What my doctor advised about vitamins and supplements
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lauragreenbaum
Posts: 1,017 Member
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?
I'm sure there are many threads on this subject, but I'm curious about current opinions. Thoughts?
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Replies
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IIRC, there are multiple studies showing no real benefit to supplementation barring specific circumstances (addressing specific deficiencies/concerns). Keep in mind that in addition to the vitamins naturally in food, many regularly consumed foods are fortified with vitamins and we're also getting those (cereal, milk, flour, juices, etc).4
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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. 😀3 -
lauragreenbaum wrote: »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.
My doctor told me that, anecdotally, glocosamine worked for some people. He suggested I try it for three months. I did and it made no difference to my joints so I stopped taking it.
A doctor I was seeing more recently for a specific condition recommended I take Vitamin D. I'm not outside a lot and my levels were low.
Yet another time, when I was anemic, my doctor prescribed medical strength iron for me, which I took while being monitored. You can be poisoned by too much iron.
In sum, it's best to discuss these issues with a knowledgeable doctor.6 -
I used to agree. I’m older and my body doesn’t work as well as it used to. I have a lot of old age conditions that respond well to certain things, just as many people respond to vitamin D.
I’m also a farmer, and I know that our soil is depleted in many minerals that don’t get in our food thru the soil as much as we might like them to.
Bottom line, I now take vitamins and eat certain foods to feel better. Don’t know if it actually makes me healthier or not. Don’t really care.11 -
janejellyroll wrote: »IIRC, there are multiple studies showing no real benefit to supplementation barring specific circumstances (addressing specific deficiencies/concerns). Keep in mind that in addition to the vitamins naturally in food, many regularly consumed foods are fortified with vitamins and we're also getting those (cereal, milk, flour, juices, etc).
What does IIRC mean?1 -
If I Recall Correctly6
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Listen to season 2 of the podcast The Dream. The whole supplement industry is pretty problematic.2
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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.2 -
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?
Where most vitamins are concerned, "too much" really isn't a big deal...you just pee out the excess. Vitamin D and A are vitamins that can cause harm if you have "too much". I do supplement D3 because blood work shows that I am deficient otherwise, despite spending plenty of time in the sun. I was initially on 5,000 Mg to get my numbers up and my Dr. now has me on a maintenance dose of 2,000 Mg.4 -
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.0
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Side note: You can look up almost any supplement on examine.com. They read all the research and give you a breakdown on whether the supplement is effective.
Here's a partial screenshot of what they say about Vitamin D, just as an example.
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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.1 -
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.1
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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).1 -
My neurologist, due to symptoms seen, did a B-12 and Vit D test. I turned out deficient in both (skin is fair, burns easily so I don't go into the sun much, plus northern latitude). I'm fine on B-12 now, but both he and my reg. dr want me to keep taking 2,000 IU of Vit. D for good. I've read in numerous studies that low Vit. D is a risk factor for Covid, too.1
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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. Lol2 -
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
Exactly. The best formula makers have Vit D3, K2, Magnesium and Calcium in the same formula. They all work together in synergy. Thorne and Pure Encapsulation (always ahead on science from the others) did it first and then the others are all jumping on board. Personally, if your an average American, most don't need the Calcium, just the K2, D3 (if not getting sun) and the magnesium. And a proper diet will take care of magnesium.
Only 105 today (Tucson is 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix) but wildfire down the road burning up a mountain, so not much sun for me today, though the wife and I are going to eat tonight and dine out on a patio at sunset, so that might have to do!1 -
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.2
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Analog_Kid wrote: »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.
This is not true. Your body will eliminate excess amounts of water-soluble vitamins, but it will store excess amounts of fat-soluble vitamins. And it is certainly theoretically possible to do damage with excess amounts of minerals, although iron is the one that seems most commonly to be a problem.9 -
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 issue2
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