Overview
Taking a daily multivitamin has been thought of as good dietary advice for decades, but has come under some scrutiny with many nutritionists saying that the sort of synthetic vitamins that you get in Centrum are almost useless, don’t get absorbed by the body, and can even be harmful. They suggest getting your vitamins and minerals from foods, or using a whole food supplement instead, because then at least the vitamins are coming from actual food sources.
The Claim
A GNC Vitapak seems like it would be a good idea, since you’re getting a concoction of several different pills that should work synergistically to give you your vitamins for the day, plus an added boost of whatever it is you’re going for. The more intense Vitapaks have more claims, for example the AMP Ripped version says that it helps regular excess water, and helps you burn 12 times more calories.
The Hype
We all know we should eat our vegetables, but when we don’t or can’t we tend to think we have an out with things like vitamins and supplements. But these are no substitutes for good food, they’re meant to supplement a proper diet, meaning to go along with it and fill in any gaps. But some gaps are too big, and could never be filled by a small handful of pills. That’s why these should never be thought of as a lifeline, but rather another tool to help you live an overall healthy life.
The Cost
You can get a GNC Vitapak with a 30 day supply of packets for $40. When you consider that this is basically a vitamin stack, and buying the different elements separately would be much more expensive, it doesn’t seem like too much for your daily vitamin needs.
The Commitment
All that’s required on your part is to swallow the pills each day, and follow it up with a lifestyle that fits what the package is for. For example, if you’re taking the one formulated for an active person, you want to do your best to be active. If you’re taking the VitaPak that is supposed to pump you up, you’ll want to make sure to hit the gym and lift intensely. Also, it’s not a bad idea to see a nutritionist just once to have them recommend what sort of supplementation you should be taking, based on your specific needs and goals.
Evaluation
GNC Vitapaks are each specially formulated, either for men and women, and from there they can be tailored to help you achieve a goal or to your lifestyle. If you’re older there are packs that are meant for the over 50 crowd, and if you’ve got joint pain they’ve got packs for that. If you’re going to take one you should browse through all of their different offerings so that you match yourself up to the best one for your situation.
No One Size Fits All
It’s good to customize your supplements as much as you can because it doesn’t make sense to take extra nutrients your body doesn’t need. You should also think that you only want to take the minimum necessary to produce the results that you want. Any extra vitamins and minerals will just be excessive and your body will be tasked with filtering them out and expelling them from your body. Even simple daily vitamins have gotten more and more specific as to what they’re designed to help with, so it’s always a good idea to take the most relevant vitamins possible.
The GNC Vitapak will appeal to those that are currently taking
multiple pills and are looking for a way to make things easier with less thought process going into it. However, if you’re currently taking something like a one-a-day you might not want to move to these. If you’re taking synthetic vitamins you should first switch to a whole food daily vitamin and see if that gives you a better bang for your buck.Our Recommendation
While it may seem like you’re doing yourself a favor here by loading up on vitamins and other supplements, it’s best not to get into the mentality that you can just pop pills for your nutrition and vitamins. Supplements can be helpful, but they shouldn’t take the place of real, healthy foods that are full of vitamins and good things for us. By taking so many pills at once you may start to feel that this is all you need to do in order to live a healthy lifestyle.
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View Comments
I use the vitamin pass from GNC for exercise, joint pain, and appetite control, and they help tremendously. However, I really crash, when I forget to take them. You really learn how well something has been workin for you when you STOP using it!
I buy these when the price has been lowered to get rid of inventory that is close to expiring.
I don't particularly enjoy eating fruits and I hate vegetables. Another thing about me is that I tend eat out a lot and I'm mostly eating meat and I'm afraid my vitamin consumption is pretty low compared to a normal person. One thing that I do right is to exercise 6 days a week, but I still feel tired often and my skin looks very unhealthy. I think it has to do something to do with vitamin deficiencies and since I don't really want to eat more fruits or veges than I'm already eating, hopefully GNC Vitapak will do the trick for me.
Andrew - 3 years later but in case anyone else sees it. I'm in the same boat as you where I don't like eating too many fruits and really hate vegetables. I think it's a mental thing personally but I really struggle to get them down. I do think the pills will help but it's not a great solution to completely replace real food. Although still not the best solution I've found making some veggie shakes helps out some. I usually experiment with various veggies combined with a fruit or two and some juice to make the taste tolerable.
I have a good one with Kale then also with some fruits (usually berries) and with avocados. I'm sure you can mix it with a lowfat yogurt and some juice. I found a little OJ and raspberry juice helped offset the taste of the kale. Just play with it and get the right flavor and consistency and then write it down when you find a combo you like.