I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts on taking vitamin supplements. Do you think they really help at all/make a difference in health?
I've read where they don't really even get absorbed into your body to do any good. I've been taking a multi-vitamin for the past couple of years. I can't really say whether they do any good or not. I have at times gone a couple of months without taking them and see no difference. But maybe it's just subtle difference that is beneficial over years?
I've taken the less expensive kind that mass retailers sell (Walmart, Target etc) and the one's I've been taking for the past couple of years are from the brand that makes the prostate supplement I have dh taking. My thought process has been this: this supplement he has been taking got rid of his prostate cancer! Obviously it works and obviously whatever this company is putting in their supplements must be effective, so I started buying their women's 55+ multivitamin. This vitamin costs me about $230 a year. (Dh's prostate supplement costs about $365 a year and I am not stopping that one)
For info, in case anyone is wondering, the brand is New Chapter. I haven't seen them in stores, but several online places (even Amazon) like VitaCost, sell them as well as you can get direct from New Chapter.
Am I just wasting $230 a year? Could this $230 be better spent on something else, healthwise, that would be more beneficial? Would I be getting just as much benefit (if I even am) by just spending $37 a year on a cheaper multivitamin.
For comparison, there does seem to be quite a bit of difference in what is in something like OneADay multivitamin compared to New Chapters, which also has some various organic herbs for digestive and hormone support.
One A Day:
New Chapter:
I'm the type of person that needs to see tangible results (like with dh's prostate supplement from New Chapter) and I've never felt like I've gotten anything out of vitamins, when I have tried taking them over the years. I know there are people that take all kinds of supplements and swear by them. If that's you - what benefits are you experiencing? I just feel like I am kind of wasting my money and really only getting some psychological benefit, where I think it must be helping me.
I take a few different New Chapter vitamins and I'm relatively healthy so I like to think they are working. If you suffer from any inflammation, (which almost everyone does) I can highly recommend Zyflamend. (Can be found at Amazon or most Health Food Stores) I had the beginning stages of arthritis and a bout with trigger finger. It was recommended to me and it worked. Within a month, the trigger finger released. Now after a few years taking it, I have little to no joint pain or swelling anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe Zylfamend Prostate is the one dh takes. We certainly swear by that one!
DeleteI take the Zyflamend total body and I know it works to get rid of inflammation. Which is the root cause for most diseases.
DeleteI have hesitated to mention this, but my Dh also got a prostate cancer diagnosis about the same time as your Dh, and then his also went away. His dr told him for some reason men who had Covid were having this happen. He said he had multiple patients like this. He had no explanation, but Dh has been fine with every test since.
ReplyDeleteDiane
Dh didn't get Covid until after he had his prostate cancer diagnosis. I had put him on that supplement and 4 months later when he had his next biopsy it was gone. Dr had no explanation other than to say sometimes one biopsy will show cancer and another won't, due to the samples being in different areas. How then is that very helpful that they catch the cancer? But also his last visit they did an MRI of his prostate and that also said no cancer present. I'm glad your dh's went away, too!
Deleteinteresting about covid and prostate cancer. I had covid in July . 3 weeks after lot of swollen lymph nodes went to dr and i have a rare lymphoma angioimmunoblastic tcell. I have had three chemo treatments so far pet scan this week to see where cancer is or if any improvement. I feel it was related to the covid. I wonder if there is a vitamin that would help. Joyce
DeleteThis zyflamend seems to be helpful in prostate and pancreatic cancer cells, not sure of other types of cancers. Do you have much sugar? I have been reading a lot lately that says sugar causes/feeds cancer cells.
Deletethat is true on the sugar been working on cutting it out of my diet. Because I love sugar. They want me to do a stem cell treatment 3 hours from home and a month stay in hospital. I am trying to avoid that. Joyce
DeleteDh has an acquaintance who's wife got dx with breast cancer about a year ago - among other things, she completely cut sugar out of her diet and almost immediately he said her tumor shrank.
DeleteThose that seem to know reckon we probably get our recommended dose of vitamins through our food but I have put myself on vitamins when I've felt less than 100%.
ReplyDeleteOne vitamin that can help people who live in areas of the globe that don't get a lot of sunshine - UK for instance! - is vitamin D. I was diagnosed with low vitamin D and told to take OTC ones. vitamins.
I've heard that about Vitamin D as well. I did see on my last annual bloodwork, vitiamin d was checked and it was in the good range - but not sure if that's because I'm getting extra from the supplement or not! I have dh on Vitamin D as well
DeleteTalk to your doctor at your next physical.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I find doctors to not be of much info/help at all. They are just very vague and most seem to have zero interest in spending much time discussing anything. Kind of like the book I just read by a doctor - she said her medical schooling and training had zero learning about nutrition for health. Dh's urologist certainly wouldn't have suggested dh take that Zyflamend Prostate supplement and when we went back and his cancer was gone and I brought up that's what he started taking he didn't even acknowledge what I said.
DeleteI work for a group of doctors and they have all told me they receive little to no education on nutrition. Holistic physicians would be the only ones that do. It's so sad because food, herbs and vitamins are the biggest contributors to health or sickness.
DeleteI do take a multivitamin and a fish oil supplement. Mostly I take them for my own peace of mind. Ha! I know I don't always get enough fresh fruits and vegetables (or even canned or frozen) as is "recommended", so I take a supplement to make me feel better about the way I eat. I just purchase the mass produced ones. I figure if they don't physically do much for my health, they help me mentally not worry and that is proven to benefit my health! Take it or leave it, it works for me!
ReplyDeleteThis is also kind of my train of thought with it. I'm kind of thinking I might go back to the less expensive ones and see if I can tell any difference (not likely) but like you it makes me feel better to think I am getting vitamins I may be lacking in my diet.
DeleteA few years ago my Vit D and B-12 levels were very low. Low B-12 was side effect from taking Metformin. Started taking D and B-12 vitamins and the next year the levels were normal. I also now take a daily multivitamin. I eat healthy wholefoods. But since supplementing D & B12 worked, I plan on continuing.
ReplyDeleteGood to know!
DeleteI already commented but I just happened to run across this quote from The NY Times:
ReplyDelete"Healthy people, even those over 50 like myself, should not feel compelled to add a multivitamin or other supplement to their diet to stay healthy."
Dr. Pieter Cohen
Associate professor at Harvard Medical School
yes, I sometimes feel like this whole supplement industry is a bit of a scam. I'm sure some are good and beneficial, but sure hard to weed through what is and isn't necessary.
DeleteI take vitamin D3&K2, they need to be taken together to make a difference. My Vitamin D has increased to normal since taking. I live in FL and get in the sun too but I think it is the vitamins. I also take C when I am starting to feel sick. I also take a dehydrated beef liver for energy and just general goodness. And lastly, Turkey Tail, pure, organic because it is supposed to fight cancer. My brother had a golf ball size tumor, it shrunk it to pee size and they never could decipher if it was cancer or not but.....I figure, it can't hurt. All that said, I try to take supplements in their pureest and moost natural form. But they can be hard to find. just have to research. Great subject.
ReplyDeletethank you for the info on what you do. I agree - it sure seems to take a lot of research. I would love something that helps with energy (and not caffeine LOL). I have noticed with my increased protein intake the past several months, I am less tired during the day.
DeleteI have taken multivitamins on and off for years, and like you, wasn't really sure I could tell a difference. But now I've started taking plant based over 55 vitamins daily and I definitely can! A nutritionist told me to take only plant based vitamins without artificial ingredients - maybe it's a placebo effect but I definitely find myself with more energy. The only other supplements I take are Omega and magnesium to help with menopause (not sure that one helps!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! Can you share what brand of the plant based vitamins you take? I would love it to see if it helps me feel more energy.
DeleteMy personal experience is that I’ve only taken vitamins when I wasn’t able to get them from my diet. Specifically I took a B12 vitamin when I was vegan (there are some sources you can get it from but it’s less common). I’ve also taken a magnesium supplement but that is due to see if it helped migraines.
ReplyDeleteBut in general, vitamins are often overused and are an unregulated area (in their benefits, not saying they are “dangerous). But it depends person to person, and if your bloodwork shows any deficiencies.
I guess I just want to be smart with my money and wish I knew if the expense is making much of a difference in my health, LOL.
DeleteI think, why not? They can help our bodies out with deficiences and once they come in gummy form I am all for it. Not sure how well they work per se - my nails never get any stronger but I don't disagree with folks incorporating them for their overall health.
ReplyDeleteI've tried the gummy multivitamin in the past, but what I don't like about them is the unneeded added 2-5 grams of sugar (per vitamin) that seems to be in most of them.
DeleteA kid had to take D and K2 for a diagnosed deficiency as a pre teen one fall/ early winter, which isn’t uncommon for kids here…inside school building before the sun rises, no recess outside, add an after school activity like basketball or play practice, and they are home well after dusk. When I asked about a multivitamin, the pediatrician said those can’t hurt but don’t really help, and thinks they are a scam. Recently DH’s doctor said there’s no need to take a vitamin absent a deficiency as long as your diet is balanced, She worries about them being unregulated as well…more so because she believes they are taking financial advantage of potentially vulnerable people, less so because they could be dangerous, though she wouldn’t rule that out.
ReplyDelete-Meg B.