What About Vitamins?

[JimD]

As of my checkup last year everything was in the desirable range and I take nothing. I eat oatmeal nearly every morning for breakfast and try to eat my servings of fruit and vegatables but I take no pills other than occasionally aspirin for a headache. I am 54.

LOML graduated to heaven at 52 and took a lot of vitamins and other pills. I do not think it hurt her exactly but I think it was her substitute for not eating as healthily as she knew she should and that didn't help anything. She had a stroke despite no family history or other risk factors. I don't think anything she was taking claimed to prevent strokes but I continue to believe that eating right is the first step. If your doctor thinks you need other things or maybe if you do, it makes sense to me to take them but not as a substitute to eating right and getting some exercise (LOML was also a runner so that didn't seem to help either).

Jim

[JR]

One year ago I tested high for total cholesterol (225). I cut out red meat and cheese from my diet and started taking fish oil. I also started exercising regularly. 90 days later total cholesterol was 163.

In April I started taking niacin to raise the good cholesterol reading. It had been 39 in January and 40 in March. By the end of October it had risen to 55.

JR

[cobob]

Vit D may be quite important; low levels being linked to several cancers & autism. The daily recommendation was recently raised to 1000 U/day. Sun & milk are a myth apparently. An internist here reports seeing a study of Hawaiin skateboarders finding 30% were low & 10% were very low (who gets more sun than them?). My wife had breast cancer in her 40's and her D was remarkably low (I know this is a series of 1, but it catches my attention). It also seems to help with aches/pains/energy. I was checking every patient for awhile. I stopped because the test is quite $ & about 30% were low enough to treat. I just warn everyone to supplement ... it's cheap. Another study looked at 6 major milk brands; 5 had no vit D (even though it was on the label) & 1 had a only a trivial amt.

Omega 3's are good. Flax seed oil doesn't have the fishy burpy aftertaste. Flax seed has oodles of fiber. Not a bad appetite suppressant. Take two, wait 20' for it to hit the blood stream & your brain thinks you just had a snickers.

Calcium: 2 tums at night gives the daily recommended dose & combats acid reflux: two birds one stone.

Glycosamine: ?? no study says it helps & lots of people swear by it.

dont forget the trace minerals, they may be more important than the vitamins.

A generic cheap multivitamin & a generic cheap multimineral most days is probably an excellent cost effective idea.

Niacin is outstanding but the 'flush' is miserable. Some get it some don't.

[Kristofor]

I cut out red meat and cheese from my diet and started taking fish oil. I also started exercising regularly. 90 days later total cholesterol was 163.

JR

Hmmm, you might be healthy, but no steak or cheese sounds a bit like you've already died and gone to He** Of course, FWIW my doc would love for me to do the same thing

[phi1l]

One year ago I tested high for total cholesterol (225). I cut out red meat and cheese from my diet and started taking fish oil. I also started exercising regularly. 90 days later total cholesterol was 163.



JR

You may have over don it a bit. I thb ik the target is 190-200 area. What they don't tell you is that cholesterol is the base building block for many hormones & enzymes. If cholesterol gets to low your body has a problem making some of those. I recall study a few years ago that indicated that low cholesterol levels were a risk factor for colon cancer.

[cabinetman]

Niacin is outstanding but the 'flush' is miserable. Some get it some don't.

What does 'flush' mean?
.

[JR]

What does 'flush' mean?
.

Niacin can cause redness itchiness of the skin as well as gastric distress similar to eating a RedHot.

JR