Vitamins - do they work?

[tulips77]

Some say that vitamins are pointless and are simply expelled by the body. But it's a huge market all the same.
Has anyone taken a specific vitamin and noticed a positive difference in their wellbeing? I'm trying to sort out my health a bit.
(Obvs I'm eating lots of fruit and veg as a starting point!)
I'm 42, a bit overweight and have recently had patches of eczema flare up on my face.

Vitamin D changed my life! (For the better)

I took Vitamin D and it brought me out in acne, can anyone explain this?

proven by whom? can you link to peer reviewed studies?
tbh anyone who tells you to remove a whole food group without good reason (allergy test?) should be taken with a pinch of salt

Exactly!!! If anyone wants proper information on the microbiome, diet, health etc, read Tim Spector's book (or follow on Twitter). He is continually busting these myths!

I took Vitamin D and it brought me out in acne, can anyone explain this?

That's a bit of a weird one Fuck as it should help acne. Do you mind me asking which D it was, was it the prescription stuff?? If so that might explain it as it's synthetic & puts the figures up, but doesn't help symptoms anything like as much as high dose natural D3. It will contain additives too, so perhaps a reaction to that. You do need to take fat, if it's not an oil capsule, & vitamin K with D3, as it uses these & I think magnesium too to fix symptoms, but K deficiency wouldn't explain the acne either.

Check out the Vitamin D council website, it explains it all on there, maybe there's something there that can explain your reaction better

I noticed my nails were amazing while taking folic acid. It's cheap as chips and really stops my nails from flaking so I still take it now. The rest of it I'm not so sure about.

anyone can say 'I'm a doctor' on here. Person could be, could not be, might be a nutritionist (anyone can call themselves that).

If you eat a normal varied diet and are in good general health then the only supplement you need is vitamin D October to April if you are in the UK. Our latitude means we can't make enough of it from sunshine.

if you are a vegan you need B12, either from supplementation, fortification or the way the ancients did it by not washing the animal crap off the veg.

vitamins that can't be stored by the body just get excreted. Some are toxic in excess. All vitamins are the same whether with plain labels or fluffy bunnies, so up to you how much you want to pay.

NHS website is quite good really.

.

I was a vitamin sceptic but I had chronic knee pain and my legs ached at night. I think I take the well woman supplements aged at 50 plus.
Massively helps my joint and leg pain.

I take a Berocca every day and it really seems to help with my hangovers waking in the morning. I'm also rarely ill

A colleague maintains they are useless, I smile and nod.

B3 and D definitely in my list.

*on

Suspect the gut expert actually practises Chinese medicine

I always think vitamins do work, Because they’re basic care for pregnant women. I know you’re more likely to be deficient then, but take that as proof they work at other times too

Sub lingual, hug dose B12 deffo works. I had a blood test for something and the report queried my B12 levels... The Dr asked if I was taking a suppliment as it was unusual in a hypothyroid vegetarian to have such a great B12 reading!

Vitamin d3 too is worth taking in the winter especially. I also take a decent multivitamin and the odd spatone for iron.

I take the vit d spray mentioned above, magnesium and potassium and have just started glucosamine as feel my post menopausal skeleton is crumbling.
I still don't feel 20 but I feel less like the 54 I really am.

Agree about good gut health..since going gf and df I have much better energy, gut health and sinuses
I still buy Vit d3 and k2 ...need to take them together For absorption
Coral calcium from the Caribbean
Nascent iodine with ionic selenium for thyroid
Concentrace after every meal For good digestion, joints etc. Magnesium is implicated in about 300 bodily functions
We make our own fermented veg for the probiotics..got sauerkraut on the go at the moment
Biocare zinc ascorbate for immunity and vitasorb for the b vitamins
I also take herbal tinctures...goldenseal for abdomen health
Pau darco and red clover for viruses
Msm powder for joint health
There’ll be more..just can’t think of anything
Oh yes vitamin c as our food is very denatured.
Chlorophyll for gut health also

Tulips..don’t browse in boots..go to a proper alternative health shop..and look for capsules without fillers.

Boots? are you made of money?

Wilkinson or the discounters. Same stuff, less money.

Vitamin D as we can’t get enough from food and we can’t make it from the sun between Oct and March in this country. I love the BetterYou sprays.

Agree about gut health. I think it’s best to focus on that for overall health. Then you can have tests to see if you are deficient in anything rather than blindly supplementing.

I do take magnesium to help with sleeping though. I’m prone to anemia so take spatone. Having blood tests next week though so will review then.

Berroca (or b vitamins) definitely help a hangover as it is these vitamins that are depleted when drinking.

So for my whole life I had really broken, brittle hair that wouldn't grow anywhere near my shoulders.
Then I got pregnant and my hair suddenly grew more in a year than it did in the previous 10 years! It's really healthy and down my back (that was a few years ago and it's still great). But what I don't know is:

1. Did pregnancy change the constitution of my hair or
2. Did taking pregnacare for 2 years do it (one year ttc, one year pregnant)?

I never took any vitamins before that

Vitamins work but you need to take the ones your body need rather than random ones.
So taking vit D or iron can be great for some people. For others it won’t make any difference. And the ones who really over do it (or didn’t need it in the first place) can end up taking too much and having any issues because of that.

Go and see a nutritionist @tulips77. At least you won’t be spending money on things you don’t need!!
Whatever people experience in this thread might well have nothing to do with what is going on for you.

Oh and there is no point taking vitamins if you dint buy the good quality stuff.
Usually the cheap version are in a form that the body can’t absorb (but are cheaper to make!) so you won’t get a lot from that. Some form can actually be detrimental (eg some vitamins exists in different forms. Some that are beneficial, some that aren’t. When they are manufactured, you might well end up with the form that isn’t helpful).

If there is an area where buying the cheaper stuff isn’t a good idea, that vitamins and supplements in general.

@NonUrinatInVentum sorry to derail thread but what supplements would u suggest for ADHD? Incl dosages. I'm being assessed currently & desperate to improve my symptoms naturally. Heard a lot about supplements but can't work out what ones & dosages

@NonUrinatInVentum I find that really interesting. My extended family and I have suffered terribly with digestive issues for generations. Doctors haven't been able to help, even at consultant level.

I've now established that I'm intolerant to, or can't comfortably digest, gluten, lactose, eggs, ginger, coriander and some nuts. No idea what the link is here!

OP, I take Vit D because, if I don't, I physically ache to the point of exhaution, and Vit B, otherwise I get mouth ulcers.

@inwood I noticed the same when taking folic acid in pregnancy but I'm not sure of the long term effects of taking it so not sure if I can carry on indefinitely

I take D3 in the winter, B6 for PMT and iron+vitamin C for diagnosed anaemia (probably menopause related).

All purpose A-Z vitamins are actively dangerous because knee-jerk supplementation with vitamin E has a small but measurable chance of killing you.