On a trip to Costco back in January, I bought a big bottle of those One-A-Day multivitamin/multimineral supplements. (The Men’s formula, as it had greater quantities of the vitamins and minerals.) I figured they’d do me good. I’ve never tried this brand before, nor have I taken vitamins at all since I was, like, six years old (I’m 24 now).
The directions say to take one tablet daily, with food. Occasionally, however, I’ll forget to take the darn thing with food. I’ll remember I need to take it when all that remains of my meal is a couple of spoonfuls, or a couple swallows of my drink.
I’ve noticed that whenever I take my vitamin sans food accompaniment, within half an hour I start feeling a bit queasy. It’s not enough to make me revisit my meal, but it is quite strong. The sensation goes away just as quickly as it arrives.
It’s happened consistently enough (but I’m not that forgetful, really! :)) that I know it can’t be a one-time thing, or the food I ate.
Should I be concerned? I mean, the obvious thing for me to do is to remember to take the vitamin early in the meal. But the nausea thing has me a tad worried. Should I switch brands? Anything?
I have had the same thing happen with some multi-vitamins. I believe my reaction was caused by the sourness of the vitamin when broken up. Try chewing up a vitamin before swallowing it to see just how nasty those things are. Switching brands will probably help. Some vitamins have a buffered coating on the outside that should help a little. If all else fails, try an adult chewable vitamin. They don’t taste great but I have never gotten ill after chewing them.
Yeah, me too. I used to ignore the “take with food” instructions. Until I spent an entire morning throwing up after taking an antibiotic on an empty stomach.
And these big multi-B vitamins I have had, they keep getting stuck in my throat and make me gag. Will buy smaller ones next time.
Audrey gets a big “duh” from DDG. That’s why they say, “Take with food”, dear, because it produces nausea if ya don’t.
Duh. " :rolleyes: "
My personal observation is that all brands of vitamins do this, so I don’t think that switching brands will help. My theory as to why it makes you nauseated is that your stomach interprets that dissolving pill as “a chunk of food” and starts cranking out the amount of acid required to digest a chunk of food that size. Only problem is, it’s not “food”, like proteins and carbohydrates and fats, that could use up the stomach acid, but just “stuff”, that just lays there (lies there?), and anyway, all that stomach acid has nothing to do and nowhere to go, so it makes you feel sick. But if you take it with food, your stomach acid gets happily to work on that and doesn’t make you feel sick.
You guys just cleared something major up for me! I started taking multi-vitamins a couple of days ago(in the morning with no food)- trying to stave off a cold. And I have been so naseuous the last couple of days!
I just randomly happened upon your posts here!
I’m assuming you are female, and I’m not saying this is a cause of your nausea, but it is not the best idea to be taking vitamins specifically formulated for males. For example, if this is the multivitamin you are taking, there is no iron in it - an essential vitamin for females. Conversely, a man should not take a woman’s multivitamin because there is too much iron.
Having more vitamins does not necessarily make it better.
Actually the reason why it is recommended that you take the multivitamin with food is that most vitamins are fat soluble, and you won’t absorb them if there is no fat in your digestive tract. A few, vitamin C and IIRC all the B vitamins (but I’d really have to research that and I don’t have the time now - there are nine different B vitamins and some have other names) are water soluble. With those, all you need is drink some liquid with them. I take my powder vitamin C in the morning with OJ.
I take a multivitamin/mineral after I eat dinner, along with my saw palmetto.
What my doc told me when I asked her the very same question is that vitamins have “locking enzymes”. In the presence of stomach acids, these enzymes combine with whatever food is in your stomach so they can be digested properly. In the absence of food, they combine with the lining of your stomach.
I also recently started taking those one-a-day horse tablets recently…tastes like it comes directly from the horse…and though I have not felt nausea, twice I have had the whole pill pop back up in my mouth a couple minutes later. Very strange.
I was wondering if anyone, after taking these longer than I have (about 3 months now) actually feels better, or feels any different?
I mean, I know they are supposed to be good for you, and I know from the label they have all those things I probably am not getting from Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but to be honest, I haven’t noticed any difference.
Also, I take an aspirin once a day and have been doing that for 8 years now…should I wait and take the vitamin later, or can I take them both at about the same time. Just wondering if there are any pill-opping experts out there…
Thanks for the input and recommendations, everybody. I’ll look into the Women’s formula of this vitamin and pray my dad is interested in the remainder of the Men’s.
I don’t see any problem with taking aspirin and vitamins at the same time. Aspirin should be taken on a full stomach: less likely to cause stomach distress. Fat soluble vitamins should also be taken on a full stomach.
I used to take separate vitamin tablets, separate mineral tablets, etc. I’d astonish my lunch companions when I would pull out my pill case with all those tablets. Now, I take them after dinner so no one will notice. I take a multi-vitamin/mineral, but also supplement that with a calcium tablet, vitamin E gel, Ocuvite, and saw palmetto. I take about a gram of powder C with my OJ in the morning. I don’t take aspirin.
The multi-vitamins that are formulated and advertised for pre-natal use are often the best and highest-quality general formulations out there, whether you’re pregnant or not. (Or even female, though my husband still grouses a little whenever he sees the label.) The nausea factor seems greatly decreased, compared to others. If you can find a generic or store-label brand, they can also be quite a bargain.
I’ve noticed that multi-vitamins that are extra-high in zinc make a lot of people nauseous, especially on an empty stomach. That goes double for a zinc-only supplement. Those things can make me hurl even right after a full meal.
A daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement is a Very Good Idea for the the vast majority of the U.S. population. There used to be a prevalent school of thought that vitamins were a waste of time and money, since people get all the nutrients necessary from a well-balanced diet. Unfortunately, only a few actually do consume a “well-balanced” diet. It’s astonishing just how few (only about 1% !?!) qualify, according to the studies on I looked at on PubMed. I knew things were bad; I just didn’t realize how bad.
So take those vitamins. (But don’t go crazy with mega-doses, especially with the fat-soluble vitamins like A & E, the trace minerals like selenium, and B-6, because you can do some real damage that way.) Maybe even think about adding a few fruits and green vegetables, and cutting out a few Big Macs.
Food intakes of US children and adolescents compared with recommendations.
Pediatrics 1997 Sep;100(3 Pt 1):323-9
“only 1% met all recommendations”
“CONCLUSION: Children and teens in the United States follow eating patterns that do not meet national recommendations. Nutrition education and intervention are needed among US children.”
Am J Clin Nutr 1997 Apr;65(4 Suppl):1264S-1268S
Characterizing food intake patterns of American adults.
“The pattern of meeting all five of the food-group recommendations was among the least common, accounting for only 1% of adults’ intakes.”
The fat-soluble vitamins that you should be careful of are A & D. E is water soluble. (My fault. I didn’t list that before.)
Trace minerals are just that. We need only a trace. Any more can be toxic. My own theory, for what it’s worth (not much), is that the human body needs all the minerals found on earth, at least in trace amounts. Cobalt is obviously toxic, but it is the constituent of B-12. Copper, arsenic, etc. all necessary in trace amounts.
I tried zinc lozenges sublingually for a short time after the initial studies came out indicating they can ward off colds. But I soon gave them up as they did make me nauseaus and did not prevent colds. Most recently I’ve read that some studies indicate that zinc do prevent colds. I’ll stick to C, thank you. Although there are no studies showing that C can prevent colds, there are plenty showing they reduce the severity and length of the colds. Anyway, it has worked for me, stifling my symptoms.
As for B-6, all the B vitamins are in a delicate arrangement with each other. Too much of any is not a good idea. Never take a single B vitamin unless on doctor’s orders. Take a B-complex instead, if you are not satisfied with the multivitamin.
Years ago (eons ago, actually) when I was taking everything in individual pills, I compared the various formulae of different brands of multi-vitamins/minerals. I found Walgreen’s eightinall (or some similar name) was as good as any. Bronson’s pharmaceutical offers multitablets in various formulae.
Pre-natal vitamins kick butt. When I was on them my nails, hair, and skin were just super. Good luck getting a doc to prescribe them unless you’re preggers, though.
I’ve found that Centrum are really close in formulation to the pre-natal vitamins I was on.
I definitely have to take them with food, though. The pre-natals said not to take them with food, so I took them at night before bed, and slept through the nausea.
Vitamins E, A, D, and K are all fat soluble vitamins.
Pre-natal multi-vitamin formulations are readily available without prescription. (A prescription allows you to add them into medical expenses for income tax deduction purposes.) Perhaps there is a special prescription-only prenatal multi-vitamin? If so, I would be interested in comparing the formulation to the OTC ones.
A few random references (or check any biochemistry text):
The location and function of vitamin E in membranes (review)
Mol Membr Biol 2000 Jul-Sep;17(3):143-56
“Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that consists of a group of tocols and tocotrienols”
Free Radic Res Commun 1991;14(4):229-46
Absorption, transport and metabolism of vitamin E
“Vitamin E includes eight naturally occurring fat-soluble nutrients called tocopherols and dietary intake of vitamin E activity is essential in many species. alpha-Tocopherol has the highest biological activity and the highest molar concentration of lipid soluble antioxidant in man. Deficiency of vitamin E may cause neurological dysfunction, myopathies and diminished erythrocyte life span.”
OK, but the vitamins that are notorious for causing problems in megadoses are A & D. I have never read of any people who OD’d on E, but I guess it’s possible that some have. In any event, the consequences are not as great as either A or D. K is primarily produced by intestinal bacteria and I’ve never seen it as a supplement.
This is interesting. I had bought some of the Centrum One A Day vitamins for women, and they made me nauseous whether or not I took them with food… uncomfortable and dizzy to the point that I was having a hard time at work. When I quit taking them, it stopped.
Since then I have been eating children’s chewable vitamins with iron and have not had any problems.
I’m so glad I found this post! I thought I was weird. I can’t take a zinc lozenge- the idea of one after what I went through is enough to put me off lunch.
I had the problem with Vitamin B too- I’d take about 6 different pills (E, a couple C as well) and get really queasy feeling about 15 minutes later. I started taking my vitamins 1 at a time throughout the meal, and haven’t had a problem since. I would never try it on an empty stomach.
That’s why they say, “Take with food”, dear, because it produces nausea if ya don’t. 
