Do you think about over supplementation (vitamins)?

[EnterFunnyNameHere]

Just wondering how other people approach this.

I have a mild hypermobility issue that is basically caused by slightly duff collagen (too stretchy!). I have been thinking about taking a collagen supplement - not because I think it's going to cure me, but to hopefully help stave off decline as i age and my natural collagen lessens.

But most of the decent sounding collagen has other vitamins in it too - so I'm wondering whether to stop taking my a-z general vitamins to avoid over supplementing? But if I do that I'll be missing out on things like iron/zinc etc... I started taking the a-z as a general support because I also have digestive issues which mean I don't seem to absorb food that well.

But I'd be interested to know - am I just totally over thinking this? Would anyone else just add it in and not worry? Just for reference, there is an NHS page that talks about vitamins and "how much is too much" so I'm not just guessing in that front at least 🙂

Some vitamins are water soluble so you’d just wee out any extra. It’s worth looking at what’s in the collagen and what you already take.

I think it depends on the vitamins. Some can cause issues if you take too much (vit B6 I think, for example), others will just pass through you.

I do find it hard to work out supplements though, most things seems to come with a mixture of different vitamins etc these days. You have to really look at the breakdowns to work out what’s in them. And even then, I find it nigh-on impossible to work out which combination to take to get the amount I want of the substances I want.

The question is, why do you feel you need supplements in the first place, especially the A-Z ones, covering everything?

I take Vitamin D3 and magnesium, both because my GP suggested it when I started having muscle pain and sleep problems thank menopause starting.

I took iron for a while because a bloodtest showed I was low after a year of horrendous periods.

I don't think I would take them as a "just because".

You can get most supplements as single pills, it's more expensive and you may need to hunt some downin specialist stores/larger pharmacies but they exist. In you case I would sit down and check what you think you really benefit from and see how much is covered in which product.

Is there any evidence to support taking oral collagen in people with hypermobility? (genuine question)

It is possible to overdose on vitamins, of course it is, it is possible to die of overdoses of certain vitamins, like A and D and at least 1 B.

They are not harmless

There’s a good podcast on the subject of collagen, best forms of it etc on BBC sounds called sliced bread.Was interesting listen for 30 minutes.

Some interesting takes here. In answer to your question @Stoechas - no, I don't think there is. But if a "normal" person starts at 100% collagen strength, which decreases with age, they might end up at 75%. If my collagen is already ropey, I'm only starting at 75%, so with age that might decrease to 50%. Maybe supplements will help me stay closer to my starting 75% for longer! (Numbers made it for demonstration purposes!)

@reluctantbrit it's a fair point, but I'm not taking any of them "just because". As I said, I don't absorb food very well. I've had anaemia in the past put down to problems absorbing food, and if I'm not absorbing that I'm potentially not absorbing other things - it's just iron is able to be tested for! So that was the logic there. I do feel a bit better when I take the a-z, although whether that's one specific thing within them I don't know I guess!

I've heard of that podcast - do you remember the broad conclusions please?

I was thinking this last night. I too have hypermobility and I've bought some collagen as well. I find it really confusing as to when I might tip into over supplementation. Especially with magnesium for example. So no advice, but watching with interest

@EnterFunnyNameHere I think it was borderline .
you would be better to listen to it , I was listening to that one as well as few others one after the other.
the podcast helps break it down with a scientist too

How about bone broth for the collagen? You can make it and freeze it in cubes. You can also buy it powdered.
I supplement magnesium but go backwards and forwards on vitamin D as there's so many different schools of thought.

@EnterFunnyNameHere

I understand. Maybe see if you can get collagen on it's own, as I said, it sometimes needs to be hunted down.

Also, research what happens if you take too much, some side effects are difficult, some supplements can also cause others not too work or you need to take them in a certain way. Iron for example is better absorb when you take it with Vitamin C, a glass of orange juice for example. But don't take it with dairy as it is then fairly pointless.

Yes - I was thinking about this a few weeks ago. I wanted to buy (vegetarian/ vegan) collagen, co-q10 and magnesium as well as normal vitamins and iron. It’s so hard to find a solution. Different vitamins have different strengths of various parts. I know magnesium can be tricky.

I've never felt better since taking them all (but in don’t know which one it’s down to). I also feel that something in them is helping me to sleep better, which also helps to give me more energy.

Lots of vitamins and minerals inhibit the absorption of others (calcium and iron springs to mind) so multis are probably not the best idea. Better to know what you're deficient in before supplementing (for me that's vitamin D, ferritin and folate).

I think that's very fair - but aside from things like iron/b12 which is a relatively routine test, how would you know?

Genuine question, I'm not being snarky- is it possible to test for things like calcium/zinc/magnesium and so on?

Or do you more mean add things singly one by one to see which seems to have an effect?

I think you can pay privately for blood tests. Thriva isn't too expensive but doesn't do magnesium for example

I'm not sure about all of them, but Monitor my Health, Medichecks, Thriva and probably others do iron panels, B13, vitamin D etc

Could you call in at some chemists and speak to the pharmacists for their opinions re the over supplementing?

The most important to avoid overdoing is vitamin a. It's in cod liver oil.

So I'd avoid any supplements that include it. The others are more flexible, I decided when I looked into it.

I do take fish oils for the omega 3, but then avoid a multi or combined one.

I have a full on regime of omega 3, high strength vit d, glucosamine and collagen. I occasionally forget to take them, so feel the odd extra multivitamin is probably ok!

This one is collagen. If you search by collagen, they also offer collagen precursors, and other products that promote the production of collagen.

Safe Upper Levels for Vitamins and Minerals gives an indication of what safe upper limits may be in some nutrient supplements. Vitamin C, for example, is considered safe up to 3000mg/day in people without complicating factors such as haemochromatosis.

It's a long time since I read that document, but it reassured me that I was unlikely to come to harm by taking more than the NRV of most supplements.

I buy big pots of collagen powder from Ebay. There's nothing complicated about it, no additives, and it's easy to find one that provides all 3 forms of collagen. I should say there's NO evidence that eating collagen translates to more collagen in body tissues, but it doesn't do any harm besides making your poo thick if you overdo it.

In general, I'm pretty careful about supplements. I take a daily multivit, as the quantities are worked out by the manufacturers. I've started taking extra calcium because menopause, but calcium can block magnesium channels so I take magnesium at the same time.

You probably already know that vitamin C is required for connective tissue. We can't absorb more than about 200mg per day, but it should be taken daily.

Yes you can OD on some, I’ve always taken a daily multi vitamin with iron for heavy periods. I started getting a weird tingling/swollen tongue. Turned out it was caused by too much b vitamins. I was drinking a daily energy drink that had 360 % of b6 daily recommendations and over 200% of b12 along with the 100% in the pill. Gave up the energy drink and things did return to normal. Sometimes it’s too late though and nerve damage can be caused.

Ditto the hyper mobility issue here - I have today started a collagen supplement which I bought yesterday. I also picked up my over 50s vitamins, but then put them down as I wondered the same thing!