Does anyone take vitamins and other supplements?

[mark1101]

I don't take any supplements currently, but I am on small amounts of blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs. Consequently I get blood tests every 3 months and I "know my numbers" very well. The blood tests come back with like 80 different parameters.......where you are, and the high and low range for that parameter. You can watch your health get better or worse almost on a monthly basis.

But, nobody gets out alive. Eat away at those supplements boys!!

[Gilbert]

a multivitamin specific to old geezers

Me too.

[Islander]

I take a number of vitamins and minerals and other supplements, mostly because "it seems like a good idea". The difference is not really noticeable, unless you have some kind of severe deficiency.

However, there are two that have very obvious effects: glucosamine/chondroitin and Vitamin E.

I have a long-term neck injury that caused intense shooting pain whenever I turned my head. Taking two capsules a day eliminates the pain. I've been taking it for twenty years or so, and I would not give it up. It doesn't work for everyone, but if it works for your joint pain, it's worth taking. It's not a painkiller; it's a natural product that helps to maintain/repair joints between bones.

I worked with sheet metal for several years, and naturally got cuts and scratches fairly frequently. I was taking one 400 IU capsule of Vitamin E every day, when I read in a bodybuilding magazine that Vitamin E aids in muscle recovery and rebuilding. Since bodybuilding is based on breaking down your muscles so they can recover and rebuild in a stronger condition, that made sense to me.

I doubled my dosage to two 400 IU capsules a day, and was surprised to notice that cuts and scratches seemed to heal nearly twice as quickly. Instead of ten days, for example, a minor scratch would be gone in six days. If it's that good for the outside of the body, it should also be good for the inside. It's also said to boost the immune system, and I don't seem to get colds or flu as often as I used to. Vitamin C (1000 mg a day) may also be a factor in my resistance to colds and flu.

Everybody's body chemistry is different, so what works well for one person may not work as well, or not work at all, for another person. Those two supplements definitely work for me.

[BEC]

While we are on sort of this subject, is anyone on here familiar with Valerian Root? That was recommended to me by my Cardio-Vascular surgeon no less. I was asking him about something to help me sleep all night instead of waking up so many times from various aches and pains an old fellow like me gets including the leg he just worked on. I took that last night before going to bed and had a very good restful night's sleep. Don't know if that was a one time fluke or if the stuff really works. Will give it another try tonight. The stuff is cheap enough. $3.50 for 100 capsules at Wal-Mart.

[tube fanatic]

Good point. I hate taking any kind of pill, but I do take B12, Vitamin D (if not in the sun every day)

Allowing the body to produce its own vitamin D (actually a steroid hormone, and not a vitamin) is preferable to supplementing. In spite of all of the evidence, most conventionally trained dermatologists caution about having any sun exposure at all! I recently had a conversation with one of these guys who advocates total sun avoidance to the point of never stepping outside for more than a minute or two unless long sleeves, long pants, and a hat which covers the head/ears is worn. When swimming, he advocates slathering on a heavy layer of petrochemical laced SPF50 sun block, unless one dresses as swimmers did in the 1800s with an outfit which covers everything above the water. His concern is melanoma development in response to even minimal ultraviolet exposure. But, he could not explain why so many people who never go in the sun develop melanomas, and why some who do develop melanomas in areas which are never exposed.

And, Bob C., consider trying melatonin (if your doctor agrees) as a sleep aid rather than the valerian. The latter can, over a long period of continuous use, become somewhat habit forming (kind of like benzodiazepine sleep meds.) Melatonin, even at very low dosages, can make a big difference. I have severe insomnia and it allows me to get enough sleep to function!

Maynard

[Islander]

While we are on sort of this subject, is anyone on here familiar with Valerian Root? That was recommended to me by my Cardio-Vascular surgeon no less. I was asking him about something to help me sleep all night instead of waking up so many times from various aches and pains an old fellow like me gets including the leg he just worked on. I took that last night before going to bed and had a very good restful night's sleep. Don't know if that was a one time fluke or if the stuff really works. Will give it another try tonight. The stuff is cheap enough. $3.50 for 100 capsules at Wal-Mart.

I get the impression that supplements vary a lot in their effectiveness from person to person. After it was recommended to me by a nurse, I tried Valerian and noticed no effect at all. Melatonin was equally ineffective for me. Other folks find them very helpful.

Lately, after wanting to sleep without needing medication, I looked at the labels of several of the medicines I take and noticed they all cautioned "may cause drowsiness". The sleep aid was redundant, and now I sleep fine without it, since the side effects of the other meds do a fine job of helping me sleep.

[Jeff Matthews]

It does work.

So, Chris. Why don't you post a typical daily eating routine over the course of a week? Of course, if I recall correctly, your wife loves to cook for hours?

[Marvel]

We usually eat large in the a.m., a smaller lunch and graze for the supper meal.

On the weekdays my wife is off, I will often have a meal like the following:

Bratwurst, couple of fried eggs, rice, steamed brocolli, aspagus and carrots, chopped tomatoes with a little lemon and soy sauce. Small glass of orange juice and a small glass of milk.

We usually have eggs every day, sometimes fried, sometimes boiled.

A lot of the foods we eat are filipino dishes. We are weaning ourselves off of wheat/oats/barley, etc.

I just turned 64, and at 5' 8", weight in at 148.

Bruce

[tigerwoodKhorns]

It does work.

So, Chris. Why don't you post a typical daily eating routine over the course of a week? Of course, if I recall correctly, your wife loves to cook for hours?

That is a good idea. I can start a thread, but for now, yesterday:

Breakfast -

Cup of coffee with soy milk and sugar

Rip's Big Bowl - Mixture of oats, flaxseed, wheat flakes, shredded wheat, raisins, nuts, grapes and peaches (we are low on fruit), cinnamon with some soy milk. This stuff is insanely good. Much better than it sounds. I eat it every day.

Lunch - Homemade whole wheat tortillas (consisits of wheat flour, water, pinch of salt and baking powerder cooked in an ungreased pan.

glass of iced tea with lime

Inside of the tortilla, whole brown rice and leftover stir fry that had carrots, peas, broccoli, onions, garlic, soy eggplant and squash. Again, really good stuff.

Snack - a pear and grazed on soem whoel wheat ceral from the box.

Dinner - whole wheat pasta with a sauce made from tomato, onions, garlic, kidney beans, salt, pepper, oregano, corn, an dhor peppers with balsamic vinegar. I grew up in an Itilian family and will nto eat regular Itialian food. This is much better.

Snack before bed - same thing as I ate for lunch.

The beauty is that you eat as much as you want whenever you want, never go hungry, and yoru body will stabilize at a thin weight in th middle of the Body Mass Index. I am probably about 11% to 13% body fat.

On a side note, on my way home from a charity function last night (I drank water and skipped the appetizers) I stopped at Whole Foods and bought a bunch on non-GMO soy sauce and other Asian sauces as well as some corn, wheat flour and sweet potato.

[jtubbs6117]

This is a link to one of my favorite daily vitamins. I work shift work rotate between nights and days. Work in a control room with lots of stress and flouresent lights. This is a great one. Way better than GNC stuff, I like it because it is all food based. I don't eat right all the time. They make alot of different options but I can get this one at my local Walmart.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007YCC7S/ref=twister_B000EEDZ7M?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[dtel]

No vitamins but some herbs and on occasion some of these [D] or these mixed with as much of these as possible [] all mixed with plenty of this [8] [<)]. It really works great so far [], right up until the end [W] whenever that may be but with enough of my regular supplements I don't really care. []

see below

[BigStewMan]

Elden--you must be some sort of doctor!.

Steve

[dtel]

Elden--you must be some sort of doctor!.

Steve

No but I have been known to give free female "examinations" every chance I get []

That supplement in the other post is a widely used well tested recipe, if nothing else they will find you dead with a smile on your face. Why not at 55 there is no use saving myself until I get old, it's already a little late for that, I just started practicing it really young. I did sign up for the organ donor thing, probably a complete waste of time ?

[BigStewMan]

I did sign up for the organ donor thing, probably a complete waste of time ?

That depends on what kind of organ you're looking for...if you have your heart set on a real nice pipe organ, that's a tall order--it may take a few days.

[jacksonbart]

One martini a day

[jacksonbart]

A day in my world is about 4 hours long though

[dtel]

I did sign up for the organ donor thing, probably a complete waste of time ?

That depends on what kind of organ you're looking for...if you have your heart set on a real nice pipe organ, that's a tall order--it may take a few days.

Very true but for now I have all the organs I need although have been known to look.

[dtel]

A day in my world is about 4 hours long though

Cut that down to around 3 hours and it may decrease the Pyrokinetic ability somewhat ?

[Boxx]

Why yes, yes I do...

I also drink raw milk...

[DizRotus]

Yes. When my geezer multi-vitamins ran out, I took my son's multi-vitamins. Now I sag my jeans and have an urge to get a tattoo.