Your Thoughts on Supplements.....

Protein Powder, multivitamin, fish oil and saw palmetto are all I use. Most supplements only help with lightening the wallet.

Yeah, supplement industry has gone a bit crazy. With that being said, I do use whey protein, creatine, fish oil, and athletic greens

I think supplements are great.... if you are actually deficient in something.
Otherwise there is a very good chance you are just peeing them out again and all that money you spend is (literally) going down the toilet.
I think they are one of the great marketing successes of our time - so many people are convinced that they NEED a multivitamin so the companies make huge amounts of money that they can spend convincing us that we need to buy more of their products.

Having said that, if someone feels that they are better off taking them, go for it - usually (though not always) they aren't at a high enough dose to do any harm.

I take a prenatal multivitamin, fish oil/omega 3 pills, a calcium supplement with Vit D, and fiber. I also take a CLA supplement too when i think about it, but at the very least I take the vitamins and calcium.

Living here in the Pacific NW, Vit.D is kind of important, and I cant chug the milk like I used to sadly. My Dr recommended the fish oil, and the calcium/Vit D pills...and said the CLA is ok if I want to take it.

So I try.

At the very least I get the multi vitamin down if nothing else.

I take the usual daily multivitamin, DHA/EPA (algae for me, not fish oil), Calcium and Vitamin D for bone health, several supplements to help reduce my insulin resistance and few other odds and ends. I keep an updated list of all medications and supplements. It gets printed it out and taken with me it on each visit to the Dr.

I believe multivitamins and Omega 3 are necessary, the first one because the body doesn't absorv all the vitamins that food contains and the fish oil to keep heart in good condition, anyway there's speculation but I repeat it...to my opinion for a body that worksout 4-5 days per week per at least a couple of hours supplements are a MUST:

...other than that...it's just a big business that tries to make you believe you need it.

As someone who worked in the pharma industry I will say this:

a) The supplement industry ain't got nothin' on big pharma in the "take this magic pill and solve all your ills" propaganda - pharma invented it - period.
b) All the negative "science" put out there about supplements is usually sponsored directly or indirectly by big pharma or people related to big pharma - people who care for their diabetes holistically via diet exercise and supplements are a direct threat to big pharma's market share.
c) Knowing first hand the scum bags who work in big pharma and how they lie and peddle their poison on the public with no care other than the share price of their stock, I am willing to give a smart. self-made entrepeneur like Andrew Lessman a chance to earn my trust - so far he has - his products work for me - Big Pharma's don't.
d) This news story from last week says it all for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi_Ds2G2ZQI

Well it seems quite perverse that in a land often refered to as ' a sunburnt country' such as Australia we are being now told to check for vitamin D deficiency! Seems that the Slip-Slop-Slap message (Slip on a long sleeved shirt, Slop on sunblock, Slap on a hat) for guarding against skin cancer has been noted so well that Ozzies are now having to be told to expose themselves to the sun for a dose of vitamin D! So I agree that in parts of the world where it may be too cold & overcast for extended periods of time vitamin D may be lacking and so compromising calcium absorption.

On my part, ever since deciding to undertake a calorie restricted, weight loss diet I started supplementing to offset any potential vitamin deficiency. Imagine my surprise when over time my eyesight started to improve!! This suggests that either I was not eating a balanced diet before attempting to loose weight, or in attempting to loose weight I am eating better though MUCH fewer calories, OR/& in taking supplements I may finally be delivering my body the correct dose of nutrients it now needs and/or it is able to absorb.

As we age digestive enzymes and hormones shift their potency and rebalance as best they can. Unfortunately this means to many of us that we are simply not digesting and absorbing our food nutrients as well as we may have once done. I believe that it is generally best to be vitamin supplement free but to also become attuned to your energy and performance levels and to remain open to the possibility of requiring supplement support as needed.

I have a 76 year old friend in need of hip replacement due to cartilage deterioration yet was told by the doctors examining him that his arteries are clean as a whistle in spite his ardent consumption of dairy, much to their surprise. He told me that his mother religiously gave him a tablespoon of fish oil from when he was a child and it became a habit with him as he happened to like the taste! so fish oil it is for me too!

I now religiously add probiotics to my Greek yoghurt if I'm sluggish, take fish oil, an age/gender appropriate multivitamin, and vitamin C. Whilst on my weight reduction I also took vitamin B complex and a liver supplement proprietry cocktail that included St Mary's Thistle. I always mentally tally how much calcium I consume a day and when necessary add a calcium & D vitamin to the mix. Further to this I try and better balance my system with various teas and herbs such as ginger, dandelion root tea, curry (which has turmeric, fenugreek etc), cinnamon etc. as I read up on various topics. So far seems to be working and I'm learning heaps along the way which makes it all the more interesting, a bit like a voyage if self discovery, or rediscovery!

I got this bottle called GNC Men's green. I didn't actually buy it. I got it free when I bought this container of protein powder. So that is the only reason im taking that. The one supplement in pill form I actually buy is fish oil and take 1-3 a day (depending on how well I remember to take them lol)

Protein Powder, multivitamin, fish oil and saw palmetto are all I use. Most supplements only help with lightening the wallet.

^^^^^^^
THIS - BING!!!

I love vitamins and I do think that they are important.. for me. I take a biotin(for my hair, it makes it grow super fast), fish oils, a multi vitamin and a vit D supplment in the winter.

I do truly believe that the right supplements boost your mental health as well. I started to take niacin, st johns wort, ginko and b-complex which all zapped out a bit of the blues I developed after the last year after a huge life change, it worked like magic and very quickly, too.

So True. If it wasn't for supplements, there would be no doubt I'd be dead

I would say vitamin D if you live in a state that gets cloudy a lot. Protein powder if you struggle getting enough. A multivitamin if you don't eat your fruits and veggies. Melatonin to help sleep....other than that...it's just a big business that tries to make you believe you need it.
I'm sure there are others for joint health...but i can't say either way on that.
If you don't like or eat fish, then take omega 3's.

Agree with MOST of this, except for the big business end. I take supplements for other things when I sense my body depleting.

If I go out in the sun, I have to apply sunBLOCK- I am not supposed to be exposed to high doses of sun-
and because of it, my body doesn't get the natural vit D it needs.
My dr. said if people who are cautious about sun exposure use the sunblock, it is also blocking the Vit D absorption.

I UP my Vit C levels during cold/flu season to boost my immune system

RIGHT
there are so many ''regular'' vitamins, minerals (which is why i put in the multivitamin).. Vitamin C of course is a great one. And I would also suggest a low dose asprin. <<<these are all cheap compared to the 'fancy' newer supplements on the market.
I meant a lot is big business because of All the crazy supplements most people have never even heard of that nutrienists promote as a way to fatten their wallets. Individual ''regular'' vitamin and minerals are great! Like a b-12 for more energy.
Hope that made better sense....