Which Popular Vitamins and Supplements Are Actually Legit?

[@yushihan1506]

Please please do the panel and the chart thing also on other supplements and skincare products. Love this objective form of evaluating ...

[@wangocopperboom]

I was taking B-12 because I thought I should (great logic). After bloodwork and consultation with my doctor about some dizziness issues, I was put on Vit-D and iron and to keep up with melatonin. Likewise, consultation with a PT/nutritionist added magnesium and protein (also to keep on melatonin)---which I will need to go back to my doctor about so they can further yay or nay it. I started all of these changes within a 2 year period after finally getting insurance. I do feel better---but it's kind of impossible to tell which little change did the trick or if it was a little bit from every change. I also think there's definitely a possibility that people taking vitamins or doing anything for their health can be increasingly more-likely to be overall healthier than those not taking (or unable to take) those actions, making outcomes skew positive. And I'm curious how that can be sussed out in data.

[@gasparinha]

I actually had to get a recommendation from my doctor about which multivitamin to take: I am sensitive to a LOT of fruits and vegetables (nothing makes you want a big plate of kale salad more than knowing it would be a horrible idea), so a multi is definitely a good idea, but one of my medications is contraindicated with potassium and magnesium supplements. Luckily multivitamin gummies are usually potassium-free (but not pills!). I do also take a doctor-recommended peppermint oil supplement - GI stuff, again, but there is some significant research into that. Plus, well, it's peppermint, and if I were allergic to it I'd know already!

[@ev1186]

❤ this!!! What about the probiotic and prebiotic

[@mattie1478]

i was prescribed melatonin by a sleep specialist doctor. before that, i had tried half a dozen sleep meds (on top of every non medical intervention possible) and nothing was working. melatonin is the only thing that works. however, i have a very specific sleep problem - delayed sleep phases. my natural circadian rhythm is to fall asleep around 3-4am... so yeah. i literally have genetic jetlag. i was sleeping like this since i was a newborn. ive heard from various friends that melatonin does nothing for their sleep issues. based off of the research ive read, seems like melatonin basically only works for shifted sleep phases, for some blind people (because their eyes might not detect light which regulates melatonin production), and for shift workers. does nothing for most people with sleep issues other than maybe give you crazy dreams

[@katyaverbitsky7724]

Love this video, thanks! What is the panel’s take on vitamin D, pro- and prebiotics, and Magnesium?

[@pbsvitals]

maybe another episode! There is some intriguing info about magnesium as a sleep aid, although unclear if it's really about supplementation or just avoiding a deficiency. Vitamin D - this paper is a deeper dive into the evidence: www.nature.com/articles/s41574-021-00593-z. As always, make sure your health care provider knows what you're taking.

[@EirynKatherine]

Are there good food sources for vitamin D? I take a women's multivitamin because of the high vitamin D content. I have a history of testing so low that they put me on a prescription strength supplement so I need to get it somewhere.

[@mbuhtz]

My kids' pediatrician wants them to take Vitamin D (and more in winter), so we all take a 2000IU vitamin D capsule daily

[@stellafierce9848]

Dairy foods have vitamin D

[@NSXTypeRGTRLM]

What about probiotics? Thanks for the discussion!

[@pbsvitals]

Lots of people wanting to hear about probiotics! Complicated answers - maybe another episode.

[@thepeff]

My doctor recommended NAC and a B vitamin complex for my depression symptoms for my bipolar disorder. I won't say they'll work for you but they work so well for me that I will recommend you ask your doctor about them.

[@pursaki]

I’d like to hear about cinnamon, turmeric, biotin, and D. It seems like a few years ago everyone was concerned they weren’t getting enough D but then I haven’t heard anything about it for a couple years. Also, what does the panel think about probiotics?

[@pbsvitals]

posted this for someone else, but this article in Nature last year was a pretty good roundup on Vitamin D. www.nature.com/articles/s41574-021-00593-z

[@Asharra12]

I know for me iron and vitamin D supplement in particular are very important, in addition to diet. If I don't take them, it takes much longer for especially my iron levels to be in the normal range after a period and I like not being excessively tired. I often get it recommended to me by healthcare professional, so I just take it as I feel I need it at this point. I was told by a nurse recently that low vitamin D levels have a pretty strong link to breast cancer and that proper vitamim D absorption may be linked to breast cancer prevention. It may just be related and not causal, but I found it very interesting. Only heard about it recently, so haven't done much research into it yet, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. It is wild to me that the US does not regulate the supplement industry. Here in Aus if I buy a certain dose, I know it's that dose. Sometimes I think that America is actually the one upside down 🤣🤣

[@Goomer]

The FDA is too busy feeding us Pink Slime and taking pay offs.

[@skybluskyblueify]

With the fish oil/omega-3 supplements I wonder about those that are based on krill-oil: that this encourages fishing in the southern oceans just when whales are making a come-back and need the krill and dont need fishing boats with their nets and equipment in one of the last places that has been a refuge [just as global warming is affecting the antarctic oceans and reducing the populations of krill.]

[@ybokors8524]

did i understand it correctly that dr. Manson suggested vegitarians take *fish* oil supplements?

[@EirynKatherine]

There are vegan omega-3 supplements which I assume is what she was talking about at that point. But yeah, definitely sounded like she was recommending that vegetarians take fish oil. She did not making it at all clear whether she was talking about omega-3 sups in general or specifically fish oil.

[@mattie1478]

lol kinda sounded like that. there are actually vegan sources of omega-3, for example chia and flax seeds as well as some seaweeds, but ive no idea whether there's research specifically about those cause they might have a slightly different chemical composition

[@clockworkgnome]

My mom swears by CoQ10. Does that supplement actually do anything?

[@pbsvitals]

There is some evidence and for benefits and it is generally thought to be safe (though stay away if pregnant). Mayo Clinic offers more details here: www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-coenzyme-q10/art-20362602#:~:text=Coenzyme%20Q10%20(CoQ10)%20is%20an,body%20decrease%20as%20you%20age.