Supplement Crazy :)

Excessive? From my point of view, yes. It's also largely a waste of money.

Glucosamine/chondroitin has been debunked some time ago. It really doesn't help--and I know that from experience, having severe osteoarthritis and no cartilage left in both knees.

L-Glutamine I can't comment on, but in my experience one of the best and cheapest (and most delicious) immune system boosters is fresh ginger.

Recent studies have cast doubt on multivitamins. The consensus now seems to be that they're surplus to requirements if you're eating a balanced diet that includes plenty of fresh produce.

Biotin--personal experience? Did nothing for me. Again, a balanced diet should do the trick.

As for the pregnancy-prep, I can't comment.

Having said all that, of course it's a personal decision what you do and don't take. I can't see any harm in it (except to your wallet) as long as you don't overdo it.


The only supplements I'm taking are a complex of digestive enzymes and 4000 mg of fish oil, because I'm hypothyroid and the enzymes and oil are the one thing that keeps me regular.

It does seem a little excessive, though to be fair I do take a multi due to my being a competitive athlete, so for general support - especially with the stresses my body goes through

I don't take a lot of supplements
I do a prenatal vitamin
and D-3

Well, I take a multi-vit, an additional Vitamin D supplement and a Probiotic supplement. 3 caps total. But there was a time I was taking 18(!) a day. I trimmed what I didn't think was actually helping and was left with the above

My diet is quite restrictive (yes, I know....) but I eat clean and aim high on the protein, I'm also veggie...
So here goes:

B-complex for energy, immune and metabolism (I have noticed a distinct improvement in energy levels)
Calcium w/ vitamin D
Multi-vit + Iron
Hemp Protein containing fibre, vits and essential amino acids usually found in meats

I am also considering introducing a zinc supplement although I used to take this and it failed to make much difference....

Kayjaybee... You must watch Dr. Oz!! All those have been mentioned on his show!! Do you have anything to say about any of these? Which ones work? Any success??

I disagree. My family and I take a lot of supplements and it helps keep us healthy from excessive doctor trips, antibiotics and unnatural medicine.

B's help with stress hormones
I could not live without my B12 for energy, I do not do caffeine and it's non-jittery energy.
Biotin is for hair/nails and it will make them grow faster, helps people who have had hair loss from things like thyroid issues, etc.
Glucosamine- I cannot comment on.
L-Glutamine does two things, it helps muscles so when I workout super hard, I do not feel it at all the next few days. It also repairs the stomach lining for people with stomach issues like in Crohn's, Colitis, gluten allergies, IBS, Leaky Gut Syndrome, etc and I take it for both reasons.

C helps with stress, energy, and helps keep me from colds, I do not get enough citrus.
A lot of women need iron because of that time of the month, and because of low iron stores which can cause hair loss, fatigue, tiredness, hormonal issues, pale skin, sallow eyes, to get sick a lot, etc.
I take Eve Primrose Oil because it helps with PMS symptoms and helps with breast tenderness, etc and I know it does because when I don't take it, I notice the difference.
I take wild salmon oil, good for brain, heart, skin, good omegas, depression and you name it.
Probiotic because our guts suffer from foods having too much sugar in them, processed, empty carbs, etc.
Vitamin D because I live in the Northwest, it's a given. Many people get tired and depression without it, hair loss, fatigue, and you name it.
Calcium for hormonal balance- I am dairy-free so it makes sense and balances out other minerals/vitamins.
Magnesium regulates the heart/heart beat/heart rate, it's good for people with thyroid conditions, it helps stress and to calm you.
Zinc- helps you not get sick, helps thyroid, etc.
Multivitamin- the jury's out on that.
Amino Acids- help for a number of reasons, energy, metabolism, sleep well at night, fuel your body, depression, etc.

I guess it depends on how much you get from your diet, which is not much especially with food nowadays.

Excessive? From my point of view, yes. It's also largely a waste of money.

Glucosamine/chondroitin has been debunked some time ago. It really doesn't help--and I know that from experience, having severe osteoarthritis and no cartilage left in both knees.

L-Glutamine I can't comment on, but in my experience one of the best and cheapest (and most delicious) immune system boosters is fresh ginger.

Recent studies have cast doubt on multivitamins. The consensus now seems to be that they're surplus to requirements if you're eating a balanced diet that includes plenty of fresh produce.

Biotin--personal experience? Did nothing for me. Again, a balanced diet should do the trick.

As for the pregnancy-prep, I can't comment.

Having said all that, of course it's a personal decision what you do and don't take. I can't see any harm in it (except to your wallet) as long as you don't overdo it.


The only supplements I'm taking are a complex of digestive enzymes and 4000 mg of fish oil, because I'm hypothyroid and the enzymes and oil are the one thing that keeps me regular.

If you are going to be trying to conceive in the next couple months I would recommend you swap out your muli vitamin and b vitamin for a prenatal vitamin. That will definately have the extra folic acid in it. Really all women of child baring age should take a supplement formulated for women which contain folic acid because it is most needed at the very beginning of pregnancy before most women even know they have conceived. Also I would highly recommend you start taking the Omega 3 supplement now too as they are super beneficial to a baby's brain development. Good Luck

I love all the doctors in here and all the " blah blah has recently been debunked". Two years from now that debunking will be debunked and so on and so forth.

What is much more helpful is to hear from people who have actual experience with their own bodies and the results. Otherwise, shut up.

If it makes you happy, take them. It worked for Kurt Cobain.

Edit: Maybe I should practice what I preach. I have had good results with creatine monohydrate and N0Xplode (caffeine free) for pre-workout, as well as whey protein or various protein mixes. I'm trying BCAAs now as well, but don't have anything to report so far.

Are you eating well on top of all that?

It is easy to read about all the benefits of this pill/supplement etc... and feel it is important.

At the very least add one at a time and give it time to see if it works for you.

Could be placebo too

My knees make a lot of noises. From what I have read it is pretty common and not harmful in most cases.

Biotin is for hair/nails and it will make them grow faster, helps people who have had hair loss from things like thyroid issues, etc.

Funsoaps, I've been taking Biotin, in the hopes to improve my horribly thin hair (another thyroid side-effect). I'm afraid the Biotin did exactly zip. Nothing at all. Sorry, but I don't believe in it.

You don't need any of that. Waste of money. These people that recommend otherwise clearly do not have a Nutrition Science degree, which I can tell you is FAR different from all the hear say on the internet (even on seemingly legitimate sites like livestrong) and even from what doctors with their little nutrition education may tell you.

Amino acid supplements are especially dangerous. You don't want to throw off your bodies natural ratio of the different types of aas.

lol@ nutrition sciences.
Also, aas means anabolic androgenic steroids. Your body only produces one of them, testosterone. It's created from fat, not amino acids.

My professors use aa's as an abbreviation for amino acids. Sorry, I forget that isn't commonly used. Your body can make 10 on its own and gets the other 10 from food.

I guess the placebo effect works for a lot of people. The biochemistry behind most of this doesn't make sense. Things get debunked because of discoveries of more exact mechanisms on how the molecules interact. Which, of course, is highly complex and the reason why getting nutrients from food is far superior to getting them from pills.