Wellness

[Gooday]

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20121130/older-adults-vitamins-supplements

After reading all these posts, it surprises me to think that you all feel it necessary to spend money on a capsule/pill when it's possible to get your vitamins and nutrients in food.  JMO.  I think a good multivitamin and/or Vitamin D as we get older should is sufficient.  Again, JMO.

[Nightowlz]

---

@Gooday wrote:

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20121130/older-adults-vitamins-supplements

After reading all these posts, it surprises me to think that you all feel it necessary to spend money on a capsule/pill when it's possible to get your vitamins and nutrients in food.  JMO.  I think a good multivitamin and/or Vitamin D as we get older should is sufficient.  Again, JMO.

---

Not a good idea. JMO. Research soil depletion & nutrition.

[glmama]

Interesting thread, bebe.

Just recently heard an author of a book entitled Vitamania on NPR discusing the rise of supplment usage and how the whole industry started. 

I tend to agree with this author and other specialists that believe that most supplements are unncessary and that most are unregulated. However, I DO believe that D3 is super important and I take this regularly. I also take Flax Seed oil and other Omegas. When needed, I take a probiotic, too. 

[Gooday]

---

@glmama wrote:

Interesting thread, bebe.

Just recently heard an author of a book entitled Vitamania on NPR discusing the rise of supplment usage and how the whole industry started. 

I tend to agree with this author and other specialists that believe that most supplements are unncessary and that most are unregulated. However, I DO believe that D3 is super important and I take this regularly. I also take Flax Seed oil and other Omegas. When needed, I take a probiotic, too. 

---

DH just had his bi-annual check up including blood work.  He has an extensive medical history which I will not bore you with.  Suffice it to say, it is significant.  Anyway...his PCP told him that his vitamin D level was below where it should be so, he told him to take 1000ml. every day.  When DH asked him about vitamins in general, the Dr. told him that most if the body does not need them they are excreted through the urine so in essence, you are flushing your money away.  Unless your blood work shows a deficiency, save your money.

I had a grandfather who lived to 91 and my dad turned 87 today and somehow, they have managed to have good, fairly healthy lives.  The only thing my grandfather ever took was a spoonful of cod liver oil and a glass of orange juice as a chaser.

JMO but I am leery of all this pill swallowing.

[Reba055]

I have trouble with most all supplements and vitamins, and I'm not sure why. I've tried Andrew's too. They all upset my stomach or cause a rash. I am deficient in Vitamin D. I have tried all kinds including prescription to plant based and I have an allergic reaction. Does anyone have any idea why?  My endo says it's impossible to be allergic to Vit D (yeah, ok) and all other docs I've asked just say they don't know and shrug. 

I feel  like it's really getting low. I try to get out in the sun but it's been raining like crazy and I'm not getting enough I know.

Also 2 allergists just looked at me weird, lol. 

[VaBelle35]

@Reba055

I would suggest trying to find a naturopath or functional medicine practitioner.

I think you've stumped the band ;o)

But in all seriousness, low D leads to other health issues down the road, so you shouldn't ignore it and shouldn't just let it go.

[blackhole99]

My doctor just rolls his eyes when I give him a list of all the supplements I take. LOL The only ones he takes seriously is the CoQ10 because I'm on a statin, Fish Oil,  Calcium and Vit D. I only take AL supplements, I wouldn't waste my money on other supplements. My husband and I have been taking supplements since we were young and we are in pretty good shape for being senior citizens. My husband is 72 and still teaches high school math and our doctor tells him he's the healthiest 72 yr. old man he knows. Our diet is pretty good and we rarely get sick , I really think it's due to the supplements. Oh before I forget, I'm 65 and have been taking Calcium since I was 23 yr. old, my DEXA scan reveals I'm not at risk for fracture and I'm a little lady.

[VaBelle35]

re Vitamins and supplements (which are technically two different things, but I understand when people refer to vitamins that they are referring to the variety of pills people take and that they are not strictly talking about what are technically vitamins).

I think that when doctors (and others) refer to taking vitamins as "expensive urine" it is because these things only work for you and work correctly if you eat the right things with it.  Some of them need water, some of them need fat in order to be absorbed.  And the quality of the supplement is important, too, because if it isn't breaking down in the right place in your body, it's not giving you it's utmost potential (or doing anything at all).

We all learned about water soluble and fat soluble in biology in school.  But, many people just chew and run and don't take the time to supplement properly and apply solubility (is that a word?) to the equation.

So, in that sense, yes, it's expensive urine.  

[glmama]

gooday-I tend to agree with you on this. But I also believe, of course, that ppl have the right to spend their $ where they wish. I just wish we all (including myself) were not duped my often misleading vitamin/supplement info and advertising.  

[VaBelle35]

I do my own due diligence before I plunk down money.

It's very easy to go out to PubMed.gov and search on a particular supplement and see all the studies done on it and the findings.  For example, Andrew talked about something he and Muriel are doing (drinking home-made protein drink shots first thing and last thing each day).  I went out and found the study he was referring to and it is specifically about older adults, exercise recovery and supplmenting with protein.  It sounds good to me and something I want to try (I posted about it on the other thread).  If I feel better doing it, I'll keep doing it.  If I don't see any difference, I'll stop.

Plus, I do a lot of wellness visits with specialists throughout the year, so I poll my medical team for feedback.

I also have to check to make sure there are no interactions with what I use on my face for rosacea and what I take for allergies (Allegra).  I also like to know if it is a blood thinner or raises/lowers blood pressure.  The ones that thin the blood or can thin the blood I don't take 48 hours before dental appointments or other medical appointments where I get blood drawn just so I don't get unnecessary bleeding.

I also like to know how long it was tested, what the safe upper limits are and any other cautions I should know about.  MayoClinic, NIH, WebMD usually have this data in an easy to read format.

I take it all in and then I make an informed decision on where I am plunking down my money.

As I said on one of these threads, the true test will be on Wednesday afternoon when I get my first set of bloodwork back after being on supplements and eating Primal Blueprint for about a year.

Once I get those test results back, I will be revisiting everything and making appropriate adjustments.