Sugestions on supplements please!!

tomatoey

i wouldn't play around with too many supplements unless you have reason to believe you need them (after a blood test). lots of people who live in north america are deficient in vit d, so supplementing with d3 can be useful - but too much can affect your liver without a proper balance of calcium (and some studies have shown negative effects from calcium supplements; also calcium needs to be balanced against magnesium). if you take one thing, it might throw others out of whack.

if nothing's wrong, it's better to get as much as you can from food sources in a balanced diet. (seems synthetic vitamins aren't always processed by everyone the same way as ones from food. e.g. a study of smokers found those who took supplements with synthetic vit A had increased risk of certain cancers; smokers who got vit A from food did not. that may just have something to do with smokers particularly, i don't know, but there's definitely no harm in getting nutrients from food.)

kshama2001

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

MzKym1981 wrote: »

snowflakesav wrote: »

Supplements can be effective if you have a deficit of a key nutrient. It is hard to diagnose the deficits. In women athletes iron is the big one. With many of us athletes summer exercise and sweat loss can create magnesium deficiency. It is a learning process. A one size fits all multi vitamin or gummy vitamin is potentially causing more harm than good.

New research is indicating that supplements can inhibit the bodies repair process so don't assume 1000 times the daily allowance of vitamin c and folate aren't hurting you!

Fish oil is highly recommended... This product like all supplements is not regulated for safety so know your Mercury risk.

Thank you!

I was not on here looking for pills to aid in weight loss...I'm doing the work myself (80% nutrition/20%exercise) I was just wondering about supplements like fish oil, iron, vitamin-d, etc.

I take fish oil and a multi vitamin and vitamin D
This because my doctor advised it ( and they are not for weight loss)

My idea is that you let your doctor run some lab tests and let him suggest what you need. Because nobody here knows what you are missing or have to much.

Right, I was pressed for time last night and knew I had another tested deficiency - Vitamin D.

Funny thing about tests at doctor's - requesting generic blood work often isn't effective. Despite having first been diagnosed with anemia at 20, I always have to request this test. And despite my cholesterol levels being fine all my life, I never have to request this. When I moved from sunny South Florida to Massachusetts, getting tested for Vitamin D deficiency was my idea, not my doctor's.

Here's an interesting recent small study about an increased need for Vitamin D in overweight/obese African Americans:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/2052-9538/2/27

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/vitamin.d.deficiency.news.black.and.obese.people.need.more.vitamin.d.new.research.claims/58475.htm

A new research report has found that the standard recommendation on the daily vitamin D requirement is not enough to establish healthy levels of the vitamin in black and obese individuals.

The published report in the journal BioMed Central Obesity studied the effects of taking vitamin D supplements in 70 black participants who belong anywhere between overweight and obese.

These healthy participants are aged below 50 years old and are living in the southeastern United States, according to Science Daily.

The upper daily limit for the supplementation is at 4,000 international units (IU), previously at 2,000 IU, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine. The recommended daily dose of vitamin D set by the institute is 600 IU for most children and adults.

Researchers found out that 600 IU was not enough to restore a desired level of the vitamin in the blood within 16 weeks. They also discovered that more than triple the suggested dose was needed to establish healthy levels of the vitamin in the blood.

kshama2001

jgnatca wrote: »

Gah. Picking supplements because you heard they might be "good for you" is throwing money away or worse. I tried Niacin because I heard it was good for my immune system and I got an immune response all right. I itched all over like I had hives. Dropped the Niacin, lost the symptoms.

A simple battery of tests from the doctor, annually, can rule out deficiencies like thyroid, insulin, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and for women, iron. These are the biggies. Also, young women of child bearing years should take Folic Acid.

Nearly everyone in the northern hemisphere is deficient in vitamin D.

They must not cover niacin flush in med school, because a psychiatrist friend of mine was unaware of this as well:

Niacin: The facts on flushing

The BC Drug & Poison Information Centre commonly receives calls from patients who are experiencing an adverse reaction to over-the-counter niacin. Typically patients are taking the drug for the first time in higher doses for hypercholesterolemia or other indications. Usually, they are quite concerned about an "allergic" reaction to the vitamin. Here are some commonly asked questions and answers about flushing from niacin:

Q: I recently started taking niacin for high cholesterol. The first time I took it I experienced a hot flushing sensation on my skin that took an hour to go away. I thought I was having an allergic reaction. Can you tell me what happened?
Niacin (nicotinic acid vitamin), or vitamin B3, is an essential vitamin. Adults require a daily dietary intake of about 15 mg. At much higher doses (1000 to 2000 mg per day) niacin is used as a treatment for high cholesterol.

These higher doses of niacin cause an intense flushing or "prickly heat" sensation to the face and upper body, usually 15-30 minutes after taking a relatively large dose (e.g. 500 mg). This flushing is experienced by almost everyone and, while it might feel like an allergy, it is not a true allergic reaction.

Other than causing discomfort the flushing is harmless and usually subsides within 1 or 2 hours. Symptoms are most intense after the first dose and typically diminish over days or weeks with continued use of niacin.

...Q: If I continue to take the regular niacin tablets, are there any tips to minimize the flushing?
The key to reducing the intensity of niacin flushing is to start with a low dose and gradually increase the dose over a period of weeks. Taking it with food also helps reduce the intensity of the reaction.

One approach is to start immediate-release niacin at 100 mg twice daily after a meal for the first week, then double the daily dose each week until you are taking what the doctor has prescribed.

Aspirin will also help to reduce the flushing. If you are already taking low-dose aspirin (81 to 325 mg daily) try taking it about 30 minutes before your first niacin dose of the day.

Read more: http://www.dpic.org/article/professional/niacin-facts-flushing

Laurenjenai

I hate to reopen this topic due to all the negativity I recieved, but if it helps the OP then that's all that matters. I forgot about Spirulina, when I was taking supplements this was one that was suggested to me. Research and decide on your own

jgnatca

Ah, yes, Spirulina for protein. A rather expensive protein.

Article

BWBTrish

kshama2001 wrote: »

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

MzKym1981 wrote: »

snowflakesav wrote: »

Supplements can be effective if you have a deficit of a key nutrient. It is hard to diagnose the deficits. In women athletes iron is the big one. With many of us athletes summer exercise and sweat loss can create magnesium deficiency. It is a learning process. A one size fits all multi vitamin or gummy vitamin is potentially causing more harm than good.

New research is indicating that supplements can inhibit the bodies repair process so don't assume 1000 times the daily allowance of vitamin c and folate aren't hurting you!

Fish oil is highly recommended... This product like all supplements is not regulated for safety so know your Mercury risk.

Thank you!

I was not on here looking for pills to aid in weight loss...I'm doing the work myself (80% nutrition/20%exercise) I was just wondering about supplements like fish oil, iron, vitamin-d, etc.

I take fish oil and a multi vitamin and vitamin D
This because my doctor advised it ( and they are not for weight loss)

My idea is that you let your doctor run some lab tests and let him suggest what you need. Because nobody here knows what you are missing or have to much.

Right, I was pressed for time last night and knew I had another tested deficiency - Vitamin D.

Funny thing about tests at doctor's - requesting generic blood work often isn't effective. Despite having first been diagnosed with anemia at 20, I always have to request this test. And despite my cholesterol levels being fine all my life, I never have to request this. When I moved from sunny South Florida to Massachusetts, getting tested for Vitamin D deficiency was my idea, not my doctor's.

Here's an interesting recent small study about an increased need for Vitamin D in overweight/obese African Americans:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/2052-9538/2/27

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/vitamin.d.deficiency.news.black.and.obese.people.need.more.vitamin.d.new.research.claims/58475.htm

A new research report has found that the standard recommendation on the daily vitamin D requirement is not enough to establish healthy levels of the vitamin in black and obese individuals.

The published report in the journal BioMed Central Obesity studied the effects of taking vitamin D supplements in 70 black participants who belong anywhere between overweight and obese.

These healthy participants are aged below 50 years old and are living in the southeastern United States, according to Science Daily.

The upper daily limit for the supplementation is at 4,000 international units (IU), previously at 2,000 IU, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine. The recommended daily dose of vitamin D set by the institute is 600 IU for most children and adults.

Researchers found out that 600 IU was not enough to restore a desired level of the vitamin in the blood within 16 weeks. They also discovered that more than triple the suggested dose was needed to establish healthy levels of the vitamin in the blood.

My tests (almost monthly monitored) done are not genetic blood tests but for a special program i am in for over 20 years now ( nothing to do with weight loss).