I am day 16 of Induction. I find that this WOL is geting easier all the time!

My concern is that Dr Atkins book says to take a multi without iron. I have 2 bottles of good vitamins but they have iron.I would like to take them before buying more. For what reason should we not be taking the iron? I am also experiencing mild leg cramps in my calfs almost all day long. They are not painful, but they are almost always there. If they don't bother me much, is it safe to ignore them?

Thanks for the support! I lurk on a daily basis and can almost always find answers by just reading everyone elses posts and replys.

Joy

Hi Sheaman:

Both Atkins and the Eades don't recommend iron supplements. Like many things, you can have too much or too little. Too much causes free radical oxidation, contributing to hardening of the arteries, heart disease and cancer.

Iron cannot "generally" be excreted from our bodies except through blood loss. In fact, iron loss through menstruation is suspected to give women the low risk of coronary heart disease, not estrogen. This is evidenced by intact ovaries after hysterectomy increasing a woman's risk of heart disease. In fact, the Eades recommend regular blood donations for added health benefits. They have a fabulous chapter on Iron in PPLP.

According to Atkins, there are two types of iron:
1) Heme iron, which is natural and organic and doesn't build up in your body. Only 2 mg of heme iron can be absorbed by the body during a meal.
2) Non-heme iron which is synthetic and inorganic. This is the type found in most supplements and fortified foods. The body can absorb as much as 20 mg of non-heme iron at any one time.

So, the decision is yours to make.

As for the leg cramps, make sure you are taking enough potassium and magnesium. Check out the Hotlinks sticky in the Newbies section. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=28939

Wanda

I'm so glad you asked this question! I also have a multivitamin with iron which I was going to start taking when my Atkins Basic #3 was gone, but I've decided to get another multi without iron. Heart disease runs in my family and that's the last thing I need to be contributing to!

As for leg cramps (mine were extremely painful), I used to have them in my calves almost daily, but since I've started taking magnesium and pottasium (through Mortons lite salt), it totally stopped.