I take a shit ton of vitamins....

Here's an upload of my allergy list.

 To my surprise not all vitamins can be taken at once.  There are some pretty specific directions on when to take a vitamin or what to take it with to ensure the body absorbs it correctly.  If you know me well you know you probably know from first hand knowledge that I'm not a directions reader and when I'm being given physical directions I'm probably zoning out even though I sound like I'm writing the shit down.  Luckily for me I can usually just google the directions and never have to admit that I was never really paying attention - why I don't just stop them and ask for an address I'll never be completely sure.  With assembly or vitamin directions, though, I tend to jump without looking.  Sure, it's a gamble.  Some times it works out and other times it's a giant, fucking disaster. In fact, most times I'm jumping into something I have limited knowledge with - like attaching spring hinges on a hutch - and the disaster is most assuredly epically shittastic.  And I manage to do it way more often than I'd like to admit because sometimes it does work out and those few times make it all worth it.

I've decided to just Google "when is the best time to take...." and have been going from there.  Again, to my surprise, I've been taking a few of my vitamins incorrectly.  Ummm, for a few years.  This time, though, Imma do it right.  For one, now that I'm on my rotation diet my body seems to respond more efficiently to the vitamins.  For two, I spend way too much money on vitamins to not be using them correctly.  For three, as a well educated person I should just know better.  If this was just a simple Flintstones multivitamin I probably wouldn't be as committed to educating myself.

When I first found out what vitamins I needed to take I didn't completely think it through before I started ordering using a best value strategy.  With Puritan's Pride massive sales - buy 2 get 241 free!!! - I thought I was doing good by getting so many of my vitamins in one place at such great prices.  Though, I had so may vitamins it looked like I was part of a vitamin pyramid scheme and bought way more than I would ever be able to actually sell.  AFTER THE FACT, I realized most of the vitamins I'd purchased and had already begun using contained ingredients that I was allergic to.  For instance, most gelatin capsules are made from gelatin - otherwise known as animal jelly from the innards of bovine or piggies, blechhhh - and even stupid veggie capsules can be off limits if they're made out of soy.  So I started looking for dry forms of vitamins if I couldn't find them in gel or capsule form made out of aloe or some other material I wasn't allergic to.  If they didn't have a dry version I tried to find an oil version.  Unsure about which oil was the "best" I checked online chat boards and comments sections which, typically, confused me even more.

I finally came to the realization that concessions were going to have to be made after spending countless hours trying to find vitamins in forms that just didn't exist.  I even called my allergist to find out what I should do about getting my Omegas because all I was really finding was fish oil that contained fish I was allergic to or contained lemon, gelatin, or even soy.  My allergist didn't give me any magic advice and pretty much agreed that I was just going to have to try to get by with what's available.

Then I found out about bioavailability and food based vitamins and I realized I needed to rethink my buying strategy yet again.  Luckily using a number of variables like the bioavailability factor, being food based, and price, I've finally found a grouping of vitamins that come from respectable companies and they seem to be working their own kind of magic.  I'll post what vitamins I take in another post because there are a lot and I've got a schedule for taking them.  This process gets a little more complicated with each layer of the onion that gets peeled away, though, every time I make a discovery or find some new piece of useful advice I am glad that I've been given the opportunity to make my body that much healthier.


L-Tyrosine should be taken on an empty stomach.  Depending on how much is prescribed - I'm currently supposed to take 500 mg per day - the easiest time is first thing in the morning.

Vitamin A, E, D and K are all fat soluble and so need to be eaten with fatty meals.  My bfasts don't usually have that much fat which means I have to stagger my giant fistful of vitamins in the morning.