What my doctor advised about vitamins and supplements

I can vouch for vitamin d. I'd had oral surgery and wasn't healing as well as hoped. My oral surgeon had cases like this and had them take a supplement. Even tho my first vitamin d test came back normal, I took the supplement and had another test done a month later. It went up over 20 points (from 30 to 53) and I was healing a lot better.

I don't know about the other stuff tho. I'm not the healthiest of eaters so I take a multivitamin. Ya never know. 😀

Doctors study so little about nutrition, it's not funny. There are some experts that argue megadosing Vitamin D can be potentially harmful.

I do personally believe the industry would have you take way more than necessary. I'm a huge reader of anything Microbiome related. I follow the guys in the US that are the leading experts on the subject. Just saw an article the other day about how useless probiotics are. I agree. It's not the probiotics that make you healthy and you can't eat like a garbage can and take a pill -- that's what it comes down to.

I take Vitamin K2 (very, very hard to get in the Western Diet and Vitamin K does not magically turn into enough of it to do any good) and an environmentally sustainable Fish Oil supplement (if someone were vegan there are great algal alternatives). I also take a full spectrum Methyl B vitamin. That's about all that I personally feel are necessary for me (and most people). Eat 30 different plants (fruit or vegetables) a week and get more fiber in your diet. That's one thing all the Microbiome experts agree on.

I've been wondering about this for a while. I don't take vitamins regularly. Many pills are giant and something in there gives me heartburn. The gummies don't upset my stomach, but I don't really feel different or more energized. My bloodwork never indicated that I'm deficient in any particular vitamin. Perhaps I'll pick up some D next time I'm out.

I had this very same discussion with my doctor. She said, taking a daily multi-vitamin is fine. Most people get all the vitamins and minerals they need through normal food intake. The multi-vitamin will compensate for any shortages. The body only absorbs what vitamins and minerals it needs and discards the rest.

She also advised me against wasting money on individual vitamin and mineral supplements. Supplements are only needed if a person is diagnosed with a specific deficiency due to illness, disease, or recovering from an injury.

thesame6 wrote: »

I've been wondering about this for a while. I don't take vitamins regularly. Many pills are giant and something in there gives me heartburn. The gummies don't upset my stomach, but I don't really feel different or more energized. My bloodwork never indicated that I'm deficient in any particular vitamin. Perhaps I'll pick up some D next time I'm out.

I had this same issue when taking a multi awhile back - I switched to a better brand name vitamin and the issue went away (fillers in the generic brands were the issue for me).

MikePfirrman wrote: »

Whatever you do, look up Vitamin D supplementation and the risk of calcification of arteries. Then look up Vitamin K2, which protects from that. If you take Vitamin D, take K2 with it. Otherwise you're just loading up your arteries with calcium.

Many Vit D supplements have K2 as part of the formulation. I used take them when I lived in cold, dark PA. Now here in Mexico, I just went for a 1 hour walk at mid day with my shirt off. Vitamin D loading! You can probably do the same there in AZ when it's not 120 degrees. Lol

I basically agree with your doctor. I supplement D3 when I remember (and not getting outside in the sun a lot). I occasionally eat 100% plant-based, and when I do I supplement B12 and EPA/DHA (in other times I eat plenty fatty fish so don't bother). From reviewing Cronometer I'm not concerned about other nutrients even though my own style of eating has few fortified foods.

I took a risk and decided on my own to supplement iron 2 years ago (after having several months of super heavy periods followed by a period that lasted TWO MONTHS), and it seemed to get rid of my bruising, lack of energy, and weird food cravings... to this day I still take an iron supplement 2-3x a week and occasionally a multivitamin/mineral tablet and it seems to keep those symptoms away... I do think I get enough of other stuff through my diet tho (I'm admittedly occasionally a bit low on calcium), I was also put on b vitamins for a few months for some nerve issues I was having, tho unfortunately that didn't seem to change anything at all... water soluble ones aren't usually an issue anyway, from what I've read about it, but I wouldn't play around with just taking anything/everything

I'd also like to emphasise my symptoms were SO strong (for iron) I was almost 100% sure it was the issue

lauragreenbaum wrote: »

Basically, that the only vitamin worth taking is D and that most people who take other vitamins are getting too much when combined with vitamins naturally obtained through food. As for supplements (such as glucosamine and turmeric), she said if I really feel like they make a difference, they won't hurt, but her opinion is it's a just a huge industry that makes a lot of money and not worth it.

I'm sure there are many threads on this subject, but I'm curious about current opinions. Thoughts?

It is pretty much standard dr's recommendation where I live.

netitheyeti wrote: »

I took a risk and decided on my own to supplement iron 2 years ago (after having several months of super heavy periods followed by a period that lasted TWO MONTHS), and it seemed to get rid of my bruising, lack of energy, and weird food cravings... to this day I still take an iron supplement 2-3x a week and occasionally a multivitamin/mineral tablet and it seems to keep those symptoms away... I do think I get enough of other stuff through my diet tho (I'm admittedly occasionally a bit low on calcium), I was also put on b vitamins for a few months for some nerve issues I was having, tho unfortunately that didn't seem to change anything at all... water soluble ones aren't usually an issue anyway, from what I've read about it, but I wouldn't play around with just taking anything/everything

I'd also like to emphasise my symptoms were SO strong (for iron) I was almost 100% sure it was the issue

Couldn't you have had a blood test done to be TOTALLY sure that was the issue? Your example is an extreme one, and you were probably correct, but in general, it can be dangerous for people to supplement iron on their own, without proof of a deficiency. As you said, it's not something people should paly around with.

Lietchi wrote: »

YellowD0gs wrote: »

I had my blood tests done at the end of a wet, cold dreary March, and my Vit. D was just under the normal range (28.9 or something). The Neurologist put me on Vit D3 supplements. A week later my GP fairly strongly advised not to take them as they may complicate my existing cardiac stents, but I should work at getting more sun. Registered Dietician said I should take the Vit D, but also with K3, to help with osteoporosis. When I checked in with my Cardiologist, she became unglued at the thought of Vitamin K supplements, as that's the blood clotting vitamin, and that would definitely interfere with my cardiac stents, so hell no to the Vitamin K! And another very strong recommendation against the Vit D as well, with instructions to try to get more sun. So, now I have 2 DR's opinions that I should avoid supplements and work on getting a killer tan! 20 minutes a day without sunscreen, and not just forearms and calves, either.

On the topic of doctor 'madness'... I went to the doctor a few months ago saying I felt tired, so he drew blood. I was very deficient in vitamin D (16.4 with the optimal range being 30-100) but he 'didn't see anything in my blood results that could explain my fatigue'... OK...
When I mentioned a vitamin D supplement, he suggested it wasn't necessary and it would be resolved when spring arrived with more sun exposure. When I said I avoided the sun (very fair skin) he recommended a good sun screen (well duh, but that's not going to help my vitamin D much then...?).

So vitamin D supplements it is, and looking for a new doctor

I don't think either of these is "doctor madness", personally.

It's sadly not uncommon to get to a point in one's health were strategies that will help relieve one problem will aggravate another problem. This can be true of supplements (but also of other things*), and I think that's what we're seeing in the Vitamin D/K anecdote. *For example, there are physical therapy exercises that might help one body part's problem, but aggravate a pre-existing condition for another - exercises that would be totally non-problematic for a person with neither underlying physical problem.

I admit it can be extremely difficult to get multiple specialists, each of whom is correct for their specialty, to communicate among themselves to reach a consensus, and that can be a problem for patients.

As far as vitamin D and fair skin: Speaking as a naturally skim-milk blue-white kind of person, very prone to sunburn, I think the amount of sun exposure needed is not necessarily in the sunburn zone, especially if one gradually builds up to it over a couple of weeks. PP mentioned 20 minutes, for example.

I agree that your doctor's advice seems . . . unusual, based on my experience, if your D was really that low per blood test, but I didn't see the whole panel, and I'm not a doctor, so what the heck do I know.

Did you take a D3 supplement instead? Did it help?

FWIW: I take supplements when a doctor tells me to, unless I have reasons to believe they might be contraindicated, in which case I'd argue with him/her. I've also experimented with other supplements occasionally, after researching them quite carefully (including potential interaction with other drugs/supplements) to reassure myself that harm was unlikely. Yes, fat-soluble vitamins and minerals can be cumulatively over-dosed. I believe some water-soluble vitamins can also be acutely overdosed (i.e., bad effects from taking way too much in a short time period).

I've actually spoken with supplement/vitamin researchers (there's a big research university in my town, with two med schools, a nursing school, and the usual sciences, so one meets such people). They don't advocate supplementing if no specific trigger to do so, but agreed that a (moderate) multivitamin probably won't hurt most people.

For those taking multis: Check your label. Some commercial brands, at recommended dosage, are mega-dosing you (way over RDA) on certain vitamins. If yours are, are you sure that's a good idea, in your particular case?

For me personally, D is VERY important. As for everything else I get that through foods when eating a balanced diet. D is not really a vitamin, most of the medical community now reference it as a hormone. Two times in the last 15 years my D level has been crucially low---and they way I found that was that I was very unwell....I could not even grasp my cup of coffee, I had no strength in my hands and wrists, thought I needed Carpel Tunnel surgery ---NOPE, D level was at an 8. Got it up and felt so much better, less brain fog, more energy, and it did help with weight loss as well....then let it slide, 5 years later I was at an 11. I am currently up to 36, goal is 70-100---not sure if I can ever get there, but I will continue to respect the D!

YellowD0gs wrote: »

I had my blood tests done at the end of a wet, cold dreary March, and my Vit. D was just under the normal range (28.9 or something). The Neurologist put me on Vit D3 supplements. A week later my GP fairly strongly advised not to take them as they may complicate my existing cardiac stents, but I should work at getting more sun. Registered Dietician said I should take the Vit D, but also with K3, to help with osteoporosis. When I checked in with my Cardiologist, she became unglued at the thought of Vitamin K supplements, as that's the blood clotting vitamin, and that would definitely interfere with my cardiac stents, so hell no to the Vitamin K! And another very strong recommendation against the Vit D as well, with instructions to try to get more sun. So, now I have 2 DR's opinions that I should avoid supplements and work on getting a killer tan! 20 minutes a day without sunscreen, and not just forearms and calves, either.

It's K2, not K (or K3), so perhaps your doc needs to do more research. There's nothing to indicate that K2 causes clotting, but since docs error on the side of safety, they don't like to combine it with blood thinners.

It's not uncommon for docs not to know anything about Vitamin K2. And it does not cause blood clotting (there hasn't been any significant research on it so far but, again, they weigh on the side of safety). So I hate to tell you but she's misinformed. It's confusing, even for docs, but K2 isn't the same Vitamin as Vitamin K, though a miniscule amount of Vitamin K gets converted to K2 in the body.

But the science of K2 is completely irrefutable. It's good both for the heart and the bones. If you're on Warfarin or other blood thinner, it's just a precaution not to take K2. K2 seems to only interfere with Warfarin but not some other blood thinners and over 50mg.

Good article on this. Basically, this article is what I've read too. K2 is too important to ignore and warfarin can cause calcification without it. But as this article mentions, just eat some good Gouda cheese on occasion (it has K2 in it but not in megadosing that would interfere with Warfarin).

https://innovixlabs.com/blogs/insights/vitamin-k2-and-coagulation