Vitamin Info

[Gwen]

Hello everyone,

I have a question and hopefully someone can offer some insight. I recently purchased a bottle of Silica capsules, and it says to take 2 daily with food. Each capsule contains 10mg of Silica and 0.35mg of Zinc. I'm currently taking a multi-vitamin (Centrum, which contains a bit of biotin and zinc), as well as a vitamin for hair, skin and nails (which also contains biotin, as well as silica). Is it safe to take all three (the Centrum, Silica capsules, and hair\skin\nails)?

Thanks,
Gwen

[Panth]

Check on the back of the bottles - they may have an RDA (recommended daily allowance) for each of the constituents of the vitamin tablet. That can give you a guide. One of the major ones you do not want to take more than 100% of your RDA of is vitamin A.

Personally, without any more info, I would say that you could take the Silica and *one* of either the Multivitamin OR the Hair & Nails one. Hair & Nails-type vitamin tablets are usually a type of specialist multivitamin so you don't need to take them as well as a generic multivitamin - chose one or the other. But, when you run out of whichever one you chose then you can finish off the bottle of the other before buying any more multivitamins.

[Firefox7275]

The RDA is the minimum requirement for health, not the maximum. That is not to say that it is cannot be harmful or a complete waste of money to massively exceed that plus you have not taken your dietary intake into consideration. Nutritional advice is part of what I do for a living and only occasionally do I recommend clients use supplements - micro-nutrients work synergistically or in opposition, they also work in harmony with a host of other phytonutrients which only come from fresh or carefully preserved foods.

I know this sounds like playing semantics, but zinc and silica are not vitamins they are minerals. Biotin is a B vitamin, it's water soluble so you are just making expensive urine if you take a high dose! Is Centrum a multi-vitamin or multi-vitamin and mineral and does it claim to be complete? Have you overhauled your diet to meet or exceed official guidelines? Why do you think you need double doses of silica and biotin?