If you’re here then you’ve probably Google’d about: vitamins and upset stomach.
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If this sounds familiar, there are a few possible reasons why this could be happening. People with these conditions might be even more likely to have upset stomach, diarrhea, reflux or nausea from taking vitamins – especially ones that contain calcium, vitamin C or iron, which are more likely than others to irritate the stomach lining.
Tips to skip the stomach ache
DO take vitamins with food. “Taking them with food enhances the body’s ability to absorb the vitamins and decreases your risk of experiencing nausea and upset stomach,” Dr. Lee says. “It’ll just slosh around in your stomach and induce gastric acid production,” Dr. Lee points out.
Do try easy-to-digest formats. Tablets tend to be harder to digest due to the binding agent used to hold them together, Dr. Lee explains. Dissolvable, chewable, powder or gummy vitamins tend to be easier to digest.
Do reduce your dose size. If you take several vitamins each day, try taking half with breakfast and half with dinner. Do eat a diet rich in vitamins.
Dr. Lee advises getting as much of your vitamins naturally through food as possible. Shellfish, legumes, red meat and pumpkin seeds have ample amounts of iron. Taking too much of some vitamins can make you feel sick, so you don’t want to overdo it with supplement.
Digestive Issues Caused By Supplements
An October 2015 study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that abdominal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, were frequently associated with products that contain iron or potassium. Vitamin C in high doses is a prime culprit here, as the vitamin is naturally acidic (it’s chemical name is ascorbic acid). This seems to fit with human research done some years ago and published in the January 2006 issue of Advanced Therapy, which compared the experiences of 50 people who took 1,000 milligrams of ascorbic aid or the same dose of Ester-C, which is a commercial ascorbate preparation.
Fewer people reported heartburn-type symptoms with Ester-C than with ascorbic acid.
How To Stomach Iron
However, the extended-release form of ferrous sulfate is much better tolerated, according to an April 2013 review in Current Medical Research and Opinion.
A March 2019 study in the European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology found that amino acid chelated iron was also a better-tolerated form of iron. For example vitamin D can be a concern among breast-fed babies, requiring that infants be given a vitamin-drop supplement, while adolescent girls might need additional iron.
Whether an older individual or a child, people of all ages can have vitamins and minerals upset their stomachs. A February 2015 study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that the level of fat-soluble vitamin D peaked 32 percent higher in the blood plasma of 50 people consuming fat-containing, rather than fat-free, meals.
Supplements: Check The Dose
“It’s pretty hard to overdo it from food alone,” says Johanna Dwyer, RD, a senior research scientist with the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements.
So you’ll want to think about the supplements you take and fortified foods or drinks. “Most people don’t realize there’s no real advantage to taking more than the recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals, and they don’t recognize there may be disadvantages,” Dwyer says. (Daily value is the amount of a vitamin or nutrient that a person should get for optimum health.).
Talk with your doctor about any supplements you’re taking, including vitamins and minerals, and the dose you’re taking, too. “If you’re taking a basic multivitamin, there’s no need to fear taking too much,” says Andrew Shao, PhD, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group for the supplements industry.