Do Vitamin Supplements Really Work?
 

Then show me the proof. I've never been proven to have a Vitamin deficiency although I was slightly anemic, as a child. My first Neuro did all the blood tests and found no deficiencies, so he didn't recommend any supplements.

Since being DX with MS, I have taken it upon myself to indulge in the usual popular Vitamins (the list is long and daunting), but came to the conclusion, that they were not improving my health or my life and I was just flushing a bunch of money.:rolleyes:

The only Vitamin I may be a little deficient in now, in me old age, is Vit D3, as I am never in the sun, anymore.:confused:

So, unless you are vitamin deficient, and your Doc has prescribed or suggested them, how would supplements be helping you?

I know everyone reacts differently to things but I have noticed a huge improvement in my overall health and the way I feel since I've started taking supplements.

The ones I take and will not stop are Methyl B-12, D3, Astaxanthin, Krill and Turmeric/Curcumin. Antioxidants and Omega-3's are so important - even more so if you have an immune disorder. I've noticed big improvements in my energy and my skin. I really wasn't looking for improvements in my skin but it's been an added bonus. It's the best anti-aging regimen I've ever used!

The only med that makes me feel healthier is LDN and that didn't change when I stopped all the supplements. Are you sure it's not your LDN, Kell?:)

Not all supplements are vitamins.

Some are minerals. Like magnesium which is low in 70% of people in US. Vit D is not a vitamin either...it is a hormone. You can eat nuts and beans for magnesium, go outside for your vit D, each green veggies for your calcium and folate, have salmon twice a week...and have curry in your chicken now and then. But many people choose not to do this.

You can get tested for B12 and D. Neither test is expensive.

The way research is going today, involving mitochondrial damage and failures ...the supplements most common are those that support the mito energy production.

Some supplements like Omega-3s you can eat. So you can get them that way. But most people don't. Without essential fatty acids, you cannot live long or well.

Much of the research today is looking at antioxidants. Things that protect your body from free radical damage from oxidation and energy production. Curcumin from tumeric is very big right now as studies show it protects the blood vessels from inflammatory damage. This lowers risk of stroke and heart attack.

Certainly no one is forcing you Sal, to take anything. It is always your choice. Doing the homework is complex and time consuming and that is why I do it for people here. Since I retired I have more time.

Supplements changed my quality of life. So maybe I have poor genes or something, maybe my stress levels in my high stress job did it...but I no longer have asthma, or GERD and my PN is much much better! My arthritis is still there, but I don't need drugs to control it. I might take an Aleve here or there. People today consume so many drugs that are toxic over the long haul...those people really suffer the most.

I took LDN before I started the supplements. I'm sure it (LDN) helps but I won't give up my supplements. They make me feel better and there is a lot of scientific proof that they help prevent a multitude of cancers. I noticed a difference within a week of taking the Methyl B-12. I rarely take naps anymore. Occasionally, but not everyday like I used to.

And she is a great one to get good, reliable information from. I know because I bug her on almost a daily basis with some kind of question! :o

My quality of life has greatly improved since starting LDN and my supplement routine. I wouldn't be without it!

Must you get tested for deficiencies first before taking, say, D3, or can you simply take 2000IU daily and benefit? I don't get any sun anymore so I probably could use some D3.

What do you think, Mrs D? And have you been tested, Kelly?

They also say not to take too much A when you are taking D3?

For those not tested, the accepted amount is 2000IU D3 daily.

You buy the single D3 supplement...NOT cod liver oil with A in it.

But say you test at 20... take 2000IU... in ideal situations you might raise to a level of 40. That would still be low for an MSer.

If you do not go outside much...you won't test very much in D.
There is one person on the NT boards who tested at 3. That is pretty scary. The MS recommendations are higher than for others. People like me are given 50 as a goal. My doctor wants me at 70.

MS patients should get screened for B12 (low B12 mimics MS symptoms) and D. The data are clear on this.

Last month I tested at 55 for Vitamin D.

I take B12 and my numbers got to within normal range...
I take D3 but my numbers were also normal, but I feel more won't hurt.
I take Cranberry and Ester C to combat UTIs, but I still get one every three months like clockwork:confused:
And I take Juice Plus, which is basically ground up food...

I take 1000 IU of D3 daily, my D level was 154 (should be > 75!) - this based on Canadian measurements (if they differ from the USA... I'm not sure what 'measurement' is used).

I've taken that much D3 for 3 years now, my doctor was very pleased with my overall results. I had a full work up done for vitamins, minerals, etc a couple months ago.

Everyone's different, I was never shown to be deficient in any area, so it's definitely worth getting tested, so you aren't ingesting more pills etc unnecessarily.

Canadian is divided by 2.496= 61.70 US units. ng/ml

A good reading.

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/sc...ical_data.html
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/news-...d-level-units/

Within the range of 50-80ng/ml US.

I get alot of sun in summer. And take 5000IU D3 during the rest of the year, and tested at 43.

I've increased to 10,000 IU every other day with 5,000 on the alternate days. Will get retested in Oct.

Not everyone responds to oral D3 and not everyone can make D3 from the sun depending on age, or use of statin drugs etc.

So testing is the only way to get a good idea of what is going on.

What brand and type of D3 do you use? There are so many diff. kinds and brands. Which have you all found the most effective for you?

Thanks:)

I used to use NOW brand. I bought on iherb.com

But Puritan's Pride now carries it and I use that one. Very inexpensive when you take advantage of the buy one get two free sale they have once a year. It is going on right now. Typically it is in late spring and early summer.

I get my B12 there now too, and my ribose. Sometimes other things depending. If you order once from them, they email you specials. Like free shipping for a short time. I just bought a bunch of B12 at 1/2 off that way. I tend to buy a few months ahead, and their exp dates are good, so you can do that economically.

Vitamin D3 is very inexpensive and is often commonly in local stores too at not too inflated prices. But the best deals of course are on the net. I have found our local WalMart has excellent Supplement section with low prices and quality.

I get all my supplements at Puritan's Pride. You cannot beat their sales and their shipping is inexpensive, too.

I just take Life brand (Shopper's Drug Mart for the Canucks :p) D3 @ 1000 UI. Nothing fancy, but it works for me!

I try to get most of my vit/minerals through food. It's not always easy but I try. I try to each plenty of superfoods (spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, fish, etc.). But after studying my diet, I found that I consistently have a lower intake of some vitamins/nutrients. Potassium and vitamin E are my pitfalls. All the others vary.

I am going to ask my dr to do some blood tests on me to make sure I am not deficient and if so, supplement accordingly. Some times supplementing with something you have plenty of can cause problems too. However, certain medications can deplete vitamins and/or effect the absorption too. So even though we are eating the right amount, we can still be deficient based on medications we take. I am on Neurontin and it depletes vit/minerals (I can't remember which ones - I think B12 and magnesium). As you all know, magnesium is my new "kick.":p Many MSers are deficient in magnesium as well. I do much on the days that I use magnesium cream than on other days. Using it has been a such a blessing to me. (Thanks mrsD for all the information you have shared regarding this.:hug:)

There are plenty of articles on PubMed about antioxidants and MS. One article even mentions vitamin E (the one I consistently lack in my diet). I thought that was interesting and will be discussing that with my dr. too.

I take certain supplements which work to help symptoms, or almost eliminate some.

With 800-1000 mg of Magnesium, prescribed a quarter century ago by a neuro, I have no jerks or spasms in my back or lower legs. Without, I have these spasms and jerks all night. When I went to the ER for an intestinal block, they kept me overnight, and I was without magnesium. i jerked and spasmed all night. They had no source of magnesium.

With 250 mg of non-flush niacin, I have eliminated the blind episodes I had. I used to get essentially blind for ten minutes (the first two times it was totally blind). I would recover after ten minutes but that wasn't fast enough for any doctor to observe it. Now
I may have a non-pain migraine once in a while, but no blindness. A chemist told me it opens the vessels.

I now have to be sure to take Calcium too for the leg jerks. I have taken that even before magnesium, but as I age I find I will get the jerks if I have forgotten the Calcium,
even though I take the magnesium. I take the two separately.

At one point I was having almost-jerks in my legs even with magnesium, and the chemist I know ( a friend) recommended 100 mg of B1. With this, I didn't even have the almost-jerks. As I age, will there be more things I need to stop it?

In my first bout of a-fib, five years ago, I was found to have low potassium. Taking 20 MEQ with my low dose propanalol mostly regulates that. Even in the hospital with my first bout of a-fib, which lasted hours until they got the potassium report back, I normalized soon after the potassium and did not have to be cardio-converted.

I take Lutein Eyes for eyes to avoid macular degeneration, which both parents had when they were 15 and 10 years younger than I am now. I do not have it.

My D3 level went up when I took D, but I have no proof that it helped anything. I was
very low at 15. It went up to 85% of normal, whatever that is (the doctor just gave me
the percentage). I avoid as much sun as possible due to having Porphyria. My sun avoidance didn't help my skin cancer until recently--no cancers now for 3 years. I used to have two a year--but I don't know if that could be related to having more D3, if D3 helps the skin? I only take 600-800 mg of D3 per day, fearing I might stir the Porphyria, because it reacts to hormones, and D is a hormone.

I used to have ridged nails, but since taking a gelatine product, only one tsp a day, that
has gone away and nails do not break.

I take a few more things, like a low dose Multiple Vitamin without Iron, but I don't have any proof that this does any good. The others have all been demonstrated to bring improvement.

In the US the lab ranges show 30 at "normal".... 85% of 30 is 25.

I think it would be helpful for you to get the number result, from your doctor's office, so you can know for sure where you are.

When Vit D is low-- calcium/magnesium balance gets out of whack.

The new research shows that normal range should be 50-80ng/ml.

Most of the lab ranges reported for B12 and Vit D have not been adjusted to reflect the new data.

Also, the rise in skin cancer that is so disturbing today, is slowly being examined and is thought to be a lack of Vit D at the root of it all. Vit D seems to be a scavenger for cancer cells. Having good levels, seems to prevent other cancers too, in the studies coming out.

Mrs. D, I will ask for retesting on my Vitamin D level. I have not had a test for several years. With D being a hormone, isn't there the possibility of overdose?

I surely need more magnesium than is normal. Perhaps it is the D problem.

I've been taking Astaxanthin since the end of March and it is an excellent supplement. I take 10 mg. daily. I can already tell a difference in my skin. :) Antioxidants are so important - especially to those of us with compromised immune systems.

Magnesium is a cofactor for proper D metabolism.

Vit D is what is called a pro-hormone.

This explains in more detail:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

A hormone is a chemical molecule made in the body that is released at a distance to affect metabolism of something or to enable something. We think of hormones as "drugs" because cortisol, and sex hormones are frequently given this way. But hormones are also very diverse and do many jobs all over the body. In this case Vit D is synthesized in the skin. It is converted in other organs to do specific jobs. Much like thyroid T4 hormone is synthesized in the thyroid and then moves around the body and is converted at tissue sites when needed to active T3.

Vit D was called a vitamin back when "deficiency" studies were conducted on animals to find out why certain diseases occurred with various dietary malnutrition. Pellegra and niacin, Beri Beri for thiamine, scurvy for Vit C... etc. Vit D was linked to rickets back then. But as time as passed, and the biochemistry figured out, then the actions of Vit D and its structure, was discovered to be non-vitamin in nature.

What happens with nutritional serum testing is that 1) it may not reflect much ---red cell testing is better, 2) doctors still often misinterpret the results because of antiquated lab ranges, and also sketchy training in preventive medicine and nutrition.
Lab ranges were made based on statistical "normal" people...but at the time, not much was understood about what was "normal". Also many nutrients were never given ranges during supplementation. So naturally taking things, would raise a basic "normal" range out of that range because the test subjects were taking NOTHING. Very high and very low ranges in electrolytes like magnesium reflect disease, but the large middle "normal" range can really be useless. What is needed or normal for one person is not necessarily normal for another. That is just an example for magnesium.

I agree! It's just picking out which antioxidants to supplement with that becomes the trick. Between my morning OJ and eating apples or pears and tomatoes daily, I get a lot of vitamin C - in fact, more than the RDA. The same is true for vitamin A. So, I don't think supplementing them is necessary since I always get more than the RDA daily. But, as I mentioned, I don't get enough vitamin E - some days, not even close to 100%.:o So that is something I probably need to supplement. Nuts are a great source of vitamin E but I just can't tolerate them. I made my own almond butter and do better eating almonds this way. Nuts have been very hard for me to digest lately and I love nuts - all kinds.:(

mrsD - I read that the best way to check magnesium is through urine testing as blood levels don't give a good picture of a deficiency. I believe it's a 24 hour urine test. I will say though, again, that on the days I don't use my magnesium cream, I don't do as well. On the days I use it, I do much better. It has helped me out so much and in so many ways that I am sure I am deficient.

I am going to request my vitamin D levels get check when I go to the dr today. I know I drink fortified OJ with D3 and do my 15 min of sun time without sunscreen every day but this may not be enough for me plus, one of the drs I worked for always told his patients to get some sun "where the sun don't shine.":p Meaning sit in the sun without your clothes on.:eek: My neighbors may not like that. But I do pull up my shirt some to get some sun on my stomach. It's my butt that gets tricky.:p

I ordered 3 for the price of one D3- 5000IU from Puritans Pride. A nice buy.:)

My question is. It's in soy oil. Isn't that supposed to be bad for us?

The Puritan's D is a very tiny capsule.... a minute amount of oil carrier. You can fit 5 or 6 of them on your thumbnail...that is how small they are. Not gimongo like a typical fish oil, or large vitamin.

Oh, good..thanks!!:hug:

On the topic of free radicals and antioxidants, just know that new research shows that the best antioxidants are those the body makes. On a scale not anywhere close to direct antioxidants (those you eat).

Do some research on free radicals and Superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione, and supplements that bump that stuff up.