March 13, 2009

What Supplements Should I Take?



This next guest post is from Drew of Diet Tired. Drew is "an exercise and nutrition physiologist, entrepreneur, and advocate of diet free weight loss." Crabby is still trying to figure out the Magical Combination of supplements that will give her excellent health, eternal life, and the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. However, until she does, she will leave it to others to advise you about the confusing question of which supplements to take. Here's one man's opinion, what do you guys think? Thanks, Drew!


There is much debate over what supplements you should take. For every recommendation there are even more opinions.

The fact is that supplement companies and the stores and practitioners selling supplements are far more likely to lean on the side of over recommending supplements and those who are on the medical and scientific side will argue that there just isn’t proof that most supplements do anything.

Despite a lack of clear evidence, our appetite for supplements is growing. This is because anecdotal evidence (testimonials and sales pitches) is far more persuasive to the general public than scientific studies. Add to this the small part in all of us that ‘wants to believe’ that these little pills work like magic and it is little wonder that supplement sales are in the billions.

This combination of persuasion, hope and often desperation can cause even the brightest of us to make decisions reminiscent of Jack, from Jack and The Bean Stock.


So are there any magical beans worth trading your cow for?


Magical, no. Potentially helpful, yes. I’ll get to these shortly.

It is important to recognize that if you eat an otherwise healthy diet you should have little problem getting all the nutrients that you need. In fact, when it comes to the macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) as a nation we are over nourished. That said, sometimes it is nice to have some insurance and there are certainly some health conditions or circumstances that warrant vitamin and mineral supplementation.

People may claim that today’s foods do not have near the nutrients that they had years ago, but this claim is not substantiated. This claim often comes from those selling supplements of course.

In fact, foods today are shipped faster and under safer conditions and food safety guidelines are far superior compared to what they use to be.

So how do you decide? I recommend following what the Tiger Woods of nutrition does.

Who is this nutrition all-star? He is Professor Walter Willet, Chairman, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. He takes a multivitamin and vitamin D tablet daily.

In true scientist form, Willett suggests waiting for the final verdict before jumping on other supplement band wagons.

Not only will this strategy save you money (taking a multivitamin and vitamin D supplement costs only pennies a day) but save your sanity in trying to figure out which beans are truly magical.

27 comments:

  1. I don't take supplements faithfully. I went on a "fruits, veggies and whole grains only" kick a few weeks ago. My nails are stronger, my hair is shining and bloating is gone. I think this is proof enough of how to do it without vitamins - but I do buy them for my Greedy Family who cares nothing about their health right now.

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  2. The only supplement I take right now is niacin as it works to improve your HDL (good cholesterol).

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  3. my doctor actually put me on a prescription dose of Vitamin D to help the absorption of calcium. taking a multivitamin i feel can help if you are an on the go person, and not every meal is planned to a T.

    i feel you Yum Yucky. i have a husband whose side of the family, despite death due to complications of diabetes, his father having a heart attack at 40, continues to eat whatever, get no exercise, and is about to top the scale at 300 if he doesn't do something to change. i've cried over his health, and all i can do is make him healthy dinners when he's home from the road, and try to get him to go for a walk or to the gym with me.

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  4. Interesting article. I'd suggest for women to add in iron, as it's the nutrient most commonly deficient in women.

    I take a multi, iron, calcium, and fish oil.

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  5. I take standard process vitamins/supplements and my hair grows like a weed now, my skin glows and my nails grow wicked fast as well and I've never felt so great in my life. I will probably never switch to something cheaper as I just find them to be very effective.

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  6. I don't take any supplements - many just give you expensive urine and besides which you can also overdose on them. I'd rather eat a diet high in all that grows naturally - I'm not terribly trustworthy when it comes to stuff that comes in bottles and is accompanied by a lot of hype.

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  7. I probably take more supplements than most. Vit. D is the latest trend. I don't take it separately, but it's in the multi I take. That Vit C, and E are the mainstays for me. I get D from sunshine :-)

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  8. As per my doctors' recommendation, I take Omega 3 and Calcium. I figure the Geritol will be next.....

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  9. I am one of those drawn to magic beans. In addition to my multivitamin/mineral, I take fish oil pills and a bone/joint health supplement that contains glucosamine/chrondroitin, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin K, and vitamin C. I do try to look for independent studies before taking particular supplements.

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  10. Tsk, Dr. J. You dang Floridians are always hogging all the sunshine :(

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  11. I take a half dose of a multivitamin (you're supposed to take two a day but I only take one) and I try to remember to take my flax seed oil capsules.

    I recently read where people who are on acid reflux medication may not (and probably do not) produce enough stomach acid to absorb adequate Vitamin B12, and that people on Prilosec, etc. should take a 1000mcg supplement. So I started doing that, though I don't really feel bad or anything. Then I broke out in uncontrollable itching all over for about a week, so I quit. I have no idea whether the supplement was causing it, but I'm going to wait a while before I try that again.

    When I was a teenager my mom got on a health kick (Adele Davis was her guru) and made us all take 20 vitamins a day and eat sauteed liver for breakfast, which I didn't mind, but I did mind the awful orange juice-brewers yeast concoctions I had to force down. It may be a coincidence, but I have certainly aged well...

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  12. I take iron supplements because my doctor told me I wasn't getting enough from my vegetarian diet.

    Currently I'm also trying to get rid of my migraines with an onslaught of supplements (Riboflavin, CoQ10, 5-HTP). I'm too cheap to continue paying $25 a pill for the prescription stuff. We'll see if this strategy works...

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    1. I wish I would've seen this years ago & I hope this worked for you but if it did help w/ the migraines I would suggest Petadolex or just a standardized Butter Burr, I take Petadolex for my migraines & it seems to be helping a lot!

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  13. I suffer from migraine, too (with aura). CalMag w/ D is supposed to help migraines a lot, I've heard. Who knows. I'm a little surprised fish oil didn't make the professor's list. But I suppose you gotta draw the line somewhere, eh?
    -B

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  14. I don't know if it is coincidence or if some how on an unconscious level I know I am going to get sick so I begin taking vitamins, but every single flibber flabber time I take a multivitamin, I get sick. I get the worst cold I have had EVER and am down for the count. So I use the logic that to stay healthy, I avoid vitamins. Although I was religious about taking my vitamins during my pregnancy. But I felt so lousy during most of it I couldn't tell if it was being pregnant or having a cold.

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  15. I typically only take supplements on hard training days. After a long run or long bike ride, I take a Cal/Mag/D, turmeric (an anti-inflamatory) and some electrolytes. On a typical day, though, my usual eating habits are sufficient.

    And as a counterpoint to Tricia's suggestion, don't supplement iron without finding out if you need to. Too much iron in the blood can be even worse than too little, so get a blood test first.

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  16. I don't take any supplements, although I know a vitamin D supplement is probably a good idea. I'm just really reluctant to take anything that isn't real food!

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  17. I take a multi, Posture D, fish oil, flax oil, joint stuff, D3 and quercetin.

    In a recent blood test it was discovered that I was very deficient in vitamin D. I was shocked. I'm in the sun a lot, eat most of the foods with sizable amounts of D in them and was taking a multi with D in it. Dr. recommended Posture D. Will have follow up blood test in a couple weeks to see if I'm absorbing the D. If not, I'll have to get a shot.

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  18. Meh. I have a love-hate with supplements. Right now I'm taking a multi mostly because it's been pounded into my head that every responsible woman of childbearing age should do so. But give me a few months and I'll probably get all ecstatic about something or other and have to go try it out. I think there is a huge difference though between vitamins (what this post is mostly disucssing) and "supplements" that are often dangerous or ineffective.

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  19. This is an interesting topic because if you talk to ten different people you'll get no consensus on the issue. There are conflicting studies on the matter which further confuses things. I recently read that some individual supplements actually yield negative results (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090227080834.htm). Certainly the supplement companies have pushed for their cause with questionable studies and the scientific community has failed to embrace potentially progressive information on the subject. So, who's right? I have no idea. For my part I don't take any supplements, preferring instead to try my best to create a nutrient rich diet with tons of fruits, veggies, nuts and lean meats (organic, whenever possible). I think a well-rounded, health-minded food intake will provide us with all the good stuff we need. However, I think a calcium supplement is prudent for women and there's no harm in taking a multi-vitamin just to shore up the ragged edges of our food intake.

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  20. I don't take vitamin supplements. They're not regulated, so no need to prove what's in them. I've also seen a lot of research indicating they're no better than what you get from a balanced diet and exercise. There is some evidence that other supplements may provide benefits, but I think the jury's still out.

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  21. If only I were disciplined enough to eat a healthy, balanced diet for longer than 1 day

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  22. im follow a vegan diet (oh..i eat honey and bee pollen, so i am a 'loose' vegan)..so I take B vitamens, B12, iron and calcium, beepollen and a soy protein supplement. gosh..writing that sounds a lot...but i definately have more energy than before supplements came onto the scene

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  23. I take a multi without iron, vitamin D w/calcium because I live on the tundra where the sun rarely shines, and niacin. It's cheap, simple and it can't hurt.

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  24. I recommend Nutrilite products.
    lsmith97.qhealthbeauty.com

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  25. My husband takes Omega-3 and saw palmetto. One helps his overall health and the other works on his prostate and helps stop hair loss.

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Thanks for commenting, Cranky Fitness readers are the BEST!

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