? Is it really necessary. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/8 "2011-11-03T17:05:16Z")
Depends on what you are eating. If fast food makes up the bulk of your diet, if you rarely eat fruits and veggies, if you completely shun dairy products or other calcium-containing foods, a multi-vitamin is a good idea to prevent beri-beri or scurvy. If you are a die-hard Atkins participant, youā€™d need that multi-vitamin. Iā€™d advise getting some fiber into your diet ASAP. Americans on the whole get far, far too much protein, and an abundance of refined foods. That spells major digestive troubles later on down the line, so make sure you keep all your colonoscopy appointments. OTOH, if you eat lots of veggies, whole grains, get plenty of calcium, youā€™ll probably get the RDA of all the vitamins and mineralsā€“with the exception of iron. Women need lots of the stuff, and a supplement might be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![anon11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@anon11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anon11)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/9 "2011-11-03T17:10:53Z")
Iā€™m a vegetarian. Dairy is often my only daily food containing protein. I probably get too little protein. I think Iā€™m okay otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/10 "2011-11-03T17:28:11Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Americans on the whole get far, far too much protein Most Americans eat more protein than their bodies require (~0.65g/kg/d), but Iā€™m not aware of any evidence that weā€™re consuming ā€œfar, far too much protein.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/11 "2011-11-03T18:44:57Z")
> [@anon11](#): > > Is there a point in striving to get 100% RDA of vitamins through my diet? Is it really necessary. Probably not. That is to say, you are probably getting 100% or more without really striving, and if your intake drops a bit below the full RDA for a day or two, it is not going to matter. There is a good bit of wiggle room in the figures. > [@anon11](#): > > Iā€™m a vegetarian. Dairy is often my only daily food containing protein. I probably get too little protein. I think Iā€™m okay otherwise. Oh, well in that case, possibly, except that milk is a very good source of vitamins, so you are probably still OK (including for D which is both found naturally in milk, and often added to it). It is the vegans rather than regular vegetarians that tend to have vitamin deficiency problems. The main problem there is with B12, which most people get from meat or other animal products (including milk). You can get B12 from yeast extracts, however, such as Marmite (I assume that is how vegans manage). ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/12 "2011-11-03T18:45:15Z")
IME too much vitamin C can make the need to urinate painful. The same thing happens if I drink a lot of tea or soda. I suspect that it acidifies the urine, and that irritates the bladder. Thus Iā€™ll feel the urgent need to go, but when I do, thereā€™s really not all that much urine. So, if Iā€™ve taken a ā€œsimpleā€ multi-vitamin, (one with no megadoses that just helps me reach the 100% RDA) then I donā€™t wake up to urinate. But if Iā€™ve taken one with a vitamin C mega-dose, then the need will wake me and Iā€™ll be running for the toilet. It might help to check your supplement and see if itā€™s just over- board on the dosing. If so and you want to finish out the supply, try consciously drinking 2-3 glasses of water with lunch, so the excess can clear itself out in the afternoon hours. I disagree that supplements are always a waste. Like all things - moderation is key. I do take a multi-vitamin with a chelated multi-mineral with iron with dinner, and a calcium/vitamin D/fiber chew with breakfast. My diet is fairly good, and Iā€™m slowly losing weight, but I never know when Iā€™ll get side-swiped and I like to keep all the tanks full at all times for when I suddenly have to hit the McDrive-thru or go hungry. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/13 "2011-11-03T19:33:23Z")
I am also Vegetarian, and my iron was dropping each doctor visit. Since the typical iron losses had been eliminated (too old for periods, no GI bleeding), it appeared I had finally used up my iron stores and was not getting enough from my diet. After trying to eat more veggies with iron, I realized it just wasnā€™t working for me. I finally added an iron supplement. BOY what a difference in how I felt! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/14 "2011-11-03T21:06:33Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > On a related note, when is enough of a water-soluable vitamin enough? Many people think they can pop Vitamin C tablets all day becuase they taste like candy, are healthy, and are water soluable. Well, every aqueous solution has a saturation point! I wonder if the excess doesnā€™t precipitate out into kidney or gall stones, as examples? Surely, there is a limit, but what? > > Any SDope on this? Any links one can cite? Dr. Linus Pauling took a maintenance dose of 18 grams. The isolater of vitamin C, Albert Svent-gyorgyi also took megadoses. Both Dr. Pauling and Dr. Svent-gyorgyi lived until age 93. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001493/#adam\_000458.disease.causes:](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001493/#adam_000458.disease.causes:) > [@](#): > > There are different types of kidney stones. The exact cause depends on the type of stone. > ā€¢ > Calcium stones are most common. They occur more often in men than in women, and usually appear between ages 20 - 30. They are likely to come back. Calcium can combine with other substances, such as oxalate (the most common substance), phosphate, or carbonate to form the stone. Oxalate is present in certain foods. Diseases of the small intestine increase the risk of forming calcium oxalate stones. > > ā€¢ > Cystine stones can form in people who have cystinuria. This disorder runs in families and affects both men and women. > > ā€¢ > Struvite stones are mostly found in women who have a urinary tract infection. These stones can grow very large and can block the kidney, ureter, or bladder. > > ā€¢ > Uric acid stones are more common in men than in women. They can occur with gout or chemotherapy [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001318/#adam\_000273.disease.causes:](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001318/#adam_000273.disease.causes:) > [@](#): > > The cause of gallstones varies. There are two main types of gallstones: > ā€¢ > Stones made of cholesterol, which are by far the most common type. Cholesterol gallstones have nothing to do with cholesterol levels in the blood. > > ā€¢ > Stones made of bilirubin, which can occur when red blood cells are being destroyed (hemolysis). This leads to too much bilirubin in the bile. These stones are called pigment stones. Vegeterarians may not only be deficient in iron, but also B-12, since both are derived primarily from animal products. Vegeterarians should take a B-12 supplement. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/15 "2011-11-04T00:35:09Z")
B-12 is present in dairy and eggs. Strict Vegetarians, or Vegans, consume no animal products at all: no dairy, no eggs, no honey. They may develop B-12 deficiency. However, Iā€™ve read that if Vegans get a token amount of dirt in their diets (like an unwashed, unpeeled carrot), they can consume enough microscopic organisms which will provide the B-12. Interestingly enough, B-12 is not assimilated very well through the digestive tract. Many B-12 supplements are sublingual, meant to be dissolved under the tongue. A particular type of B-12 deficiency, Pernicious Anemia, is treated through B-12 injections. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-water-soluble-vitamins/601682/16 "2011-11-04T10:20:55Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > B-12 is present in dairy and eggs. > > Strict Vegetarians, or Vegans, consume no animal products at all: no dairy, no eggs, no honey. They may develop B-12 deficiency. However, Iā€™ve read that if Vegans get a token amount of dirt in their diets (like an unwashed, unpeeled carrot), they can consume enough microscopic organisms which will provide the B-12. > > Interestingly enough, B-12 is not assimilated very well through the digestive tract. Many B-12 supplements are sublingual, meant to be dissolved under the tongue. A particular type of B-12 deficiency, Pernicious Anemia, is treated through B-12 injections. > ~VOW Most people who lack B-12, other than Vegans, lack the ā€œintrinsic factor,ā€ which is a glycoprotein synthesized in the stomach.