What supplements work for you?

..and for clarification, I have high-blood pressure and some GI issues.. which is why I am interested in potential anti-hypertensive and GI regulating properties of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium – see one related article here.

Iron and vitamin D make huge differences in my life. But, I had blood tests to show I was dificient before I started taking very large doses, and I recommend the same to you. Get the blood tests, don’t guess. My B12 was also very low side of nornal, and so I take B12 to keep my numbers up more in the midrange of normal, but I don’t feel drastically different taking it like the iron and D.

I also take a regular daily multivitamin and vitamin K2.

My doctor just recommended taking magnesium to see if it helps me absorb the D better, even though my magnesium level is always well within the normal range.

Lastly, I make sure I buy iodized salt.

I just saw your post. My blood pressure is only affected by my thyroid. When my thyroid is off my blood pressure is. Of course there are many reasons for blood pressure to be high or low, but if you have not had your thyroid checked I recommend that blood test too.

I take a good womens multi-vitamin, but I swear by Vit. C.
Have been taking a minimum of 1000mgs. a day for over 30 years and I have nice skin, few colds and flus, and it is my #1 choice.

1800 -2000 IU of D3

B12 (the one with methylcobalamin and not cyanocobalamin) (I eat no meat or dairy so need that).

600 mg of red rice yeast w. 30 mg. of CO-Q-1O. (Natural statin discovered by the Chinese)

600 mg calcium/mag for leg cramps. Too much calcium in pills rather than food can cause kidney stones.

1250 mg. Omega-3. I am about to stop and switch to wild organic salmon (3 oz. twice a week)

2 T. ground flax seed daily

This is the theory.

Some days I forget to take anything but the D3 and flax seed (in cold cereal or oatmeal.)

@gailcalled Did I already mention to you in the past vitamin k2 is thought to help the calcium get into the bone and not settle in places we don’t want it?

Yes, thanks. I am eating my calcium, for the most part.

“It is thought” isn’t good enough for me any more.

I take as few supps. as possible

@gailcalled Is it working for you? Have you been able to successfully keep your numbers up just eating well? I have been really thinking about making a more drastic change in my eating.

Is what working for me? Keep what numbers up? Some numbers I want to keep down.

I just had blood work done and was fine, with the exception of slightly elevated triglicerides. I will redo this week, but since my number was borderline, I am not fretting and will stick with my eating program, exercise regime and few sups. listed above.

The triglicerides’ range was lowered slghtly recently. It all seems relatively unimportant.

@gailcalled I should have been more clear, I only meant the vitamins and minerals. If eating better has kept your vitamin D in the nornal range, and whatever else you might watch. I realize you still take some supplements, but I wondered if changing your diet let you take less D for instance?

Hawthorne is good for high blood pressure.

I love the rsults I get from CoQ10 (absorbable kind) and resveratrol.

Since I spend very little time in the sun, I stick to 1800–2000 IU D3. Eating well for me has little to do with D. I don’t drink milk or OJ or soy or infant formula that has been fortified with D and I eat only 6 oz. or so of wild salmon a week.

@gailcalled And, that has been enough? That wouldn’t come close to enough for me. Yet my husband who takes no extra D, except that little bit in his daily multi, and he does go in the sun on the weekend in the summers, his D is just fine. I find it interesting some people are ok and some aren’t with similar intake. I recently learned D has something to do with cholesterol, so I want to read up on that. I think I have something very screwy and it all is like a jigsaw puzzle. Anyway, thanks for answering my questions.

@geeky_mama I have taken probiotics off and on in the past and I never saw huge differences. Theoretically I would think we have such huge numbers of good bacterias, that even though we might destroy them at times, they should grow back I would think? Not sure. I do take some acidopholus when I take antibiotics now, but when I was a kid I never did, and never had a problem. I did have a very bad problem with dair products for years sent me right to the bathroom within 20 minutes of eating cheese, having some milk, and then I took mega antibiotics for a different problem, totally unrelated. Super high doses intravenous and then more antibiotics followed up and I had a vaginal yeast infection supposedly very bad according to my doctor from the meds so I took an antifungal, sporonox for a week, and during the time I also took some probiotics (but obviously the probiotics were not enough to avoid the yeast infection. Anyway, somewhere during all this mess my lactose/dairy problem dissappeared. I really think one of the antibiotics cured it, but I can’t be sure. I only tell the story because any time you take a med in the future for whatever, try also to pay attention if it improves your stomach troubles temporarily. You might accidently find a cure.

@JLeslie: if it weren’t enough, I would be taking more.

I take a prescription strength probiotic called VSL#3 DS. I’m pretty sure there’s a less powerful version that does not require a prescription. It has helped me a bit.

Thanks everyone.. looks like I have more research, a blood test and a chat with a doctor in my near future before I make a decision.