Yes, the softeners are pretty benign.

I personally find avocados in the diet, very useful too!
(moderation of course, because of the calories).

Avocados slow stomach emptying and are good for diabetics.

I tried the epsom salts, which would offer the magnesium plus the gentle warming, but it didn't seem to work so well on the cramps.

Thanks for the response, mrsD!

Hi, I'm new here. Here's my situation:

I'm currently on a basic workout regime. This introduced me to the need of multivitamins and minerals, plus antioxidants. So, i'm currently on the look for good a multivitamin. I've been doing some readings, and there are a few things I need clarification with.

1. Oxide form of minerals is said to be low in absorption. This includes magnesium and zinc. However, most multivitamin brand is made of oxide form of the minerals. Fine. But some of them has "timed-release" statement on the bottle. Does that mean they purposely have the oxide form of the minerals so that it can be absorbed in slow release throughout the day? (these supplements usually is a one tablet perday kind) I am having my eye on the GNC Mega Men Timed Release multivitamin, mostly because it has the essential vitamin, minerals and antioxidant for men who is trying to build muscle mass. However, the Mg and Zn, plus the calcium and the selenium is said to be low in quality and have low absorption rate.

2. I live in Malaysia, so some of the supplements product that have been mentioned may not be available here. Can anyone recommend a good multivitamin for men who is on muscle building regime? I'm currently taking the USANA Essentials (Chelated Minerals & Antioxidants). Is there any other multis that are good?

Thanks.

I believe that zinc oxide, is absorbable.
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/5/1102.full

There is really no reason to use extended release vitamins.
I think that moniker is used when the inert matrix contains, bran or other things that may slow down absorption.

Vit C is sometimes better used as a delayed release, because it is flushed out so quickly by the kidneys. Some 500mg doses are offered this way. But other vitamins really don't need delayed release. Magnesium may be more easily tolerated in delayed release by those sensitive to its laxative potential.

I looked your product up and it seems fine to me.

Thanks mrsD!

Anyway, some more clarification queries from me:

1. So, in the GNC Mega Men multi that I mentioned before (tried to post a link to the product, but my post count must be ** to post a link),
with Mg Oxide being the Mg form in the multi, and with it being 'timed-release', does that mean since Mg Oxide is low in absorption, the Mg Oxide is being absorbed slowly for it to last for a long time in a day (which may have been the intent of GNC from start)?

2. When you say "I looked your product up and it seems fine to me", did you mean the 'GNC Mega Men Timed Release multivitamin' or the 'USANA Essentials (Chelated Minerals & Antioxidants)'? I know the Usana one is good because the minerals are all in chelated forms, but how about the GNC ones?

3. I had a browse in the supplements section of a pharmacy nearby my work yesterday, and found out that some of the multivitamin that have Mg Oxide as the Mg form has the added statement like this: "Magnesium Oxide (60% elemental Mg)". So, does that mean it is a "good form" of Mg Oxide?

On a different note, I found out some good multivitamin brands like the the Pure Essence Lab Multi-Vita-Min has Mg Citrate+Mg Oxide as the Mg form. I reckon the Mg Oxide is meant for constipation prevention? No?

Cheers!

Did you read the early part of this thread? It explains why magnesium oxide is not desirable. Magnesium oxide is CHEMICALLY high in ratio for mag...only it is so tightly bound up with oxygen it is not released for absorption. It has the lowest rate of absorption of all the mags. This was found out in studies finally. But historically it remains hanging around and many medical texts still recommend it. It is also very cheap. High dose magnesium in a chelate has more weight and volume and makes tablets LARGER. People then won't take them etc. So they still put that oxide out there...don't count on absorbing more than a few milligrams of the oxide form, if at all.

I am not a fan of GNC...their products typically are very expensive and not nearly as nice as the USANA one you are using.

Magnesium oxide is NOT absorbed...it is a laxative in US.

I think the USANA you are using has a good formula.

The tumeric in the USANA product and most other mixtures is not bioavailable either. In order to get absorption of tumeric or curcumin there has to be chemical manipulation to enhance it.
This is done by solubilizing it in an oil, making micelles or lipsomes of it or by adding bioperine. Your product has neither.
Same goes for CoQ-10 in mixtures. To get therapeutic use of tumeric one needs very high doses. A typical curcumin product is 500mg of enhance solubility.

However, the tumeric is not crucial to your needs either, so its limited potential is not important for you at this time.

When you work out, you need a bit more B6 than most vitamins put in there, and yours has 16mg. So that is good.

Finding a good combination product is difficult. The USANA seems quite professional.

Some people who work out find that acetyl carnitine helps with muscle energy production. You might want to investigate that as a helper. It is useful for those who have alot of lactic acid build up in muscles. But many people don't need to use it, and others find it helpful. Rather trial and error.

Another helpful aid is Whey protein. Having a Whey protein supplement (some say with extra glutamine) can really improve lean muscle mass quickly.

But those two things are not needed for everyone doing exercise. The older person, may find them helpful, for improving exercise tolerance.

Thanks a lot again mrsD. You have been very helpful..!

So, I'm thinking I bought the wrong stuff Mrs. D. I got Nature's Bounty..Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc..the label says:

Vit D3: 600 IU (as cholecalciferol)
Calcium (as calcium carbonate and calcuim gluconate 1000mg)
Magnesium (as magnesuim oxide and magnesuim gluconate 400mg)
Zinc (as zinc gluconate and zinc citrate 25mg)
Sodium 10mg.

Says to take one 3x a day.

Sounds like I got the wrong stuff though...I wish I could remember to take my notes with me to the store. Nature Bounty is a very good gluten free brand.

They may be good in general...but most of the combo products have the oxide in them because it is convenient, cheap, and makes for a smaller pill. When listed with another form like yours has, you can assume it is mostly all oxide. The gluconate makes for very large pills.

You can still use yours...it is very low in D3 BTW.

Think about getting a topical magnesium since you are sensitive to gluten contamination. Kirkman brand listed in the beginning of this thread is 100mg of magnesium / gram of cream.

I am considering this myself, since I am going to start taking metformin again, and that totally upsets my GI tract. So taking any mag for me orally will just be agony. So I am going to try a topical one, soon.

Is this what we are talking about here:

http://shop.usana.com/shop/cart/Prod...tID=101.010199

or this

http://shop.usana.com/shop/cart/Prod...tID=103.010102

?


Thanks!