What supplements are really good/necessary? I have taken Gingko Biloba, Bilberry, Fish Oil, Fiber, Lecithin, Vitamin C, Calcium, etc.etc.etc. for years. I recently read an article that said .....".....afer a 6-year study, it was determined that Gingko does nothing at all for your memory....." So, I'm wondering, what about all this other stuff? I know people who work in the industry and are always trying to sell me vitamins and minerals, etc., and I understand that is their livelihood. I also know that most of us don't eat a balanced meal that provides all the nutrients we need. I've taken every kind of powder, liquid, pill you can imagine!
They have a pill for everything - heart health, respiratory health, vision, etc. Just what exactly do we NEED? And I've also read that certain things shouldn't be taken together (Calcium must have magnesium, don't take calcium with vitamin C or something).
It makes me crazy. How can I find out exactly what I need instead of taking 20 pills twice a day?
I agree with Victoria, my family has taken Shaklee since the 1970's. My grandparents are 89 & 90 and are just recently showing signs of old age.
Contact Dr. Matt Thomas with 360 Chiropractic and welllness. He is very knowledgeable of supplements, he only uses natual products. his number is ###-###-####. Hope this info helps.
G.
Hi C.,
You are very wise to ask these questions! Most people don't because they think they can't be harmed by supplements.
My life was literally saved by Shaklee. But before I took even one pill I checked them out over 6 months. Shaklee is the number one seller of natural supplements and is the only company that has proof that their supplements work. The Landmark Study was published a couple of years ago. Our head of Medical Affairs used to work for another supplement company and wanted them to do a similiar study on their supplements. The legal department would not allow it because if the study showed negative results, the university would still publish it. Shaklee did not have to worry about negative results. They have spent almost $300 million on research. The FDA has actually visited their plant in the past to find out what standards should be required. But Shaklee far exceeds all that other companies do. And they have more published, peer-reviewed research than all other companies combined.
Many, many olympic athletes use these supplements because they can be assured they will never test positive for banned substances.
You can read more on my website at http://www.shaklee.net/healthforlife click on "about Shaklee." There is a link to the Landmark Study also.
For you, the Vitalizer would cover most of what we are lacking in our food. Try them for 30 days and if you are not satisfied use our 100% money-back guarantee. Also, you can get a free membership through the 15th with a 50 point order and save 15%.
Call me if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Victoria
Well, I'm not an expert and I'm not trying to sell you anything, but here it goes...A doctor once told me to "eat my colors" meaning you can be sure you are getting your vitamins in by eating a variety of different colored produce. I would concentrate on eating a balanced diet based on fresh, natural foods as much as possible and just adding one really good multi-vitamin if you feel you aren't getting enough from food. Nobody should need to take that many pills for health! And yes, they have a pill for everything - not because its necessary though - they want your money! Don't fall for eveything you hear - check it out first.
You are going to get as much advice as there are women on this board, but here goes. All the food we eat that is cooked has no nutritional value of any consequence. Only raw foor, fruits and veggies are full of nutrients. Having said that-eat as much raw as you can and it also cleanses the colon like a broom, adds fiber to our diet and helps prevent colon cancer.
Now-fish oil from Salmon is the best, Vit. B (as we are all deficient in B-vitamins) and Vit. D for heart are helpful. Calcium with mag. is good and one of the best ways to avoid osteoporosis is to avoid red meat-it leaches calcium from our bones, also sugar and sodas should be avoided or very rarely consumed.
I hope this helps you. Try to eat a good raw salad once a day with green lettuce, tomatoes, and add such veg. as zuchinni, squash, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms, red onion, etc. Raw fruit is good for lunch, eat as much as you like until satisfied. You will have more energy and feel better.
Hi C.,
I am just a mom/grandmom and not selling anything. I was reared by a father who doled out vitamins to us every morning and people thought he was nuts. BUT we were never sick, never had to go to the doctor, and he lived to within 3 months of his 90th b-day. He taught us to take Vit C--1000 mgs a day, B-Complex for the brain, Omega 3--fish oil--for the heart, and Vit. E. He also preached against salt, white sugar and flour products. All my siblings are healthy and in their 60s & 70s. I believe eating healthy--w/o the junk--is the most important thing, but adding the vitamin suppliments really help keep your immune system built up so you can resist the infections that are floating around. Good luck.
Hello C.,
I understand your frustration with the whole vitamin/supplement industry. I used to be the same way until I found out about Juice Plus+®. I now only take Juice Plus+®, fish oil and a B-Complex for my PMS.
Juice Plus+®is a WHOLE FOOD supplement...fruits & vegetables in a capsule. A study published in the medical journal Current Therapeutic Research looked at people who had just started taking Juice Plus+®. The CTR study found that they "showed significant increases in blood plasma levels of key antioxidants after only 28 days on Juice Plus+®." Antioxidants are the nutrients (like vitamins) found in fruits and vegetables that appear to have significant disease-fighting properties. In the CTR study, Juice Plus+® increased the levels of key antioxidants.
That's after only 28 days on Juice Plus+®. It's all about "prevention"...you don't "feel" prevention coming on. It's a lifetime thing (literally). The payoff comes further down the line.
The great thing about Juice Plus, is that it is totally safe...no salt, sugar or gluten. AND kids can take the soft chews. You can't overdose on it because it's food.
If you'd like more info, you can view my website at www.MussoJuicePlus.com. It shows what health professionals around the world say about Juice Plus+®. Good luck!
C.,
What a confusing place to be in. You are correct in looking for a more natural and nutritional way to help your body and health. Please go to my website and look at the nutritional beverage that I am now drinking and feeling all kinds of results. sozolife.com/4143 With this beverage you only drink three ounces a day and receive 20 helpings of raw fruits and vegetables. Talk about cleaning out your colon!
My energy level is up and I feel happier everyday. If you would like to try it, I will sell you two bottles for $70.00 and this will last you two weeks. At the end of the trail period you will wonder what you did without it.
There is also ways to make money off this product. If you are interested, let me know and I will help you anyway I can.
Here is to good health!
J. Jones
###-###-####
I take the Vitality 6 pack from Melaleuca and have been taking their vitamins since May. Love them and could tell a difference withn the first 2 weeks. Like that they are natural and have one of, if not the best, absorption rates of any vitamins.
Dear C.,
I think of supplements as just that - supplements. There is nothing that I take every single day. Not even my multi-vitamin. A supplement that may be beneficial to one person may be completely unnecessary to you. When you are looking into supplements consider what your personal history, lifestyle, and desires are. Ginko Biloba may be beneficial for memory, but if your mother and grandmother lived to 93 and never lost their mental capacities, why take it?
I enjoy reading Susan S. Weed's books for women's health. You can find her at amazon. She encourages getting everything you need from food and makes suggestions of when and how to fill in the gaps.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Menopausal-Years-Wise-Woman/dp/...
Peace and Joy,
M.
Hi C.,
Great question! What we all really NEED are the 10's of 1,000's of vitamins and minerals that are found in actual whole food: fresh, raw fruits and veggies. According to the Cancer Society and Heart Association, 7-13 servings of them per day. All these nutrients working together is how God intended our bodies to be fueled. When you eat His way, you don't have to figure out how much of this and how much of that...He's got it covered!
The challenge is, most of us don't even come close to this number, thanks to all the processed convenience "foods" that are so prevalent and so much easier to consume. The solution my family found is a product that puts 17 fruits, veggies and grains in a capsule for adults or soft chewable treats for kids. We love it and don't feel the need to supplement with anything else. We still eat as nutritiously as we can but have the peace of mind of knowing that our nutritional bases are covered every day.
Message me if you'd like more info!
M.
P.S. There's a great book called "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. Fascinating read and very insightful! Another great one is "Anti-Cancer, A New Way of Life." I highly recommend them both.
P.P.S. If you would like to sign up for my FREE monthly nutrition newsletter and get invited to local speakers on this topic, you can visit www.goodhealthmadesimple.com/blog
Everyone needs different types of supplements depending on your health and family genetic health history. Fish oil, flax seed, fiber... are all great things to take. Taking a Bayer Aspirin a day can help with heart attacks if you are predisposed to them, but daily asprin intake also has it's negative side effects too, so you just have to weigh the pros and cons and do some research.
The best source of vitamins and minerals come from raw foods and high quality oils, they will be more expensive than what you will find at the grocery store.
Calcium should not be taken with Vitamin C, because it cancels out the absorption of the mineral. So, never take a vitamin c pill with a glass of milk.
Also, what Dana said is true, not all supplements are regulated the same, which is the same with types of teas and other herbs and such.
Some vitamins are pretty good little daily things to take, but others are more potent and can have stronger effects. Rosemary, for example can be dangerous to pregnant women in high doses.
Taking a daily multi vitamin on top of a well rounded diet is a great start, but for more types of oils and such, I would read a good book or consult with a nutritionist or even a chiropractor.
Oh, my Dr. told me taking a prenatal pill daily or even 2 Flinestone pills a day is all I would need during the phase of my life so long as I am eating healthy and staying active!
Try JuicePlus. All you need is your fruits and veggies to give you ALL of your vitamins and minerals, but if you can't eat all that you need, or if you end up getting more than you need, it can be bad for your health. Juice Plus helps maintain the balance of all the vitamins your body needs.
Hi C., Have you ever heard of Pharmanex? We are a 25 year old company, under NuSkin. We have the only vitamins in the world that have been 100% approved by the BSCG (Banned Substance Control Group). They took all the ingredients out of all our skin care products and supplements and did a 3rd party testing on them. They could not find anything negative in any of our products. This is the same company that approves supplements for the Olympic Athletes. Because of the fact that we are in 48 countries, Pharmanex vitamins are the most sold vitamin in the world. You can get a lot of information on all of them on my website, www.fogel.nsedreams.com. Just click on Pharmanex. You can also contact me through the website if you have any questions.I will show you how to purchase them at wholesale, as they are more expensive than what you normally would pay. Trust me, they are worth every penny! M.
No one should take supplements without being tested to determine exactly which supplements, if any, are needed. It is very easy to overdose your body with supplements, or take them in the wrong way, i.e., with/without food, with/without other supplements, AM/PM, etc. You could end up spending lots of money on something that you do not need or that is toxic to you, get professional guidance. There is a simple and inexpensive test to determine the nutritional status of your body. Ask your doctor/chiro about Genova Diagnostics laboratories Nutritional Evaluation testing, a simple urine/blood sample test that evaluates your body's nutritional status/needs. www.genovadiagnostics.com is their website. They don't sell anything, they just provide the testing and the report to your doctor. You can then add the needed FOODS to your diet that supply the vitamins/minerals your body needs; or, if a specific supplement is needed over and above your food intake, your doctor can guide you on the correct dosage/time/combination to take it. People that randomly self-diagose and self-medicate are putting themselves in danger, and, they are practicing medicine without a license. Beware of "Snake Oil" and it's sellers, it's been big business for many, many years and those sellers know nothing about your body, they only know the profit margin of their supplement sales business.
i only take one shake in the morning and in the night that have all the vitamins you need
check this website
http://www.herbalife.com/
Hi C.,
Your question is what do we NEED? I believe if you eat a healthy, well-rounded diet, you don't NEED any supplements. See Dr McDougall's links here.
http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_supplements.html
M.
You may not know, but chiropractors have a unique advantage when educating their patients about nutrition. Because we don't prescribe dangerous drugs, our education is based on nutritional health, from the biochemical level to the clinical level.
In my studies, along with clinical experience, I have found that the three major vitamins/supplements EVERYONE should be taking on a regular basis is: A Whole Food multivitamin, 2000mg of fish oil (1000mg for kids, and may be increased in both groups depending on specific health needs), and a good probiotic. Now, depending if you have any health issues that need to be addressed, I would give you a questionnaire to fill out and we would determine what areas might be lacking in order to build up those systems using a short, 30-day protocol and then go right back to the basics mentioned above. We could even go so far to do saliva/blood testing to get an even more accurate view of what your specific needs are. Also, during this time of year, when we don't get enough sun, we do become severely deficient in Vitamin D. This could lead to severe immune function issues. I do recommend getting your vitamin D levels checked. But, with 87% of the population severely deficient in Vitamin D, it's safe to say that most are lacking and adults should be taking 5000 I.U.'s of vitamin D3 per day in the winter months, children 1000-2000 I.U.'s per day in the winter months and then in the summer, provided that you get adequate sun, everyone can drop down to 1000 I.U.'s per day. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly. If you want to set up a consult you can call my office at ###-###-####. I'm in Plano. If you need someone more convenient, I can also refer you as well. All of the products I use are professional grade, not MLM or over-the-counter. They are guaranteed to have the ingredients and potency listed and are extremely cost effective.
Hope this help and God Bless.
Hi C.,
This is what I do! I'm a Shaklee Independent Distributor. Contact me and I will be happy to guide you. I have a strip of daily vitamins that sounds perfect for you!
P.
____@____.com
Hi C.,
Good for you wanting to take care of yourself! I started using BodyBalance. You can go on their website www.lifeforce.net It is a liquid vitamin/mineral and phytonutient drink. You only drink 2oz a day and that is it. It provides 120 naturally occurring nutrients useful for optimal health, also includes amino acids, essential fatty acids and enzymes, all in the 2oz.
I still am breastfeeding my baby and noticed mt hair falling out (due to imbalance of hormones) but it started coming out. The baby was taking what vitamins I had left. I am really happy with my liquid vitamins. You can also have them shipped to you on a regular basis so you don't have to go to the store. I agree with the previous lady who states good vitamins are not cheap. Your body, family and future are worth it!
I second that about Juice Plus. I am a mom of 4 little boys 8-7months. I know it is so confusing. This is the issue to look at by nothing that doesn't have scientifical research to prove what it does.
After taking juice plus for a little over 3 years and just seeing a diffrence in our health. I began to learn about nutrician and link to disease. For example heart disease and cancer you don't just wake up one day and have it. It takes years to develope. Yes I do beleive genetics plays a roll. If you get a chance look at this website www.tricocijuiceplus.com Juice Plus is a gift of health. It is simply 17 fruits,vegtables and grains juiced and put into a concentrated powder form. This is the DIFFRENCE with JUICE PLUS is the Independent thrid party studies that PROVES what JUICE PLUS does in the body. I could tell you countless testimonials of the diffrence it made in peoples health but that's not what this company is about. It is about the research. This is the #1 researched nutritional product in the world. Sold in over 20 countries. I am a distributer recently. Obviously you can tell that I am so passionate about JP due to my own experience. It's something you can't NOT tell people about. Their is all the reaserch I was telling you about linked to the website. You can also see a new released video of how it is made. It's way cheaper than vitamins too! Any questions let me know! To your health! So impressed you are putting such thought into what your putting into your body! D. T
I know I don't get everything I need to be at optimal health. I don't eat enough of the right foods. I do take a daily multivitamin. I am a believer in Shaklee vitamins because of the integrity of the company and it's leadership. Shaklee uses only organic ingredients that are further tested for purity. They offer a basic daily multivitamin called Vita-Lea and a vita-pack called Vitalizer that is like supercharging your multivitamin intake. The Vita-Lea is very affordable ($14/mo member pricing) so I think it's totally worth it to know that I'm actually getting natural nutrition and not synthetic. There is a special until Jan. 16 where you get a free membership with a 50 pv order. You can go to gethealth.myshaklee.com and click shop for more info, or just message me. The memberhsip gets you 15% off your first order and any future orders. Whatever you decide, kudos for trying to be healthier!
Good Morning Mrs. C.,
I am not sure what you are willing to spend, but good quality Suppliments you will not find in any GNC. I know there are others out there that swear by them, but honestly...they are not manufactured at the GMP quality.
The way I look at it is, If you pay for good suppliments now, you will not have to pay in the long run with doctors and prescriptions and vise versa. You can check out the suppliments on USANA.com.
pharmaceutical GMP are federally mandated guidelines for the production of over-the-counter drugs; they are considerably stricter than the food GMP followed by many United States supplement manufacturers. Pharmaceutical GMP cover virtually every aspect of drug manufacturing, including facility design and maintenance, raw material specification and control, supplier validation, product design and testing, employee training, process control, finished product release, and complaint handling.
In several countries around the world, supplements are more highly regulated than in the United States. In Australia, for example, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which regulates dietary supplements, mandates that manufacturers follow a set of GMP identical to pharmaceutical GMP in the United States. As an Australian supplier, USANA is regularly inspected and audited by the TGA to ensure that we meet their GMP standards. Most recently, USANA was audited in June 2006 by the TGA and passed with ease.
Aside from meeting the criteria of regular TGA audits, USANA has voluntarily obtained additional third-party verification of GMP status. Most recently, USANA's Salt Lake City, Utah, manufacturing facility has been certified to be in compliance with GMP requirements set forth in NSF/ANSI Standard ###-###-####, Dietary Supplements by NSF International. According to NSF, "GMP registration reflects [a] continued commitment to ensuring quality and satisfaction and gives companies confidence that their organization operates in conformance to established GMP."
It is USANA's mission to develop and provide the highest quality, science-based products. By rigorously testing each product for potency and purity and by voluntarily following pharmaceutical GMP, USANA sets the standard for excellence in dietary supplement manufacturing. Once again this is proof that USANA products are truly Nutritionals You Can Trust.
POTENCY GUARANTEE
USANA is committed to the highest standards of product design and manufacturing, and we guarantee the potency of every nutritional product we sell.
USANA follows internationally accepted Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) set out for the pharmaceutical industry. As such, we track every detail of product manufacture from start to finish—from the verification of raw materials to final testing of finished products. Standard tests include those for potency, purity, disintegration, weight, hardness, thickness, and stability.
For these reasons and more, you can be confident in the potency and overall quality of USANA Products. We truly provide Nutritionals You Can Trust.
Hope this helps.
God Bless and Have a Great Week.
D. H.
