Vitamins and supplements- unintended consequences?

[Sapien]

My vitamin D and B12 levels were both at the low end of normal so I started taking both as supplements- 4,000 IU of D3 and 1,000 micrograms of B12 both daily. (They are now well in the normal range and the doctor recommended to keep taking the same dose to see if the level is maintained or rises) I also started fish oil for EPA and DHA, CoQ10, magnesium and alpha lipoic acid, as well as a general multivitamin. (None doctor recommended per se.)

I had been eating healthy (Mediterranean type diet) and had cut way back on meat consumption and dairy as well. I used sunscreen whenever in the sun for any moderate length of time or more. The unintended consequence seems to be low B12 from lower meat consumption, low vitamin D from lack of sufficient sun and/or sufficient dairy. And maybe some glucose intolerance from adding in beans and quinoa for protein in place of meat and oatmeal for breakfast in place of eggs/bacon.

Now I am wondering what unintended consequences there might be to my adding in supplements (and eating low carb - cutting down fruit, starchy veggies and grain quite drastically).

One thing I have been reading about is that I really should be taking K2 if supplementing D3.

Do any of the supplements have unintended consequences for blood sugar or otherwise? Anything that should be paired with the supplement (like D3 and K2)?

 

[Tophat1900]

I have no idea if you are taking medications. And I'm not advising you on what to do, but I'll toss some info up for you to look at. I'd say that cutting back on meats, which are a great source of vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids most likely played a part in decreased levels. Vitamin D, coq10, ALA and magnesium all have an effect on blood glucose. Some more so then others and the effect varies from person to person. They increase insulin sensitivity. If someone is taking certain diabetic drugs that lower blood glucose like insulin for example, then these supplements can have a much greater lowering effect (Depending on dose amount). So there is risk involved in taking certain things and especially if someone just starts taking them without knowing what they can do or interact with.

There is a reasonable amount of info online about k2 and just how important this vitamin really is. And it seems just about everyone is deficient in K2 according to the studies etc online. It is recommended for people supplementing with D3, but K2 can have a significant impact on blood glucose by improving insulin sensitivity, so again, if someone takes diabetic drugs that lower blood glucose levels, you have to be careful. I have found it to be a very noticeable.

Here's a link from one of the pieces that I have read over the last 4 months.

https://lmreview.com/vitamin-k2-opt...prevention-of-age-associated-chronic-disease/

And here's a podcast from Ivor Cummins talking with a biochemist who does talk about K2 later in the podcast... this has been posted before on the forum, but it's very interesting.

https://thefatemperor.com/want-to-r...ion-and-heart-disease-heres-how-podcast-ep21/

I take D3 and K2, whether or not or how much a person should take is perhaps a discussion best had with a HCP who knows their stuff.

 

[Sapien]

@Tophat1900 Thanks for the additional information on K2. It helped confirm what I had also read about K2 and D3.

I find it disappointing my doctors would recommend supplementing D3 and never even mention K2.

I am not taking any medication for blood glucose. I started taking a low dose statin which I am afraid may be having negative effects on blood sugar control. I am trying to keep my postprandial blood sugar from spiking through diet. My fasting blood sugar is normally low 5s so the doctor doesn’t seem concerned. He doesn’t want to do an OGTT. He says that I don’t qualify.

Nevertheless I see pre-diabetic spikes when I eat carbs. Usually my blood sugar comes down to “normal” at 2 hours, but occasionally it doesn’t.

 

[Tophat1900]

@Tophat1900 Thanks for the additional information on K2. It helped confirm what I had also read about K2 and D3.

I find it disappointing my doctors would recommend supplementing D3 and never even mention K2.

I am not taking any medication for blood glucose. I started taking a low dose statin which I am afraid may be having negative effects on blood sugar control. I am trying to keep my postprandial blood sugar from spiking through diet. My fasting blood sugar is normally low 5s so the doctor doesn’t seem concerned. He doesn’t want to do an OGTT. He says that I don’t qualify.

Nevertheless I see pre-diabetic spikes when I eat carbs. Usually my blood sugar comes down to “normal” at 2 hours, but occasionally it doesn’t.

No worries. It may just be that your doctor is unaware of the importance of K2. Not uncommon, I'm sure there are plenty of doctors who advise taking D3 and never mention K2 simply because they don't understand the importance of it.

Statin's are known to elevate blood glucose levels, they are also known to lower/deplete levels of CoQ10 and K2 and Glutathione. Link below is from 2015

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25655639

There is also this topic on statins and cholesterol which may interest you.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/

Your rises in blood glucose that go a little higher then normal, may just be the result of what you ate.