Lets talk Vitamins

[surgtech1956]

My doctor wants me to start taking a Multi-Vitamin, Vitamin D, Omega 3, and Vitamin B. I've been dieting and have lost 40#() since the end of September. I think I eat a pretty balanced diet, lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy. Probably I don't eat enough protein.

What vitamins do you take? I've always thought its better to get the nutrients through foods then spending a ton of $$$ on vitamins.

[tulip]

I take Flax Seed Oil and vitamin B complex that includes B-12. I would take fish oil, but flax seed oil is half the price and I'm on a budget. You can get Omega-3s and protein if you eat more salmon or other cold-water fish. I don't know where to get Bs from food, so I just take a vitamin. I have a fair amount of dairy in the form of 2% milk, half-and-half (in tea and coffee), yogurt, and the occasional splurge on good ice cream, so I don't take extra D. I also spend alot of time outside--at least an hour a day walking my dog, and I ride my bike three times a week. Gardening is picking up, so that's even more time outside. No more D is needed in my case.

I've increased my protein in the past four years and it's made a huge difference in my energy and health.

If you want a customized alternative to vitamins, you could see a nutritionist. I found them to be helpful.

[OakLeaf]

When I was in college I did the Adelle Davis thing and got myself royally scr*wed up. But I learned a lesson: all necessary nutrients are in balance in our body, and if we massively increase one or a few, we've created an effective deficiency in every other nutrient that balances with those.

I do supplement a maintenance dose of calclum and magnesium, just because I sweat out a lot of those, and I get cramps and/or tics if I don't. But I keep an eye on it, because I know if I start taking a whole lot of calcium and magnesium, then I need more iron, and zinc, and copper, and, and, and.... there's really no limit once you start down the megadose road.

If I've been sick or extra stressed or haven't been able to eat well for a while - or once or twice a year just to test my levels - I take a B-complex that's balanced on the basis of nutritional need. Solaray has a formulation. (It's low in folate, because the FDA regulates the amount.) When I start peeing out yellow B-2, then I know I'm topped back up to healthy levels and I stop taking it.

Vitamin C, there's a feeling I get in my mucous membranes when I'm low on it, and especially in cold weather when raw vegetables and fruits aren't that good for me, I'll take that in pill form, too.

If I need an extra anti-inflammatory boost, the Omega-3 supplement my sister recommended to me is Udo's Choice 3-6-9, and I've been really pleased with it. It has a nice nutty flavor. A tablespoon a day on breakfast cereal, on a salad, or in a smoothie. But I don't crave that nearly as often now that I'm eating nuts basically every day.

Protein is something I tend to struggle with, too. I can get better meat in the winter than in the summer, so I've been eating more the past couple of months (particularly since I've been sick). If I were vegetarian, the only way I think I could get enough protein from real food is by basically eliminating grains. Which really wouldn't be a bad thing whatsoever, but it sure makes breakfast inconvenient.

[PamNY]

I take a multi, balanced B-complex, B 12 sometimes and fish oil. I don't eat meat and it's harder for people over 50 to get B 12 from dietary sources.

Oak, slight threadjack: how many gm protein do you feel you need per day? Or do you just go by how you feel?

[OakLeaf]

I just go by how I feel. I really ought to start counting grams, I could probably do better.

When I'm low on protein, I'm sorer longer after easier workouts, and I don't gain strength or heal as quickly. Back in the fall when I was in marathon training, my nails got so brittle that I literally could not cut them without them splintering (and I keep them very short regardless). I was downing piles of protein powder (about 20g/day from powder alone), eating beans pretty much every day, plenty of vegetables, occasional fish, dairy and eggs (like once or twice a week of each), and it just obviously wasn't nearly enough.

When I've been sick it's a whole 'nother story. I just really, really crave meat to build myself back up. I think I would've eaten my husband's arm the other night if he hadn't been able to track down that steak for me.



ETA: Read the labels on your B-complex and make sure it's really balanced. A lot of them say "balanced" on the label when what they mean is they've got, say, 50g of everything. That's like saying a garment fits because it's a cylinder the diameter of your hips... Solaray's formula is the only one I've found that's actually balanced based on the RDAs.

[marni]

recent medical studies have indicated that most women do not get enough calcium and so suggest calcium supplements along with vitamin d to help with metabolizing the calcium. They have also pretty much confirmed the good benefits of Omega 3 oil. Because so much of our food unless eaten out of your own garden or farmyard, has been processed, or grown in less than fully natural methods which leads to foods generally not being as nutritionally complete, a daily multivitamin is pretty much a standard supplement, and vitamin b is for heart, circulation and red blood which all under go a certain amount of stress as a result of exercise. I take all of these, and in addition take 400 iu vitamin e, along with glucosamine chondroitin for my arthritic and discombobulated knees.

As long as you aren't taking excessivly excessive to the point of self poisoning, your body will use the amount of vitamins it needs and will excrete the rest.

The big question is whether your Dr. actually looks at your individual needs, health level, age, activity level etc. or is he/she just following the current line. I figure if the Dr. herself takes the same vitamins in roughly approximate amounts, then she probably knows what she's talking about.

Good luck with it all.

[channlluv]

I take 5,000 IU of Vitamin D every day (gel cap, dr.-prescribed when blood tests indicated a deficiency), and 2,000 IU of Omega 3 Fish Oil gel caps. I sometimes drink a GoodBelly probiotic drink - the little 2 oz vitamin-fortified one, and every other day or so I'll take two packets of Emergen-C in 24 oz. of water. I work in an elementary school library and I really do think this, and frequent hand-washing, helps me avoid the bazillion germs that come with 330+ kids.

I also eat pretty well. Lots of fresh veggies and fruit, lean protein (had a buffalo burger today), Greek yogurt. I've foresworn fast food - yay, me!

Except for the 80 pounds I can't seem to lose, I think I'm pretty healthy.

Roxy

[KnottedYet]

Surg - did your doc test your blood levels, or just quote you a standard line about supplements?

I've got ridiculously low levels of vit D and iron (and previously B12, but I got that up to normal after years of heavy supplementation). So far, every time I get blood checks for the vit D and iron the doc tells me to add MORE. Those three are my only problematic levels, so that's all I supplement.

I take huge doses of B12, vit D, and iron every day.

Thank goodness for Costco...

[Chile Pepper]

I've taken a multivitamin for years (it's similar to ONe-a-Day). A little over a year ago I added 1,000 IU of D and 1,000 mg of C. I have never believed in megadoses of anything, but my doctor insisted I try the C for immunological issues and I added the D based friends' experiences. I feel great! This combo really seems to work for me.

[OakLeaf]

Couple of examples that everyone is probably already familiar with but might not be relating, here - one from plant biology, one from human -

* Blossom end rot in tomatoes. Everyone knows how that works, right? The fruit doesn't form properly because of a calcium deficiency in the plant. But it's almost never because the plant isn't supplied with enough calcium. Rather, it's usually either because moisture management issues prevent the plant from taking up enough calcium from the soil, or because excess nitrogen makes the plant outgrow its calcium supply. Lesson: a laboratory deficiency of a nutrient in tissues doesn't mean that a supplement is the cure. Every home gardener knows this about their tomatoes - it's really not a jump at all to human biology.

* Excess calcium/magnesium in humans. You know when you take too much, you start getting those white spots in your nails, right? Which is a sign of zinc deficiency? Except that you aren't deficient in zinc in any "absolute" sense, it's that you aren't getting enough in balance with your calcium and magnesium. Same thing when you're taking calcium out of balance with magnesium and start getting eyelid tics. Or the well-known phenomenon that people who eat a lot of animal products need a lot more calcium because of their high phosphorus intake (the reason why dairy for calcium is a vicious cycle).

Sure, you could go the Adelle Davis route and add zinc, and then copper, and then iron, and keep going in an infinite spiral of just the nutrients you know how to manage, the ones that have even been identified and are available in supplement form, which are really a tiny minority of the literally millions of compounds in food that nourish our bodies. Or you could throttle it all back down to what your body actually needs. Get almost all of it from food and water and exercise and sunshine. I'm not above using supplements, as I said before, and I'm not criticizing anyone who does, but I just think you need to be really, really, really careful with them, and recognize that they are a crutch and a signpost pointing to where we should really improve our diet instead.

[tulip]

I always thought those white spots were copper deficiency. I had them when I was a child and teenager, but not since.

[PamNY]

White spots on nail are often from minor bumps. I wouldn't draw nutritional conclusions based on that alone.

http://www.aad.org/public/publicatio...mmon_nail.html

[nscrbug]

Here is my daily vitamin/supplement regimen:

First thing in the AM, taken with breakfast - 1 women's multi, 1 Osteo Bi-Flex Triple Strength, 2400mg fish oil.

At lunch - 1 Osteo Bi-Flex, 1000mg Ester-C, Vitamin B Stress Complex, Calcium Citrate, 250mg Magnesium, 1000 Vit D3.

At dinner - Another dose of Calcium/Mag/Vit. D

This plan seems to work well for me.

[KnottedYet]

I'm not above using supplements, as I said before, and I'm not criticizing anyone who does, but I just think you need to be really, really, really careful with them, and recognize that they are a crutch and a signpost pointing to where we should really improve our diet instead.

Celiac disease messed up my guts big time, and I have some hefty malabsorption issues.

Just cuz I take handfuls of pills from Costco doesn't mean everyone should! If anyone has concerns about their diet and nutrition, I really recommend getting tested and working with your doctor and a nutritionist. Working with a nutritionist is a lot of fun, and you learn stuff you never knew!

Totally worth the co-pay, in my book.

[OakLeaf]

Well, nobody could bump their fingernails that much and have zero other injury anywhere else on their fingers or hands, but whatever ... that wasn't the point, anyway.

And anyone with an identified physiological malabsorption issue obviously has special dietary issues, just as people with severe skeletal or neurological abnormalities sometimes need a literal crutch. I'm talking about general population and I hope everyone understands that... but I think "being careful" applies to everyone, whether they have an undisputed need or not. Just as I'm sure you would agree there's a correct ergonomic way for an individual to size and use a crutch, and a whole lot of ways they could wind up causing themselves other problems with it.


And I really do need to get with a sports nutritionist on protein, sodium, magnesium and sweat rate. This summer ...