Wellness

[qvcaddition]

@RedTop 

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@RedTop wrote:

I take Vit. B12 and D because lab work shows I am deficient.  

I do not buy into the hype of OTC products as defense against colds, etc.   My defense is staying out of crowds, washing my hands frequently, not touching my face, rinsing my toothbrush with peroxide daily, and using peroxide as a mouthwash.  

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I also do that.  Started when Covid came.

[goldensrbest]

I soak my toothbrush. and water pic tool in peroxide a few nights a wk.

[ALRATIBA]

None, and my docs agree.

[JumpTheRope]

In just finding out I have a low Kidney Count of 38
(out of 100)
in my research I learned that although supplements are sold OTC, not all the bottles contain what the label says as they are not regulated.
CVS/WALGREENS use an independent lab to confirm purity, possibly others do as well.

But I also learned that although I thought I was doing a *good thing* by ingesting certain targeted supplements, I was probably doing harm to my kidneys which have to filter them all .

Vitamins are not an issue, I take the common ones of a B-Complex, D and C, but Supplements are different...

I currently take Biotin which is much cheaper than any Hair/Skin/Nails product, also Collagen (the 5 types) capsules, and a few others for digestion.

But I retired many , so that my kidneys do not have to work so hard.
Kidney function can't be improved/increased, but
I can stop the deterioration by the correct diet, etc.

BTW, it is difficult to get the suggested level of protein, vitamins, minerals, etc. through what we normally eat .(unless you are eating purposefully.)

Not here to lecture, only to share what I've learned about supplements re: kidney function.
Not to mention that supplements can interfere w perscription drugs as well as each other.

I wish supplements were regulated, as they can *act* like a medicine in our bodies.

[jubilant]

I take a multi for women over 40, D3,C, and in the winter I add Zinc.  The D3 was doctor subscribed.

I edited this to add that I think much of our food today is depleted so that is one reason I take vitamins.

 a carrot, it tastes like a carrot, but is it as good for us as it once was? 

The nutritional values of some popular vegetables, from asparagus to spinach, have dropped significantly since 1950. A 2004 US study found important nutrients in some garden crops are up to 38% lower than there were at the middle of the 20th Century. On average, across the 43 vegetables analysed, calcium content declined 16%, iron by 15% and phosphorus by 9%. The vitamins riboflavin and ascorbic acid both dropped significantly, while there were slight declines in protein levels. Similar decreases have been observed in the nutrients present in wheat. What's happening?

Prompted by food shortages after World War Two, scientists developed new high-yield varieties of crops and breeds of livestock, alongside synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, to boost food production. Coupled with improvements in irrigation and the advent of affordable tractors, crop productivity increased dramatically. The average global cereal yield rose 175% between 1961 and 2014, with wheat, for example, rising from an average yield of 1.1 tonnes per hectare to 3.4 tonnes per hectare in around the same timeframe. 

While yields went up, nutrient levels in some crops declined, bringing intensive farming techniques under scrutiny. Could it be, as some have claimed, the result of the increased use of artificial pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals disrupting the fine balance of soil life, the health of crop plants, and therefore affecting the quality of the food we eat? 

A 170-year study into wheat grown using different farming techniques in the UK suggests there is more going on. 

"The Broadbalk experiment is one of the oldest continuous agronomic experiments in the world. Started in 1843, it has been comparing the effect of inorganic [artificial] fertilisers and organic manures on winter wheat. It has specifically examined the levels of iron and zinc in wheat grown under different farming methods," explains Steve McGrath, a professor in soil and plant science at Rothamsted Research in the UK. 

"First, our findings show that it isn't a lack of micronutrients in the soil that is driving the lower nutrients in the crop. Those that are bioavailable, that is, in a form that the plant can absorb, don't change with intensive farming methods."

So, if the soil is as good as it was, what else is going on? Have the plants themselves changed?

(I think this article was from the BBC.)

[JumpTheRope]

Very interesting, thanks!
I read that in the bible, after 6 years of planting a crop, that the 7th year the land should be crop free and allowed to replenish itself
Makes sense as "on the 7th Day..."
But of course Big Agr. would not agree to
"lazy land"....

(as an aside..yes I also take Zinc because the
Vit.D3 processes better with combination.)
That's not the right word...hmmm... metabolizes??

[hyacinth003]

As an RN, I believe nutrition is not taught or researched enough.  We never heard much about using calcium or Vitamin D much in the past.  Now, it's been discovered they are important, more so to women.  It was discovered intake of folic acid befoe and during pregnancy may prevent spina bifida.

You need to be careful about intake of fat soluble vitamins.  Water soluble vitamins are mostly excreted if not used.

I think one can overdo it.  A "healthy diet" can be disputed at times.  We all know outliers who do everything wrong and live a long time and vice versa.  People argue on being vegetarian.

I don't have the answers, but would like to see health care providers more informed.

Hyacinth

[Icegoddess]

i take prescription 50,000 IU D2/week and 2000 IU D3 daily except on the day I take the prescription one.  Most docs only prescribe the D2 for a short period of time, but when mine did that, after I stopped taking the D2, my levels dropped and my fatigue returned, so this is how WE handle it.  

I also take CoQ10 per my doctor's suggestion although I was already taking it before and I credit it with getting me out of the Periodontist's chair.

Besides that, I take silica, K2, & Calcium Citrate for my bones, phytoceramides for my skin, and Biotin for hair, skin, and nails.  

Just had a bone density scan and was told they were perfect.

Am I on some prescriptions?  Yes.  Do I think a healthier diet would fix that? No, and neither does my doctor.  

[DrHeather]

I take a regular multivitamin, black seed oil capsules, sea moss gel in my smoothies, powdered spinach and greens in my smoothies, and a calcium supplement.

[Sooner]

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@jubilant wrote:

I take a multi for women over 40, D3,C, and in the winter I add Zinc.  The D3 was doctor subscribed.

I edited this to add that I think much of our food today is depleted so that is one reason I take vitamins.

 a carrot, it tastes like a carrot, but is it as good for us as it once was? 

The nutritional values of some popular vegetables, from asparagus to spinach, have dropped significantly since 1950. A 2004 US study found important nutrients in some garden crops are up to 38% lower than there were at the middle of the 20th Century. On average, across the 43 vegetables analysed, calcium content declined 16%, iron by 15% and phosphorus by 9%. The vitamins riboflavin and ascorbic acid both dropped significantly, while there were slight declines in protein levels. Similar decreases have been observed in the nutrients present in wheat. What's happening?

Prompted by food shortages after World War Two, scientists developed new high-yield varieties of crops and breeds of livestock, alongside synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, to boost food production. Coupled with improvements in irrigation and the advent of affordable tractors, crop productivity increased dramatically. The average global cereal yield rose 175% between 1961 and 2014, with wheat, for example, rising from an average yield of 1.1 tonnes per hectare to 3.4 tonnes per hectare in around the same timeframe. 

While yields went up, nutrient levels in some crops declined, bringing intensive farming techniques under scrutiny. Could it be, as some have claimed, the result of the increased use of artificial pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals disrupting the fine balance of soil life, the health of crop plants, and therefore affecting the quality of the food we eat? 

A 170-year study into wheat grown using different farming techniques in the UK suggests there is more going on. 

"The Broadbalk experiment is one of the oldest continuous agronomic experiments in the world. Started in 1843, it has been comparing the effect of inorganic [artificial] fertilisers and organic manures on winter wheat. It has specifically examined the levels of iron and zinc in wheat grown under different farming methods," explains Steve McGrath, a professor in soil and plant science at Rothamsted Research in the UK. 

"First, our findings show that it isn't a lack of micronutrients in the soil that is driving the lower nutrients in the crop. Those that are bioavailable, that is, in a form that the plant can absorb, don't change with intensive farming methods."

So, if the soil is as good as it was, what else is going on? Have the plants themselves changed?

(I think this article was from the BBC.)

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@jubilant Without those changes and innovations (such as GMO), food would be sky high in price, only available by what is seasonal and grown locally, and famine and starvation would be worldwide.  Like so many things, it is a trade-off.  Far more of the world would be uninhabitable.