Am I the only middle aged woman NOT using supplements?

[PoliteSquid]

Away on a weekend with friends and the conversation was constantly turning to supplements… probiotic powders, protein, creatin, bone broth and so many more!!!!
I’m no paragon of health but WTF? Where has all this come from? I can’t afford the prices mentioned, but I am starting to wonder if I’m the odd one out for not using any supplements at all!!

M 66 and I've not even heard of the ones you mention. I've taken vitamin D and calcium from time to time and did notice an improvement in my nails and I have considered taking collagen but not got around to it yet.

I've just stopped nutrition geeks collagen, gave it three months because my friend was raving about collagen but it's done nothing for any of the areas I was hoping - my knees are knackered and my nails and hair have always been weak, and having lost of weight my skin is rubbish too. It has done nothing for any of that!

I'm keeping the creatine (I'm doing a lot of strength training), my vit d, and the multivitamin I started when dieting.

Wondering if I should try magnesium. Does anything work for painful joints? Just started low dose hrt so will see if that helps.

I'm wondering why HRT is even on a thread about supplements. Does that make it easier for some people to dismiss it as a bandwagon?

A friend of mine is in a terrible state mentally and physically because she listened to a doctor when he told her she'd been on HRT long enough and wouldn't continue to prescribe it to her. Instead of going elsewhere, she's now convinced herself HRT is a bad thing on this man's say so. It was a life saver for her up to that point, but she must have had a niggling doubt about it to have jumped so readily into accepting whatever he told her. All she says is that he's a doctor so he knows best.

I'm 50 and don't take any supplements. I swim outside twice a week all year round to get my vitamin D (in a swimming costume not a wetsuit, else it wouldn't do much). I have 1 Brazil nut a day for my selenium. I am really big on nutrition though and eat lots of protein, pulses, super foods, citrus, berries, greens etc. I feel this is more natural than supplements/pills/chemicals.

I seem to be doing ok, good energy levels, do loads of exercise, lift weights, size 10, low body fat, good muscle mass/strength. I'm not convinced supplements do anything to be honest.

On repeat - you can’t make any vitamin D from the sun between October and April in this country. Everyone needs to supplement.

I don’t get how people don’t know this. Maybe there needs to be a public health campaign.

I swim outside twice a week all year round to get my vitamin D

Vitamin D is only available from the sun in the UK between April and August.

Although the NHS says September.

Vitamin D - NHS https://share.google/xFmFub78cm4YOg2n9

Here's a leaflet from NHS Scotland about the lack of Vit D from sunlight for half the year.

VitaminDLeaflet.pdf https://share.google/qwqR3jMzAux1ZC3kB

I haven’t been able to find brazil nuts in the supermarket for months now. Apparently there is a shortage this year.

Don’t even think they work now because people would just reply to the post on social media with comments about sheep, jibby jabs and the government trying to poison us
yes, I have a low expectation of the general public!
my work has no windows so I get very little sun exposure and being a redhead I burn anyway so I take it year round

In fact I can’t sleep so I searched vitamin D and NHS on social media and found the first few comments.

Vitamins come from food, feed your kids the nutrients they need, dont shovel pills or pitions6 down their throats. Ridiculous.

Wayyy too many bulking agents and all other nasties in those. Stick to fresh food instead personally ,especially for vulnerable children.xxxx̌xx

Nobody ever gave babies supplements why start now ? Maybe it’s advertising

Shouldn't need them, food is best xx

I was not aware of this and I am a well educated, well informed person in general working in health (though an unrelated field). No one knows everything of course and I have learned something new today, but I think it illustrates it probably isn't common knowledge and hasn't been made widely known. An awareness campaign sounds like a good idea.

I got some delivered last week from Ocado

I take a few and I can definitely say they help me especially British supplements msm (for my back pain, disc herniation its totally changed my life pain wise ) and nutrition geeks magnesium, this has helped me with peri anxiety and emotional outbursts, I also take their biotin and vitamin d october to march

Yes - wise to take it all year round. Even between April - October we need about 20 minutes exposure to a large area of skin every day. And we know what the weather is like in this country!

We evolved near the equator- we actually need more sun than we are getting.

Yes I am surprised how few people know this.

Maybe it’s because I had breast cancer and was part of a subsequent study on the link with low vitamin D and breast cancer outcomes - it made me dive down a deep hole of research and I was shocked and how important this hormone is.

My oncologist was also very keen to keep my levels high.

There definitely needs to be a public health campaign.

If you don't need it there's no need to take anything. I need energy so have narrowed it down to Lions Mane and Vitamin B12.

And vitamin d… you should take

Everyone needs vitamin D in the winter. For the last time!

Painful isn't it