This blog post has not be evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is not recommended to assume its contents are useful medical advice or life advice. Actually, that might be true of this entire website.
I am currently taking 125 calories worth of Vitamins a day, with the option of 20 more calories at night, if needed and/or desired.
Hi, My name is Rachel and I am a voluntary Gummy Vitamin addict.
I’d like to start this session by blaming my husband.
He has always tried to vitamize me, encouraging me to buy myself multivitamins anytime I start getting sick a lot, which has happened often in our marriage. But vitamins are always so gigantic, and I have trouble choking them down, so I would buy a bottle to appease him then take maybe two before giving up and letting them languish in the medicine cabinet.
Then one day he suggested Gummy Vitamins. He may not have, however, realized the extent of my adoration for all things Gummy, nor the full benefits of having gummies that I have justifiable cause to never share with my children. So, after getting completely hooked on multivitamins to the point that I was daily taking double doses and finding myself nauseous and then being in awe that an innocent little gummy could do that to me, I made it my goal to figure out how many different types of Gummy Vitamins I could take without ever overdosing again.
It was actually my annual goal, made on my birthday. Because I turned 33 and it was time for me to have Big Girl Goals.
So, let me introduce you to my current dosing schedule.
Let’s go from left to right.
The tiny, adorable red ones are Vitamin B12. Supposedly they give me a boost of energy and support my metabolism. They’re just little sprites of gummies but have a happy flavor, so they’re a passing sweet treat. However, I am also a fan of 5 Hour Energy*, and I do not recommend taking this vitamin on the same day as using a 5 Hour Energy.
* 5 Hour Energy needs new PR: Despite its gas-station-counter reputation, it’s not what most people think it is, which is like some super duper unhealthy dose of caffeine that Xtreme Sports Enthusiasts take. It does have a small amount of caffeine in it, but it’s mostly a huge shot of Vitamin B. AND IT IS AMAZING. It will make you run like a Puma, have energy like Kelly Ripa, and feel as happy as Larry the Cucumber trying to sing the blues. (And they’re also very tasty – I prefer Pink Lemonade.)
Let’s move on.
The second two vitamins, deliciously crusted in sugar-like crystals that I am sure are infused with all things good for me, are calcium gummies. As one would expect, they have a slightly milky-yet-sweet taste – as if you made Jell-O shots out of coffee creamer. They’re smooth and luscious, and make my bones strong, since I don’t exactly drink much milk.
The third rather nipply-looking vitamins are for Hair, Skin, and Nails. These taste like crap and are slightly sparkling – as if they were once Strawberry Fanta that was left out in the sun too long and then became fossilized and a bit moldy.
The fourth, largest, highest calorie collection are my three Airborne Vitamins. And yes – three is the recommended daily dose! So clearly this is a winning vitamin. But they are sour. It’s like slices of the eggs that Sour Patch Kids are born from. They help my sad immune system as well as adding a robust flavor to my daily collection.
The fifth pair are my Fiber Gummies. Because as I said, I’m a big girl now. They are the most bland of the entire collection and lack a satisfying elasticity, but are not distasteful.
And finally, the sixth pair are my MultiVitamins, which also have an emphasis on Hair, Skin and Nails. At times, I take one of these and one PreNatal Multivitamin, as both seem to help hair and nails in different ways and it’s fun to freak out my husband. And also, the PreNatal ones are so delightfully tasty. Like the smell of newborn baby.
My optional two vitamins are Melatonin, on nights where I’m too extroverted to sleep. The Melatonin Gummies have the most delightful flavor of all of the gummies – they’re sweet and comforting and in every way relaxing, which is exactly how you want your Melatonin to taste.
Don’t they even look cozy?
I have clearly made grand progress on my annual goal, but I am also positive that I can add to my collection as I discover new ways that my body might possibly need more infused fruit snacks.
Because I like to be healthy.
I have problems with gummy addiction, too–especially the sour ones. Red Sour Patch Kids are my ultimate fave, followed by those multicolored sour worms. I’ve actually eaten so many of those in one sitting that I made myself nauseated.
I am a fan of Hair, Skin, and Nail vitamins only. You are right about those Natures Bounty. They taste terrible. I take the CVS brand of Biotin. They are so good. I tried to post a link here for you, but I’m not that techy, and it didn’t work.
5 hour energy should hire you for PR!! I might be trying that stuff very soon. I have never researched or tried it, I always thought it was terrible for you.
I thought 5 Hour Energy was terrible for me, too, until my Pastor said from the pulpit that his doctor told him it was perfectly safe.
I actually LURVE the caffeine-free 5-hour and people think I’m crazy. It has EVEN MORE B!
You could add probiotic gummies and omega gummies!!! Gummies for President! Yay for gummies!!
Hmm, not sure why that posted as a reply to Amanda. Should have been its own post. Guess I was just too excited about gummies. :)
Thank you! I ordered them at your insistence. :-)
Nice! I haven’t seen that. Must find it immediately.
I really need to take more vitamins. I currently don’t take any! I went through a phase where I took a multivitamin, a B12 vitamin, Vitamin D3, and Biotin, but like you said, they’re so hard to swallow, so I stopped taking them. I was going to switch to the gummies, but I’m on a low carb diet, and the gummies I looked at had carbs. (I think they’re usually 1g of carbs each, but when my daily carb goal is less than 20g, those gummies add up!) :)
Also, 5 hour energy = amazing. My boss had some at work one day, and he gave me one. I got so much work done that day!! :)
Thanks for posting this!! I take the Alive for 50+ women and it is okay but it is a honking big pill….I have often wondered about gummy multivitamins but have figured they probably tasted nasty!! NOW – I’m gonna go get some hoping it encourages my hubs and child to take vitamins….thanks!!!
The kids’ gummy vitamin bottle comes with several flavors, but the orange ones never make it to the children. I eat them all. Ditto the orange gummies in the little snack packs. We call it “Mommy Tax.”
The placebo effect is powerful thing. Oh, and 5 hour energy has over 200 mg of caffeine in it, or 2 1/2 cups of coffee, or 5 cans of Coke.. I’m scared to think of what you would consider a LOT of caffeine!
Hmmm…interesting. The label says “it’s not much”, and I believed it, because I am extremely sensitive to caffeine due to my dysautonomia, and I’ve never had a problem with 5 Hour Energy.
I had to do further research.
5 Hour Energy’s website is vague, saying,
“Original 5-hour ENERGY® shots contain caffeine comparable to a cup of the leading premium coffee. Extra Strength 5-hour ENERGY® shots contain caffeine comparable to 12 ounces of the leading premium coffee. Decaf 5-hour ENERGY® shots contain about as much caffeine as a half cup of decaffeinated coffee. Caffeine provides a boost of energy and feeling of heightened alertness.*”
WebMD says 215 mg, which lines up with what you say, but they also say that 8 ounces of Starbucks coffee is 165 mg, so it’s not that far behind that.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20121025/how-much-caffeine-energy-drink
So oh well! I wonder if this will interfere with my placebo effect of not having a reaction to it. :-) In the meantime, I’m going to also try out some decaf 5 Hour Energy, which has 6mg in it!
I take a mega dose of vitamin D for my MS when I remember it but they are tiny little gel capsules. My children take the daily gummy vitamins and my daughter takes the fiber ones as well.
She is very insistent everyday that she has her medicine and now I may understand.
wow, so apparently i should not give my kids gummy vitamins a try! ;) or perhaps i should. when you mentioned your poor immune system, i was expecting to see some vitamin D in there. you really need to add that your to current dosing schedule or look into it. also, perhaps you need a vitamin organizer that our grandparents use ;) my pharmacist cousin-in-law posted this a while ago. http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/vitamin-d-proven-more-effective-than-both-anti-viral-drugs-and-vaccines-at-preventing-the-flu/
I had no idea they made gummy vitamins for adults! When you’ve mentioned it before I thought you were taking your kid’s vitamins. I take “fancy” (aka: expensive) vitamins because they are the only non-drug way to keep my chronic migraines at bay. But I just might have to add in a few yummy vitamins! The ones I take are nasty tasting, and I gag if I use water. Milk works, chocolate milk is the best at disguising flavor. :)
So if your goal is to increase the overall number of gummies each day, what about switching out your multivitamin gummies for however many children’s multivitamin gummies it would take to make up the same dosage? I also adore all things gummy. My son takes the melatonin gummy every night and it is all can do to fork it over and not eat it myself… until I remember he won’t sleep and then I’ll have to stay awake with him, even though I’ve just dosed myself with melatonin.
The kid’s multivitamins STINK – like literally they smell awful.
I’ll stick with mine.
Why have I been so scared of 5 hour energy? I looked last night and it says it contains the same caffeine as 1 cup of coffee!! Vitamin B12 for the WIN! Also, I love the idea of adult gummies! What do you take as a multivitamin/prenatal gummy? I didn’t know they existed!! Yay!!
My favorite brand in all the gummies is Vitafusion. They taste good, and they’re all a little different.