I'm currently on a health kick (due to TE - which is sudden hair loss due to nutrition deficiencies in my case! eek!!) And since multivitamins dont contain enough of each vitamin for me, Im taking about 12-15 different ones to get enough of everything.

I know you should not take minerals together, and always take them w/ some food. I know C and iron go together, and the B's go together - but im confused if anything should definitely NOT be taken together (like if one prevents the other from being absorbed) or if anything is actually bad combined.

Heres the list:

Vit A( beta carotene)
Vit C
Vit E
Coenzyme Q 10
B5
B6
B12
Insotiol
LLysine

GNC Womens Ultra Mega Beauty/Vitality pack (womens multi)
Heres a list of whats in this:
EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) 180 mg
DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) 120 mg
GLA (Gamma-Linolenic Acid)
Biotin 2200 mcg 733%
L-Cysteine 200 mg *
L-Methionine 100 mg *
L-Proline 100 mg
MSM (Methylsulfonyl-methane) 1000 mg
Vitamin A (50% as beta-Carotene; 50% as Retinyl Acetate) 5000 IU 100%
Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid & Calcium Ascorbate) 200 mg 333%
Vitamin D (as Cholecalciferol) 400 IU 100%
Vitamin E (as d-alpha Tocopheryl Acetate) 100 IU 333%
Vitamin K (as Phytonadione) 80 mcg 100%
Thiamin (Vitamin B-1) (as Thiamin Mononitrate) 80 mg 5333%
Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2) 80 mg 4706%
Niacin 35 mg 175%
Vitamin B-6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) 80 mg 4000%
Folic Acid 400 mcg 100%
Vitamin B-12 (as Cyanocobalamin) 80 mcg 1333%
Biotin 300 mcg 100%
Pantothenic Acid (as Calcium d-Pantothenate) 80 mg 800%
Calcium (as Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Citrate Malate, & Dicalcium Phosphate) 500 mg 50%
Magnesium (as Magnesium Oxide) 250 mg 63%
Zinc (as Zinc Oxide) 15 mg 100%
Selenium (as Hydrolyzed Protein Chelate) 200 mcg 286%
Copper (as Copper Glycinate) 2 mg 100%
Manganese (as Manganese Sulfate) 2 mg 100%
Chromium (as Hydrolyzed Protein Chelate & Chromium Picolinate) 120 mcg 100%
Alpha-Lipoic Acid 25 mg *
Choline (as Choline Bitartrate) 10 mg *
Green Tea Leaf Extract (Camellia sinensis) 10 mg *
Cranberry Concentrate (Vaccinium Macrocarpon) 10 mg *
Inositol 10 mg *
Silica 4 mg *
Boron (as Hydrolyzed Protein Chelate) 2 mg *

The stuff im finding online is contradictory about this - im looking though! thanks guys

Actually, it sounds like a great way to improve your nutrition. Right now, I'm taking the Women's ultra mega vitamins from gnc. Is that where you got the beauty pack or what ever. I never heard of the "beauty" ultra mega's. Are they more expensive. I think fish oil may do a good deal for your hair loss too. Although your vitamins contain epa and dha, you may need more. :wave: BTW, are you eating better too?

Its the ultra mega you take but a few other things added - its a little pack of about 6 pills you take one pack a day. go to drugstore.com and look up Ultra Mega Beauty - it will pop up. The problem with taking one multivitamin is you only get small doses of a lot of things........so sometimes you get everything but not nearly enough. If you're healthy thats ok, but if you are focusing on one problem or trying to help one thing, you need the actual supplement by itself........I did the 'hair' research and got about 10 other supplements (listed above lol) and hopefully it will all start to help..........

I hear Cod Oil is great - people are saying even better than fish and flax oil. I know the actual oil is fattening but its good fat, and the capsules are a waste - 10 capsules = 1 tablespoon of the oil, which is the recommended daily amount for women......

Also I find drinking just one full glass of 1 percent milk and one glass of OJ does a lot - calcium and Vit C are so imp. for women........i snack on soybeans as well and carrots - beta carotene is another one great for women.

I cut out pasta, only eat light wheat/grain bread, egg whites, non fat cheese/margerine/skim milk......added a lot of salads/veggies/fish/lean meat.....non fat yogurt is great.......even rice cakes to just munch on rather than chips etc......i drink a glass of low fat vanilla soy milk in the AM to take the vitamins, it does make me feel energized - im noticing a little more energy after 1 month. Also eating organic stuff helps - so much healthier!!!

I know, eating organic makes you feel so much better. It sounds like you eat exactly how I do except the soy. At least how I try to eat LOL. I'll check out those vitamins, thanks!

Miss Diva: You are taking a LOT of stuff. I was like you at one time. I took handfuls. Then one day I looked at my 99 year old grannie who is healthy as a horse and asked her what she ate.

She laughed as she just started eating those Little Debbie snacks and drinking Pepsi.

She has always followed the book, Back To Eden, even though she didn't realize that there was a book that contained the diet that she eats. I have had the book for years and try to follow it. My grannie is 110 pounds and has been her whole life. I am 50 and 110 pounds. I think it is due to genes, diet, stress or lack thereof, and environment.

I follow that book pretty closely. If you eat what is in that book and follow the advice, you will stay thin and healthy. Hair loss is normal unless you are out of balance. There is a great cleansing diet in the book. It is a pretty old book so you can find it anywhere, even at the library. It has great recipies in it also.

I get pretty much everything I need from my food intake but I also make a smoothie each morning. I was having joint problems from an injury. I started making a smoothie each morning out of a cup of fruit (frozen/fresh), soy or rice milk (not vanilla as it is not organic and has white sugar in it), throw in flax seed oil (you can't taste it as it emulsifies), and this stuff that you buy at the health food store called All In One. I buy the rice based formula. It is kinda spendy but not bad compared to all of the stuff that you have to take instead. I could feel the difference within a month.

There is a great part in the book in regards to elimination. I know that my grannie swears by this as a lot of older people do. If you do not have a bowel movement at least three times a day, then you are constipated. This book keeps your system cleaned out.

The entire book is based on good sense. It cuts out all of the additives. I combined this theory with reading the book, This Food is Driving Me Crazy as well as Fast Food Nation.

It takes awhile to get used to eating healthy but once you do, you never look back. And, it is less expensive when you add up the number of times that you don't have to seek medical attention or over the counter drugs. My grannie hasn't seen a doctor in years and years.

Right now is a great time to start as there are so many fresh fruits and veggies that are in season right now. And, you can freeze your favoite ones for your winter smoothies.

You might want to add alittle bee pollen or Royal Jelly.

As for calcium, dark greens are a great way to get them and they are not fattening.