i DO use supplements, i am not sure how necessary they are but i would rather be safe than sorry. I DO know that when i forget to take them i get leg cramps! I take a carb assist mulitvite,plus magnesium, calcium, potassium, l-carnitine and fish oil daily!

QUESTION...is omega 3 oil and fish oil the same thing?

Yes and no. Fish oil has Omega 3s, but you can also find omega 3 elsewhere, eg in flax seed oil.

Rosebud

True, but the flax seed omega-3s are not the long chain omega-3s that are in the fish oils. The body has to convert them and the conversion rate isn't very high.

Oh yeah, low carb foods are so nutritionally superior to high carb foods it isn't even close. When you think of it, what makes high carb foods high in carbs? It is the sugars and starches. They're not nutritionally dense at all. Especially when you get into grains. They're vastly inferior foods.

As far as your question, I used to track my nutrition using fitday and try to come as close as possible to hitting 100%. But you have to realize that the RDA is the minimum you should get. It isn't optimum. In fact, I think we don't really know, and possibly can never know, what is optimum, we just know the point where people get ill when they're not getting enough... thanks in part to the good note-taking abilities of Nazi's in WW2 observing people being experimented on and starved. Kind of gruesome, but I"ve heard that that is the basis for the RDA.

I have several autoimmune diseases that I take supplements for in the hopes that they'll help with my symptoms. I also have to stay out of the sun, because I'm taking meds that make me photo-sensitive, so I know I should take vitamin D.

But I'd think for a normal, healthy person, just taking a multivitamin/mineral would be fine. You really want to cover your bases, not taking mega-doses.

I'm in my mid 40's and take a large variety of supplements daily and maintain a low carb diet to help my body become healthier from years of NOT eating the best things.

As a child I grew up on Wonder White Bread (High Carb), Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup (High Salt) and Whole Milk (Sugar) and I even occasional took children’s Flintstone vitamins (Sugar, Fillers).

Today, I am a Diabetic, Asthmatic with an unhealthy heart and more weight then I am comfortable with. I was once on several different medications and today I am MEDICATION-FREE.

Eating low carb and good quality supplements have helped my body heal from many years of neglect. I wish all the newer studies today were available back then.

I am proof supplements & low carb work

NYNikki, congrats!

I am 40, and finally started taking supplements with my hubby within the past 6 months or so. We take a multi (no iorn), CoQ10, and magnesium. I used to take L-Carnitine when I started Atkins, but dropped it after awhile. We've sort of 'migrated' over to the Protein Power lifeplan.

We regularly eat sardines to get omega 3's. I find they're not too bad for a quick breakfast on busy days.

MyJourney, Nice charts! Thanks. Can't wait to see the vegetarian chart.
My friend's daughter (15) is a vegetarian, and she's starting to look pretty emaciated and pale.

You bring up some very good points!

First, I think it's important to point out that most scientists and medical professionals today believe taking a multivitamin with or without additional supplements is a good "safety net" for meeting micronutrient requirements. The general consensus is consistent here, regardless of the mix of macronutrients in the diet - and basically is that there is little to no harm and even a possible benefit to taking vitamins & minerals in addition to eating well.

Now, that said - the real question is do we need to?

For a number of reasons I personally think adding some vitamins and minerals is a good idea.

1. With commercial farming practices what they are today, it's difficult to accurately measure the nutrient-density of our food available in grocery stores. Produce is often picked well before maturity (which reduces nutrients) and various feeding methods alter nutrients in animal foods. Because of this, I strongly recommend eating organic as much as your budget allows and to choose local growers of produce where you can with known practices - and to eat in season, ripe as much as possible!

2. In every analysis I have done of low-fat menus - I've yet to find one that fully meets or exceeds all RDA/AI recommendations in a single day or on average over a week. On the other hand, I've created hundreds of menus that are low-carb and do just that. The problem though is time involved for most people - unless you have the time to carefully plan your menus to meet/exceed nutrients, it's not a given you'll do so just eating low-carb. It takes careful planning and knowning which foods offer the greatest nutrient density bang.

Specifically to low-carb ---

3. Some of the recommended supplements are to aid weight loss rather than make up for a lack of intake - for example some of the amino acids, omega-3s, and trace elements like chromium picolinate all may help make weight loss and/or cravings easier.

4. Some of the supplements recommended are to provide a higher level of essential nutrients that are more difficult to achieve in diet alone - cod liver oil, fish oils, and flax oil all provide omega-3 (cod liver oil Vitamin D too) and may boost previously low intake levels over the years past. The increased intake of omega-3 may also help to achieve a better ratio of O-3:O-6 intake - it really depends on how much vegetable oils you eat as part of a low-carb diet.

5. Initially, as you strictly reduce carbohydrate, you do lose a good amount of water as glycogen is depleted. Depending on the intake of vegetables, selection of meats and calories - you may or may not eat enough potassium to maintain an optimal electrolyte balance. Oh - and let me be clear - this is a risk at the start of weight loss for ANY dietary approach...low-fat or low-carb! If you eat a lot of foods high in potassium, you probably won't need to supplement.....but sometimes it's not easy when you start since often you might not have learned the potassium rich foods yet!

Just wanted to point out that a lot of teens use an excuse of vegetarian or veganism to cover up an eating disorder. A vegetarian should not look emaciated and pale....
At the very least you should tell her mother to note what and how much she eats just to be safe. 15 is very young and nutritional damage that early is serious.

Sometimes rookie vegetarians are worrying more about what not to eat instead of what they should eat. Some of my vegetarian friends became anemic in the beginning because they didn't figure out alternate sources of iron.