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Supplements - are these OK to take?

carina62

Well-Known Member
Messages
349
Location
Leicestershire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
miserable weather, rude and bad mannered people
I am taking the following supplements at the moment and wondered if anyone else takes some similar ones or whether I am just wasting my money - I take:-

Co-Q10 (I am on statins and have heard this is good to take as the body gets depleted of this when on statins)
Ultra Vitamin D (D3 optimum level 1000 iu) am only going to take this during the winter months so about 3 months
Biotic Balance Ultimate Flora (for probiotic gut health)
cranberry capsules (I tend to be prone to UTI's)
Garlic capsules (only because I know garlic is good for health)

Am I overdoing it? are there any listed that I shouldn't be taking or some I can cut out? I did run past the cranberry capsules with my GP and she said OK.
 
carina62 said:
Am I overdoing it? are there any listed that I shouldn't be taking or some I can cut out? I did run past the cranberry capsules with my GP and she said OK.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, but if you've checked with your gp then all should be good.

carina62 said:
Garlic capsules (only because I know garlic is good for health)
Click to expand...

Up until around 5-6 years ago I took a garlic supplement for cardiovascular health, it was a one-a-day tablet and the brand name was Kwai.

I took the supplement as I have CVD in my family and believed it helped keep my cholesterol in check, however we use a lot of garlic in our cooking so decided to stop the supplement to see if it made any difference, cholesterol wise it's made no difference at all and my cholesterol is no higher now than it was before I stopped taking the supplement. but I do believe in the benefits of garlic so if you don't like the taste @carina62 then a supplement should suffice.
 
I tend to take supplements - Co-Q10 and D3 among them (as my neurologist said when I saw him and after I had had my bones checked (due to being on long term steroids), most people in northern climates will be vitamin D-deficient). Add to that magnesium (which I believe we need to be able to absorb/use the vit D) and various other ones. Garlic is always good - both for your heart and for warding off the dreaded colds currently flying around at the moment!
 
One of my GP's told me that Vit D is the only supplement he takes and he also said it's fine to take as a 'top up' in the winter months so you don't have to take it all the time, just say 3 months of the year (this would save money too).

To make them last longer (and save on cost), I take them on alternative days (except the Co-Q10 which I take daily).
 
Hello,

This is my personal experiences;

Although I live in a very sunny country and not in the UK, from time to time, I encounter Vitamin D deficiency, and Vitamin D is not to be used as an over the counter means as exceeding the necessary levels is not in the same time something wanted, but, with blood tests and prescribed by a specialist branch, in my case, my Endo. I am prescribed certain very concentrated doses which comes in very small bottles which is to be used once only each time as a couple of drops and consumed with a small piece of whole meal bread during the a.m. and p.m. snacks and for one to three days. And then the Vitamin D levels are again measured by the means of new blood tests. Using them at random and without medical prescription is not allowed and the use of them as effersan tablets or by other means in low levels over extended periods is believed to be not so beneficial.

Any other supplements mentioned in your question, i.e. Q10, multi vitamins, other capsules such as cranberry and garlic etc. and flora probiotics; My Nephrologist do not allow me to use them unless they are medically prescribed by the relevant branch as she says they may effect the well being of the kidneys in Diabetes. She directs us that they are to be consumed naturally as part of our Diabetes Diet.

As for the floral probiotics, which believed to be very good for us, we are asked to consume home made plain yogurt, buttermilk drink (drink made of fresh yoghurt and water) and Home Made Milk Kephir (A fermented milk drink, very rich in probiotics), all in their natural form, as part of the Diabetes Diet. I am not altogether sure if not all but some available in where you live but, might well be worth looking into it.

Again, as I say, these are my personal experiences which I am sharing with you, and

your doctors know the best for you.

Regards
 
Do you think you benefit from the statins?
There seems to be some evidence that women are better off with higher cholesterol numbers than is generally thought.

If they were gone then no need for CoQ10. Just a thought...
 

Hello Carina62 - I've taken both Co-Q10 and D3 - it didn't seem to do anything for me - at least in how I felt, slept, diabetes control etc - I took D3 because I live in a Northern Climate with limited winter sunlight and I tried Co-Q10 based on a recommendation from a friend. I will likely take 1000 IUs of D3 from time to time over the winter months but over the past few weeks I haven;t been taking any as I've been able to catch some sun rays .....
 
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