Supplements

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Any favorite supplements that you find helpful or do you think they are just a waste of money? (I'm not interested in fat-burners or blockers, cleanses or any other fad diet pills.)

I recently bought a probiotic(for disgestive health), biotin(for hair, skin and nails) and bee pollen(for energy and overall well-being).

Its only been a few days so I haven't noticed any dramatic changes (positive or otherwise) yet but I am going to make it a part of my daily routine. I'm just wondering if anyone has any personal experience with these or other dietary supplements.

Replies

  • billyfleet1988
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    Supplements are exactly that, just supplements. Any supplement worth taking can be found in food if you're eating right, so there is really no need to waste your money on them.

    I've tried piles of stuff but ultimately I came to the conclusion that the money is much better off being used else where. The one supplement I continue to take is whey protein isolate and I only take that because it makes my life a little easier. I could get all the protein I need from food but whey protein is very convenient, especially with a busy lifestyle!
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    I take calcium (I'm predisposed to osteoperosis), Vitamin D (I'm a little low and won't give up my caffeine), fiber (just to make sure I get enough of it), Vitamin C (for general not getting sick reasons), Vitamin E every other day (for skin, hair, and nails), Glucosamine for joints, and I do Protein shake in morning.

    At night I take all the above except the Vit E, C and shake, and sub them with a multivitamin (I don't react the best to Niacin in multivitamins).

    The key is to take them with meals and lots of water. I would be deficient in Vit D for sure, but the other stuff is just insurance to be healthy. :D

    Take supplements when you need them, if not, it's no big deal. I'd rather get my vitamins the natural way, but there are way too many that I need to get them all from food.
  • eatsyork
    eatsyork Posts: 71 Member
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    I take a lot of supplements. Like probably too many. I think a few that can benefit a lot of people, though, are: vitamin D (our bodies use it for an endless number of things and a lot of us don't get the sun exposure we need either due to sun screen or northern latitude), vitamin K2 (relatively rare in the diet unless you purposefully eat fermented foods and grass-fed dairy, poorly synthesized from vitamin K1 as well, has a lot of possible effects in the area of bone, tooth, and artery health, it's thought to "tell calcium where to go" so it ends up in your hard parts and not in your arteries), and DHA/EPA omega 3s (most of us in developed countries eat a ton of inflammatory omega 6 with barely any omega 3s to balance it out. I think it's better to not eat omega 6 oils, but most people aren't going to be willing to make that change as they are in EVERYTHING now).

    I think in an ideal world we would get everything we need from food but if someone is still eating industrial foods as a large part of their diet they are going to miss out on significant amounts of a few key nutrients.
  • getstrongkaylen
    getstrongkaylen Posts: 137 Member
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    i take two, whey protein and calcium + vitamin d... I only take whey after i workout AND if i didn't enough in the day... i take calcium because im on the birth control shot depo and the dr said i should take it since it weakens bones.. im also not really a dairy person (but i do still eat it)... but other than that, i feel like i can get all the nutrients i need from the food i eat!