Vitamins: where do I start?

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  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    EttaMaeMartin wrote: »
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    I don't take any supplements because there is very little evidence that they are necessary. I do eat well balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veggie. My grandmother lived to 96 and she didn't take anything either. I think I'll just follow her example unless my doctor advises me otherwise.

    If you have a deficiency, then yes, there is a necessity for a supplement. I, for example, have a doctor diagnosed Vitamin D deficiency. However, just randomly telling everyone to take a multivitamin just because, that definitely would be unnecessary. I think most people here would agree that a visit to the doctor is the best option for choosing possible supplement.

    I FIND MY OWN RESEARCH MORE HELPFUL THAN A DOCTOR. BUT THE DR. CAN RUN LAB TO SEE IF YOU ARE LACKING IN SOME AREA. RESEARCH.... YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH!

    Umm, so are the personally able to do your own lab work to find out what deficiencies your body has? Do you have a lab in your own house or do you rent time somewhere else? You can't just "do your own research" to find out what vitamins or minerals your body may need. Sorry, but you're Googling is not more helpful than going to your doctor and getting proper lab work done. Self-diagnosis via WebMD can be very dangerous.

    And just in case you were unaware, all capitals is used to represent screaming.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    crissy976 wrote: »
    Do the glucosamine tabs really work for you? I have arthritic issues, especially from my Lyme disease, and I know my mom swears by them.

    we-e-e-e-ll . . . i don't know if it 'works'. with r.a. you lose cartilage because your immune system thinks it's a foreign substance and gets helpfully busy trying to destroy it for you. it's like having a two-year-old in the kitchen 'helping' you to wash the dishes - great intentions, destructive results. with osteoarthritis you lose cartilage because it gets worn down by mechanical stress. they're completely different things in that sense.

    so afaik it has no influence whatever on inflammation, which is what causes the joint instability and erosion for people with systemically-originating arthritis. i actually want to stomp on the feet of street-level morons who hear 'rheumatoid arthritis' and start slinging woo. they don't know *kitten* and don't even know how enough to be aware of their own gaps, most of the time.

    with that said, i did hear from a friend with straight-up osteo who swore by it too, so i looked into it a little. conclusion seems to be that yes, it may be useful for supporting the body's natural and ongoing tendency to 'grow' cartilage, i.e. maintain the stuff. it may be useful in the sense of putting more horses into my barn. it can't lock the door, can't keep thieves away, and it can't keep my horses from getting sick in the meantime. but i'm very moot and shouldn't be used as a test case since my own underlying causes seem to be pretty dormant these days. and i never had actual erosion afaik so i can't say a thing about it being able to reverse anything (as opposed to just holding you at a new status quo once the original horses are gone).

    so more of a rant than a meaningful answer, sorry :p
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I just take a men's one a day...basically "insurance"...they make them for women too...don't over complicate something that's not complicated.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    What vitamins/minerals are you deficient in? Your doctor should be able to run blood tests if you're really concerned (my endocrinologist tracks my vitamin D levels, because without supplementation my serum vitamin D will drop insanely low).

    Are you sexually active or plan on becoming pregnant? Many organizations recommend that all young sexually active women take folic acid (I think the World Health Organization recently came out with recommendations that all women of childbearing age take folic acid and iron supplementation). Folic acid deficiency is associated with neural tube defects (spina bifida). The neural tube is fully formed at 28 days gestation, so if you don't know you're pregnant and are not taking in adequate folic acid there's a higher risk of that child being born with spina bifida.

    Are you a vegetarian or a vegan? Vegetarians/vegans have special nutritional concerns that often require supplementation, because plant-based foods often fall short on nutrients like vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, and calcium.

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