I am currently taking Life Essence Multi Vita-Mins (4/day). They are one of the best according to HFS opinions. They contain Green Foods and several herbs as well. However, they are kinda expensive at around $30 for a 30 day supply. I have taken Atkins LC #3 in the past but I wasn't really satisfied with it...just didn't feel it was potent enough in many areas. I have read Atkins Vita-Nutrient Solution thoroughly and has lots of good info.

My main question is...does anyone use Twinlab Dualtabs (as recommended in Protein Power) or have comments concerning them. They have excellent potencies in all areas and can be bought for $20 for a 50 day supply. One drawback could be that they have 10 mg of iron. There are many opinions both pro and con on this. Just hoping to get some input from others with Vitamin-Mineral knowledge. Maybe y'all just want to share what Muti you like.

Thanks for any input.

Ron

LC since 09/01/2003
283/228/180

" Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it." --Horace Mann
"Men don't determine their future. Men determine their habits and their habits determine their future!" -- Mike Murdock

Hmmm . . . this is very interesting to me. I'm hoping you get some replies. I have been using Atkins but would LOVE more potency for less $. Blessings to you!

Cindy

"Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I Corinthians 10:31

LCPlumber, I really, really would advise against any vitamin that contains iron, especially since you are male, unless you have been diagnosed with an iron deficiency, or at least give blood on a regular basis.

There are many good multis out there, but I buy Country Life's "Max For Men" for all the men in my life A sixty day supply (120 tabs) is currently on sale at www.vitaminshoppe.com ( or the Vitaminshoppe stores) for $21.56. It has a good range of nutrients , some digestive enzymes, as well as those little extras specifically for, ahem, guys.

Mom, I take Enzymatic Therapy's multi for women. Actually I take their "Women over 45" version. This month its on sale at the above site (or their stores) for 40% off, or $18.57 for a 30 day supply (six tabs/day). Their regular women's version is even cheaper.

None of the multis made have absolutely everything I'd like, in the amounts I'd like, but I'm happy with these for the price.



BC
172/108/108--5'2"
Zone since 4/98

Thanks, BC. I just went to this site and sent the information to my dh, the one of three "men in my life," the other two being my sons! I think I'll switch to these once I go through my Atkins vitamins.

Blessings,
Cindy

"Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I Corinthians 10:31

LC Plumber,
This is a very pressing topic for me too, since I have been downing close to 20 pills in one day (uggghhh) and to keep this up is going to put a real dent in my pocketbook. I am running out of several of the ones I take, and am hoping for someone to reply to your query with the "magic pill"!
I would love to find one with the potency of all the minerals (esp.) and vitamins recommended in Atkins' and Johnny Bowden's books(Living the Low Carb Life). I think you mentioned Life Essence before, and I have since checked out their website. I have yet to purchase the multi, but am seriously considering it. Other than the price, are you satisfied with the impact on your health?

I hope to hear more from others.

Cherub
304/280/160
5'9"
Started Atkins 01/04/04

Thanks to all who have responded.

Cherub,

I spent a couple hours last night researching different vitamins again on the web. And I just now returned from my local HFS where I looked over practically every choice available. I have done both of these several times as a matter of fact. I have compared most all of them. Even did a spreadsheet on several top choices.

A local holistic health advisor highly recommends Life Essence as the best multi available and so does the manager of my local HFS, who seems to be very knowledgeable in this area. Both sell other multis, some costing much more, but they both say Life Essence is the most complete multi available right now. And like you, I wanted a multi that closely paralled what Dr. Atkins recommended in DANDR. Bad news...there is no such animal! Even his Atkins Basic #3 is nowhere close to what he recommends for Low Carb dieters...quite a surprise for me, even though I took them for about 60 days. It was at that point I began to read several books on the vita-min subject, then narrowed my selections of multis down to about 4 or 5.

My criteria for choosing my multi. Minimums as follows: Vit A 10,000 IU; Vit C 500 mg; Folic Acid 400 mcg; Biotin 300 mcg; Calcium 500 mg; Magnesium 250 mg; Selenium 200 mcg; and Chromium 200 mcg; must be iron free. What I began to find was that if a vitamin had the above ranges of vitamins and minerals, then most others including the B's seemed to fall in line with commonly recommended quantities. I never expected to find a multi that perfectly matched Dr. Atkins or PP, but what I really wanted was a supplement I didn't have to supplement! I came to the conclusion that, just like Low Carbing, this was not about the perfect choice, but the BEST choice.

My top choices right now would be:

1) Life Essence - the most complete multi vita-min supplement available as far as I know. With this one I really don't feel it is necessary to supplement my supplement. In addition it has ample antioxidants and both green and herbal phytonutrients. Four tablets daily @ cost of about ninety cents/day.

2) KAL Enhanced Engergy Multiple - very potent in vitamins and minerals and green phytonutrients. Not quite as strong in the antioxidant department. This is an excellent choice if you don't want all the herbs in Life Essence. Three tablets daily @ cost of about sixty cents/day.

3) Natrol My Favorite Multiple Iron Free - Solid performer in most vitamin, mineral areas, except a little weak, but still respectable on Vitamin C. Basicly no green phytonutrients or herbs and few antioxidants. Still a great choice at a great value. Six tablets daily @ cost of about forty cents/day.

4) NSI Low Carb - Sold only at vitacost.com. For those looking for a Low Carb specific orientation, this would probably be a good consideration. In my opinion, better than Atkins, but still not as strong a performer as the three above. Three tablets daily @ cost of about forty cents/day.

Honorable Mentions: Twinlab Dualtabs (recommended by PP; contains iron, ideal multi if you need iron); would have been number three above if it was available w/o iron. Soloray 3 Daily; nice complement of vitamins and minerals; no antioxidants.

This is by no means an exhaustive list and is based solely on my opinions. I have no financial interest at all in any of these companies. Their products just made it to the top of my radar screen. Arm yourself with good solid knowledge in this area, then make your own choices. There is no magic bullet when it comes to supplements...no "one size fits all."

FWIW, there are many low cost supplements out there, but please consider that this is the stuff you are using as fuel for your body. Some vita-mins are assimilated better by the body than others due to their formulation. Remember, value is more than just low cost...it's about the best quality for the best price. Shop around...the web is full of great sites with bargain prices on even the best brands and choices.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings on this subject. Hope this helped someone a little bit.

Ron

LC since 09/01/2003
283/228/180

" Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it." --Horace Mann
"Men don't determine their future. Men determine their habits and their habits determine their future!" -- Mike Murdock

Ron,
Thanks so much, this was a great help! I had been on the fence about Life Essence, but your post just convinced me. You're right, I'm not so concerned about price--though it is definitely a consideration. My main concern is that I get the appropriate vitamins and minerals in the right dosages to make this WOL the most healthful it can be. The other issue for me was having to down all those pills 2-3 times a day! It's been a bit hard for me to keep this up, but if I can take one (maybe two, since I plan to continue the Essential Fatty Acids) pills with each meal, I believe I can be more consistent taking this.

Again, thanks so much! I am grateful for your insight and research. You don't often get posts on this issue here.

Cherub
304/280/160
5'9"
Started Atkins 01/04/04

Cherub,

Life Essence is what I plan on continuing with and I have found them at bodybuilding.com for $32.49 for 240 tablets; a 60 day supply which lowers the cost to 54 cents per day instead of the 90 cents per day cost at the local HFS! They also have what I consider a good value in an EFA product with the NOW Foods brand "Omega 3-6-9" 1,000 mg gels; 100 for $5.98.

BodyBuilding.com

Concerning the EFA's. I took Atkins EFA for several months and they are good. However, I have since done some reading and I am no longer inclined to take EFA's with fish oil in them since there is a risk of contamination with mercury and other toxins. I now prefer to use EFA's blended from vegetable sources. I believe the best would be Udo's Oil Blend, however it is more expensive than I am presently willing to pay. So I have tried to find alternatives. The best value IMHO is the NOW Foods "Omega 3-6-9". The next best would probably be Barlean's Omega Twin.

I have tried consuming the oils applied directly onto foods, however I am not a big fan of the taste, so I use the capsules. It does take several of them but at least I don't test my gag reflex with them. Now if you want to do some interesting reading on this subject here are the two best sites I have found. They are both loaded with tons of great articles, some very in depth and technical, but highly enlightening.

UdoErasmus.com

Barlean's.com

And thanks for responding. This is a great subject in my opinion and I do enjoy reading and researching it. Please feel free to share with me any interesting info you come up with. We can open a Private Topic if you would like or just use e-mail, but I would be glad to share with you in more detail my experiences in this area. It would be great to compare notes here. Thanks.

Have a great LC day,

Ron

LC since 09/01/2003
283/228/180

" Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it." --Horace Mann
"Men don't determine their future. Men determine their habits and their habits determine their future!" -- Mike Murdock

Hi Ron,

I have been so appreciative of your research and input on this subject this week. My sil is a big fan of GNLD (Golden Neo-Life Diamite)vitamins. Do you know anything about this line? Thanks so much for your expertise!

Blessings,
Cindy

"Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I Corinthians 10:31

Ya'll may want to look at this website and do your due diligence. www.reliv.com Look up Reliv Now and you can pull up the ingredients list. 2 scoops is 100% balanced nutrition in a food form, tastes good and is easy. I mix in water w/ a cap of DV syrup for more flavor. Easy, no pills, complete. You will feel the difference. If you research the ingredients you will find that they only use top quality and this company manufactures their own product which insures quality control. I am not a distributor, I get it from my uncle who is. If you like what you see, the site has info on how to order direct from company.

I pay 45.00 for 1 month supply which is cheap when you look at the ingredients and see what I get in every serving.

This works wonders for me. Want you to be aware of it while ya'll check around.

Thanks for the websites, Ron. Interesting story for you: My aunt is 93 years old and in better health than most 40 year olds. A while back, (maybe 10-12 years ago, before I had even heard of DANDR) I asked her how she stayed in such good shape over the years. She told me then, that she never eats sugar, she eats veggies with lunch and dinner, she tries to walk everyday, and she takes cod liver oil (the old-fashioned kind from the bottle--yuk!) and vitamin C every morning before breakfast. Isn't that funny? I hope it's not too late for me!

Cherub
304/280/160
5'9"
Started Atkins 01/04/04