Interesting info on supplements

krinio

I came across this little extract when I was researching, (trying to stay motivated :blushing: ) and I just thought some of you might be interested


"Supplements
If you have been yo-yo dieting for a number of years, either restricting your food intake or trying different diet drinks or pills, it is likely that you are deficient in a number of vitamins and minerals. Supplements could certainly help if you know you're been depriving yourself for a long time. You may want to find out if you are deficient and there are tests now available to do just that. Click Tests

Multivitamin and Mineral
A good quality multivitamin and mineral would form the foundation of your supplement programme to make sure that you are getting a 'little bit of everything'. You then add in the nutrients listed below in slightly higher amounts which are known to be helpful for the weight loss.
B vitamins

These are important vitamins in terms of weight loss, and they are often known as the 'stress' vitamins. Vitamins B3 and B6 are especially important because they help to supply fuel to cells, which are then able to burn energy. Vitamin B6 together with zinc is necessary for the production of pancreatic enzymes which help you to digest food. If your digestion is good, you will be much more likely to use your food efficiently, instead of storing it as fat.

Vitamins B2, B3 and B6 are necessary for normal thyroid hormone function production, so any deficiencies in these can affect thyroid function and consequently affect metabolism. B3 is also a component of the glucose tolerance factor which is released every time your blood sugar rises. Vitamin B5 is involved in energy production and helps to control fat metabolism.

As you can see, the B vitamins as a group are important and the best way to get them is in a good B-complex supplement.

Chromium
This mineral has been the most widely researched nutrient in relation to weight loss Chromium is needed for the metabolism of sugar and without it insulin is less effective in controlling blood sugar levels. This means that it is harder to burn off your food as fuel and more may be stored as fat. It also helps to control levels of fat and cholesterol in the blood. One study showed that people who took chromium over a ten-week period lost an average of 1.9kg (4.2lb) of fat while those who took a dummy tablet lost only 0.2kg (0.4lb).

Zinc
This is an important mineral in appetite control and a deficiency can cause a loss of taste and smell, creating a need for stronger tasting foods (which tend to be sweeter, saltier and more fattening!) Zinc also functions with vitamins A and E to manufacture the thyroid hormones.

Co-enzyme Q10
Co-enzyme Q10 is needed for energy production. It is found in all the tissues and organs in the body. As we get older we may become deficient, which results in a reduction of energy. It has been used to help heart problems, high blood pressure, gum disease and immune deficiencies.

It has also been shown to help with weight loss. A study showed that people on a low-fat diet doubled their weight loss when taking Co Q10 compared to those using diet alone.

Garcinia cambogia
A tropical fruit called Garcinia cambogia which is used in Thai and Indian cooking contains HCA (hydroxy-citric acid), which encourages your body to use carbohydrates as energy, rather than laying them down as fat. The HCA in this fruit seems to curb appetite, reduce food intake and inhibit the formation of fat and cholesterol."

Here's the link in case any of you want to have a nosey
http://www.marilynglenville.com/dieting.htm

RachSuzanne

Also, people who spend their time indoors and don't get outside a lot should have their Vitamin D checked.

Turns out, lack of Vitamin D can do some nasty things to you.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/vitamin-d-deficiency

absie107

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/study-finds-no-benefit-from-daily-multivitamin/

It's unfortunate that we have to be taking supplements anyway. I'm not bashing either of you for posting. A lot of people don't get all the stuff they need. The thing is that food science is and has been shaky forever and ever. Breaking foods down into micro and macro nutrients is a blessing and a curse because we now think in terms of the elements as opposed to the whole. Many of the foods we buy at the grocery store or mass market places lack nutrients because they were grown in soils that had too much artificial fertilizer or pesticides or whatever, or they're grown artificially or flown in out of season. I definitely agree that if you really have no way of getting certain things in your diet (unfortunately the best foods for us are the most expensive, I know the feeling) to take a supplement. Otherwise... go to your farmer's market, go outside a bit every day. You want to lose weight? Eat less than the Americanized version of a portion. Eat plant foods, grass fed beef, free range chickens from reliable sources... and savor everything you put into your body, your flesh temple. I'm not saying 'organic' or from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I'm saying local and seasonal. You will get more nutrients from these things, I assure you. You're also doing something slightly more sustainable as far as a food system, moreso than the globalized, broken one we have now.

Again, I agree with what you're both saying and this isn't meant to bash you in any way. If you do a lot of home cooking, savor what's on your plate, and make your own desserts... you'll slim down and you'll get the nutrients you need. I was just in Indonesia for 3 weeks studying abroad and we had dessert every single night. We also had about 80% of our meals on the compound, cooked at home by the Australian guy's Balinese wife. We had vegetables, rice, and very small portions of meat. Everything was from the market except for a few things picked from the garden for sambal (red pepper paste). I didn't record everything I ate, I didn't worry, and I came home 3-4 pounds lighter than when I left. I didn't get sick or have a deficiency of anything. Enjoying your food, eating seasonally and listening to your body does wonders. I'll stop now.

OlenaS

Hmmm... I am a little confused by the "no benefit in multivitamin" article... I mean it seems like they are saying it has no impact in preventing diseases (cancer, heart, etc).... but does that mean the only purpose of vitamins is to prevent diseases? I thought their main purpose was to help our bodies to function properly, etc...

I totally agree about eating locally and seasonally (i am myself from a county where that is a practice; I grew up eating what I wanted when I wanted, including desserts and never had to even think about weight... but most meals were made at home from fresh ingredients).

I know we are biologically not designed to live the way we live now and evolution takes a long time and it has not caught up to all the changes we made... But it is very hard to return to those primal times... I remember from my biology class in university - our predecessors burnt as many calories per day as professional runners nowadays who train every day... So an average human being cannot come close to that in our current society and lifestyle...

P.S. I am also not "bashing" in any way Hope it's not coming across that way. And I could be wrong, too, in my assumptions, I just never really researched into it, have not checked if there have been studies to say vitamins are not necessary for other purposes besides disease prevention.

RachSuzanne

Vitamin supplements are a tricky thing. For instance, I can't take my vitamins in the morning because they would block the proper absorption of my thyroid hormone supplement.

Also, taking certain kinds of supplements are next to useless. Probiotics in a pill form have little effect. This is why it's recommended to take them in the "Live" liquid form which must be refrigerated.

There are all kinds of caveats like this.

I sort of stopped trying with the Multivitamins. I'm big on Vitamin D because it's a common deficiency for those who have Thyroid problems and because the doctor put me through Vit D therapy. (Not as scary as it sounds )