Vitamins & Supplements Opinions Please
 

Hello,

Here is my list of vitamins that I take daily. I would love any and all opinions on this list and suggestions for improvement. My Vitamin D level is kind of low and I am thinking a supplementing that also in addition to getting out in the sun more (any thoughts on vitamin D supplementation?) My level was 22.

Fish Oil 2 softgels
omega 3 oils 1070 mg
EPA 400
DHA 200
Flaxseed 1000 mg
ALA 530

SLOWMAG 2 tablets
Calcium 212
Magnesium 128
Chloride 373

B12 - Methyl cobalamin 1000 mcg sublingual (5 tablets)

Acetyl L Carnitine - 750 mg (1 tablet)

P-5-P 50 mg (1 tablet)

B-1 250 mg (1 tablet)

Biotin 1000 mcg (1)

Benfotiamine 150 mg (1)

R Lipoic Acid 100 mg (1)

Potassium 99 mg (1)

Prescription wise I take:

Prozac 40 mg
Topamax 150mg twice a day
Baclofen 20 mg once at night
Neurontin 300 mg twice a day

Thanks for your input...I appreciate it.

Ann

The only one i can't see is " Multi B ", to get the most out of your B12 Methyl, otherwise it looks pretty good to me., looks like your done your homework :)
I believe drinking enough water is very important too.
http://ezinearticles.com/?4-Surprisi...ater&id=417905
http://www.lifenlimb.co.uk/water.html
Brian :)

I would love to know the exact amount of vitamins that Jack LaLanne takes every day.

I think he lives on vitamin supplements. And of course his juice.

Melody

Check the stickies section.
 

Generally, it looks like you're on the right track. Thanks for sharing with us.

There are several posts on the subject. Mine is on page 2, part 2 of a three part post at http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...p?t=177&page=2, toward the bottom of the page.

It's unclear to me if you're taking three caps a day of fish oil, or that amount divided into three portions. If three a day, plus flaxseed oil, that's a lot of omega 3 oil, probably more than your body needs. A possible negative side effect would be excessive bleeding.

Instead of flaxseed oil, I prefer ground flaxseed. It tastes delicious on cereal, salads, pasta, soups, yogurt, etc. The whole flaxseed has everything else that seeds have that is good for you besides the oil. It is very high fiber, binding to the cholesterol in your liver bile. This reduces reabsorption of the cholesterol into your bloodstream, thus helping to lower blood cholesterol levels.

The same applies to fish vrs. fish oil. The whole fish is good for you besides the oil. Several studies have been reported on recently that people who eat fish three times a week live longer and are much healthier than people who aren't fish eaters. That being said, I think fish oil is a miracle supplement. We recently put down two large 17 year old dogs. They had minimal arthritis, and were healthy until the final weeks of their lives. The same applies to our 14 year old 60 lb. dog. Besides feeding them quality food, we supplement each meal with one fish oil capsule and some powdered glucosamine/chondroiten. They look(ed) much younger than their age. I think that in general, what's good for them is good for us and visa versa if we take into account the differences (e.g., onion is poisonous to dogs).

nice list!
 

Prozac can cause motor issues. Movement disorders. So your twitching may
be due to it.
While this is complex... it does happen:
http://psychiatrictimes.com/p010533.html
It has to do with downregulation of dopamine over time, and low dopamine leads to restless legs, and other muscle events.

A comment on your list:
You can remove the potassium supplement. You are paying money for
very little. 99mg is a 'spit in the ocean' when one needs 3.5 grams to 5 grams a day! You can increase potassium intake with foods that are high in this mineral.

The Topamax can be problematic too. This drug depletes bicarbonate and creates a metabolic acidosis in the body. This can lead to all sorts of
symptoms. So does your doctor test serum bicarb for you?

If you eat something late at night, are the twitches better? A high carb food?
Try this and see. Many twitches can be low blood sugar induced. I read once up to 70% of muscle twitches are due to low sugar.

Vitamin D
 

Healthy men seem to use 3000–5000 IU cholecalciferol
with 80% of their winter cholecalciferol need coming from the supplies the skin makes from sunshine during the preceding summer months.

Depending on where you live on the globe This calculator will enable you to work out if the sun will provide UVB rays on any particular day of the year However it doesn't take account of Wind Chill factor nor air temperature so while it may be technically possible it is certainly over optimist for the UK for much of the Winter it is simply impracticable to strip off an lie naked.

This shows the chance of getting sunburnt There really is no need at all for anyone to get sunburnt while attempting to raise Cholecalciferol, vitamin d3 status. You only need a quarter of the time it takes for your skin to burn to make sufficient Vit d3. So anyone going pink has been out in the sun for far too long. 20 minutes full body exposure horizontal should be ample.

Those who have a very sensitive skin need to work at improving this. It can be done in several ways.

See these dietary suggestions

The two tablespoons of tomato puree daily certainly increases exposure time by a third.

Vitamin d, omega 3 and green tea also all improve photo protection of skin from ageing.
In vivo relevance for photoprotection by the vitamin D rapid response pathway.

These results are consistent with the proposal that the vitamin D system in skin may be part of an intrinsic protective mechanism against UV damage.

Photoprotective and anti-skin-aging effects of eicosapentaenoic acid in human skin in vivo

Photoprotective effects of green tea polyphenols.

I found I had absolutely no problem with sunburn last year but as I supplemented with Vit d last winter, regularly eat meals with tomato puree, consume omega 3 and linseed meal daily, and drink Green Tea as my favourite drink I wasn't particularly surprised.

Those who are unable to get regular 20minutes midday sun exposure directly on a lot of skin at least 3 times week will need to use supplements. See the Heaney paper above for a sensible level to use.
You need to be aware that often D2 is used in multivit mixes and The Case Against d2 Ergocalciferol is set out here

Anyone concerned about potential toxicity at the above dose levels needs to read The Risk Assessment for vitamin d This summarises all the research on D3 and concludes that up to 10,000iu a day is perfectly safe providing no one continues at this level day after day, week after week, month after month.

As I have made clear the amount you body needs daily is only a third to a half of that amount. You will get a modest amount from oily fish and some countries fortify their milk (UK doesn't) however the amounts from food sources are fairly trivial.

If you are regularly outside in Summer without sunscreen or SPF cosmetics then you probably won't need to supplement at all during the summer, so the question of Months and Months of supplement use should never occur.

The Reports from the Health Research Forum on Sunlight Robbery include more safe sunbathing advice and information on the health benefits this provides.

Thanks
 

Thanks for all the answers....very interesting.

Mrs. D....I am going to ask the Neuro about the Topamax and side effects. As far as the twitches..they are all the time, not just at night. And I have taken Prozac for almost 8 years. The twitching started last year when my neuropathy started, so I don't think it is Prozac related. If it was, I'll take the twitches over suicidal depression! Interesting article though.

I'll try the carb thing and see if it makes a difference. The twitching actually bothers me most during the day because I think the Baclofen takes care of if at night.

I am concerned about the Vitamin D deficiency....I wonder if that has any effect on my overall health and the neuropathy symptoms. I live in Los Angeles, so I am really going to make an effort to get out in the midday sun 3 times a week for 20 minutes. When I saw my level was 22 and the cutoff was 20 that is considered "insufficient" I wasn't concerned until my Doc said that it should be around 60! Yikes! Maybe there is an answer in there somewhere....

Anyway, thanks for all your opinions and ideas...I truly appreciate it...

Ann

Jack La Lanne--advice for Mel
 

I thought he died, but wikipedia says he was 91 in 2005. He shares his supplement secrets:

http://www.shareguide.com/LaLanne.html

Wow!!
 

That's all I can say about this man. I have never heard of him before today, but I was glued to the interview. What a great attitude he has. I found it very inspirational,and I think a bit of inspiration keeps everything in perspective.

I just love it when he says "is key".

Thanks LizaJane

Geez :eek: How fit is this guy, at 90 something and he is as fit as a mully bull, i never heard of him either until i read the interview, what an amazing man.
My very first employer of whom i stayed friends with, is now 95, he only looks around low 70's, and still sharp as a razor, he eats a LOT of fish, not much red meat at all, so there might be something in this eating lots of fish is good for you, after all ???

Brian :)