Do any of you take these?
- Thread starter neenaw
- Start date
CoQ10 is a powerful heart nutrient. Very effective, and endorsed by the National Cancer institute. We put up a little site about it here:
Kelp is a good natural food supplement. Natural food supplements are nutrient sources that come from, you guessed it, natural foods. They're usually very potent and very well absorbed. Over kelp, however, I'd recommend wheat grass or chlorella, which contain far more nutrients than any other natural food supplement I'm aware of.
Lecithin is present naturally in eggs and soybeans, and primarily it's good for clearing out cholesterol and general organ health (esp. the liver and heart). It also contains acetylcholine which is important for brain health, and 30% of the lecithin in your body is usually kept in your brain. This is a good one.
Chromium picolinate stimulates insulin activity so you metabolize glucose and fat better. In some studies it's shown to help people lose body fat and increase lean mass. while reducing cholesterol levels. Other studies say differently.
It's hard to evaluate claims because so many natural supplements sponsored studies are very pro-natural-supplement, and so many pharmaceutical companies (who don't stand to make money off of supplements) are quick to dismiss them in favor of prescription drugs (though numerous studies have shown certain supplements - like St. John's Wort for depression, and Red Yeast Rice for cholesterol - to be equivalent or more effective than their pharma-grade counterparts -- and at a fraction of the price.
The best way to find out if they work is to try them out. Even if something is proven to work, as far as natural supplements go different things work for different people depending on how their body reacts to a particular supplement. For example, some people who used to take Ephedra when it was big gained huge amounts of energy -- and for some people, they felt drained of energy after taking it (paradoxical effect). For some people, Creatine is the most requisite supplement for their weight training, for others, Creatine (as it becomes creatinine in their stomachs) is very unpleasant, and causes stomach irritation and dehydration.
You can't go wrong with the Kelp and CoQ10 - they have a strong, established record. I personally know several people who are very happy with Chromium, but I don't know that many people (personally) who take lecithin regularly.
Kelp is a good natural food supplement. Natural food supplements are nutrient sources that come from, you guessed it, natural foods. They're usually very potent and very well absorbed. Over kelp, however, I'd recommend wheat grass or chlorella, which contain far more nutrients than any other natural food supplement I'm aware of.
Lecithin is present naturally in eggs and soybeans, and primarily it's good for clearing out cholesterol and general organ health (esp. the liver and heart). It also contains acetylcholine which is important for brain health, and 30% of the lecithin in your body is usually kept in your brain. This is a good one.
Chromium picolinate stimulates insulin activity so you metabolize glucose and fat better. In some studies it's shown to help people lose body fat and increase lean mass. while reducing cholesterol levels. Other studies say differently.
It's hard to evaluate claims because so many natural supplements sponsored studies are very pro-natural-supplement, and so many pharmaceutical companies (who don't stand to make money off of supplements) are quick to dismiss them in favor of prescription drugs (though numerous studies have shown certain supplements - like St. John's Wort for depression, and Red Yeast Rice for cholesterol - to be equivalent or more effective than their pharma-grade counterparts -- and at a fraction of the price.
The best way to find out if they work is to try them out. Even if something is proven to work, as far as natural supplements go different things work for different people depending on how their body reacts to a particular supplement. For example, some people who used to take Ephedra when it was big gained huge amounts of energy -- and for some people, they felt drained of energy after taking it (paradoxical effect). For some people, Creatine is the most requisite supplement for their weight training, for others, Creatine (as it becomes creatinine in their stomachs) is very unpleasant, and causes stomach irritation and dehydration.
You can't go wrong with the Kelp and CoQ10 - they have a strong, established record. I personally know several people who are very happy with Chromium, but I don't know that many people (personally) who take lecithin regularly.
Wow, thanks a LOT for that info! I'm seriously considering taking some supplements, especially cos from what I see they're less expensive than I imagined them to be.
You mentioned chlorella and wheat grass - these ring a bell - are they in the same sort of 'family' as blue-green algae? I've read a lot of GREAT stuff about blue-green algae but also some stuff that says it's rubbish and that you'd be better off eating a carrot! lol
It's so hard to know what to believe.
I'm gonna have to try them one at a time. Otherwise if I feel different I'll not know which one (or ones) are helping me!
A trip to the local health food shop is in order I think.
Thanks again for help!
You mentioned chlorella and wheat grass - these ring a bell - are they in the same sort of 'family' as blue-green algae? I've read a lot of GREAT stuff about blue-green algae but also some stuff that says it's rubbish and that you'd be better off eating a carrot! lol
It's so hard to know what to believe.
I'm gonna have to try them one at a time. Otherwise if I feel different I'll not know which one (or ones) are helping me!
A trip to the local health food shop is in order I think.
Thanks again for help!
i generally dont believe in supplements. every time some study is done showing some relation of some nutrient to wieght loss or energy, manufacturers are quick to jump on it and release it as the new thing. the problem is IMO, that simply taking certain nutrients out of something and putting it into a pill will not reproduce how it's found in nature. there are many nutrients in foods - far more than they put into pills, and i believe they have to be in the proper order (as found in natural foods) for your body to use them. vitamins are a good example, in my experience your body just pees them away. a balanced diet and exercise seems to be the only real way to get in good health, as it always has been. i do take fiber supplements though. this is just my 2 cents.
shimmering said:
I don't see how an informed person cannot "believe" in supplements.
Supplements = food.
When you need more of something in your diet, you supplement it with supplements. It's a way of getting more of something you need.
People who get enough vitamins don't need vitamins, plain and simple. But most people are deficient in something or other, especially nowadays thanks to soil depletion and poor diets.
There's a reason they're called dietary supplements and not drugs -- they're not a cure-all, they're something to supplement (help/support) your dietary needs.
shimmering said:
You need to look into "natural food supplements" and "whole food supplements". They are very available, and popular, and are taken FROM the natural source -- except they don't require that you get everything else that comes with it. It's not as fresh, true, but they claim the body can't tell the difference.
shimmering said:
Again, this is step one, but you're not going to get everything you want, necessarily, just from a balanced diet, especially if you're training hard. People tend not to get enough Vitamin C, or Calcium, for example, and if you're doing heavy cardio you might look into Sportlegs, or if you're doing heavy lifting, more Glutamine speeds recovery. It's about bioavailability and filling a deficiency.
I'm also curious about how in your experience vitamins just tend to be peed away. Do you get a burning sensation every time you take a multi or something?
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Fil said:
lol that made me giggle
Anyway, I was looking into these different supplements and I came across a site called ConsumerLab. They claim to be independent. Now, you have to pay to get the full results of their tests but they give you an overview of their findings on their website. Everything I looked up seemed to have some sort of 'warning' with it so it's made me think "uh oh". Warnings about anything from being carcenogenic to questioning their long term effects...
"The chromium that our bodies require is called trivalent chromium or chromium (III). Another type, called hexavalent chromium (VI), does not occur in significant amounts naturally but can be formed as a by-product of industry. Ingesting large amounts of chromium (VI) can cause stomach upsets and ulcers, convulsions, kidney and liver damage, and even death. Chromium (VI) is also a known carcinogen (particularly when airborne) and is, for example, the form of chromium implicated as causing cancers in the movie Erin Brokavich. While it should not normally be found in chromium supplements, it has been known to occur as a contaminant. Consequently, all of the products claiming to contain chromium were also tested for levels of chromium (VI)."
It then went on to say that Chromium (VI) was found in one of the test products!!! How do I know I'm getting a 'good' one? Do I go by brand?
um.. i would ask what your motivation is to have people take supplements, FiL?
it's well known that many if not most "supplements" arent worth the bottle they come packaged in. they're usually poorly researched and sold through marketing and hype. not ALL, but certainly most. of course, if you're trying to sell people something than i guess you look at it from a different POV.
it's well known that many if not most "supplements" arent worth the bottle they come packaged in. they're usually poorly researched and sold through marketing and hype. not ALL, but certainly most. of course, if you're trying to sell people something than i guess you look at it from a different POV.
shimmering said:
I'm open about the fact that I sell supplements, but I believed in them before I decided to make a career out of them.
I don't know where you get "it's well known that..." because, quite frankly, the supplements are the things that make food healthy (that is, a Vitamin C supplement IS Vitamin C, a CLA supplement IS CLA). The reason that the FDA doesn't regulate them, technically, is because they're recognized as "food" and not "drugs". (Not to mention that there's not as much money in it for them as designer drugs)
Taking a supplement that you already have enough of, or that you get from your diet, doesn't make sense. Why would you supplement something you have in sufficient amount? It's trying helping something that needs no help.
But there are lots of people who don't get all they need from food (poor eaters, vegetarians, people who don't like veggies/fruits), they have a particular condition (diabetes, aging, chronic obesity, ADHD), they are in a particular state of life (pregnancy, menopause, elderly) where the body's natural production of particular nutrients is stunted, or they are training very hard and need more of a particular nutrient to supplement their training.
There are a lot of supplements whose health benefits aren't proven, but the majority are supported by valid science. What do you really need to prove that some people need more Calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Iron, or Protein?
As far as herbal supplements, many studies have shown popular herbal supplements to be better than even pharmaceutical drugs. Look at St. John's Wort - a recent study showed it was more effective than the widely prescribed anti-depressant paroxetine. In the mid-90's, pharmaceutical companies tried to ban Red Yeast Rice because its natural chemical structure too closely mirrored their cholesterol reducing pharmaceutical drug.
Doctor's prescribe Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM for their patients with joint problems. They prescribe folic acid for pregnant women. They prescribe Vitamin D + Calcium for aging women. They prescribe iron for men deficient in it.
Experts in the FDA even recommend that all adults should take a multivitamin every day.
The list goes on and on. Most health professionals (I have relationships with a lot of them) take at least one supplement other than a multivitamin regularly, and many of them recommend them to their clients.
Anyhoo, aside from the overwhelming evidence in favor of supplementation, I'll just go back to my basic premise: supplements are nutrients. That's all you really need to know.
"the supplements are the things that make food healthy". ok.. what kinds foods are we talking about here?
on the vitamins, you can believe your making yourself healthy by taking them if you want to, but the fact is you're peeing most of them away - they are not absorbing. also, simply taking a few vitamins in a pill - a multi - does not replicate the nutrition found in their respective sources. there's a reason to a eat a balanced diet - it contains many different nutrients and combinations, not just certain isolated ones. the fact is, if you're eating a crappy diet and start taking a vitamin pill all you're now doing is eating a crappy diet with a vitamin pill - that's all. no more healthy than not taking the vitamin.
supplement companies make huge sums of money and have only one motivation - making more. i'd like to believe you're actually trying to help people here, but your insulting me, and the fact that you sell supplements says it all to me - another huckster trying sell his snake-oil pills who doesnt like hearing an opposing view.
on the vitamins, you can believe your making yourself healthy by taking them if you want to, but the fact is you're peeing most of them away - they are not absorbing. also, simply taking a few vitamins in a pill - a multi - does not replicate the nutrition found in their respective sources. there's a reason to a eat a balanced diet - it contains many different nutrients and combinations, not just certain isolated ones. the fact is, if you're eating a crappy diet and start taking a vitamin pill all you're now doing is eating a crappy diet with a vitamin pill - that's all. no more healthy than not taking the vitamin.
supplement companies make huge sums of money and have only one motivation - making more. i'd like to believe you're actually trying to help people here, but your insulting me, and the fact that you sell supplements says it all to me - another huckster trying sell his snake-oil pills who doesnt like hearing an opposing view.
In Fil's defense, he hasn't tried to sell us any supplements.
In shimmering's defense, your non belief in supplementation is perfectly fine. Kudos to you for doing it naturally (by naturally I mean no supplementation, making no claim that supplements are not natural). Thats his/her (sorry, im unsure of your gender) opinion and we respect that.
Both of you have made valid points in your arguments.
In shimmering's defense, your non belief in supplementation is perfectly fine. Kudos to you for doing it naturally (by naturally I mean no supplementation, making no claim that supplements are not natural). Thats his/her (sorry, im unsure of your gender) opinion and we respect that.
Both of you have made valid points in your arguments.
i would like to add that i dont think ALL supplements are a waste - there are definitely some that are worthwhile. i just feel that many are hyped up and dont deliver nearly what they promise. my personal belief is that doing it with whole foods so to speak, is the best way. but to each his own of course.
if you would post your results.
well, i decided to stop taking the chromium cos of various articles i read about it. i'm fine with studies saying claims of a certain supplement are "unfounded" but when there are claims that it can be linked to cancer.... well, there's enough in this world that give you cancer! It hasn't been proved, but I'd rather not take the risk.
I'm still taking the CoEnzyme Q-10 and I'm not noticing a difference... tho not sure what i'm supposed to notice lol.
Fil, you said there are better supps for energy and weight loss - what would u recommend?
I'm still taking the CoEnzyme Q-10 and I'm not noticing a difference... tho not sure what i'm supposed to notice lol.
Fil, you said there are better supps for energy and weight loss - what would u recommend?