Type 1 - Connect

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  • 1.  Vitamins for Type1's

    Posted 09-01-2023 15:13
    Hi Crispin,
    Vitamins and supplements are great if they work for you, yet there are so many variables related with every Type1 and the efficacy of the tablets, supplements etc for every individual.  Who really knows without going to the doctor the placebo effect or side effects of many of these supplements?  Type1's being extremely vulnerable due to chronic health problems are fair game to these huge multinational vitamin industries. 
    It can be  really difficult to work out the snake oil from the effective vitamins and supplements.  Many chemist supplements  need minimal TGA, FDA approval and these multinational companies  market their wares with shareholder profits at the forefront of the minds. 

    I take vitamin D on my doctors advice and also calcium tablets for strengthening bones. Others such as folates are considered medically advantageous. It's certainly worthwhile and can help the budget by checking first with an endocrinologist the best vitamins and supplements for your health. Also, I have found  a vast amount of scientific literature on each of the vitamins on google research, some of the results being pretty inconclusive. My dietician at the hospital told me that rolled oats will bring down cholesterol. I have been making my porridge for many years. All the best.

    Two interesting articles below.

    "The vitamin and supplement industry in the United States is huge, generating revenues of $140.3 billion USD in 2020. The industry includes conventional supplements like multivitamins but also encompasses other dietary and herbal products such as sports nutrition products, skin care formulas, and Eastern remedies such as Ginseng and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). With such a large market size there are clear financial incentives for suppliers to promote their products as treating a variety of ailments, however, not all supplements are created equal." 

    "Half of all American adults-including 70 percent of those age 65 and older-take a multivitamin or another vitamin or mineral supplement regularly. The total price tag exceeds $12 billion per year-money that Johns Hopkins nutrition experts say might be better spent on nutrient-packed foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.

    In an editorial in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine titled "Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements," Johns Hopkins researchers reviewed evidence about supplements, including three very recent studies:

    • An analysis of research involving 450,000 people, which found that multivitamins did not reduce risk for heart disease or cancer.
    • A study that tracked the mental functioning and multivitamin use of 5,947 men for 12 years found that multivitamins did not reduce risk for mental declines such as memory loss or slowed-down thinking.
    • A study of 1,708 heart attack survivors who took a high-dose multivitamin or placebo for up to 55 months. Rates of later heart attacks, heart surgeries and deaths were similar in the two groups."


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    Michael
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  • 2.  RE: Vitamins for Type1's

    Posted 11-01-2023 12:05
    I take vitamins and am very happy to do so. On reading your article maybe I should not be taking vitamins, but then, I will be. Your article I find a bit over the top and maybe I probably need to be re-educated. I will keep taking my Q10 for the heart. So far it hasn't caused a problem. Keep it simple is not a bad idea for some of us.

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    Janet
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  • 3.  RE: Vitamins for Type1's

    Posted 12-01-2023 06:25

    Hi Michael et al.,
    I agree with you totally. There is no evidence that all these supplements do anything to improve the human condition if one's diet is varied. All the essentials are delivered through it. Vegetables, nuts, fruit, meats etc deliver the goods. 


    With the billions spent on supplements through pedaling fear, we are producing the most expensive urine in the world. 


    regards



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    David McKinnon
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  • 4.  RE: Vitamins for Type1's

    Posted 14-01-2023 08:11
    Hi Folks
    At risk of being sent to the naughty corner..................
    A few stats to ponder:
    Diabetes increase from1958 to 2009: .5% to 21% US

    Decrease in mineral content of of USA soil 1910(450PPM) to  2006(40PPM)
    https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcanamaze.com%2Fsoil-mineral-depletion%2F&psig=AOvVaw3hy5SnLN9UMvNJObBx_-iY&ust=1673727762587000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCNiR_fmvxfwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

    Are the vitamins and minerals in sufficient quantities in the food these days? If so where did the plants get them. 

     USA vaccines for children 1962(5) 2018(75) https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fus4mf%2Fstatus%2F1235616834608680960&psig=AOvVaw1_439qTMQo6x3Qip7aM35a&ust=1673727302616000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCODhxZuuxfwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

    Pollution greatly increased in the last 100 years too.

    Any connections there?
    Or is the problem just belief in natural therapy rather than total reliance on allopathy?
    Do we need to look at data more closely?
    Do we need vitamins and minerals?
    Of course.
    Best place is food.
    What if they are not in big enough supply in the food we eat?
    How do we know?
    You go to a doctor and get a drug to fix something and if it does not work the dr tries something else. Do likewise?
    I read up on what vits and mins do and what you need and try things.
    So I have expensive urine. Who cares. And what if they are placebos...great...placebos often work.....belief!
    I also grow much of my own food.
    And try to keep it as simple as possible.

    Vitamin: Vita(alive) Min(mineral) Bioavailability of many minerals increases exponentially when in a living form like fruit , vitamins(esp natural and in whole food) and apparently  essential oils (natural).

    Linus Pauling - Wikipedia
    Check Linus Pauling out if you want to know if Vitamins are handy> Esp vitamin C.






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    Cheers
    Cris
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  • 5.  RE: Vitamins for Type1's

    Posted 15-01-2023 12:21
    Vitamin supplements are only of use if there is a deficiency and the focus has been on how good they are. however if you have too much it can also cause severe problems.
    The fat soluble vitamins A, D and E are not peed out as the water soluble ones are (C and B) but accummulate in the body. In Hypervitaminosis A for instance it is mainly stored in the liver and can cause numerous problems relating to the skin, bones, vision and brain and can damage the baby if taken by the pregnant mother. It is recommended not to use the skin creams with retinol when pregnant. The early polar explorers discovered the other side of Vitamin A when eating the livers of seals and polar bears and the dogs who had eaten the livers of seals. Toxicity can be acute if you have too much at once or chronic if accummulated over a long period of time. Recently there have been accounts of excess B vitamins causing hospitalisation. B5 particularly can cause a range of symptoms. There are recommended daily intakes for all these supplements and exceeding these, thinking if some is good more must be better, can be dangerous. Unfortunately, as Michael said the companies that produce these are not regulated in the same way as medicines so the manufacturing is not scrutinised. You do not know what is in the tablets but can only hope the more reputable companies are doing the right thing. I have been low in vitamin D and so I do take that  but that is all. Everything is toxic it is just a matter of dose is the mantra of toxicologists. 
    cheers

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    Judith P
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  • 6.  RE: Vitamins for Type1's

    Posted 15-01-2023 13:13
    may I ask as to what credentials all of these scribes have re vitamins? I take vitamins and I am under 4 specialists one very good GP and not one has told me to stop taking my vitamins. Guess what I will listen to them before I believe anything written in a forum.
    Janet





  • 7.  RE: Vitamins for Type1's

    Posted 15-01-2023 13:26
    Hi Janet If you have been prescribed vitamins then for you that is obviously what you need. Taken at the right doses and as required is not a problem. It is just when people tout using mega doses that issues can arise.
    As far as credentials I have a degree in veterinary science and practised as a veterinary surgeon - hypervitaminosis A is a problem in cats which get addicted to eating liver and won’t eat anything else. I also have a masters of Science from the royal postgraduate medical school in London in Experimental pathology toxicology and a PhD in ecotoxicology I have also apart from veterinary practice worked at the APVMA assessing and evaluating veterinary drug manufacture.
    Regards Judith