Thursday, October 1, 2009

supplements

Last night we took a short class on supplements with a registered clinical dietician. we have taken several classes from this person and we trust her. She knows her stuff. She started off the class by telling us that she was not speaking to any specific individual's needs as far as the info went and that without knowing an individual's specific health issues and seeing medical data on that individual she was unable to speak specifically. So this was a general knowledge kind of class that covered her 7 favorite supplements.

The first one we talked about was the general multivitamin. Capsule forms are superior to tablets form. Capsule form are bioavailable or recognizable to our cells. Tablets are not. She had several stories about the tablet form being excreted with the brand name stamp still visible on the pill or a patient of hers who works in a GI lab who says she sees piles of the tablets built up in the intestines just sitting there. She advises to avoid "oxide" forms of minerals. Oxide means rust. It is generally not possible to get a good one a day (single dose) capsule. A gasp sounded throughout the room at this news and those of use who had our vitamins in tow or the books about the vitamins we take (that was me) were asked to look at the label and say what the serving was. Ours was 4 capsules per day to get the full mg listed on the label. I know that with all of the vitamin stuff I have been doing lately I never have paid attention to that but yeah that ours are capsules. Magnesium is important because it allows cells to accept insulin. Avoid oxide or carbonate forms. Look for gluconate,citrate or malate forms. They are better. The oxide and carbonate forms are not used by cells and can cause bad diahria. Magnesium is usually low in people with kidney issues,indigestion issues, problems with foggy brain. It is helpful for high blood pressure,migraines,fibermyalgia and insulin resistance. It is an essential mineral in the body and needed for bone,protein & fatty acid formation. As well as the making of new cells, activating B vitamins,blood clotting, relaxing muscles and forming ATP (the energy our bodies run on). The secretion and action of insulin also requires it. It is found naturally in beans, dark green veggies, fish and meat. It can compete for absorption with other minerals especially calcium. Calcium suprised me.It should be taken alone at least 90 minutes from the taking of anything else which cause another gasp in class. So check those multivitamins. They might contain calcium which causes an interference when taken with other minerals or medicines. It can block absorption. Those women's multivitamins usually have high doses of calcium. Less is best when it is in a multi. we can gemerally only absorb 600 mg at a single dose. Avoid calcium carbonate. Calcium citrate or malate are better Should be a 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to magnisium. It is the most abundant essintial mineral in the body. It is needed to form teeth & bones, required for blood clotting and transmission of sigmals to nerve cells as well as muscle. It is found in tofu,green leafy veggies,sardines & canned salmon. It should not be taken by people with hyperathyroidism or chronic kidney disease without consulting thier doctor. Fish oil is an omega 3 fatty acid. It contains EPA (elcosapentaenoic acid) & DHA(docosahexaeonic acid). It is a regulator of prostaglandins. If prostaglandins rise so does inflamation and pain. EPA competes with arachadoic acids which are bad in the body.Total EPA/DHA should be 2400 mg to 3600 mg. daily. Make sure your fish oil lists the EPA/DHA amounts otherwise what's in it? There are those things on the market. Heavy metals are a normal filler in this supplement and that is not good. Pay attention to the total mg per serving and the total mg of EPA/DHA. EPA in particular causes prostagladins to go down. This is a blood thinner so if you take a blood thinner you must be cautious and consult with your doctor. Cheap fish oil is no good and can cause problems. it should not be taken 10 days before a surgical procedure. Fish oil helps with inflamation pain ,depression, heart disease, high triglycerides and a host of other health issues. CoQ10 is a high strength antioxident. It is also called ubiquinone a name that means widespread b/c it is ubiquitous in the body. It is used by the body to transform food into ATP, the energy our bodies run on. Aging changes our ability to make it naturally as do statins. CoQ10 has the ability to cross into cell walls. It aids the mitocondria in the cells. It is taken generally using body weight as a guide for dosing. So a person weighing i at 150 would take a 150mg dose. Certain health conditions get higher doses. More than 200 mg per day needs to be split up in the day. It is best taken in the morning because it helps us produce energy. It is good for diabetes,congestive heart failure,migraine headaches,high blood pressure. If a person with congestive heart failure takes it they must consult their doctor before discontinuing use.Vitamin D3 is highly bioavailable. D3 in smaller doses is more effective than high doses of D2(this is usually the prescription grade formula) D3 is useful for reducing cancer risks,depression,fibermyalgia pain& bone mass production. Normal ranges have changed and are now between 45 to 100 ug/dl. Getting tested for your level is the only way to know it. The test is called 25-hydroxy-D. If you spend a lot of time outdoors but use sunscreen or immediately shower when you ome in you are not absorbing it from the sun. Vit. D from the sun is absorbed through the skin so it sits there for awhile sometimes. It is ok to take D3 with calcium. It aids in calcium absorbtion. Probiotics are significant in the promotion of the immune system. They aid the villia i the intestines and help keep the microflora in balance. The immune system begins in the gut. Probiotics inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria.promote good digestion, increase the resistance to infections. They produce substances called bacteriocins which act like natural antibiotics and kill undesirable microorganisms. Examples of probiotic strains are Acidophilus,bifidobacterium bifidum,lactobacillus acidophilus,lactobacillus casei. . It is prefered that a variety of strains be take like 10-14 at 20-25 billion strain units per dose. 25 billion VFU's is a good dose. Yogurt only has maybe 5 million units of 1 or 2 strains so it is not significant. Best to take at night and must be protected from the heat. L-Glutamine is an amino acid used to improve gut villi in the small intestine. It helps to restore WBC after chemo and protects against the flu and colds after being exposed. It is an abundant amino acid in the body involved in more metobolic processes than any other amino acid. It is converted to gluclose when the body requires more gluclose as an energy source. It is used by white blood cells and is to important immune function.

So there you go. It was interesting. Hope this is helpful.

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