Now that there is more and more evidence vitamin supplements don't do much good

[Quixote1818]

do you still take any? If so what do you take? The only things I take are Vitamin D, Zinc and Fish Oil. All three have pretty good science behind them.

Of course some people should take certain types of vitamins if they have deficiencies or their Dr. thinks they might help with an ailment.



http://io9.com/how-many-of-your-health-supplements-are-actually-snake-1492960177

[ananda]

1. I have found this good to know.

I've been cutting back on some supplements,
and I've changed my diet considerably.

This is saving me buckets; and after a bad
bout with an onion allergy I didn't know I
had, all is going very well.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Love seeing garlic, dark chocolate and green tea near the top!

Whether placebo effect or not, I've received lots of help over 10 years taking a combo of Turmeric, Boswellia and Glucosamine for my really bad knees (bone on bone, torn ACLs, cart. damage) - doctor looks at my XRays and wonders how I can even walk!

[get the red out]

57. I love all three of those

because they taste damn good! YUM!

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. All the supplements I take are under the advise of an MD.

Usual labs just ordered.

[ZombieHorde]

4. I don't take any. nt

[Quixote1818]

5. If you eat right there is no need to.

[ZombieHorde]

6. I don't eat right. nt

[Quixote1818]

9. Well, according to science you probably aren't doing any harm

and your saving yourself some bucks.

[ZombieHorde]

14. I actually eat a variety of foods, I just also eat a lot of pizza.

I order out pizza at least twice a week, and I stuff myself. Mmmmmm...pizza...

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Depends what you put on it

I make mine at home. Plenty of garlic in the marinara sauce, and vegetarian pizza. I love it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Small qualifier.

Even if you eat right, some people need them due to mal absorption issues. More of a qualifier, these are a minority of the population. Second sub group that needs some supplementation, people with a propensity to certain types of infections, again a small sub group.

There are a few others for which science is solid, but all should be done with lab work to make sure they are needed.

In one particular case, see the propensity for infection, you want to pee it away.

I just think these grand generalizations miss these sub groups of folks.

[Quixote1818]

15. For sure, good points. nt

[Big Blue Marble]

30. That generalization is often a fallacy.

I eat an extremely healthy diet and fall short on multiple nutrients. It is partially
that I have to limit my calories to maintain a healthy weight. It is also because
I eat no meat. I need to supplement with zinc, b's, and selenium. If you do not
track your nutrients (I do) you can not be sure if you are getting all that you need.

[Whisp]

21. I use my cast iron fry pan for iron, love garlic and citrusy things

milk, not so fond of taking it straight but drink a fair amount with my coffee.

[LongTomH]

7. Vitamin D3, Fish Oil and Iron on the advice of my doctor

CoQ10 because I'm taking a statin and melatonin for sleep

[laundry_queen]

8. I take some.

I take vit D since I have a documented deficiency. I also take probiotics, as prescribed by my gastroenterologist. I throw in magnesium and potassium when I get cramps from the vitamin D. And I'll take vit C if I haven't eaten much for citrus or other vit C rich foods recently (citrus gives me horrid toothaches, as I have thin enamel).

That's about it. Oh, I put garlic on everything, LOL, but that's not a supplement - that's flavor!!

[Gravitycollapse]

10. I have a sleeping disorder and I take melatonin every night.

Granted, I take A LOT of other medications. But the melatonin makes an observable difference in my sleepiness just prior to bed time.

[etherealtruth]

50. The chart agrees with your experience!

[Journeyman]

11. My doctor recommended Vitamin B to treat a peripheral neuropathy condition known as. . .

stocking & glove neuropathy. It was caused, he said, by a Vitamin B deficiency.

I started taking B-complex vitamins that day and haven't had a recurrence of the condition in the three or more years since.

His diagnosis and treatment are confirmed by the Mayo Clinic website:

Vitamin deficiencies. B vitamins, including B-1, B-6 and B-12, are particularly important to nerve health. Vitamin E and niacin also are crucial to nerve health. Not having enough of these vitamins in your system may cause peripheral neuropathy.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/basics/causes/con-20019948

I agree: Most supplements seem a waste of money. I'd disagree with the graphic, however. In my case, for this condition, Vitamin B supplements have worked wonders.

(Interesting site where the graphic came from -- cochrane.org -- I'll need to look through it as it could prove quite useful.)

[sorefeet]

48. Nothing, zero, did not help at all

I took vitamin B12, B complex, and I got a vitamin B shot once a month for my chemically induced neuropathy. It never fazed mine, it has only gotten worse over the years. Marijuana and opiates are the only thing that has come close to helping my torture.

[Journeyman]

62. I'm really sorry to hear that, and commiserate with you for your condition . . .

My condition was never as bad as yours appears to be. You say yours is "chemically induced." My doctor told me mine is a result of excessive drinking. And even though I'd quit over 20 years before he diagnosed me, and the condition had not manifested itself until some 15+ years after I quit, he said the damage I'd done had only been slow to present itself.

I hope you find release from your suffering.

[SidDithers]

12. DU rec...nt

Sid

[NoOneMan]

16. Fish Oil, Vitamin D and Vitamin THC here

Well, I've kind of slipped on the first two lately


Also when sick mash up garlic cloves and make shitake soup, followed up by more Vitamin THC. Maybe its placebo. But whatever.

[Rex]

18. Can you believe people think it helps reverse the aging process?

Thank goodness for doctors.

[reformist2]

60. Bubbles move up, and bubbles move down.

[frazzled]

19. I think this chart is highly misleading

It overstates the benefits of some things and understates the real need for others.

Take for instance the supposed "strong" evidence for green tea lowering cholesterol. This is only true in the most minimal (and thus misleading) sense. It may lower LDL cholesterol by a tiny amount (around 2%), but for people with serious high cholesterol, the effect is not enough to make the tiniest dent in the problem. You could die thinking green tea will cure you.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/really-the-claim-drinking-green-tea-can-help-lower-cholesterol/

On the other hand, do not dismiss the need for supplements such as iron and B-12 in the case of certain deficiencies or diseases. If you have anemia or one of a number of diseases (or if you are pregnant, when increased blood volume requires greater stores of iron), prescribed iron supplements are necessary and highly beneficial. Certain diseases like celiac or Crohn's may necessitate supplements of B-12.

In other words: ignore this chart for the most part, and consult a reputable physician.

(Lastly, Vitamin D is very controversial in the most recent studies. If taken in reasonable doses it can't hurt (though it may not help), but it is overprescribed and can be harmful if taken in large doses.)

[Quixote1818]

22. Not to mention, there is more and more evidence that high cholesterol may not be so bad

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110505142730.htm

[dionysus]

20. they don't do much good IF you are not deficient, or, if you take them in the wrong way.

a vitamin will help someone with deficiencies. also, some vitamins need to be taken with the right food combinations, or they will not absorb.

if you have enough vitamins in your system already, or take them incorrectly, you'll just pee them out.

[renate]

23. you mentioned that you're taking a zinc supplement

I hope your supplement contains copper as well--even though the chart says that there is no evidence that a copper supplement is beneficial.

High zinc intakes can inhibit copper absorption, sometimes producing copper deficiency and associated anemia. For this reason, dietary supplement formulations containing high levels of zinc, such as the one used in the AREDS study, sometimes contain copper.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/

[Quixote1818]

26. Thanks for the info!

Think I am going to cut back and only take it a couple of times a week. I tend to get a lot of colds so recently I decided to try taking extra zinc.

[ChiciB1]

24. I Take Several Of The Blues Ones Because My Doctor

said they would help my osteoarthritis. Also taking Calcium with D and Omega 3.

AND last Tuesday my 9 year old chocolate labrador retriever who has onchyodystrophy was put on a strict diet of white fish & sweet potato only. But Vet said she should take Omega 3 and niacinamide, a B supplement, along with the prescription medication she's taking. Cipro, free from Publix and Pentoxifylline (Trental)

Been dealing with this problem for about 7 months and her nails still haven't healed sufficiently. However, in just the short while she's been on the new pet food I'm seeing some positive results.

So, I suppose diet goes a long way, but still feel she needs the Omega 3 & niacinamide. But many supplements don't seem to be worth the money. I've seen too many people taking gobs of the stuff and seems a bit weird to me.

[ChiciB1]

28. Forgot That I Had My Blood Checked

and have a vitamin B insufficiency so doctor prescribed Vitamin B injections. I give myself one injection every month. I did ask for a copy of the results because my daughter got her Masters Degree an an ARNP. She tested insufficient too.

[Shandris]

25. Folic Acid, Multi-vitamin, C, B Complex all on the advice of my physician...

...and Milk Thistle and Biotin. MT because it works and some reports show this, and Biotin because OMG does it work wonders.

Not woo....woohoooo!

[newfie11]

37. I take Vit C

Last edited Mon Jan 13, 2014, 04:56 AM - Edit history (1)

10 Grams a day for 40 years. I am never sick. Ever!
It works for me, I don't push this in anyone. It is my choice and it works for me.
I'm 68 years old and this is all I take. I am on no meds except for thyroid due to fall out in the 60's. I am a downwinder.

My sister had terrible acne. At the age of 25 she was told to try taking water soluble Vit A as her body was not able to use the normal oil soluble A.
This worked for her, it went away but even at the age of 80 if she stops taking it the acne returns.

I don't expect people to believe me, I'm long past that. Just telling my experiences.

[Th1onein]

27. Good grief, do you really believe that crap?

[Quixote1818]

29. Got some peer reviewed science that contradicts this?

If so we are dying to hear what it is.

[bhikkhu]

32. If you read the articles, they don't actually say what they are interpreted to say

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1789253 for instance, the most recent one I've read summarizing a bunch of work.

What it really says is that three groups aren't helped in specific ways by taking vitamins:

1) those wishing to avoid "all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, or cancer". I don't know anyone who takes vitamins for those purposes, so its no concern to me that multivitamins don't prevent cancer and so forth.

2) Men over 65 wishing to prevent cognitive decline. Multivitamins don't work for that, but I'm not in that group.

3) Men and women wishing to prevent myocardial infarction (heart attacks). Multivitamins don't work for that, but whoever said they did?

[Gravitycollapse]

41. I know several who take supplements to reduce risk of heart disease and cancer.

[bhikkhu]

42. Some supplements might help, but apparently not general multivitamins. nt

[dionysus]

44. yeah, garlic is good for the heart, but it's not a vitamin supplement.

[Th1onein]

40. Why bother? The methodology is flawed, in the work you are citing.

Go forth, educate thyself: http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2013/dec/review-most-clinical-studies-vitamins-flawed-poor-methodology

[Rex]

45. The FUD does make the rounds. Very predictable too.

It is garbage in, garbage out.

[bhikkhu]

31. The evidence is that they don't cure cancer, don't prevent cognitive decline

and don't prevent illness...reading the last well-publicised article.

I don't take multivitamins for any of those reasons, so I still take a multivitamin.

As far as "they don't do much good", maybe they don't, buy they're really cheap insurance if you don't eat enough fresh food and produce.

I'd also like to know, given that 45% or so of the US population has one chronic illness or other (and I have none, btw), whether they also propose that diet has nothing to do with chronic illness?

[liberal_at_heart]

33. I don't care what this chart says. I had a potassium and iron deficiency once

and I can tell you it is some scary stuff. I had a racing pulse and chest pains. I thought I was having a heart attack. Turned out I was low on potassium and iron. As soon as I started taking supplements those symptoms went away immediately.

[grasswire]

34. I have been in the ER with potassium and magnesium deficiency.

People may not understand that some of their prescribed medications can cause a deficiency of one nutrient or another.

Even antacids can cause a deficiency.

[newfie11]

38. This happened to my husband

The ER thought he had a heart attack. Fortunately his doctor showed up before they could go farther.
On checking his blood work it was found to be very low in magnesium.
He was given a mag drip and back to normal in 20 minutes.
This was a man who could not stand at all when the ambulance brought him in. He walked out of the hospital, back to normal.

This happened again 10 years later and we were out of state. The ER Dr didn't believe me on the mag but did do a blood test.
So the head CT, Head MRI were negative and the mag comes back low.

She finally puts him on an IV drip of mag and he's back to normal in 20 mins. He walked out under his own power and the dr was astonished.

My husband is on cholesterol meds and this is what is causing the mag to drop.

[Lunacee_2013]

47. I've been low on potassium a few times before and

hell yeah it can make your heart race. The cure hurts even worse, if you're running so low that you need an I.V. Potassium is rough on the veins so it burns like hell fire when it goes through you. Was the iron deficiency connected to the potassium deficiency? I've never had problems with iron before, but almost every time I'm low on potassium I'm also low on salt. I get lab work down every 3 months and my sodium levels are always low. Actually had a doctor tell me once that I needed to eat more salt. That's probably one of the few times a doctor has told an American to eat more salt, lol.

[liberal_at_heart]

61. my daughter has been told to eat salt. She has low blood pressure which according to the

doctor it is not that unusual for young people to have low blood pressure. I actually had low blood pressure when I was young too. It has normalized now that I am getting older. I don't know if my iron deficiency was connected to my low potassium. I haven't had any blood panels done in a while. I probably should just to make sure I am not low on anything. I haven't had any symptoms in a long time.

[grasswire]

35. interesting chart

I take and have no plans to stop taking:

CoQ10
Omega 3
Low dose ASA
E
D
B complex
Magnesium
Potassium
zinc/calcium

I would add a couple more specific supplements if I could afford to.

[newfie11]

39. You are wise to do so

And I applaud you.

[tridim]

55. Interesting that Magnesium isn't even on the chart.

And nearly everyone is deficient. Did I miss it?

I take C, Mag Chloride/Citrate, and green smoothies. They work, and I will never stop taking them despite The Man not wanting me to.

[grasswire]

58. magnesium changed my life, truly

I was in the ER with arrhythmia about five years ago, and the ER doc suggested that I start taking a magnesium supplement. Wow. What a difference. That plus the CoQ10 have really improved my status regarding arrhythmia and stamina.

Although once I accidentally inhaled a mag tablet. Argh! A trip to the ER for that!

[tridim]

59. I don't have an arrhythmia or any other issues...

but magnesium is changing my life as well.

It makes my body feel like it did when I was 12. It normalized and smoothed out everything. It's hard to describe, it just feels nice and "right".

[ScreamingMeemie]

36. Potassium, B-12, Melatonin

and Kava.

[goldent]

43. I'm going to hold off...

I figure I won't have to wait too long until another chart comes out with all of the supplements swapped around.

[Lunacee_2013]

46. I take 2-3 multi-vitamins

and break them up and take them through out the week, but some of my doctors recommended it. I have type 1 diabetes, along with some other smaller health issues, so I have problems when it comes to things like calcium and b vitamins. I also use goji (I think that's what it's called) juice sometimes because it makes my stomach feel better. I went through a few surgeries about 4-5 years ago and that lead to nerve damage, which sometimes turns my whole mid-section into one giant muscle cramp and for some reason the berry juice makes me feel better.

I've been looking into more natural ways to control my blood sugar (both in supplements and in foods) and had a couple of people, including some nurses, recommend cinnamon and some of the healthy fats, iirc sunflower oil was one of them. Umm, I need to remember to ask my primary doctor about that next time I see him...

[etherealtruth]

49. Vitamin D, fish oil, calcium

I drink green tea

I have habitually taken a multi vit with folic acid (because it was easy) ... now that the chance of pregnancy is virtually nil there really is no need to continue

[ann---]

51. Vitamins and herbs do

me much good. One would have to eat a LOT of organic GOOD food to get all the nutrients a body needs to stay healthy. It's not snake oil if it has proven to work for yourself.

[Zorra]

52. I take Trader Joes Women's Formula Hair, Skin and Nails, multivitamins, and one TJ's Complete EFA

gel cap every day. I drink 5 ounces of Trader Joe's Green Drink mixed with 5 ounces of another type of juice that I alternate every ten days, ie orange, grape, cranberry, apple, veggie, mango, peach, whatever.

I've been vegetarian for 23 years, get lots of exercise, don't smoke, drink lots of pure water, very moderate alcohol use.

I have never had a flu shot, and only had one flu in my lifetime, when I was in like 2nd grade. I have not had a cold in 5 1/2 yrs. My eyes are 20/20, and i don't need reading glasses. My hair has only a tiny bit of gray.

I just got my lab results back from a wellness exam and full blood workup lab. Everything was normal or better.

And I am old enough to remember the launch of Sputnik 1.

So...I'm going to continue taking my vitamins everyday; despite what the Big Pharma scientists say.

[pnwmom]

53. You disproved your own OP.

There is some good science behind some supplements -- but not every supplement.

Also, what is being shown is that a scattershot approach hasn't been proven to be of benefit. Not that individual people never need supplements of B-12, or D, or iron, etc.

[SheilaT]

54. I don't take any supplements.

Never have. I do have a cast-iron skillet that gets used regularly. I also drink lots of red wine and dark chocolate.

Don't get flu -- although I did several times in my childhood and youth. Last cold was about four years ago. I do generally eat reasonably well, although it wouldn't hurt me to consume more veggies and fruit. Meanwhile, I simply enjoy my good health.

[get the red out]

56. I take Inositol and Glucosamine

Because it WORKS on my very uncomfortable yet mild Tourettes. I could take heavy duty anti-psychotics for this, and gain alot of weight and zonk myself out unnecessarily, but I take the Inositol. When I found out that it could be used to relieve this problem that I would spend every day trying to hide, I thought it was worth a try. I was AMAZED.

I eat a pretty healthy diet and get exercise and don't feel I have any need for a multi-vitamin or anything. I also take Glucosamine for my joints and can SERIOUSLY tell a difference when I don't. I want to remain active because it is very good for my health. I like to be able to walk an hour a day and run my very fast dog in agility even though I am middle-aged.

I will continue to take these. No one will be able to attack me enough on any message board to stop something that is of benefit to me every day of my life. I go see a physician regularly and take several pharmaceuticals that he prescribes, and I am grateful for them. No one will attack me out of those either.