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Supplements for general health. Needed or not? Which ones if yes?

Danye

I know supplements can be looked on less than favourably at times, but I’m wondering what’s peoples thoughts on the best supplements for optimal living?

I personally take a multi vit, vit d3, probiotic, fish oil, mag citerate, zinc and L- arginine.

Is there anything you’d add or subtract from the list?

I’m also dubious as to the quality of some of the supplements. I remember looking up the contents of some supplements on my protein and it appeared to be quite poor to my untrained eye. Who are the best supplement companies - quality wise?

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markmoto

if you have adequate diet plan you wouldn't need supplements on regular basis. Consider lamb/cow liver into your list and replace fish oil with real fish or cod liver.

Most of online stores don't actually produce rather buy in bulk mixing up & bagging into fancy looking bottles. Supplement regulations very poor and no licencing require so basically you can produce in your double bed room or a garage downstairs.

oopsies

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058212295/supplements-for-general-health-needed-or-not-which-ones-if-yes

Check if there is VitC in your multivit firstly.

If you have the means, get a blood check to see levels of iron and b12 etc. Then you can go from there.

In terms of quality brands I would try and stay with Irish websites so that at least you know they are approved by the FSAI. Evergreen and thenutritionstore.ie are great ones as they are picky on who they stock.

The big trend at the moment is liposomal supplementation that is much more absorbable than regular supplements that you just pee out! Liquids tend to be better IMO than capsules.

Im a big fan of Ashwaganda at the moment! Its like bloody rocket fuel! Neuro balance is the one I take Floradix Salus Neuro Balance Liquid with Ashwagandha - Evergreen Healthfoods

oopsies

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117999886#Comment_117999886

Supplement regulations are actually not poor at all. They are all licenced and registered by the Food safety authority of Ireland.

Cill94

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118018425#Comment_118018425

They're regulated well for safety, but not for efficacy. Vast majority of what is sold in a supplement shop has little or no evidence to support the claims on the packaging. Harmless albeit, but still a bit of a con for the unsuspecting customer.

If they were regulated for effectiveness, they'd probably only be able to sell vitamins and minerals for people with deficiencies, and then the handful of supps that have actually been shown to enhance performance.

Danye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118018415#Comment_118018415

When you say Ashwaganda is like rocket fuel, what do you mean? 🙂 I was taking Ashwaganda before but never felt like it was rocket fuel.

Thanks for the link though, is that just a Ashwaganda, Vit C & B mix or does it contain more?

Danye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118018486#Comment_118018486

Yeah it’s the efficacy that you want isn’t it?

I don’t want to be taking something that might not be doing anything!

markmoto

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118018415#Comment_118018415

I have never seen multivitamins with vit C tbh. Would you have link by any chance?

Danye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118020754#Comment_118020754

What? Your messing?? Here’s just 1!

https://www.discountsupplements.ie/products/natures-aid-complete-multi-vitamin-90-tabs?variant=40599962189981

markmoto

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118020824#Comment_118020824

I am not. Sorry. Vit C listed as ascorbic acid. That's not real vit C only shell.

[Deleted User]

It all depends if you have various conditions when supplements can even be life-saving in certain circumstances.

I have an ileostomy and prone to electrolyte imbalances. Anybody with inflammatory bowel disease, which is pretty common in Ireland, can at times suffer similar imbalances and become quite unwell. If I don’t take two magnesium tablets each day I soon get to know about it, symptoms set sharply in after a couple of days absence. I can end up in a state of collapse with extreme muscle cramps in my limbs.

People who drink a heavy amount of alcohol (again not an uncommon thing in a Ireland) can end up with severe Thiamine deficiency due to duodenal inflammation and inadequate metabolism of the vitamin which does get absorbed. It can even lead to a certain type of permanent brain damage known as WKS due to micro-bleeds from poor small vessel structure, giving rise to disabling cognitive issues even after re-supplementation and recovery.

There are many other examples, as people have different vulnerabilities. Macular Degeneration can be greatly slowed down by lutein supplementation. My late mother was diagnosed with it and a doctor advised her to start taking supplementations although it hadn’t at that point been definitively demonstrated that it was helpful. Her cousin with same condition went blind, and her sister lost a lot more of her sight maybe due to not taking any supplementation, whilst my mother’s sight remained entirely stable for over a de add since diagnosis until her death aged 89.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118020956#Comment_118020956

99% of people with inflammatory bowel disease have nutritional deficiency.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118020824#Comment_118020824

I think it’s in most multi-vitamins being such a common one.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118020866#Comment_118020866

Vitamin C is ascorbic acid. Thats the form vit c that occurs naturally.

The d-ascorbic acid is not vitamin C.

markmoto

This type of clarification not required on multivitamin labels

Most multivit comes as synthetic versions made out of petrochemical products. And vit C comes as d-ascorbic acid form

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031292#Comment_118031292

Ascorbic acid is not vitamin C.

Alpha tocopherol is not vitamin E

Retinoic acid is not vitamin A.

And so on through the other vitamins. Vast sums of money have been expended to make these myths part of Conventional Wisdom

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118033425#Comment_118033425

As I said above the d-ascorbic form is not vitamin C, and can't be described as such. If a something is described as Vitamin C it specifically L-ascorbic acid. That image shows vitamin c and other compounds - and taken for a chiropractor's website. 🙄

A discussion about when synthetic versions are as beneficial is a different matter and are nothing to with the naming convention.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118033797#Comment_118033797

Can you clarifying what you are getting at, or point to any source. As taken word for word, that's incorrect in relation to Vit-C. Rather than claiming its not, what do you think vitamin C is.

Ascorbic acid was simply the name proposed for the vitamin when it was identified (which lead to a Nobel prize). That name existed before any synthetic version or supplement industry. It apples to the natural compound. The L- isomer is literally the definition of vitamin C. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Ascorbic-acid

Obviously food is a better source of vitamins than pills. As you'll get all sorts of flavinoids, anti-oxidants, etc and other benefits along with it. That doesn't change the definition of vitamin c though.

Alpha tocopherol is not vitamin E

Retinoic acid is not vitamin A.

I don't disagree with that. There multiple many forms of vitamin E. Alpha tocopherol is one of them. (Although it's the focus for a reason).

Vitamin A is a group of compounds. Retinoic acid is a metabolite of vitamin A, not vitamin A. Similarly vitamin B is a groups of compounds.

Those two examples are not the same as vitamin C, which is a single compound.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034495#Comment_118034495

L ascorbic or d ascorbic = ascorbic acid listed under same molecular formula C6H8O6 hence if I sold d ascorbic under ascorbic acid I have done nothing wrong.

And when you see label clarification VitC (ascorbic acid) that's how you know, hope it helps.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034632#Comment_118034632

I literally said that above;

d-ascorbic acid is not vitamin C.

If something is described as Vitamin C it specifically L-ascorbic acid.

The claim above was that VitC (ascorbic acid) on labels was not VitC. That is completely different to saying d-ascorbic acid is not vitamin C (nobody said it was).

GoogleBot

If label says VitC why do you have to clarify under brackets (ascorbic acid or L-ascorbic acid) that's how we know its a synthetic versions of Vitamin C.

Real Vitamin C not the same infact large doses of so called ascorbic acid cause great damage to human health.

The Winter 2009 edition of wise traditions cites 3 studies, which give pause about large doses of synthetic vitamin C. The first study (from the Jun 15, 2001 issue of Science) showed that “synthetic vitamin C may contribute to the formation of genotoxins that can lead to cancer.” A second study presented to the American Heart Association showed a link between consumption of only 500mg of vitamin C per day and a greater propensity toward thickening of the arteries (Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2000).

Even more recently, athletes taking 1000mg of ascorbic acid per day showed reduced endurance capacity from interference with antioxidant enzymes (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan 2008).

Mellor

If label says VitC why do you have to clarify under brackets (ascorbic acid or L-ascorbic acid)

Because that's literally the rules for labelling. You must list the form.

Real Vitamin C not the same infact large doses of so called ascorbic acid cause great damage to human health.

Large doses of water can also damage your health.

Still waiting for you definition for real vitamin C, if its not L-ascorbic acid.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118041988#Comment_118041988

The term ‘ascorbic acid’ that is on a food label or a supplement fact label indicates that it is manufactured in a laboratory. The sources may be from food, but the standards are low as they need to contain at a minimum 10% plant or fruit derived ingredients. The other 90% could be synthetic.

This means that whenever you see ‘ascorbic acid’ on an ingredient list, it is a synthetic form. When you read the words ‘Vitamin C’ on a label, the best assumption is it means some form of ‘ascorbic acid,’ but they wanted it to sound more natural so that is why they used the term ‘Vitamin C.’ Usually ascorbic acid is derived from genetically modified corn sugar that is hydrogenated and processed with acetone. So not only do you have a synthetic issue, but also a GMO issue as well.

And I wonder why synthetic vitC comes in such large dosage 500-1000mg cheap to manufacture or...?

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118042846#Comment_118042846

I haven't disputed that supplement pills are mostly synthetic. That was never in question.

The question was is natural vitamin C (say from fruit) L-ascorbic acid. It's was a simple question. Seems like you're trying to backpedal. But we both know the answer.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118045912#Comment_118045912

The question really why syntethic vitamins wont work as good as naturally extracted ? And I don't know the answer do you?

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118048315#Comment_118048315

Lol, nope.

The claim was was vitamin C is not ascorpic acid. And that multi-vits don't contain vitamin C. I think we can agree that is nonsense. The poster hasn't come back, so maybe they were taking the phish.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118051796#Comment_118051796

You getting into complicated topic. Ascorbic acids usually called syntethic versions of vitC. On a molecular level seems identical structures in reality syntethic vitC have side effects vs natural no side effects. Hence at the moment personally consider syntethic versions fake/imitation. Hopefully things will change in the future.

Owenee

Vegatot Organic Mushroom Complex is the best supplement for health. I bought this product for health benefits since I don’t like mushrooms. After taking this it for a couple weeks I can really tell a difference in my energy. It’s not like caffeine. This supplement keeps awake throughout the whole day. No jitters. I just seem more alert and less tired. And I currently only take one capsule a day.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119707344#Comment_119707344

Some illegal drugs based of mashroom also keeps your awake for days.

kirk.

Last thing I want is to be alert bad enough trying to sleep

Owenee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119708204#Comment_119708204

haha.. I usually buy it on amazon, and I've used it for over 1 month

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119716263#Comment_119716263

That's even worse.

"Mushrooms are known to have the ability to accumulate heavy metals. These pollutants have detrimental effects not just on organisms in the environment, but also on humans through the food chain."