OTC Viagra for men and women - or is it? (Roche Supradyn Recharge)

Member Name: sue.51

Product:	Roche Supradyn Recharge
Date:	17/02/02 (2567 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Give you a lift

Disadvantages: Can get too much of a bad thing, Horrible taste, Quite expensive

Feeling rather lethargic from the effects of a rough wet winter, which typically leaves me feeling bad, but this year, worse than usual. I think a combination of memory of last January events and exams in subjects I really didn’t like, but I knew I needed a lift, and where better to get it than browsing the internet during the grisly British weekend weather and here I read about Supradyn, manufactured by Roche, probably better known to most people for their development their popular Vitamin C effervescent tablets in every sweet flavor under the sun.

This product is packed with vitamins and minerals and designed to give you a lift when times are hard, you are under stress or dieting. They apparently contain a combination that works effectively in releasing stored up energy, during the times as many of you probably know, you don’t eat properly, you smoke too much (if applicable) and often drink too much as well, all factors which can help destroy your normal system make-up, so what are these little gems?

They are effervescent tablets that can be bought in packs of 10, and also I believe 30’s and 60’s, although as with most things, the more you buy they cheaper they become - I purchased 10 from my local Boots store for £2.89, the store works out the price per tablet (not rocket science when buying 10) but for the larger packs, the per tablet price is around 19.3p a big saving if you are taking this on a regular basis. I would recommend trying out the small pack first to see how you get on with them.

The tablets should be dissolved in a glass of water, where they make a sweet tasting rather thick drink that resembled freshly squeezed orange juice to look at - I have read others saying it tasted pleasant, I found it rather cloying and I must admit rather coppery, you certainly knew you were drinking vitamins. Also, I made the fatal mistake of taking a tablet on an empty stomach one morning and felt worse than if I had
done the same thing with two full strength aspirins, so advice use with caution in such circumstances.

The tablets also contain a source of Phenylanaline which I personally am hypersensitive to, although I guess it is very small as they have not had the typical dry mouth and faint feeling that diet drinks leave me with.

SO WHAT DO THEY CONTAIN & HOW MUCH?

100% OF RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE (RDA)
· Vitamin A
· Vitamin D3
· Vitamin E

THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:
If you are taking prolonged doses of vitamin A - you can suffer from headaches, nausea, diarrhea, dry itchy skin, hair loss and loss of appetite. It can also cause fatigue and irregular menstruation (ladies), rarely bone pain, and enlargement of the liver and spleen can occur. Excessive intake of Vitamin A in pregnant women can cause birth defects.
Prolonged use of Vitamin D can lead to abnormal calcium deposits in the soft tissue and blood vessel walls.
Large doses of Vitamin E (250mg daily) may lead to nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea and may reduce the amount Vitamins A, D and K absorbed.

300% OF RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE
· Vitamin C
· Thiamin (B1)
· Riboflavin (B2)
· Niacin
· Vitamin B6
· Folic Acid
· Vitamin B12
· Biotin
· Pantothenic Acid

THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:
Why 300% you may ask? With the exception of Vitamin C, all the above can be found in Brewers Yeast tablets, and ALL (incl Vit. C) of them are water soluble, therefore if your body does not use it, it merely excretes it through the urine. At times of stress, your body will use more - the dose of Vitamin C if not required will be lost in the same manner.

NO RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE (RDA)
· Vitamin K
· Copper
· Chromium
· Manganese
· Potassium
· Selenium
· Nickel
· Tin
· Vanadium
· Boron
· Silicon
· Molybdenum
· Chloride r>
THINGS TOBE AWARE OF:
Why no RDA? Because experts don’t yet know what amount is required for the body to function normally, in the same vein this also means that there is possibly no recommended daily safety limits - Selenium in very large doses can be fatal. Very large doses of copper can cause toxity, some people cannot excrete copper and can suffer from long term copper poisoning.


THE REMAINDER ARE PERCENTAGES OF RDA’S AS FOLLOWS:
· Calcium - 15%
· Phosphorous - 16%
· Iron - 40%
· Magnesium - 15%
· Zinc - 40%
· Iodine - 40%


THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:
Too much iron can cause congestive heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver and diabetes.

Admittedly, with the exception of vitamin A , vitamin D3 & vitamin E, these tablets probably don’t contain sufficiently large doses of any of the ingredients to result in side effects, but intake does assume that you eat nothing healthy, or better still nothing at all, or partake in activities which presumably have a devastating effect on your body’s ability to utilise some vitamins and minerals effectively.

I would suggest by all means use them, I am, but proceed with caution and if you are in any doubt whatsoever, speak to your pharmacist and/or your GP, Too much really is as bad as too little.

DO THEY WORK?
It is early days yet, but there is no doubt I do feel a little less lethargic (if a little sick) and better still my eczema has improved considerably, although whether this coincides with my determination to kick drinking anything bar mineral water, fresh orange and coffee (I used to drink a lot of a certain well know soft drink) remains to be seen.

I don’t want to appear a killjoy, but too much intake of certain vitamins can do more damage than too little, they are not cheap, so professional advice could just help you make the right decision.

I have selected good as rec
ommendation (with caution)

Sue - 2002