Nutritional Supplements - Vitamins, Herbs, and Minerals
 

How do you know what and how much to take?

How do you know if you are overdosing?

How do you know if the substances are compatible or incompatible with each other - and you?

A good quality multivitamin should not hurt you and usually contains all the vitamins/minerals you need.

Others: D, B, Iron, Calcium, etc....levels should be drawn (blood test) by your health care provider to see if you are deficient in them. Don't assume you need extra, your health care provider can advise you.

Regarding herbs: ask doctor or pharmacist for potential drug interactions. Certain herbs cannot be taken at certain times: black cohosh if you are pregnant, for instance.

Interactions: don't take iron with calcium as calcium inhibits absorption of the iron.

My best advice: don't go by the adverts or pretty bottles on the store shelves. Ask your medical provider.

Think you need extra vitamins, etc.? Eat a well balanced diet and you will get everything your body needs. (Think a very colorful diet).

I work with a nutritionist for specialized health issues that I've been dealing with. We do a Micronutrient Test and the MRT/Leap food sensitivity test to establish a baseline and work from there as to what I need more/less of. We redo the tests every few years to make sure we are on the right track. I would agree that a good multi vitamin should be fine. Other than that, you need to work with someone knowledgeable to guide you and suggest brands etc. Not all vitamins/supplements are equal.

Well, some vitamin supplements are fat soluble, and some are water soluble. Water soluble vitamins, Bs, C, are flushed straight out of you body (once enough has been used) via kidneys, and bladder. So, expensive pee. Fat soluble, need fat to be broken down to be useful to the body, so very low fat diets e.g will be lacking. Fat soluble vitamins are A, D, E, K; there may be others, but I am not an expert (retired RN), and they are stored in the liver and released as needed. So, it can be dangerous to take more than recommended.

Herbs - I generally just use in cooking, and I have no knowledge of how a herbalist works.

Minerals - again, the body takes what is needed from food/diet. Problems arise with some illnesses and the absorption of minerals; e.g, kidney disease and potassium, many cancers and calcium, some breathing problem and magnesium.

Pharmacists - in the UK anyway - tend to have an exhaustive knowledge of compatibility within medicines and OTC supplements, and will always advise.

I was a Nurse Practitioner with a nurse prescribing qualification. By the time I had completed my prescribing course, I was almost frightened to prescribe anything! That did settle though. I feel that if a person is well and active, then there should not be any need for supplements, and constant self medicating with minerals, vitamins and other supplements, is only making the manufacturer richer.
I take one multivitamin with added iron daily, when I remember, but only because I am a blood donor, and being vegetarian it prevents a wasted journey, if my blood count is just below their cut off point.

I basically agree with Charley26, that we should work with getting better nutrition through our diets and not through supplements. My husband has been doing Keto and has lost a lot of weight, but keeps adding more and more supplements and I'm quietly watching and am growing more skeptical of the long term viability of his diet.

But just like some of us need medications, some of us need supplements. Being mostly indoors in the Seattle area for example means that I am seriously Vitamin D deficient if I don't take supplements. My eye doctor wants me to take some supplements, since I'm trying to hold on to as much vision as I can for as long as I can, I take those.

Me, I have too much iron and have to read all mixed vitamin/supplement labels to make sure they don't add any extra, also had to cut off my occasional liverwurst binge and other similar things.

My suggestion always when introducing things into your diet is to not do too much at once. That way if you start having reactions you can figure out what is causing them, and not just potential among many variables.

The last person I would ask for advice on this topic is an MD. I would work with a nutritionist if I had to. My husband is a food scientist and researches all kinds of foods, supplements, etc. Whatever concoction I take is all from his research and I feel fantastic.
Theoretically, eating properly would probably be your best bet but I don't know how nutritious foods are anymore. What worries me most is the use of pesticides.

Doctors get about 4 hours of nutrition training. There is not enough time for them to read every piece of research on important topics and usually nutrition goes by the wayside. I have some Facebook sites I follow so I can see a lot of research articles - not by people selling their products. It is very confusing and from what I gather it is better to take individual supplements rather than combos. It is really hard to get everything from diet alone. I’m considering a nutritionist or registered dietician. Someone with a degree and a license

Excellent advice! My husband's PhD is in Pharmacology. He would give the same advice. However, he'd go into a lot more detail about 'most' herbs being "snake oil" and that they can do much more harm than good. Your best bet is to always work with your physician for anything you take and make sure he/she is aware of All over the counter products you are including - even if you don't take them every day.

The food we eat is very important. We need to learn about the nutrient quality of the foods we eat and build out diets around balance. A multi-vitamin supplement may be necessary but it is very easy to overdo it. Water soluble vitamins are simply flushed out of the body but the fat soluble vitamins are stored in the liver. They can become toxic. I feel that a diet should be carefully planned to promote the best health. Careless eating and empty calories brings on many health problems. We cannot depend on our food supply system to supply only wholesome foods-they are there to make money. There are few shortcuts to a good diet and far too many people go off on all sorts of tangents and suffer from it. I am prone to eating at home and skipping potlucks, buffets and fast food.

go to your doctor and have him to check your levels. I know that I have to take Vit D, large amounts, magnezuim, most people quit absorbing this around age 30, you can get this in tablets, spray or soak in Epson Salts, Zinc, and Iron. My doctor monitors it. I also take a childrens chewable vitamin, its better than the adults according to my specialist.