I have to admit, I giggled at that meme, even though I know diabetic neuropathy is no laughing matter.

As for supplements...

In general, I subscribe to the philosophy of "don't take them 'just because,' take them if you see a demonstrated need for them."

I agree with the fish oil and make sure it's a high quality one. Rosita and Green Pastures seem to be the top two (just discard the drama between them). They're pricy, but they're the real deal as opposed to the knock-offs which tend to be questionable.

A good Vitamin D + K2 supplement is another good one, especially if you live outside of the tropics.

Electrolyte supplements are good to have on hand in general, but that's probably a given.

Selenium and chromium have been shown to be beneficial in those with metabolic dysfunction and signs of adrenal fatigue. They're both hard to get in the diet in most cases, so it can be a useful temporary supplement to replenish depleted stores.

My recommendation is to first get yourself checked to see where you are deficient or even below optimal to know what YOU need.

I found out through such testing that despite my high intake of B vitamins, I was low or borderline low on all but 1 of them. Subsequent testing showed I have a variant of the MTHFR gene that makes metabolizing B vitamins less efficient.

If you are low on something, I would first suggest trying to get it from food because, as several studies have shown, supplementation does not have the same impact as getting vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients as getting them from food. This is likely because there are other parts of those foods that help with the metabolizing of them.

Fish oil, vitamin D and multivitamins all have studies showing that supplementation did not have the positive health outcomes that higher blood levels without supplementation had.

Vitamin D is different than the others because the sun is the best way to get it. Even getting it through food is not as effective in terms of the cardiovascular benefits associated with higher blood levels. This is because in addition to vitamin D, sun exposure leads to other chemical responses involving nitrogen which act as a vasodialator (relaxes the blood vessels making it easier for them to stretch thereby lowering blood pressure).

An exception being K2 which, in the modern food world, is almost impossible to get in sufficient quantities.

The other potential exception that was relevant to me is magnesium. I have not found any studies showing supplementation is not effective, and given many of the foods that should be high in magnesium (spinach for example) do not have as much as they used to because of monocropping. Magnesium is not part of the chemical fertilizers that are used as they generally are only concerned with those things which help the plants to grow bigger and faster like nitrogen. Because the grow so much faster, in addition to not having as much magnesium in the soil, there is less pulled into the plant because it is in the ground for a shorter period of time before getting harvested.

I concur with getting yourself tested to see if you are deficient before you start supplementing. If you are taking ANY type of medication...ANY...thoroughly research the use of a supplement and discuss taking the supplement with your physician.

I think it is important to realize that if supplements are suggested because they are effective/beneficial...then so too should one accept they have the potential of being harmful under the right circumstances.

Magnesium is the one supplement that I might kill for but there are other important ones but just not a matter of life and death like magnesium when it comes to my heart health.

https://openheart.bmj.com/content/5/2/e000775 Magnesium for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease


https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3957229/
Magnesium Intake Is Inversely Associated With Coronary Artery Calcification
The Framingham Heart Study

"RESULTS
In fully adjusted models, a 50-mg/day increment in self-reported total magnesium intake was associated with 22% lower CAC (p < 0.001) and 12% lower AAC (p = 0.07). Consistent with these observations, the odds of having any CAC were 58% lower (p trend: <0.001) and any AAC were 34% lower (p trend: 0.01), in those with the highest compared to those with the lowest magnesium intake. Stronger inverse associations were observed in women than in men.

CONCLUSIONS
In community-dwelling participants free of cardiovascular disease, self-reported magnesium intake was inversely associated with arterial calcification, which may play a contributing role in magnesium's protective associations in stroke and fatal coronary heart disease."

zeejane4 wrote: »

I'd talk to your doctor before starting any supplements. I was taking fish oil and my doctor told me to stop because of some side-effects it can have, especially with my medical history, (that I hadn't even thought of). I asked her about several other supplements I was thinking about taking and she went over my blood work/health markers/history and none of them were necessary.

Supplements are not a regulated industry and while many of them are harmless, there are some that can have side effects, interact negatively with other medications etc. Use caution with them.

What are some of the side-effects fish oil can have?

Peter Attia MD has podcast about when antioxidants might not be best to take that I am going to check out too.