Taking vitamins and supplements – opinions?

[joichoi]

I'm so sorry this interesting and useful thread seemed to go a bit sour. I think it's mostly a bit of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and possibly bad day moods, with which I am way too familiar..
Genny L, you're always so interesting and so unpredicatable.... I learn a lot from your posts and from your perspectives. Sorry I don't say that more often.

[GennyL]

Thanks J. I mean no harm only my opinion & what little I know. Trying to keep many paths open for reference, watching my 20 year old child blow up like a blow fish was no picnic either.
http://www.foodallergy.org/page/fish-allergy

[joichoi]

Lord! No, no picnic for sure.
You do keep many paths open,
and communicate them,
and for that I thank you.
I need reminding about keeping paths open.....

[shadetree]

I've read that lack of hydrochloric acid (HCL) in the stomach can be an issue as one gets older. Symptoms can be a burning sensation in the stomach. Some mistake it as having too much acid in the stomach, when in fact the opposite is true. I presume I can buy a supplement of HCL at the health food store, but a home remedy is adding a tsp. of vinegar to water before a meal, and gradually increasing it. Has anyone tried this, or have any knowledge regarding this matter? Thanks.

[ovenbird]

Originally Posted by Ezzrider

I can't remember the exact reason but I think he said something is actually added to skim milk that is not present in 2% milk. Anyhow he highly recommended 2% over skim milk.

I would recommend organic milk. I drink 1% because the 2% tastes too rich to me. Anyway, toxins tend to be stored in fat, so I try to make all fat sources in my diet organic: eggs, meats, dairy, oils, nuts, etc.

Originally Posted by boizeau

If you are over 30, a Calcium supplement like Ca Citrtate is a good idea, especially for women, but also for guys. Many Americans are calcium deficient, and our diet, being too high in protein as a rule tends to cause a loss of calcium.

I eat kale. Lots of it. It contains a lot of calcium in a form that is readily used by the body.

And as you said in another post, Caveat Emptor! Many of our supplements are coming (or at least ingredients in them are coming) from China, and China is not a dependable source of much of anything. There have been high levels of toxins in supplements that contain China sourced ingredients.

Originally Posted by Celestyal

99% percent of the people I talked to had no clue what a 'healthy' diet was. (Or even how to find out)

90 % of people believe their diet is very healthy. They get a lot of their "health" information from commercials on television!

Originally Posted by Celestyal

No I'm not a nutritionist (would love to be), I was just speaking from expierence. From what I've heard from Dr. Oz (and a little) my opinion of him is...sceptical. Mostly developed from clips of his show and dealing with customers who came in buy into the lastest fad.

Furthermore, I feel that commercial interests influence what he and "The Doctors" present on their shows.

Originally Posted by shadetree

I've read that lack of hydrochloric acid (HCL) in the stomach can be an issue as one gets older. Symptoms can be a burning sensation in the stomach. Some mistake it as having too much acid in the stomach, when in fact the opposite is true. I presume I can buy a supplement of HCL at the health food store, but a home remedy is adding a tsp. of vinegar to water before a meal, and gradually increasing it. Has anyone tried this, or have any knowledge regarding this matter? Thanks.

That points to another bad road Americans are walking; messing with acid levels. I was diagnosed with GERD and put on Prevacid and then Prilosec, and those drugs told me immediately that they were WRONG for me and I stopped using each within days. ( Nasty results in the bathroom) ( Learn to know your poop!) I am angry that there is so much money being made off of people's ignorance, and to their own detriment!

God made our bodies to have acid in the digestive system. We eat too much food that does not require acid to break down, leaving excess acid in the system, and then we get heart burn. So we reduce acid. Bad move! You do need acid to digest your foods. Your flora are acid loving microbes. All of the people who take acid reducers are robbing themselves of nutrients they eat, but that are not able to be used, because they do not have enough of the right acids to digest these.

I use Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar as a salad dressing. I love the taste of it, and I like it added to juices as well.

I too have gone back and forth on supplements, but right now I am trying to eat a natural diet, and I feel that if I supplement, it will confuse my system so it does not know what it needs, and I will be hungry for the wrong foods. I have drastically reduced my empty calories, so I do not eat cereal, bread, pasta, rice, any baked goods, any refined sugar or artificial sweeteners.
I take yogurt regularly for probiotics. I use Stoneyfield Farms Organic plain yogurt. "Ugh", you say? Well, I believe the sugar in other yogurts encourages the wrong flora to proliferate, and it only takes one spoonful a day. And trust me, it does not taste as bad as Cod Liver Oil.
Since I am not eating the calorie laden grass grains and sugars, I can eat a lot of vegetables to make up the calories. Then I also get a bonus of vitamins and minerals, plus the enzymes that make the vitamins and minerals readily usable by the body. And I can cook my veggies with organic (preferrably pasture raised) butter, so they taste even better.
I try to imagine what foods Adam and Eve got to eat in the Garden, and right after they were turned out, before grain products were commercially grown. Leaves, shoots, roots, tubers, fruits, honey, mushrooms, meats, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, flowers. That leaves a lot of food to eat in lots of combinations with lots of color and texture interest, plus there are herbs, organic sea salt and spices!

And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
(Genesis 3:17-19 ESV)

It was a punishment for Adam, and not an order for all of us. We can choose to eat like we live in Eden.


Hypocrates said " “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
― Hippocrates" 'nuf said

[LuvsToPlant]

Excellent post ovenbird!

[Ezzrider]

Thanks ovenbird.

[SpaceAge]

late to this thread ...

I do take a multi and a monster Zeppelin for my knee ( Glucosamine / Chondroitin ) , along with my "baby " asprin ( 80mg ) and blood pressure pill.

my figuring on the Multi is that I know my diet on the road is way less than perfect ... I currently travel 5 of 7 days and eat junk for the most part. Not McDonalds poison type junk , but just not my homegrown garden goodies and fruits with balanced protiens like I should. I figure unless any of the amounts of vitamins are excessive or building up in my system , my excessive water consumption should flush to urine ...

I would say about monthly I do a mega- purge with suplements that are supposed to clean blood , like cranberry concentrate , Golden Seal Root / Ecenacia (sp ) , b complex , and Green Tea capsules ... I have done this for years , but I really have no idea why , other than I must have thought it was a good idea once and just stuck with it.

I'm sure there are arguments for and against a standard multi-vitamin use ... I mentally feel the need to use one and have convinced myself that it is the right thing to do...

looking forward to better healthier choices this summer ( I really love yellow summer squash and real sweet corn ) ...

Space'