Vita-Success!

Alright, so I have seemingly solved my vitamin issue. I’ve been taking them for two days now, and I haven’t had any stomach issues, and as far as taste/tablet size is concerned, I think I’m in the clear.

Although, I did have a momentary “Ewww, WTF?!” moment when I took my first Vitamin C tablet, because within half a second of placing it on my tongue, I could taste a tangy/sour/bitter flavor, which I hadn’t been expecting. I now know to be really ready with my glass of water/juice to wash that sucker down quickly. Lesson learned.

Anyway, here is my lovely new stash of vitamins:

Let’s start with the multivitamin. I searched high and low on the shelves at three stores, but could not find anything that wasn’t the size of a gumball. So, I followed the advice so many of you left me and started shopping for gummy vitamins.

At Target, I found the ones supposedly specified for adults, and was about to buy those. I was a bit pissed at the cost of them ($6 for 70 gummies, which would only last me 35 days). And of course, no generic. But I did see a generic for the children’s gummy vitamins instead. I compared the nutrition information side by side, and well, wouldn’t you know it–they were VERY similar, despite one being marketed for children, and the other for adults. (Check out the nutrition facts for Target here (they are identical to this brand), and the adult ones here.)

And the Target gummies? Only $8 for 190 of them. And they are DELICIOUS! It’s certainly the most pleasant tasting vitamin I’ve ever encountered. I still have to take two (or maybe even three), but the bottle will last me between 60-90 days. In all of the nutritional areas where the children’s vitamins fall short, I’m pretty sure I pick up what I need just from the foods I eat. EXCEPT in a few key places, which I’ll discuss next.

Calcium. This is something I planned on taking above and beyond my multivitamin, anyway. I happened to stumble upon a calcium tablet that was not a horse pill at Target last night, so I snatched them up. I’m now taking two of these babies a day (one in the morning with breakfast, one at night with dinner).

Folic acid. Such a tiny, tiny pill. I love it. And these were CHEAP, too! Taking one of these per day to supplement what is also in the gummy vitamins.

Vitamin C. Right now, there are illnesses circling my office that I am determined not to catch. I probably won’t take these every day all year ’round, but with nasty bugs going around, I figure my immune system could use an extra boost. The ones I picked up are a fine size, not much bigger than a Tylenol caplet, so no problems there.

I promised I would report back, so there you have it. Hopefully this can help some of you other vita-phobes!