are vitamins/supplements bullshit?

[slunken]

Anybody deep into this rabbit hole?

currently consuming:

men's one a day multi-vitamin
fish oil
milk thistle

[MyOneAndOnly]

Vitamins make for very expensive piss

[Disco King]

I remember reading an article calling into question the fish oil thing. Pretty much, the claims of its benefits originate with a single study that reasoned that an Inuit population had a lower rate of heart disease because of all the fish in their diet, but they didn't actually even measure the rate of heart disease, they just went by anecdotal evidence. A lot of subsequent researchers cited it, but nobody ever bothered to attempt to replicate it or even to scrutinize the causal inductions.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...37702?cmp=fbtl

And fish oil capsules may not even have the benefits that the healthy fats in fish have.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/omega-...bted-1.1294028

I used to take Echinacea for its supposed immune-system benefits, but I find having to take pills every morning a pain, and I don't even know if it was really doing anything so eventually I was just like why am I doing this

[reprise85]

Anecdotally, fish oil seems to lower my cholesterol about 15%. Probiotics are also helpful for stomach problems. I was taking a B complex supplement for a while when I was anemic.

I haven't taken any supplements for a while though, because I just didn't want to pay for them anymore. My cholesterol did go up and I'm going to try fish oil again. It could be coincidental but my doc seems to think they work and my cholesterol did change when I started and then stopped taking them. My stomach has been good so I just take a bunch of probiotics when I take antibiotics, which is unfortunately 2-3x a year basically. The definitely help, and AFAIK the literature to support their use is much stronger than any other supplement.

So yeah probably but I'm going to take fish oil anyway

[cork_soaker]

Originally Posted by Disco King

I used to take Echinacea for its supposed immune-system benefits...and I don't even know if it was really doing anything

it wasn't

[wHATcOLOR]

Depends on how good your diet is. the less well balanced and the less healthy it is, the more benefit you can derive from supplements. But if you're eating very healthily you should receive most of what is in supplements already.

Things like d3 are a little different and depend on how much sun exposure you have.

[vixnix]

Fish oil can give you reflux which will put you off eating for half a day, so there is some benefit there in terms of weight management.

[The Omega Concern]

Originally Posted by wHATcOLOR

Depends on how good your diet is. the less well balanced and the less healthy it is, the more benefit you can derive from supplements. But if you're eating very healthily you should receive most of what is in supplements already.

Things like d3 are a little different and depend on how much sun exposure you have.

All very true. Sometimes on the road I know my diet takes a step back and some supplements can really help staying level. The trick is to know which charlatan brands to stay away from.

[The Omega Concern]

Originally Posted by slunken

Anybody deep into this rabbit hole?

currently consuming:

men's one a day multi-vitamin
fish oil
milk thistle

What isn't b.s. for sure is Just Tart Cherry juice. Orac values (anti-oxidant potency) are off the charts (16x that of orange and grape juices) and its a natural melatonin enhancer. It's a bit of an acquired taste but its nowhere near as bad as say cranberry or grapefruit juice.

[MyOneAndOnly]

Originally Posted by wHATcOLOR

Depends on how good your diet is. the less well balanced and the less healthy it is, the more benefit you can derive from supplements. But if you're eating very healthily you should receive most of what is in supplements already.

Things like d3 are a little different and depend on how much sun exposure you have.

Much truth. Unless you're malnourished you're getting what you need.

However, most supplements aren't well absorbed. Even if you have nutritional deficits. Calcium, for instance. It needs fats to properly digest. Take the fat out of dairy products like milk and yogurt and you get almost no benefit from the calcium that's already in it. Take a calcium supplement even with a calcium deficit and it's a similar situation. It's unlikely to do any good.

Fish oil pills show no efficacy as a dietary supplement. The faulty logic behind it is similar to many other supplements where a health benefit was noticed in a population of people who ate fish primarily as their source of protein.

There are some "supplements" that can be dangerous and should only taken when prescribed by a physician. Zinc, for instance. Too much of it can cause some nasty health problems, starting with digestive troubles and progressing to zinc toxicity and copper deficiencies.

[toase]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...ements/277947/

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...min-bs/386126/

There was another article on linus pauling, I can't find it right now

[redbreegull]

My doctor told me that the milk lobby has invented the perception that milk is an effective way for adults to take in calcium, and in fact if one is calcium deficient, one should be eating dark leafy greens, fish, and lowfat yogurt.

but that really you are fucked because your body almost completely loses its ability to absorb calcium once you are in your 20s.

[myosis]

[yo soy el mejor]

duh we should have stopped sucking out mommy's titties a long time ago. it's not very weird to think adults don't get much out milk. shit's delicious, though.

i like milk after a workout and chocolate milk whenever.

[Disco King]

I've never been able to drink straight milk. Don't like the taste much.

Like, I can have it with cereal or something, but a glass of it, no.

Despite my distaste for straight milk, when I was a kid, I tried to force myself to drink a glass of it every morning because I was terrified of having brittle bones as an adult due to the influence of Caltrate commercials aimed at post-menopausal women with osteoporosis.

[MyOneAndOnly]

I couldn't live without cheese. It is wonderful.

I have sad for all the people who don't share my Scandinavian genetics and are lactose intolerant.

[MyOneAndOnly]

Thanks to mormor and morfar!

[Cool As Ice Cream]

BEER!

[vixnix]

Man you fools are probably not even alkalising your bodies with lemon water in the morning and then priming your guts with kombucha and kefir. n00b city around here

[myosis]

you acidic fools

[redbreegull]

Originally Posted by yo soy el mejor

duh we should have stopped sucking out mommy's titties a long time ago. it's not very weird to think adults don't get much out milk. shit's delicious, though.

i like milk after a workout and chocolate milk whenever.

yeah it makes sense but doesn't seem to be widely known. Drinking whole milk after a workout is good if you are trying to bulk up

[myosis]

Originally Posted by Cool As Ice Cream

BEER!

from what i understand, pale ale is a good source of silica, which promotes proper calcium absorption.

[myosis]

drink in moderation

[duovamp]

What supplement can I take once daily to live forever?

[yo soy el mejor]

i take a ladies multi-vitamin for the selenium (per my psychiatrist) and zinc and iron. i assume other vitamins like a, b, c, and d don't hurt either.

[FoolofaTook]

i once drank so much cough syrup that i could walk around in michigan during january with nothing on but socks and an edwardian ruff.

now that's some HELLA vitamins yo.

[Disco King]

Originally Posted by redbreegull

My doctor told me that the milk lobby has invented the perception that milk is an effective way for adults to take in calcium, and in fact if one is calcium deficient, one should be eating dark leafy greens, fish, and lowfat yogurt.

but that really you are fucked because your body almost completely loses its ability to absorb calcium once you are in your 20s.

It's crazy how much the food lobby influences nutritional advice from government agencies. Like, up until recently, Canada's Food Guide and the USDA "Food Pyramid" made the made the "grains" section the largest, and advocated something like 6-11 servings of grain products a day, even when the science at the time indicated that eating 4 slices of bread, two muffins, and three cups of pasta a day probably is way more carbs than one needs. But big agribusiness is pretty carb-heavy (probably because of cheap subsidized corn), so they had to make sure people weren't being told to eat less of their breakfast cereals. Meanwhile, fats were demonized, when a lot of fats are great for you, and the Western diet has a bigger problem with an over-abundance of carbs than an over-abundance of fat.

I think the U.S. recently addressed that by replacing the Food Pyramid with "My Plate," an initiative endorsed by Michelle Obama. Its portions are more in line with an actual healthy diet, giving priority to vegetables over grains. It's also a lot more intuitive. Most of us don't use food scales or plan out our meals for the day ahead of us. It's a lot easier to think, "half of my plate should be produce, and then I can have my grains and my proteins on the side over here." Like, at dinner, your steamed veggies and salad with take up the most real estate, and you can still have your mashed potatoes and chicken breast. Or at breakfast, most of it will be fruit or something, and then over here is my toast and sausage.

Next time somebody complains about the Obama Administration, tell them that the Obamas are the reason their children aren't being taught that it's healthy to subsist on Frosted Flakes and mac 'n' cheese anymore.

Originally Posted by duovamp

What supplement can I take once daily to live forever?

Primrose oil. Of all of the days since I've started taking it, I've been alive for exactly 100% of them. I'm yet to see a deviation from this trend. So far, so good.

[myosis]

my yogurt is 9% and i'm not switching to low-fat anytime soon

[redbreegull]

It isn't really necessary to eat low-fat dairy stuff IMO unless you are avoiding fat for a specific reason. Like I said, milk fat is good for building muscle as long as you are exercising and not living a sedentary lifestyle.

[D.]

Originally Posted by slunken

men's one a day multi-vitamin

I was doing centrum, i think it was, mens one a days and it made me constipated due to there being a crazyyyy amount of iron in it.

i take new chapter one a days and they are okay but i feel like a 2-pill combo of USANA mega antioxidant and USANA chelated mineral makes me feel the best and keeps me regular.