A new poll........
What supplements do you all take and why? Or do you take none and why?
I know I am going to start flax oil again as my holistic vet once told me you can be very tired and lethargic when lacking in them and I know I am lacking in them.
I think it is probably OK on this board to also mention the brand name you take. Not sure though.
If it is not an issue with you, please state your age as we all have different needs at different stages in our lives. As well, how many Mg's or capsules you take.
I am 48 and peri-menopausal so my needs are obviously different than someone who is 15, 20 or 30, or male.
Might be an interesting read for all of us. As well, female needs compared to male needs.
Right now, all I take is a multi vitamin when I think of it and it failed miserably when I did the vinegar test posted a couple of weeks ago.
I think I should be taking flax, calcium, a multi vitamin, and vitamin E to say the least. I also don't add nutritional yeast which is probably a big one.
I do get B12 shots because I am lacking and do not absorb it from food or subliguals. I am bad about going for them monthly so if I go every two or three months, that is good. Well it is not good but good for me. The shots are something I am going to make a greater effort with.
I know my diet has to change because you can get many things from proper nutrition. None the less, I think it will be interesting to read what all of you do. I often worry that although many try to eat properly, our soil is no longer nutrient rich like the old days!
Maybe we will all learn a lot from this.
Hugs
Di
I don't take any myself. I try really hard to get all of my nutrients from whole sources. I haven't been sick in years and feel pretty good considering the amount of stress I've been under lately. I get my blood checked every 6 months or so and the numbers always come back perfect. My only issue is that my BP is sometimes a bit low. I am getting a workup next week and I will try to remember to check back and give my results.
female in my thirties.
Right now I take a liquid B12/Folic Acid supplement, and I think that's it. I am 23 years old and female, and I have been low in B12 before and I currently do not have the money to buy a lot of B12 fortified products and no kitchen to cook with nutritional yeast. I take supplements depending on how I eat. If I eat very well I don't need any supplements, but when I don't, my body will let me know, and I can usually tell what I'm low in.
In the past I have taken zinc (50-150mg daily, I know it's a lot!) for acne. After a couple of months of taking it, the pills started tasting extremely metallic, which was a sign to me that my body was overloading on zinc, so I stopped taking it.
I don't take multivitamins because they taste nasty and they upset my stomach. I have taken iron supplements before. Iron deficiency anemia runs in my family and when I don't eat enough and/or don't weigh enough, I will feel like crap because of low iron.
And about the flax. If I wasn't so lazy to remember to use more flax, I would definitely eat it a lot more than I currently do. It helps me with mood and such, but like I said, I'm often too lazy to remember to use it.
I am also female in my 30's. I steer clear of any supplements, if I can help it. It's just a personal choice. I guess I'm really weird about it. A while back (about two or three years ago) I started to take a multi-vitamin due to my husband's urging (I was very reluctant to do it). I ended up getting sick (colds/flus) a number of times in a row afterward, and started to feel lethargic. I don't know if there was a direct/indirect correlation with the multi-vitamins and the illnesses I experienced, but it scared me. I've not taken anything since.
I'm the same with medication. It scares me. About five years ago, my doctor suggested I take a pill for cholesterol. I opted to change my diet (to vegetarian and then vegan) and exercise instead. It took me all this time...but finally my cholesterol and blood pressure are back to normal levels. On a rare occasion I take Advil for a headache or Tylenol PM for insomnia, and other than bc, that's pretty much the only pills/medication I take.
I'm not telling anyone they shouldn't take supplements. This is only my experience. Everyone has different health issues, and that of course should be taken into consideration.
See, I knew this poll would be great! Hoping to hear from some peri-menopausal women or women that have gone through menopause.
I think it is wonderful that the few that have replied so far get all their nutrients from a healthy diet.
Lets keep this poll going!
Di
I too am perimenopausal, 45 and when I can't get to the Asian store for my tofu fix, I take 60 mg of soy isoflavons a day--otherwise my skin itches like mad. I glutted on antihistamines until the allergy tests came up pretty negative (slight allergy to pollen but nothing major). And that didn't explain the itchiness in December, when nothing is blooming!
I sometimes take magnesium supplements for night cramps in the legs, but I tend to forget to take them. And 3 mcg melatonin three or four nights a week, but hopefully when my new exercise regime starts next month I'll no longer need that.
I prefer not to take meds and stuff, though I will take natural supplements in preference to "doctor meds"--fewer side effects. As I say, my trouble is in remembering to take them! I'm supposed to have started the homeopathic drops for my pollen allergy but--I keep forgetting they're there.
I'm well over the menopausal hill (and there are obvious parts of it that are WONDERFUL --hang in there, ladies :)) I'm in my 60s and take a multi-vitamin "for insurance," but I have always preferred to use whole foods to get my vitamins and minerals so I don't take additional supplements. I was validated in that when I read The China Study. On occasion I do worry whether I'm getting what I need since the amount of any vitamin or mineral is not consistent in even the same foods, but I prefer to spend my limited budget on eating food, which is infinitely more satisfying to me than taking pills.
No supplements for me. I do believe that everything my body and mind needs to function properly can be found in the foods I eat. At least I hope so! ::)
So far so good.....I'll check back in 20 or 30 years and let you know if I made the right choice!
i'm 25, thrown into early menopause type state, due to lot and lots of running
i don't take any vitamins or supplements
i cook and have never had issues with my blood work--despit the hypgonadism i'v developed as a result of lots and lots of running...
i used to take a lot of them but i've been too lazy lately (i should get back in to taking them)
i take a Calcium, a Magnesium, and a Calcium Magnesium and Zinc for my dysmenorrhea. a Super B-Complex for.. something, i can't remember what since i havent taken them in so long because my bottle of B vitamins mysteriously disappeared
and a vitamin C
I hate taking pills. I can't remember to do so anyway. I was taking multi vitamins, plus vitamin E and Calcium during my Endo treatment, because the depo shot messed with the vitamins in my body somehow. But since I stopped taking the shot, I haven't taken anything. I should take a multi vitamin, though. I did learn what foods have Calcium in them, so I wouldn't have to take a pill for that.
Female, 32
I drizzle some flax oil on my oatmeal every morning, along with some rice protein powder. I also take a Rainbow Light multivitamin for women. Other than that, I just try to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. I'm a female, age 28.
I am a female age 42. I don't use supplements. I might need to , as I am new to veganism and really havent thought about it till it was mentioned here.
I hate taking pills too. ;)
After a lot of reading during my transition from vegetarian to vegan, most of the information clearly pointed to the advantages (and almost necessity) of getting all nutrients your body needs from whole plant sources, not isolated nutrients (supplements). Both T. Colin Campbell and John Robbins both talk about the proven, but still somewhat mysterious relationships of the combinations of nutrients found in whole foods and the ways they interact with our bodies. Sooo, all I take is a multivitamin to "cover all the bases" and to get my B12. I think it's the Rainbow Light for women. I also eat 2 tablespoons of flax meal in my oatmeal everymorning.
I'm 28, female.
I'm 30 but have some health issues (Fibromyalgia) so I take a multi and a magnesium/malic acid combo for my muscles. I also take B vitamins once a week or so. If I feel myself getting sick then I take vitamin C. That's it. :)
Female, 30
I take a multivitamin, 500 mg of L-Lysine, and 600 mg of calcium every morning. The multivitamin is for insurance, the lysine is to prevent canker sores, and the calcium is because I am paranoid about osteoperosis (residual effect of the dairy industry, no doubt). If I didn't have those days where all I want to eat is tortilla chips and chocolate, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't need any of this.
F, 19
VegLife Vegan One Daily multivitamin
Cal-mag citrate (anywhere from 600 to 1000 mg, depending on how much fortified soymilk I've drunk that day. I have a stress fracture in my shin (probably just from overuse and from running on a strained achilles for 2 weeks), so I'm trying to be extra careful lately.....)
Vitamin d-2 (1000 IU supplement--I just started this a few days ago!!! the experts are now saying that the RDA for D, set a 400 IU, is WAY too low.....)
Iron bisglycinate (at one point, I was taking 50 mg a day, but my dr. told me to cut back b/c my hemoglobin was on the high end (15.6; normal range is 12-16) and I eat lots of iron-rich (non-heme though, obviously) foods )
Flax oil on salad at lunch or dinner--but I actually consider this a FOOD not a supplement :)
I really don't like taking supplements I didn't at all...until last December. We figured out that my extreme fatigue was a case of anemia. Seems that my lupus has suppressed my iron binding capacity rather dramatically. So, I take a prenatal vitamin / herb supplement because this is about the only way I can tolerate iron. I dare not go a whole week without them because I start to go downhill a bit. I recently added a B12 tablet once a week, which is actually enough. That helped too.
I am going to have to go on chronic prednisone and I keep putting this off. I am 47 and perimenopausal, so bone health is an issue and prednisone can cause osteoporosis when taken daily over a long period of time. I am looking at calcium and vitamin D supplements and impact exercise if I go ahead and do the prednisone. Exercising seems unimaginable now because I am always so exhausted and run down, but I am told that the prednisone will give me back some energy and reduce my joint pain so that I can exercise. I just don't know what to do, so I am doing nothing.
Female, vegan, going on 20.
I take a Trader Joe's daily "Multi-No Iron" supplement. Just a basic one. It's a two-a-day dosage, so I take one in the morning with breakfast, and then one on an empty stomach later on. (When I remember to take it at all.) Turns out the Vitamin D in it isn't vegan, so I'll have to a different supplement when this bottle runs out. As far as the whole, "no iron" thing goes, mum was always paranoid that us kids would get into the medicine cabinet and overdose on iron pills if they were around the house, so I grew up with the no-iron ones; so, that's what I bought.
Now I have seperate "vegetarian-sourced Iron Capsules" from a generic Target brand that I take when I feel like my bean/nut consumption hasn't been up to par. I should probably take it daily, solely for the whole "female of menstruating age" thing. I am, however, due to stress/possibly-still-too-low-weight/past-anorexia NOT menstruating, so maybe I should bump up my iron and zinc in order try to encourage my hormonal systems a bit?
I keep pretty good tabs on my Iron consumption, and I think I'm doing pretty well there. But I've never tried to monitor my Zinc intake.... I should do that. Most nutrition labels don't list it though.
female, 19
I eat 2 tbsp ground flaxseed a day. And I try to eat foods that are high in calcium, because I am also paranoid about osteoporosis.
I'm a 25yr old female. I try to get everything I need from whole foods, but hey, I'm only human.
As a safety, I take a Deva vegan multivitamin.
I am also a fan of adding ground flaxseeds and nutritional yeast in my smoothies and to my oatmeal. :)
Also, I add soy protein powder to my smoothies.
veggeroni ~ I didn't know there was rice protein powder! :o Good to know as I don't want to rely too heavily on soy.
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