I have always been interested in taking supplements. Honestly though, my vitamins are fine, even D and all the current buzz word deficiencies. (I know some people have real vitamin deficiencies but the doc was telling us that's the rage right now and you will find a decificiency in about anything you're looking for if you want to find it. Her words, not mine.) But you know if there was something that could help aid in digestion or make me more regular since I can't set my watch to my system like some people, then I was more than willing to try them. Sometimes I did my research beforehand, sometimes afterward. Despite my willingness to try supplements here and there, my body has never reacted positively to them.
I've tried St. John's Wort back in the day when it first came out. I had a horrible reaction to that including a tremor which was sexy. (It actually locked up my dog's limbs when we tried to go holistic for her anxiety issues. I've never seen the poor thing so scared) I tried probiotic pills when they first became all the rage in an effort to even out the digestive system since I hate yogurt. I felt horrible on them and discontinued after a few days. I tried aloe vera pills for digestion but it wasn't until I did research on them AFTER I started taking them that I saw some scary stuff about taking it orally so I stopped that pretty quickly and informed a friend that I knew was taking it too. The latest was Fish Oil supplements which are not known to give many side effects except maybe some...errr..."greasy" stools. I didn't care about that. I started taking it and the whole time my system was the opposite of what they said it would be and I actually didn't lose weight those 2 weeks I was on it. When I went off of them, I lost weight. So I think I'm done with those.
Matter of fact, I think I'm done with supplements period. I saw on a doctor show that sea buckthorn is supposed to be awesome for many different things from aiding digestion to improving skin and I was so tempted to try it but I already know it'd be a waste of money for me.
What about you? Do/have you taken supplements and if so, have you ever had any adverse reactions to them?
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Sea Buckthorn? WTH??
ReplyDeleteI take a multi-vitamin with iron sometimes. I wait until the end of the day and if I'm low on iron for the day I take it. Otherwise I just don't have much use for supplements. It always seems like today's miracle is tomorrow's disaster. I think the only way I would add something else in is if my Dr. recommended it.
ReplyDeleteI took bee pollen for a while and after a month or so I had horrible stomach cramps and issues I had to stop taking it. It was so bad I had to leave work because I thought I couldn't get far from the bathroom because I was either so nauseous or the other. Definitely made me not want to try anything else again! It is supposed to help with allergies and I was trying to see if I could find something so I didn't have to take the prescription meds anymore. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI'm not very adventurous. Multivitamins are about the extent I go to and I forget more often than I remember. Your experiences are enough to keep me from getting adventurous :/.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had any bad reaction to the measly few supplements I take.
ReplyDeleteI regularly take fish oil (because I just do not like eating seafood at all) and glucosamine (for my joints).
I can't say if the fish oil is doing anything positive but my hair does seem shinier (my "coat", *snicker*). The glucosamine has helped my knees. They are a lot less creaky and crackly (I do a lot of higher impact exercise like plyometrics and just started running recently).
I also take a bit of vitamin c right before I eat my big spinach salads. Supposedly vit c helps you get the most iron and good stuff from spinach. I can't say if it does or not but vitamin c is a water soluable vitamin so taking it won't hurt me any.
My doctor suggested fish oil, so I take that, with no adverse effects. My gyn instructed me to take D and calcium since I'm 52. I take raw, unpasturized apple cider vinegar along with kelp since I have insulin resistance and it's supposed to help with that and many other things. I have been researching cinnamon and it has some awesome properties, as well. I'm still learning about it, though.
ReplyDeleteI hear you about the yogurt issue but since I also reacted strongly to the pills, I trained myself over 4 years to eat yogurt. I started with one teaspoon for every tablespoon of crunchy cereal. Now I can do about half of each ... but I don't enjoy it. I do however enjoy the bathroom benefits. ;)
ReplyDeleteI work with my homeopathic doctor on supplements to support my thyroid and adrenal gland. They help me but not all work for everyone. The key is to work with a doctor or nutritionist. I would rather take supplements and vitamins than conventional medicines..hands down.
ReplyDeleteI take a multivitamin, biotin, flax seed oil, vitamin E and L-lysine...yeah its alot. Biotin keeps me from clogging the shower with my hair, flax is supposed to help keep your tummy flatter (cough cough), E was recommended to me last time I had cancer cells frozen and lysine helps keep my skin clear---yes that one does work for me cuz if I run out its not a pretty sight. :) No adverse affects that I know of, lol.
ReplyDeleteI take vitamin D (there's not much of that naturally here in the NW) and have seen a huge improvement in my energy level, etc. from taking it.
ReplyDeleteFor negative experiences, I tried that CLA stuff and OMG, I thought I was going to have to move my office into the bathroom...terrible.