Flintstone Vitamins & Constipation Possible?

Hi M.,

Flintstone vitamins are worthless and could even be considered dangerous because of the free radical activity they create. They could definitely cause constipation. Anything you pick up at Walmart or a similar place is considered a "drug store" grade and it's simply better to go without. I can recommend one or you can go to the health store that sells pharmaceutical grade supplements. Avoid GNC. Vitamin Shoppe is pharmaceutical grade store and is a national chain.

Extra water is always needed when you add additional nutrition no matter which brand you choose.

Hope this helps.

M.

Multi-vitamins are a waste of money in most cases. They even have warning labels on them - keep out of reach of children! Yes, they cause constipation in many kids. Don't know why your pedi recommended them since most doctors will say that they are just making "expensive urine" since most of the nutrition is eliminated. Frankly, you don't know anything about those vitamins - many U.S. companies have outsourced their production to other countries and the pills come in contact with many hands. Also, different forms of wax and even shellac are used to get the pills to pop out of their molds during manufacture. If you want to give me your email address, I can send you some info from the Physicians Desk Reference to document this.

Most doctors did not take even one nutrition course in medical school so they really don't have a lot of info on this subject - so they often don't make the best recommendations!

Also, vitamins are made to be taken in conjunction with other vitamins, minerals, trace elements, phyto-nutrients (plant based), amino acids, etc. Taking something (e.g. vitamin B) in isolation or in an unbalanced formula can make it virtually useless - it's not going to work without the other components/partner elements it needs.

I am a nutritional consultant and I have worked with many, many people who have constipation and constipated children. There is a safe supplement you can use that will eliminate this problem and I would be happy to help you with it. It's not a pill - it's a delicious vanilla or chocolate powdered supplement that mixes with any liquid she's drinking. It's used all over the world with severely compromised kids as well as by healthy kids here to keep them healthy. I have no doubt that it will help strengthen her nails as many people have reported success with this as well. I'd be happy to share more info with you.

Assuming it is constipation and nothing else:
Does the vitamin have much iron? Iron can be constipating. Try to offset her constipation with water and more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (i.e. fiber). If that doesn't help, bring the vitamin bottle into the doctor for advice. Good luck!

I always look for multi-vitamins WITHOUT iron because of the potential issue of constipation.

I have to take large amounts of vitamin B and actually it helped my chronic constipation, I would guess the issue is the iron like everyone else said.

I will not use drug store vitamins. A lot of them are not digested and just end up coming out the other end. Also too much sugar. Avoid products with sugar substitutes like aspartame. Water is very important especially when it is so dry this time of year.

Do they have iron? Iron supplements can cause constipation.

I would get a strict Vit. B supplement if that's what she needs. Too much iron will cause constipation and multi-vitamins have iron. Better yet, why not adjust her diet to get the nutrients she needs the way the body was meant to absorb them? Cereals are high in Vitamin B. Others include: beef, tuna, oats, turkey, bananas (an amazing fruit!), potatoes and avocados.