Low Carbers: Do You Take Nutritional Supplements?

[wiflib]

It could be your Metformin - it is known to cause B12 deficiencies.

That’s what my GP and I thought but at 500mg a day we think it’s unlikely.

 

[donnellysdogs]

I’ve done my research and I’m happy with what I’m doing, I’m not going back to my pre supplemented health.

https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/am-i-getting-too-much-vitamin-d/

Great info from D council but it is important that people that (like me) whose vit D remains 148-150+ and also @Totto do not over supplement. This ir really why people need to get their levels checked before supplementing....

Everybody is assuming they have low levels and some wont-like me and @Totto they will have high levels (which may need investigating)...

I know a surgeon that sued a hospital for undiagnosed hypercalcemia after cancer and got big payout but was unable to work again from health issues related to treatment at hospital...

 

[ickihun]

I take multivitamins and vit d. Blood test show good levels now. Bariatric team tested them and discovered lower levels so advised multi and vitd.
Ive lost 4stones since jan 1st 2017 (this year) so my intake has decreased hugely and carbs and protein have been my biggest reduction. Fat levels the same as stopped xenical. Will go back on it next week with metformin. Had a tummy bug so advised to stop both.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

I am extremely reluctant to do this because I prefer to get everything I need from real food.

If removing certain foods from your diet also removes nutritional stuff, is it not going to be difficult to replace that nutrition with what you eat, unless you find those things is non carb food.

The "blurb" suggests:

• Sodium. When you shift to a low carbohydrate or a ketogenic diet, your body loses storage carbohydrate, and also begins excreting sodium and water. ...
• Branched Chain Amino Acids. ...
• Whole Amino Acids. ...
• Glutamine. ...
• Taurine. ...
• Medium Chain Triglyceride Oil or Coconut Oil. ...
• Magnesium.
• Extra-strong B and C vitamins.
• Electrolytes – sodium, potassium and magnesium.
• Chromium, L-Carnitine, green tea extract, piperine, probiotics, co-enzyme Q10.
• Should be sugar free
• Should be iron free

Of that little lot I take B12, C, Magnesium, Chromium, CoQ10, pro and pre biotics. An extra one, Artichoke Complex which supports liver and gallbladder function and maintains healthy level of blood lipids.

 

[Totto]

Great info from D council but it is important that people that (like me) whose vit D remains 148-150+ and also @Totto do not over supplement. This ir really why people need to get their levels checked before supplementing....

Everybody is assuming they have low levels and some wont-like me and @Totto they will have high levels (which may need investigating)...

I know a surgeon that sued a hospital for undiagnosed hypercalcemia after cancer and got big payout but was unable to work again from health issues related to treatment at hospital...

I don't have high vitamin D. At the end of summer vitamin D is at its highest. That doesn't mean the level will be enough in the spring. Where I live you can count on getting enough sun for vitamin D from May until August. The rest of the year we will have to live on we got during the summer. Or supplement.

 

[donnellysdogs]

But vit D is stored...

@Totto -some people have to supplement all year... at 148 many, many people would be jumping in UK to get anywhere near that level in summer...it is very, very upper end high.

Just incidentally with my vit D being above 150 and dropping to 148 now -thats been two years on- no sun at all because of radiotherapy.. i always now cover up.. and I avoid as much as possible food with any vit D in.

I'm glad yours is directly related to sun and the way your body can manage it.
At least you know that your body is high during summer... some people dont.. some people especially with cancer are put on vit D and calcium permanently all year etc and they arent actually always follwed up with Vit D tests, just with annual dexa scans...

All I was trying to say was "get levels tested before taking".. check how your own body is working...ypu know how yours works, I do.. many people dont..

 

[wiflib]

But vit D is stored...

@Totto -some people have to supplement all year... at 148 many, many people would be jumping in UK to get anywhere near that level in summer...it is very, very upper end high.

Just incidentally with my vit D being above 150 and dropping to 148 now -thats been two years on- no sun at all because of radiotherapy.. i always now cover up.. and I avoid as much as possible food with any vit D in.

I'm glad yours is directly related to sun and the way your body can manage it.
At least you know that your body is high during summer... some people dont.. some people especially with cancer are put on vit D and calcium permanently all year etc and they arent actually always follwed up with Vit D tests, just with annual dexa scans...

All I was trying to say was "get levels tested before taking".. check how your own body is working...ypu know how yours works, I do.. many people dont..

Many GP’s won’t randomly test at at patients request though, you know that.

 

[Robbity]

I take some supplements but in general they have little or nothing to do with my low carb diet:

Glucosamine/chondroitin (long term since well before i was ever diabetic) for my bad knees
Vitamin D3 at GP's suggestion (again from pre diagnosis)
Omega 3 capsules (ditto GP) in spite of me always having eaten oily fish
R Alpha lipoic acid (recently due to concerns about my possibly neuropathy so probably diabetes but not low carb related...)

Years ago I used to get bad leg cramps (again well before diabetes, due to needing diuretics at the time) and my go-to solution then was the regular includsion of bananas in my diet. Currently if I'm not drinking enough (and weeing too much) I'll get bads cramps and just eat/drink more high potassium/magnesium vegggies, often as soup made with chicken bone stock, instead of my previous high sugar bananas.

I've found that most of the foods recommended for low carbers are brim full of the vtiamins and minerals we need, so I have never felt any need to take supplements specifically because of my diet, which I believe is far more healthy than a high carb one.

Robbity

 

[Bluetit1802]

I've found that most of the foods recommended for low carbers are brim full of the vtiamins and minerals we need, so I have never felt any need to take supplements specifically because of my diet, which I believe is far more healthy than a high carb one.

Snap. My thoughts entirely.

 

[Robbity]

I take a good multivitamin each day (always have) plus Vit D (I live in Yorkshire and my GP recommends it to just about everyone), magnesium for low carb leg cramps and an omega 3 capsule.

One of my dogs takes the same omega 3 capsules. You wouldn't believe what the vet wanted to charge for 30 capsules so we now get them at Home Bargains - I think they are something like £1.99 for 90.

I give both my dogs high strength omega 3 capsules on the recommendation of a breeder on a doggy forum. I now take the same capsules myself after GPs suggested I needed more. I'm not sure what they really do for me but the boys have lovely glossy, silky coats (though their own breeder gave them wheatgerm capsules for this)!

Maybe I should take a look at your Home Bargains source as Flo used & suggested Simply Supplements 2 for 1 offers.

Robbity

 

[Grateful]

Snap. My thoughts entirely.

The provisional result of the nine-month experiment I have done with my own body, confirmed by blood tests a few days ago, is that my nutrient levels have improved somewhat, since switching to the low-carb diet. So my initial hunch that the low-carb diet was deficient in some nutrients seems to have been misguided, at least in my case.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Many GP’s won’t randomly test at at patients request though, you know that.

More GPs are willing to do vit d3 tests if requested.

I havent had any problems getting any tests at all ever.. vit D3 and b12 can only be tested every 6 months at my laboratory with gp but thats fine..

My GPs have always been excellent at blood tests and boy,, I've had a lot of Practices having moved at least every 3 years in 35 years...

 

[lazyletters]

I seem to recall reading at least one of the low-carb gurus who said you do have to take nutritional supplements if you go very low-carb or keto. So my question for the low-carbers here, especially the long-term ones, is whether you do take such supplements and if so, which.

(I am extremely reluctant to do this because I prefer to get everything I need from real food.)

Thanks!

Hi Alexandra100
I take a combination of supplements and have done for some time.
I have a low thyroid condition and our water is fluoridated, I was taking a daily multivitamin and recently changed to a multivitamin with multi-minerals to help combat this, I also take 2000mg of cod liver oil a day as a natural blood thinner. I am on Metformin to combat the diabetes and this can affect your B12 levels, but I was already B12 resistant so take a weekly B12 supplement of 1000mg which helps to maintain the levels. When I get a blood test taken I always ask for the B12 levels to be included so I can track the levels.
Whenever anyone I come into contact with shows signs of a cold or flu (so frequently) I take a Vitamin C tablet, I get them as a large tablet that dissolves in water and I sometimes have one with added zinc as that can help with psoriasis, I have a very mild form and I find this helps, I was eating a lot of shellfish but apparently my potassium levels were too high, and they fell to normal when I stopped.
I am on the low carb diet, 125 carbs a day target and I am also watching the calories keeping them below 1000 as much as possible. I am not overly worried if I go over the targets a little bit as I believe it's not so critical if over a week the numbers are down.
So far so good, I haven't caught the recent bout of flu thing that was going through the family but I did get a couple of days of odd blood readings which could have been down to fighting it off.
I have a lot more energy, I'm sleeping better, I'm losing weight and inches off my waist, and generally feel much healthier. Yes I agree that a lot of what is in the multivitamin/mineral is excreted however what I need is not and that is the critical thing. No one can eat the perfect combination of vitamins and minerals every day and by taking a tablet every day I am helping to ensure that I am at least presenting those vitamins and minerals to my body for absorption to help ensure that I am healthy. A low calorie diet often means you need to make choices about what you eat and a multivitamin can often take up the slack.
Critically it is important to take supplements with suitable food and drink. Some are fat soluble and some water soluble and they shouldn't be taken on an empty stomach or as a meal replacement.
Another crucial thing is that not everyone needs multivitamins or multi minerals, they need to take a long very hard look at their diet, what they drink, their particular mix of conditions and bodily requirements for them, check their water supply and other environmental factors, factor in things they don't or can't eat but could benefit from and then weigh up what nutrients they need to consume and the best way to consume them. Weight can often make a huge difference in controlling Type 2 diabetes and prioritising that can be the key to getting the blood numbers under control.
It is a complex question with no clear answer but if you're not sure and can afford it supplements are certainly a viable option.

 

[AloeSvea]

No supplementation due to low-carbing per se. I believe, as others above, that my way of eating is very nutrient-rich. Especially when compared to before-diabetes eating.

But I do take magnesium, but intermittently, as I have read many times that our modern diets are deficient in this mineral, due to soil depletion etc. I have not been tested for it. I don't get cramps when I take the odd magnesium supplement, which is why I consider it to be a must in my pantry. (cramps are horrible!)

I also take B12 intermittently, to protect against deficiency which appears to have devastating consequences on health.

Fish oil for Omega 3 when I remember to! I used to eat fatty fish three times a week (which is the recommendation I think, to get good balance of Omega 3 to the Omega 6 we currently get too much of), but have stopped that, for some reason.

R-ala for my neuropathy. I cannot imagine living without ALA or R-LA now, as it helps so much. Nothing to do with low-carbing diet though.

I get plenty of sun now due to living in subtropics - my levels of D3 are all good. But they were not before diabetes when living in unsunny-for-large-parts-of-the-year Scandinavia. I definitely took D3 then. It is used at the very beginning of glucose metabolising process (is my understanding) and with major deficiency one (I!) can't get better with diabetes. Chromium also, which is why I first supplemented with that at diagnosis.