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Vitamins - what do you take

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by jimmyrose, May 9, 2007.

  1. KD6HDX

    KD6HDX New Member

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    I hear that omega 3 fatty acids are good. A good source is fish. Some fish have high levels of mercury, which is bad. Does anyone know if the testing of these fish oil pills rules out the mercury question. In other words, do we absorb the mercury from eating the flesh? Or does fish oil not contain mercury?
     
  2. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KD6HDX @ May 9 2007, 04:55 PM) [snapback]438657[/snapback]</div>
    According to Consumer Reports:

    The article is here but you probably have to be a subscriber to access it.
     
  3. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

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    I know from personal experience that Centrum MVs are also assayed for each active on the label. I've developed some of the methods that are used.

    The Solgar brand used to be tested in a similar way to Centrum. A couple of years ago Wyeth sold Solgar, and I lost track of how the products are being tested.

    You might want to check out Consumer Lab. They're an independent lab that tests vitamins and supplements. AFAIK, they don't use the methods that the individual companies use for release testing (if the do release testing at all). Sometimes CL might see 90mg of calcium and Shaklee might see 115mg, for example. The methods CL uses are not optimized for each product, but the results are a good starting point.

    If you want me to go more in depth, I can. It would be technical and boring to laypeople, but I'm willing...

    Oh, and to answer the OP's question, I take Centrum.
     
  4. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KD6HDX @ May 9 2007, 04:55 PM) [snapback]438657[/snapback]</div>
    According to Consumer Reports:

    The article is here but you probably have to be a subscriber to access it.
     
  5. Whirldy

    Whirldy Junior Member

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  6. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Could this be a new record for dead thread revival? Six years is a long time.
     
  7. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    I take Centrum Silver. Many times I forget to take them for long periods of time. I hear liquid based Vitamins have better absorption. They are also more expensive.
     
  8. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    A study published since this thread went dormant showed that people who regularly take vitamin supplements live SHORTER lives than people who do not. This may be because such people are generally eating an inadequate diet, and vitamin pills do not make up for all that is missed in an unhealthy diet.

    Megadoses of vitamins are definitely harmful. Supplements have never been demonstrated to be helpful and are often harmful, and since they are unregulated, there is no way to know if they even contain what they claim, and Consumer's Union has found upon testing that many of them do not.

    The mother of the modern mega-vitamin fad, Adele Davis, died very young, probably as a result of overdosing on vitamins for so many years.

    If you suspect that you are suffering from a vitamin deficiency, your doctor can perform a blood test easily and prescribe whatever you lack. Vitamin supplements, like drugs, should be taken only on the advice of a physician. (I have quit taking vitamin C since my earlier posts, after definitive studies have shown that it has no effect whatsoever on colds, and is useful only if you have scurvy, which I do not, since I eat plenty of fresh fruit.)
     
  9. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    My wife and I take one Solgar Omnium a day, although I think the bottle directions say to take 2 or 3. Screw that, these things are pretty expensive. When the Omniums run out, we'll take one Solgar VM-75 a day, then alternate back to the Omniums/VM-75/Omnium, etc. Seems to work out okay - I'm not dead yet...
     
  10. Whirldy

    Whirldy Junior Member

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    cf.
    Fish and Prostate Cancer Risk: Fact or Fiction


    (y)
     
  11. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Waste of money. The megadoses are harmful, though a bit less so since you are taking half the amount recommended on the label, and certainly do you no good. The non-vitamin ingredients in these sorts of products are nothing but snake oil. If you really must take a multivitamin because you are unwilling to eat a healthy, balanced diet, buy your local drugstore's store brand.

    Sadly, a lot of people still believe the crazy idea that if a little is good, more is better. More than 100% of the RDA of any vitamin does you no good, and some are toxic in excess of 100%. So at best you are wasting money by consuming more than you need, and at worst you are poisoning yourself or unbalancing your metabolism as some vitamins affect others in odd ways. The body is a finely balanced mechanism, and megadoses of otherwise necessary nutrients can throw it all out of whack. They may not kill you, but they will lower your overall health.
     
  12. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Proof ?
     
  13. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I don't believe in the magic bullet.
    It seems like common sense to know that if you can get the majority of your vitamins into your system by eating a well balanced diet that has to be better for you than relying on a pill in a consumer friendly plastic bottle, with a picture of all the foods you should be eating instead on it.

    That being said, I don't think a daily vitamin pill or supplement is probably going to kill you. I think our bodies simply reject most of it anyway, which is why if I take a supplement pill, my urine turns a psychedelically bright color. It's almost worth it, just for that.

    Maybe in a subconscious bid to prolong my life, I tend to most often forget and not take a vitamin pill anyway. I'm probably in practice the worst kind of vitamin taker, and that is someone who will start taking them in Cold and Flu season when they feel the onset of a cold.

    Guess I'm coward enough, to hope a "Magic Pill" might boost my immune system enough to fight off a cold, but cynic enough to think that the entire practice is more an industry based on getting your money for a pretty bottle and the HOPE of better health with little sacrifice.

    And yeah....this thread is old......as old as that expired bottle of multi-vitamins I bought at Costco.
     
  14. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    There is a very common misconception here, based on a complete misunderstanding of the operation of the immune system. It's common to think of it as a soldier defending the body, and the stronger he is, and the more weaponry he has, the better he protects the body from disease.

    In fact, the immune system is a finely-balanced suite of chemical responses that must distinguish between self and non-self in order to destroy non-self. A healthy immune system (one not compromised by poor diet or immunological disorders) is in balance and operates at maximum efficiency. When it is in balance, nothing you can do will improve it, other than vaccinations, which by challenging it with weakened or inactivated pathogens, cause it to produce antibodies, which in turn allow it to respond more quickly to the associated natural pathogens.

    A "boosted" immune system would be over-active and respond to self as if it were non-self. Immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and type-I diabetes are the result of a "boosted" or over-active immune system, wherein the immune system attacks the body's own cells. If you could actually "boost" your immune system, it would gradually destroy your body.

    Fortunately, the supplements sold as "immune system boosters" are nothing but snake oil and have no such effect, though some of them contain overdoses of vitamins, which can be harmful.

    Because supplements, like Chinese Chicken, are not regulated, the sellers are free to make false claims and sell you whatever they like, if they can convince you to buy it. Consumer ignorance is their chief advantage and ally. A boosted immune system is a compromised immune system and will harm you as much as a weakened immune system. Eat a healthy diet, get all your vaccinations, and don't give your money to the fraudsters selling supplements.
     
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  15. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I think I pretty much agree with you Daniel. But I love the imagery of tiny micro cellular entities defending my body like a soldier.- Real or not.
    My medical knowledge was born from repeated viewings of the movie "Fantastic Voyage" so a Vitamin shaped like a young Raquel Welch would be great.
     
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  16. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    I'll take the plunge.

    I take a multivitamin, Omega 3 oils, and Red Rice Yeast supplements. The Red Rice Yeast lowers my total cholestrol about 40 points.
     
  17. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    As a kid, I came up with a'wild-nice person-guess' of a theory that a diet that included lots of colours would be healthful. I know that's not very scientific, but it seems to be working. I will take the odd vitaman C pill if and when I have a cold, just to soothe my throat. Mostly, I rely on a good variety of healthful foods, and stay away from the bad stuff.

    Raquel Welch pills would be tempting.... ;)
     
  18. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Got any proof supplements work? ;)

    The burden of proof lies with those making the claim, not with those who say 'I don't believe you'.

    Note to Chuck: No, I am not trying to turn this into a religious thread.
     
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  19. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    hyo silver,

    Why would anyone think that?

    We all have various interests in life and this is a totally different topic.

    You do bring a point that some topics if pursued on and on and on, tend to generate hard feelings to the point it follows the members on totally different subjects.

    But again, this is on vitamins/supplements and it's been a good discussion.
     
  20. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Actually, it turns out that including lots of different color vegetables is a good plan. Not enough by itself, but it turns out to be one aspect of a balanced diet.

    I've substituted hard candies for the chewable (suckable) vitamin C when I have a sore throat. It's really just the saliva production that moistens the throat and provides some soothing. I prefer the ones made entirely of honey because I like the flavor.

    I'd go for the Raquel Welch pills if you could put them in a glass of water and they'd expand into a real Raquel Welch.