Supplements - come and critique my list

[SoWhatDoWeDoNow]

I couldn't decide whether this should be in S&B or health, but as my shallow primary concern is with my appearance rather than my health I have opted for S&B.

I need to lose 2 stones in weight, my skin is looking ropey and I'm peri-menopausal with raging PMT. I get moody, I get brain fog, I get anxiety, I eat carbs as a way of dealing with emotional stress, and I feel like a pathetic wreck most of the time, although on the face of it I am very together and capable.

I have dabbled with low-carb eating and supplements on and off for years, and I love it but struggle to stick to it, even though I know it works and makes me feel better.

I am going to really make an effort now, as I think it would help my PMT and my skin, as well as my weight.

I have bought loads of supplements to help kick start me and stave off cravings as well.

An over the counter appetite suppressant for those days when I need a little help. Caffeine, guarana, green tea, all the usual stuff. They do work as a way of helping me ease into ketosis, and are good for those days when I fall off the wagon - they stop me over-eating when being fed carbs by other people, hectic schedule etc.

Krill oil. supposedly the best source of all the most valuable omega oils, good for the mood swings, concentration, skin, PMT etc.

Cayenne capsules. Not sure what to expect from those really.
Are they going to give me an ulcer or terrible heartburn?

5-HT supplement. Ditto. Although they are talked about alot in conjunction weight loss and boosting serotonin levels. As my carby over-eating phases are usually triggered by emotions/anxiety and stress I was hoping this might help.

A probiotic.

Kelp for boosted iodine. good for regulating your thyroid and good to ward off cancer.

Melatonin for better sleep and concentration.

A mixed supplement of L-carnitane, Coenzyme Q 10 and chromium.

I have taken them all except the appetite suppressant and the kelp today. I am sort of waiting for there to be some weird explosive reaction in my stomach. I'm a bit nervous about the cayenne.

Any thoughts?

Christ. Try eating better and exercising. I don't believe in all that shit

Thank you Alaska that's extremely helpful.

Of course it should go without saying that I am aiming to eat better and exercise as well, but my question was about the supplements.

In fact if you don't believe in supplements i'm not quite sure whey you opened the thread, given its title.

Get some fish oils in there, and some evening primrose oil. They'll both make a difference to your skin. Spectrumzyme from biocare is brilliant - it's every digestive enzyme in one little capsule and it's brilliant for releasing the energy from food. Basically it helps you digest everything properly so you get the maximum benefit from what you eat, without that sluggish feeling of your digestion working too hard. You take one or two before each meal. St john's wort for your low mood?

Alaska likes to go and take a dump on every thread she opens. It's very dull.

Would you consider seeing a nutritionist who could advise you on the best supplements and also go through your diet?
I did this as I wanted to change my diet to help my acne (it did) and perhaps if you did the same, it would support your decisions. We'll done for wanting to make changes!

Thank you MM, will look into those.

Isn't St John's wort/Evening Primrose (can't remember which ) too high in the wrong omegas though? Too much 6 and not enough 3? I am taking the krill oil for those so I don't want to double up on anything that might be contentious. it's all very complicated.

I'm with Alaska on this. Sorry
Your spending a heck if a lot of money.
If I took 5htp and caffiene. I would be a wreck.
My heart would race. I'd be unable to sleep.
Get yourself out every day for a long walk in the fresh air.
Reduce sugar drastically.
Look at what triggers your pmt.
I went on the mini pill to help mine
It was a relevation.
I also walk a lot. In all weathers.

I have considered seeing a nutritionist, yes, but my experience with dieticians/nutritionists and supposed complementary health people is that (while they are generally coming around to the rightness that is low carb) they still often give such mixed and conflicting messages, and I end up not knowing what to think.

I also don't to rattle like an apothecary's cabinet, I want to focus on a few key things that will really help.

Oh maybe OP. The EPO was for your hormones, and I was thinking it would be balanced out by the omega 3 in the fish oils. What's krill oil?

Sowhat, supplements can be beneficial but diet and exercise definitely counts for much, much more.

What does a typical day's food look like for you and when do you get the brain fog/mood swings/urge for carbs?

I probably would not take the app supps and the 5htp together ihate. tell me more about the 5htp someone please.

I already do take long walks in the fresh air every day - I have dogs.

going on the pill is not an option - I am too old, and being on the pill made me pill weight on last time.

For your pmt...magnesium, b6 and evening primrose oil.
Don't take 5htp...it's not licensed for use in the uk.
I use biovea.

I would add 5000 iu of vitamin d/day to the above. There is a significant amount of research that this can have a significant effect on satiety.

Skip the appetite suppressant and caffeine and as they can be really bad for you. I don't think there is any point in the cayenne and it may be harmful. And skip the melatonin as supplementing it messes with how much your body produces naturally. The vitamin d will help with regulating sleep, anyway. Also, I believe it's possible to overdose on iodine, so might want to skip that too. Try seeing your doctor about adding hormones (a monophasic low dose pill can work miracles for peri-menopausal issues).
Add a simple regimen of exercise that you can stick to long term. ie 1/2 hour brisk walking 3 times a week.

I've just read this review of 5htp on amazon,

*I've submitted this review for other bottles of 5-HTP, for two reasons:

I have taken 5-HTP for insomnia and depression. Well, to combat those things. ;) At first it was quite helpful to me and I found that my moods stabilised reasonably well. However, I did find that after a while it had a propensity to making me feel a little bit manic or just . . . weird. I was sort of hyper-aware, for want of a better way to explain it. When I eased off I was able to resume taking it again after a couple of weeks and I found that a regimen of three weeks on and two weeks off seemed to work best without generating any of the milder side-effects.

My main caution came about through a very dangerous experience, which I have fortunately learnt from and not repeated. I was first taking this several years ago and I had the foolish notion of "if a little is good, a lot is better". Basically, I was taking everything under the sun for mood enhancement--St. John's Wort, 5-HTP, fish oil, you name it. If it even vaguely hinted at any pick-me-up capabilities I was downing those pills. And, typically, I was exceeding the recommended doses. I mean, hey, I'd taken supplements for most of my life and safely exceeded the recommended dosages, why should this be any different? Well, it was. In the end I tripped some invisible trigger and developed serotonin syndrome. The only reason I actually knew what was happening was because I had gone to university and studied psych and this is something I picked up in my extra-curricular research on neurochemistry. You won't hear of it from 99% of doctors, although it is a genuine disorder. They just don't know of it. It is also invariably fatal, unless you realise what it going on and stop the medication/supplementation in time. Thankfully, I was able to cease and recover, though I have had lingering effects ever since, even though the supplements are by now long gone from my system. Things have not gone quite back to normal.

Anyway, that is my caution. 5-HTP works, but it should not be combined with other medication or supplementation without some serious research first. Stay safe!

And it does raise the issues I am nervous about. I do suffer frequently from insomnia, always have done, so I am keen to try it, as some people do swear by it for anxiety and weight loss as well, but I am nervous about dosages and mixing it with other things. I think I will hold off until I've researched it properly.

you simply piss out any excess vitamins anyway.
it wont help - but will line the pocket of someone

Sowhat, the reason nutritionists/dieticians seem to give mixed messages is because there is no perfect diet for everyone and pros and cons with most foods, meat, caffeine, wine...you can find plenty of research to support arguments for them either increasing longevity or killing you quickly ! There are some foods/substances that most of us would do better avoiding but beyond that, we are all different. The key is finding the right way of eating for you.

I am studying mind-body nutrition and will this year start work as an eating psychology coach. Leaving aside the supplements for a moment, if you run me through your typical days food/mood/energy, including timing of meals/snacks and some more info on your carb binges I might have some suggestions for you to try...

AlaskaNebraska your comments are not very helpful, nor particularly well informed. Perhaps you might find another thread that is geared to a more general discussion of whether or not to take supplements rather than this thread where it has begun with the premise that the OP wants to take supplements and is simply looking for advice on which ones are best for her.

SoWhat, I have some pretty good inside information on supplements. You should really start with the 5000 iu of Vitamin d and some hormones if you can tolerate them. The 5htp can help too. Couple that with some simple, but regular exercise. That should help with all the issues you have described so far. Don't expect immediate results - give it 2 or 3 months.
(vitamin d is an integral part of the sleep regulation process, so can help with insomnia - it's winter in the uk and unlikely you are getting enough naturally)

Not all vitamins are passed out in urine! I found a marked improvement in over all health by drinking juices daily this time last year. It wasn't a fast I added it to my diet rather than replaced and the improvement in sleep and mood was noticeable.

I think it might be an idea for you to talk to your GP about the amount and combination of supplements you are taking.

To quote the Big Bang theory, what you have there are the ingredients for very expensive urine.

Unless you are actually deficient in something, you don't need supplements.

I would add magnesium. Actually I wouldn't take as much as you are. I think a good multivit would be just as good. I think it's more important to supplement minerals in your diet, magnesium, chronium etc. As well as a fish oil.

You don't just piss it out. I've seen a marked improvement in my DDs heavy periods since she started to take magnesium.

SoWhat you did indicate in your op that you found sticking to a diet difficult and it sounded a bit like you were thinking of using supplements rather than diet/exercise I can understand a little bit why you got the reaction you did, although there is never an excuse for rudeness!

I'd be concerned about using melatonin regularly - I do use it for jetlag when travelling across time zones. Especially if you are improving overall diet, exercising, and taking the usual practical steps to combat insomnia (ie switching off screens well before sleep, medidation/relaxation techniques etc), all that should really be helping, and regular melatonin seems just likely to cause more problems in the long run. Do you find skullcap/valerian helps you get off? I have horrendous insomnia quite regularly, usually when I have not been paying attention to lifestyle factors but anxiety/mood issues also, and I do find s/v helpful. Without the horrible side effects I can get sometimes from prescription sleeping tablets.

Ditto with the iodine, unless you actually have a diagnosed thyroid problem.

Interesting about vitamin D and appetite. I definitely think it affects my mood (so I splashed out on a winter sun holiday right before xmas!)

Is 5-HT not licenced in the UK? How do they sell it then?