Sept. 12--As a former athlete, Debra Garcia is a firm believer in multivitamins -- although like most other people, she doesn't think they are in any way a replacement for eating good foods.
The West Side mother of two active teenage boys says the biggest challenge is guiding her family through piles of nutritional information about multivitamins. Plowing through all that information to select the right multivitamin can be overwhelming.
"There are as many questions about multivitamins as there choices in the marketplace," Garcia said, standing in front of a row of colorful bottles. "My boys are growing and are excelling in basketball and football in middle school. Sometimes we don't have the chance to eat properly, so the multivitamins help."
The use of vitamin supplements is rising, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics.
The report estimates the use of dietary supplements for specific population groups over time, as well as estimates of specific nutrients consumed through supplements.
From 1988 to 2006, the use of dietary supplements has increased among U.S. adults.
From 1988 to 1994, 42 percent of adults took supplements. From 2003 to 2006, 53 percent did. Supplement use has increased among women, according to the report.
"When I was younger and in my 20s, I was committed to running and I would make sure my diet included a lot of vitamins and minerals," Eastsider Javier Torres said. "But as age crept in, and the responsibilities
of managing a career, and later a wife and family, my eating habits and workout routine went totally out of whack."
Now 45, Torres has traded his multiple trips to fast-food joints for multivitamins. "I started to feel run-down recently," Torres said. "I started to run again, which helps, but I need that extra something.
"It's more mental than anything for me."
The Nutrition Business Journal estimates that the multivitamin industry had sales of $4.8 billion in 2009.
The multibillion-dollar question: Are multivitamins really essential for general health and well-being?
"It's a good insurance plan for your body," said Jessica Levinson, a registered dietitian.
"I always recommend that most nutrients should come from food first. That's most ideal -- but we don't live in an ideal world, so not everybody is going to get all the nutrients that they need from food. Not everybody has access to fruits and vegetables all year round, and not everyone has time to cook for themselves, so they go out and eat."
She said taking a multivitamin is a good way to supplement what you're eating.
"Vitamins and minerals help support your body functions, so without them, your body can't do everything it needs to do," she said. "Especially for kids who are growing -- if they're not taking in everything they need from food, the best way they can make sure that they are getting what they need to support their growth is through multis."
Before buying multivitamins, Levinson recommends, people should check with their primary care doctor or a registered dietitian.
"Every person is an individual and needs specific things for themselves. That's why it's a good idea to look for a multi that is specific to that person," she said.
Multivitamins are on the market for children, teenagers, men and women younger than or older than 50, pregnant women and the elderly. There are even multivitamins for dogs.
"I would recommend the specially formulated multis like Centrum Silver for men and women over the age of 50," Levinson said. "Looking for specially formulated ones is a really good idea. You know what your body needs better than anyone else."
Some multivitamins are designed for bodybuilders and weightlifters. But that group does not have a lock on the need for vitamins.
"It's not just big, heavy lifters anymore," said Marino Salazar, the sales manager at Supplement Xpress, 5200 N. Mesa and 12135 Montwood. "We have ordinary people who just want to work out coming in and asking for them."
He said multivitamins are very important for building muscle.
"If you have a good multivitamin, that's going to help you out, that's how your body gets into form to start building your muscle," he said. "Even if you don't work out, it's important to take vitamins, have a well-balanced diet, drink a lot of water and cut back on fatty foods."
Salazar said popular multivitamins for bodybuilders include Dymatize, Anavite from Gaspari and Animal Pak.
"We have some that are just designed for women," he said. "But the one from Gaspari, Anavite, that's more designed for everyday people. This one is specially made and has everything your body needs per day. It doesn't have anything more or anything less."
ConsumerLab.com, a leading provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition, released the results of its annual Survey of Vitamin and Supplement Users in February.
"We surveyed more than 100,000 people who use our newsletter and website, and we asked them what they are using. And we've seen multivitamin use the second most popular supplement behind fish oils," Dr. Tod Cooperman, the president of ConsumerLab.com, said by telephone from New York.
"Multivitamins are a cover-all. I hear people say all the time that they're not eating right and they want to be covered when it comes to vitamins and minerals."
"A good multivitamin does not have to be expensive," Cooperman said. "There are some very good products that we've found that cost only a few pennies a day.
"On the other end of the spectrum, you could spend well over a dollar or two a day for a premium product whose ingredients may be no better or have no extra value for you."
Victor R. Martinez may be reached at vmartinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6128.
Choosing a multivitamin
The easy part is deciding that a daily multivitamin is right for you; the challenge is selecting one from among the hundreds that line the drugstore shelves.
Webmed.com suggests that before you buy, do some comparison shopping. Take along your reading glasses, and take a few minutes to review the percent of daily values (DV) for each nutrient the supplement contains.
To find the least expensive multivitamin supplement that still provides all the vitamins and minerals you need, keep these tips in mind:
-- Avoid supplements that provide more than 100 percent of the daily value (DV) for any vitamin or mineral.
-- Choose a supplement with no more than 3,000 or 3,500 International Units (IUs) of retinol or vitamin A.
-- Men and postmenopausal women should choose multivitamins with 50 percent or less of the DV for iron.
-- Don't expect to find 100 percent of the DV for calcium or magnesium in a multivitamin. Adding these would make the pills very large.
-- Look for the USP (United States Pharmacopeia) symbol, a mark of a quality product.
-- Most additives, such as herbs, are unnecessary and just drive up the price of the supplement.
-- Supplements designed for certain age groups or sexes tend to be pricier. You can usually find a similar formula in a generic brand.
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