Vitamins

I take a multivitamin (***** form) on the average dose, every now and then. I am rather prejudiced against vitamins, with the exception of obvious disorders such as scurvy. I think that living in wealthy countries, we are fortunate to have a diet full of vitamins; once again there are some rare disorders that require supplemental vitamins, but on the whole, take a look at the poor nations where even children are malnutritioned or starving.

Hi @Doireallyneedanams

I’d suggest getting your vitamin and mineral levels checked via blood tests. The general over the counter multi vitamins are pretty low dose and unlikely to address any real deficiencies.

As a starting point. magnesium, the B vitamins and vitamin D are all important for energy and a number of key bodily functions.

Doireallyneedanams said:

Hi All.

Not diabetic but have a very strong family history of type 2 so eat and live as if I am.

Been feeling a bit “off” recently and I’m thinking it could be a vitamin deficiency of some sort. Maybe vitamin c?

I don’t eat any fruit or drink any fruit juices, and my diet is low carb.

i’m curious if anyone takes a multivitamin? All I take is vit d.

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It might be an idea to give your GP a ring and, as @Goonergal has already advised, get your levels tested or perhaps have a chat with the pharmacist to see what they suggest.

If you can, do get levels tested, esp vit D and B12. Vit C is water soluble so you'll just pee out any excess. If you eat meat and green leafy veg you are probably getting enough Vit C. Most nutritionists recommend trying to get enough vitamins from food sources first, before relying on supplements.

I'm another cynic re multivitamins. I take separate K2, D3, B12, plus omega 3, CoQ10 and Mg supplements.

Amended to say all except CoQ10 were recommended by my endos after blood tests.

You can do an internet search for ‘foods containing vitamin ....’ or mineral, or carbs... Many of them are low carb.

I can remember being fascinated to learn that peppers and strawberries compete with oranges for amounts of vit C.

and, like those posting above, I am extremely sceptical about generic multivitamins/minerals. They usually have minimal amounts of synthetic nutrients of low bioavailability.

Having said that, I use specific vitamins and minerals, and think they have a very useful place.

There are many of us who don’t utilise foods the same as others (digestive issues), or who have additional nutritional needs (smokers need extra Vit C), or whose medication changes digestion/absorption (metformin and vit B12).

I’m very lucky to have people in my life who stand as living examples of what good nutrition can achieve. Both my parents have eaten fresh, simple, nutritious foods throughout their 60+yr marriage. They have also taken specific, targeted supplements for 20years or more. Now in their late 80s, their skin, hair and nails look far better than their contemporaries, who have thinner, papery skin, duller eyes, and less healthy hair. They have their own age-related health issues, but they could easily be mistaken for 20 years younger than they are.

cultivating a healthy gut biome is also very important for good nutrition and overall health.

ed. For typo

You could try tracking your current way of eating to see if you can identify any possible shortcomings. Personally, I don't really believe in the need to satisfy the RDA's, but that's an opinion and not advice. Either way, I've found cronometer.com to be a great place to track as it can go quite deep into the micronutrient status of certain foods.

There are certain caveats and disclaimers, i'd offer; mainly to do with how this kind of logging might be triggering for certain people. But if you are prepared to weight out certain common meals or days (Certainly needn't be every meal or every day), you might be able to detect trends and use it to actually design a more rounded intake. At least you should be able to identify any areas that might take well to supplementation.

You can sign up for a free account.

Red cabbage is high in vitamin C. https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrients-raw-red-cabbage-1559.html Other vegetables which contain significant amounts of vitamin C are broccoli, kale, cauliflower, bean sprouts, peppers.

If it is more vitamin C that you require then remember that you also need zinc too. Most vitamins need a mineral 'partner' to enable them to be more easily used by the body.

Foods that are rich in zinc are:-

• oysters
• beef
• crab
• fortified cereals
• pork
• chicken
• legumes
• pumpkin seeds
• yogurt

Doireallyneedanams said:

Resurrecting this thread now I’ve had some blood tests. I’m still waiting on results, however I said to the GP I wanted to check vitamins and she agreed to D & B12 because apparently those are the most common deficiencies.

I’ve still got this idea that I’m deficient in vit c though. Has anyone experienced this on a low carb diet?

I don’t eat berries or barely any other fruits either, and obviously I rarely eat potatoes!

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You might find this illuminating.
https://zerocarbzen.com/vitamin-c/

Doireallyneedanams said:

Thanks for the replies.

I think my idea of vit c rich foods was slightly skewed, so I’m probably ok with that.

I mainly live off red cabbage salads & chicken/beef, and I do eat dairy too but my diet is obviously lacking in most of what a GP would consider a “varied diet” - no cereals, fortified foods, pasta, rice, fruit, not much fish. Sigh.

I’m going to ask for a full vit work up but not sure they’ll do it.

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I suggest a blood test for iron and ferritin levels to check for anemia. I suffered iron deficiency anemia myself for a while, and get folate and iron pills from the doc.

Another thing to get checked in the same blood test is your electrolyte (sodium./ potassium levels). You say you eat as if diabetic, but what diet are you following?

If you are on the watch for diabetes, you could consider investing in a small pot of wee sticks (ketostix_) and get one that tests for about 7 different markers. They are time-limited, so they only last 6 months or so, and a small pot will normally suffice.
This will allow you to keep an eye on sugar control, some infections, ketones, and kidney function among others.

The Livlife bread is fortified and has some wheat in it, but may still be low in iron and B6 compared to 'supermarket bread'. The chicken/ham will cover the B6 and B12, but the beef is the strongest source for these. Should be ok but may need supplementing on occasions over the long term.

Not sure about your folate (B9) intake, Not listed in Livlife data, so maybe check the linked article to check what else you eat that may assist this vital ingredient if your ferritin or RBC is low
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/folic-acid/

Another problem of using low carb (soya or seaweed) bread sources is a calcium deficiency and osteoporosis. Livlife is fortified, but again, it may become a long-term problem especially as you get older, See also vitamin D (following) which is needed to use the calcium.

You have already identified Vit C as being possibly needing supplementation, and unless you are eating fresh fruit or veg not listed in your previous post, then it may be worth doing. Also, vitamin D may be low, so try to sunbathe this summer? Food sources of D are red meat, eggs, oily fish, and livers, and again this is not listed in LivLife fortified data so check it out.

Doireallyneedanams said:

thanks for the response, very informative

I’ve actually just had my results and all are satisfactory apparently, including iron, ferritin, b12, folate & vit D.

I do take vit d daily and have done since the start of the pandemic so I’m glad that’s good.

My partner thinks it’s definitely related to my diet. I see a lot of diabetics still eating berries and certain fruits, small portions of potatoes etc so this may be enough to keep levels healthy, but I pretty much cut them out - I’ll have them but very rarely.

it’s difficult. With such a strong family history of type 2 I don’t feel it’s a good idea for me to go back to my old diet. I’m 30, so I’d rather diabetes caught up with me in my 50’s than now! I suppose a multivitamin for vit c etc may be a wiser choice.

Any recommendations?

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Not really. I have become more carb tolerant, so I use that to eat foods that I used to shun, and I believe I vary it enough to cover most of my bases. I supplement D3 since I am not getting out much at the moment, but apart from the occasional mineral supp, I rely on my diet to provide what I need. I am not so much Low Carb as Low(ish) carb, and eat around 100-150g/d and I include multigrain bread in most meals. I have relaxed my criteria from where I was and find a comfortable mid point where I control my sugars, but can share my meals with my family who are nondiabetic.

One other comment on supplements. Do not be tempted to add much Vitamin E to the shopping list, since this has been shown to be toxic in doses over 1000 mg.d But nutritionists seem to be pushing E as an antioxidant and to use large doses to 'aid healing' Errrm? NIMBY! The other one to be careful of (but not needed according to your results anyway) is iron intake. since we only excrete excess iron by blood letting or leeches and it can build up to dangerous levels.