Vitamins

[Guest someone or other]

I am curious as to what other folks' opinions on the gendered marketing of vitamins are. I was buying some the other day, and an employee tried to direct me to this section of the store that had vitamins divided into "men's" and "women's," and I had to ask him if there were any vitamins that were just for people. Fortunately, he was not too weirded out by that question, and actually told me that was the kind he took, as well. The reason I mention that is that you would assume that someone who works at a vitamin store knows what the best vitamins to take are, and if those are the ones that are not marketed as "men's" or "women's," it sort of begs the question as to why vitamins are divided that way at all. I would be curious to compare the labels and see what the difference even is. Maybe I'm just rambling, but how do you decide what vitamins to take? Am I the only one this bothered by this stupid, gendered marketing ploy?

[Carolyn Marie]

I'm certainly no expert on vitamins, but from what I've read, there are certain vitamins that are more important for one gender to have lots of than others.

Calcium, for example, is more important for women due to osteoporosis, but even then the daily recommended intake isn't that much different between genders.

Mostly, I believe its a marketing ploy, based on an exaggerated medical need. But that's just cynical old me.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Actually I was told by my OBGyn that calcium in vitamin form is useless for osteoporosis, that only calcium from dietary sources are of any use.

The monthly bleeding a woman experiences makes some vitamin companies add iron to a woman's multivitamin.

But compare the ingredients listed - multivitamins for men and for women, that tells the story.

Also - beware claims of 'natural' estrogen-like supplements, usually touting postmenopausal women as the most likely to benefit. They are not effective.

That's all I have found in my research.

Lizzy

[Guest Chloe Renee]

Last year my wife bought us "gender specific" vitamins. We compared them side by side and the only thing different was the calcium and iron levels. We were taking pre natal vitamins, since we had a ton of them. Now we go with whatever is on sale.

[Guest Miss_Construe]

In my experience unless you are performing specific types of strenuous exercise or have specific stresses applied to your body (and/ or mind) on a regular bases the requirements should be similar.