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Question about mineral and vitamin supplements

ianpspurs

Oracle
Messages
18,018
Location
My House
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Quick question along the lines of deconstructing menus really. Chronometer appears to me to show issues with my version of LC eating in terms of deficiency in vitamins and minerals (seems to explain plenty about my frustration with this WOE). This is unlikely to change any time soon as my tastes and tolerance have changed hugely over 4 years . Just read through almost 400 pages of a WHO tome on vitamins and nutrients to find a benchmark. Does anyone have a) a handy source of that info and b) inexpensive multi vitamin/mineral supplement they take. Put here because although I may not agree with many of you I know you read around the subject. TIA
 
Buying mins and vits is a minefield.
My personal view - based on a bit of reading, 30yrs of ‘weird eating’ and a bit of malabsorption/gut issues - is that generic multi vits are a waste of time. They are mostly synthetic (therefore less bioavailable) and the cheapest version of the nutrient available (which are even less bioavailable).

There are usually different forms of each vit/min, and the only way to identify the one best for you is to research it and buy it in a single, not multivit form. Which is more expensive than the multis. Sad but true.

This article explains the complexity of magnesium, and it is something hat half of all T2 diabetics are deficient in.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/17/magnesium-benefits.aspx
 
Thanks for that and the no multi vit conclusion is what I thought would be the case. Magnesium is one I can most easily deal with via diet with foods I like and electrolyte tabs.
 
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ianpspurs said:
Does anyone have a) a handy source of that info and b) inexpensive multi vitamin/mineral supplement they take. Put here because although I may not agree with many of you I know you read around the subject. TIA
Click to expand...

Hi @ianpspurs
may not be the answer to the question BUT..

as much as @Brunneria and others are most helpful.

I have also found @Winnie53 most educated and helpful in her posts re vitamins etc.
( here is an example post, and you need to search to find relevant to you details.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/folate-deficiency.157685/page-2#post-1998437 )

i have not asked any questions of her, but am always impressed by the depth and knowledge she seems to draw up at will, when answering others.

may not be the answer to your question, but i'd say if interested a most fascinating source of materials and advice.
 
most helpful, thank you.
 
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@ianpspurs - It is as unhelpful to have very high levels of some vitamins as it is to have low levels. On that basis, personally, I would not consider supplementing without firstly establishing I needed to.

Of course, it's your own call, but if the supplement wouldn't likely give you too much, then it could be argued if there's not much in it, why take it?

Your annual blood panel for your T2, when your annual review/A1c is done should include the biggies like Vits D, B12, Folate, Ferritin, as well as the usual sodium, potassium and so on.

if you're out of synch with you blods, you could always go off-grid to somewhere like Medichecks, Blue Horizon or Thriva and have some done.

https://www.medichecks.com/tests/nutrition-check

https://bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/test-catalogue/nutritional-blood-tests
 
I am another that believes supplements should only be taken if and when blood tests have shown a deficiency, or deficiency symptoms appear within the body and are clearly symptoms of that and not something else unconnected. There are a few that blood tests are not reliable indicators of deficiency. Magnesium is one of these.
 
I take a Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc & vitamin D (all-in-one), along with a CBD oil capsule.
 
Jim Lahey said:
I take a Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc & vitamin D (all-in-one), along with a CBD oil capsule.
Click to expand...

I've got a citrate version from Costco of Ca, Mg, Zn and Vit D. Citrate is generally the most bioavailable version of the mineral (organic compared with carbonate ie inorganic, or chelated - halfway between org and inorg).

I agree with previous posters as to being wary of any Ca tablet that's just carbonate (ie chalk) as very little is absorbed in most human guts - that's why humans don't generally chew bones? I don't know about cbd oil.
 
@ianpspurs - I don't have any relationship with Medichecks, except I have a couple of tests on my desk for use shortly. I gain nothing from the following.

During April they had a discount offer, which they have extended until the end of May. If you apply the code TUK20 you will receive a 20% discount, plus a donation (no idea of its size or other details) is made to Thyroid UK.

The TUK20 code is useable for any test. Tests bought can be used immediately, or any time up to 6 months from the date of purchase.

(Anyone can piggy back that code)
 

Thank you. I will look into this and perhaps adjust my strategy.
 
Good question. I only take vitamins that I know I need and have reason to believe are of good quality from a reputable company. I've never taken cheap vitamins because I fear they would be of poor quality.

I recently resumed taking a B-complex because I don't function well if I don't, have tested low in the past and again recently. I take D3, always with K2, due to testing low in the past. I don't take iron, but I check my ferritin level annually because it's been low in the past. I take magnesium citrate because we're almost all deficient, diabetes or no diabetes.

I take selenium and a balanced zinc/copper formulation because I have a long standing thyroid condition and my whole food multi-vitamin and mineral supplement doesn't have enough of those minerals, but does have adequate iodine. I take the whole food multi to be safe, to insure I have no vitamin deficiencies.

Other things I take are turmeric in the morning to keep inflammation in check, vitamin C with each meal because it's an antioxidant and provides additional electrons when needed. I also take cod liver oil for the vitamin A, CoQ10 for mitochondrial health, alpha lipoic acid to reduce risk of diabetic complications, and a whole food eye formulation because I'm showing early signs of eye disease. Additionally, I alternate between eating omega-3 foods and taking fish oil.

I was just thinking the other day that it would be nice to have a list of the vitamins that are most likely to be depleted by diabetes.

Some people get the vitamins they need from food. Others, like me, do not, perhaps because I have a history of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or because I'm a poor methylator. I use lab tests to monitor. Those of you in the UK are so lucky that they annually check your folate, B12, D3, and ferritin levels. I have to pay out of pocket for those tests, but it's worth it. All are important.

I think we each need to supplement based on our health conditions, what we eat (and don't eat), and lab test history. If I didn't have three chronic health conditions and if I didn't feel so poorly when I don't supplement, I probably wouldn't supplement as much as I do.

The need to supplement (or not) is so individual. All that said, I think engaging in regular physical activity, getting sun, fresh air, and good quality sleep, and minimizing intake of unhealthy sugars, starches, and omega-6 seed oils - (canola, corn, cottonseed, saffola, soybean, sunflower, peanut) - is equally important to maintaining good health.

We make the best choices we can based on our needs and resources.
 
That is a useful and detailed post so many thanks @Winnie53 and I hope the supplementation and personal expense continue to maintain your good health long in to the future. @jjraak well done for spotting a well informed member, @DCUKMod I will swerve extra bloods for now. Next review due mid to late June and meanwhile I will research foods that I can incorporate in my diet to make chronometer happy - blood work hasn't yet shown any issues.
 
It is in my opinion a very individual thing, I wouldn't bother with a multi because some of the vits and mins just don't get along with each other and the quality of where they were sourced from is debatable. . I do get my VitD, A,E, Mg, Ca, Zn checked multiple times a year.

Having cystic fibrosis leaves me deficient in the key minerals and having Cystic fibrosis related diabetes and malabsorption issues kind of creates a double jeopardy situation in terms of maintaining healthy levels. So, I take Ubiquionol and glutathione as diabetes can leave you with low levels of both and so can cystic fibrosis. Also take vitD, VitA, Mg and zinc.
I take R-lipoic acid for numbness in one leg which has since been completely reversed over time. I do take a multi B complex. and a probiotic which has helped with gut issues and as research has shown for people with cystic fibrosis, it improves lung function by about 10%....

I maintain good levels of E and Calcium without supplementing.

So, all I can suggest is getting your levels checked to see if you need to supplement, at least these, D, A, E, Mg, Ca, Zn

What one person needs, another doesn't, so always good to know what your levels are.
 
From one of the books (Primal Pancreas) on exocrine pancreatic insufficiency I found that Genova Diagnostics lab performs many different nutrition tests and that there are quite a few supplements to consider. I ended up doing the FMV ONE, which was not cheap but gave me very helpful data. I found out I was deficient in many different nutrients.

Zinc apparently is a big factor in insulin production and sensitivity.

@Tophat1900 - interesting list you mention as many I also take due to EPI. Vitamins A,D,E,K, ubiquinol are all fat soluble and therefore I have difficulty absorbing, and they were all recommended. Mg, Zinc and Copper (have to be in a good ratio I read), ALA I also take.
 
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