Thoughts on suppliments...

Options
2»

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,212 Member
    Options
    Cocoa1020 wrote: »
    millerjr5 wrote: »
    Any good ones out there for energy and weight loss? I am not looking to get bulky, but to get more energy on a daily basis. My goal is to lose about 25lbs and get into shape however I work a desk job and get tired as the day progesses so when I am off work, I don't want to do anything. I am looking for a little more pep to keep me going. Thoughts?

    No specific supplements for weight loss. But you don't need anything fancy. Do not take anything with ultra high doses as they can lead to toxicity. Make sure it has the USP label. Your standard nature's made would be good enough.

    I take the nature's made gummies and vit D3 (5000iu) gummies (I'm deficient as per bloodwork)
    Both are a serving of 2 gummies. I take 2 multivitamins and 1 Vit D so my total D is 5000.

    That seems generally reasonable, though I'd expand on one aspect:

    For some things (example: selenium), even doses that aren't ultra-high (as in high multiples of recommended amounts) can be toxic, cumulatively. In other cases (some of the water-soluble vitamins) there's no substantial documented risk from even fairly high megadoses: They just give you expensive (and sometimes neon-colored) urine.

    The USDA, among others, publishes estimated tolerable upper limits (TUL) for various micronutrients. Looking at those would be a more nuanced guide than "don't megadose".

    They have a calculator here that will give tailored estimates for nutritional needs:

    https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

    . . . and it includes the TULs. IMU, the TULs are about regular intake, not typically a warning level for a one-time intake.

    I think that calculator lowballs protein, though, compared with recent research, especially for people who are quite active, losing weight, or both. Not sure about other nutrients' recent research, but examine.com (neutral, science-based, doesn't sell supplements) is a decent source for research-based recommendations for many things.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,414 Member
    Options
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Cocoa1020 wrote: »
    millerjr5 wrote: »
    Any good ones out there for energy and weight loss? I am not looking to get bulky, but to get more energy on a daily basis. My goal is to lose about 25lbs and get into shape however I work a desk job and get tired as the day progesses so when I am off work, I don't want to do anything. I am looking for a little more pep to keep me going. Thoughts?

    No specific supplements for weight loss. But you don't need anything fancy. Do not take anything with ultra high doses as they can lead to toxicity. Make sure it has the USP label. Your standard nature's made would be good enough.

    I take the nature's made gummies and vit D3 (5000iu) gummies (I'm deficient as per bloodwork)
    Both are a serving of 2 gummies. I take 2 multivitamins and 1 Vit D so my total D is 5000.

    That seems generally reasonable, though I'd expand on one aspect:

    For some things (example: selenium), even doses that aren't ultra-high (as in high multiples of recommended amounts) can be toxic, cumulatively. In other cases (some of the water-soluble vitamins) there's no substantial documented risk from even fairly high megadoses: They just give you expensive (and sometimes neon-colored) urine.

    The USDA, among others, publishes estimated tolerable upper limits (TUL) for various micronutrients. Looking at those would be a more nuanced guide than "don't megadose".

    They have a calculator here that will give tailored estimates for nutritional needs:

    https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

    . . . and it includes the TULs. IMU, the TULs are about regular intake, not typically a warning level for a one-time intake.

    I think that calculator lowballs protein, though, compared with recent research, especially for people who are quite active, losing weight, or both. Not sure about other nutrients' recent research, but examine.com (neutral, science-based, doesn't sell supplements) is a decent source for research-based recommendations for many things.

    I have one very big questionmark with this. They give 100mg of Vitamin B6 as tolerable. This is one of those that are neurotoxic. Quite badly so. The upper limit is 20 or 21mg in the European Union. Many supplements, from common supplement providers would put 100mg into their multi-B vitamins and other multivitamins, resulting in indeed toxicity and rather bad neurological symptoms. And thus a legal maximum was introduced to prevent this. Even 50mg is still considered to be far too high.
    There might be other supplements whose amounts are questionable, but I can't comment on them.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,212 Member
    Options
    yirara wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Cocoa1020 wrote: »
    millerjr5 wrote: »
    Any good ones out there for energy and weight loss? I am not looking to get bulky, but to get more energy on a daily basis. My goal is to lose about 25lbs and get into shape however I work a desk job and get tired as the day progesses so when I am off work, I don't want to do anything. I am looking for a little more pep to keep me going. Thoughts?

    No specific supplements for weight loss. But you don't need anything fancy. Do not take anything with ultra high doses as they can lead to toxicity. Make sure it has the USP label. Your standard nature's made would be good enough.

    I take the nature's made gummies and vit D3 (5000iu) gummies (I'm deficient as per bloodwork)
    Both are a serving of 2 gummies. I take 2 multivitamins and 1 Vit D so my total D is 5000.

    That seems generally reasonable, though I'd expand on one aspect:

    For some things (example: selenium), even doses that aren't ultra-high (as in high multiples of recommended amounts) can be toxic, cumulatively. In other cases (some of the water-soluble vitamins) there's no substantial documented risk from even fairly high megadoses: They just give you expensive (and sometimes neon-colored) urine.

    The USDA, among others, publishes estimated tolerable upper limits (TUL) for various micronutrients. Looking at those would be a more nuanced guide than "don't megadose".

    They have a calculator here that will give tailored estimates for nutritional needs:

    https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dri-calculator/

    . . . and it includes the TULs. IMU, the TULs are about regular intake, not typically a warning level for a one-time intake.

    I think that calculator lowballs protein, though, compared with recent research, especially for people who are quite active, losing weight, or both. Not sure about other nutrients' recent research, but examine.com (neutral, science-based, doesn't sell supplements) is a decent source for research-based recommendations for many things.

    I have one very big questionmark with this. They give 100mg of Vitamin B6 as tolerable. This is one of those that are neurotoxic. Quite badly so. The upper limit is 20 or 21mg in the European Union. Many supplements, from common supplement providers would put 100mg into their multi-B vitamins and other multivitamins, resulting in indeed toxicity and rather bad neurological symptoms. And thus a legal maximum was introduced to prevent this. Even 50mg is still considered to be far too high.
    There might be other supplements whose amounts are questionable, but I can't comment on them.

    I'm not going to defend each thing they say, but it's our national advisory body, and those are more specific recommendations than "don't take megadoses of anything" to which I responded, and which is very broad-brush. I know that EU suggestions for many things differ from the US, and in some cases are more conservative. If you have a concise, comprehensive source for EU nutrient recommendations, by all means please share it: That would be useful.

    I'd also note that the recommendations are somewhat individualized, on that USDA page. The niacin value for me is not 100mg TUL, but 35mg (14mg recommended). I'm not sure what would result in 100mg as TUL.
  • lokihen
    lokihen Posts: 382 Member
    Options
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    90% of supplements out there are all hype. There are NO FAT BURNING supplements on the market that actually burn fat. If you're eating a good amount of vegetables, fiber, fat and protein, you may NOT need to supplement at all. Creatine and protein a proven by clinical study.

    My last advice here is BE CAREFUL. Supplements aren't FDA regulated (they aren't drugs) and hence ANYONE or SELLER can say whatever they want without having to prove it. All they have to prove is that it's not dangerous to take. And since profit is the ultimate goal for all sellers, they are going to get the CHEAPEST raw material they can and guess where most of it comes from? CHINA...................who has NO REGULATION on purity of the raw materials. That means they could have containaments in them like metals.

    https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Regarding the "Be Careful" advice, my little experience with supplements: I was suffering frequent headaches and my parents suggested magnesium because it helped them. Not only didn't my headaches get better, but I became ill to the point I couldn't climb a flight of stairs without nausea and weakness. Discovered my symptoms matched with getting too much magnesium.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,414 Member
    Options
    and added to that: some supplements might prevent you from getting diagnosed if you happen to have an actual deficiency. If your doctor only tests serum iron and you had a supplement with iron it will be normal. While stores are still empty and this time amount will be too little to fix the problem. if your body can't absorb b12 via the gut you might not get diagnosed as tiny amounts get absorbed through tissue and raise serum levels. Which again is too little to fix the problem, and B12 deficiency will eventually damage nerves. Folate is also problematic as it decreases the size of enlarged red bloodcells, which is one of the later-stage signs of B12 deficiency. Folate IS necessary though for B12 to work properly. Other supplements might prevent the absorption of others, etc...

Categories