Guide to supplements

[XSugarBabe]

I’m very new to supplements and making a lot of mistakes as I go along. Is there any formula or self help guide to supplements? How do I know what I should be taking? I did have a thread going “What supplements are you taking” and I have read the thread here to get an idea of what others are doing and to try and see if there is a specific formula, but it is obviously unique to each individual. That said, where does one start?

Mistakes I have made: Not reading labels – I have had to dump many packs of vitamins because I did not read ALL the contents only to find that they have iron in them. I also purchased some calcium last month and when I got home discovered they were chewable tabs (too big to swallow) – I really did not enjoy that.

Now I am looking for potassium because I’ve been reading that I should be taking it. I went to the chemist, could not find it on the shelf, asked the chemist and he gave me something called Slow K 600mg. I googled Slow K and find that they are sugar coated!
Please could you help me with advice on:

1. What is essential and should be taken by everyone

2. How to determine just what I need

3. Things to avoid on a LCWOE – like iron

All help will be greatly appreciated.

[XSugarBabe]

OK, I just did some surfing and found this

Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature's Answer to Drugs

I've ordered it - can't wait. I am sure it is going to be a great help.

[Daisymaiz]

I just got The Diet Cure by Julia Ross. It has checklists of common symptoms and then tells you what you need based on your answers. It gives a good, easy to understand explanation of why different supplements are recommended and tells you how much to take.

I can't completely vouch for it as I haven't started my supplements yet (just ordered them) but it might be a good place to start.

[Aptos Gal]

Ohhhh, I wasn't aware of this, please tell me why no iron on a LC wol???

[cs_carver]

I like his guide to supplements.

Personally, I don't worry about iron and take it regularly, and I'm still always on the low end of normal when I go to donate blood. If you're still of childbearing age, your body has a way to make sure you don't keep too much.

I only take supplemental potassium when I feel my legs start to twitch, but as a general rule, I let green food or lite salt provide what I need.

Mostly, you need first to develop a philosophy, and then a budget, and then a plan. What ARE you taking these supplements to gain, or to prevent? What outcome are you expecting? What can you afford? How many pills are you willing to take a day, and how are you going to manage that many?

When I think that I'm really taking supplements to improve a pretty dull diet because I hate to be in the kitchen, and I don't want to be hunched over when I'm 80, and I live in a polluted area with a risk of carcinogen exposure, that guides my decisions. YMMV.

[Gostrydr]

The only way to know if you have too much Iron is having your ferritin levels checked..that being said, Iron deficiencies is the leading mineral deficiency among us humans..

Heme Iron from meat is very absorbable..like 30%, which is ok for a mineral.

The best form of supplemental iron is iron carbonyl..it is the safest form of iron, very gentle and takes the longest to get absorbed and it does not interfere with the absorption of Vit E.

Now if you worry about constipation take the Bis Glycinate form of it..in all my years in supps, I have never seen any case of iron overload or people getting constipated from it, but it does happen very rarely.

So unless you have a condition tha warrants you not taking Iron, take a supplement with Iron..unless you know for sure you have high levels, you will need it.

[amandawood]

Ohhhh, I wasn't aware of this, please tell me why no iron on a LC wol???

If you're getting lots of iron on a LC diet, plus adding in iron in supplements, then you could be getting too much!!! Apparently, iron is toxic if you've got too much of it in your system.

amanda

[ElleH]

1. What is essential and should be taken by everyone


Dr Mike Eades, of PP fame, says that if you don't ever take any other supplements at all, the most important are:

-Magnesium (Citrate is a good form)
-Vitamin D3 (liquid gelcap)
-Omega 3 (krill oil, but I use omega 3 oil)

These are what I take, haven't added anything else!

[NorthPeace]

1. Avoid iron supplements.
2. Avoid vitamin A and beta carotene, but instead include foods that contain carotenoids.
3. It might be wise to avoid vitamin E supplementation, but make sure you get it from food. I am not a 100% sure of this one though.
4. Most people need a D supplement; D3 is the best.
5. Low carbers likely need to supplement with Ca, Mg and K.

[Gostrydr]

North Peace.
Some(in fact alot) of people need iron supplementation..I am one of those and I eat a ton of red meat, dessicated liver and other organ meats and my ferritin is low.

In fact Iron deficiency is THE top mineral deficiency in the U.S.

As far as A, I have to strongly yet respectfully disagree with you here. Food source A and Beta Carotene is not absorbed as well as Retinol Palmitate which is derived from palm oil.

The latest research has also shown that beta carotene is converted very poorly into Vitamin A...something like 20 mgs to get 1 mg of A.

And another tidbit that alot of people do not know is that the body WILL NOT convert beta carotene to Vitamin A as long as Vitamin A levels are at a good level in the blood.

That being said beta carotene does have some cool antioxidant/health benefit properties

As far as E..there is overwhelming research on its efficacy..800 IUs will reduce LDL Oxidation by over 58%..so I feel it is a supp we should all take


I do agree that food is king..but alot of vitamins and minerals that are found in food are hard to absorb, due to proteins, phytates, cell walls, compromised digestion, food allergies...

Not so with USP vitamins..they are bioidentical to the vitamins found in food, but they are free form and not bound to any protein and are assimilated as well and at times better than food.

USP Folic Acid absorbs over 70% better than Folate found in food.

So yes, food first, but we do need to supplement our diets with a good, broad spectrum multi for optimal health..not everyone does and some show great health on food alone, but in my experience those are few and far between.