Just curious. I'm taking One-a-Day for men. It comes in a gummi. It tastes so much like a regular gummi that I'm starting to wonder if it's too good to be true. Seriously, I have to be careful not to enjoy the flavor too much.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/doctor...g-money-on-vitamin-supplements-1.1596141

Doctors urge public to stop 'wasting money' on vitamin supplements

I take good old fashioned cod liver oil and recently added turmeric capsules. Aim for daily, don't always make it.
Do see a difference in joint pain (inflammation in finger joints and one knee - some from acquired damage, some from generally getting old. )

Most supplements have little to no demonstrable effect in studies conducted on them.

The only things I've seen which do have a demonstrable effect are ginseng and turmeric.

Both have been confirmed to have an identifiable positive effect on health in double blinded studies.

In the case of ginseng, it has been proven to reduce susceptibility to influenza by about half, as well as shorten recovery time to half that of placebo. It is worth checking out.

I take a multi, B-complex, Potassium, Magnesium and D3.

Nah, I eat a healthy daily diet (plenty of fruits and vegetables) so I figure I'm getting what I need. Also, I have none of those white lines in my fingernails (whatever that means, I forget).

Trying to up my potassium and magnesium (and water) due to severe muscle cramps. I have the Mg chew supplements, but now I'm just eating bananas, grapefruit, strawberries and drinking Vitamin Water a few times a week. Muscle Milk after a workout a couple times a week. Easier to work it into your diet since you have to eat anyway than pay for those expensive pills and chews. I see nothing wrong with it though.
I also cook with a good bit of garlic, olive oil and almost no salt. Try to eat fish once a week.

Not a fish eater, so I take a fish oil capsule, once a day for cholesterol. Don't have a cholesterol problem and don't know if the capsules help keep it under control, but figure it can't hurt.

I take some supplements but not vitamin supplements as i eat healthy meals and generous amounts of various fresh fruits and vegetables each day and do not need vitamin supplements. My mother who is 94 yrs old has never taken vitamin supplements in her life

Actually, that was only five doctors and the health issues that they studied were very specific.

Cocaine problem?

Lack of any white in your nails means your nails are growing slowly. It's fairly likely you have a deficiency of certain foods/minerals/vitamins, or you may just be getting old. The larger the whites at the bottom of your nails are, the faster that nail is growing.

I take Melatonin every night to help with a bad insomnia problem. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but it seems to help. I take prescription level potassium liquid because my blood tests keep saying I am low. I asked my doctor and pharmacist if an over the counter potassium supplement would do, and they both said it would not. Years ago I got behind the Linus Pauling massive vitamin C supplement thing. That kind of faded away. One thing is for sure, Vitamins and other supplements are getting expensive.

Nah, if I were doing coke, I'd be skinny! [<-- EDIT: Oops, your comment wasn't directed to me (that is, about me), sorry. ]

Someone asked me recently if I ever smell pot at these local theater Rock shows I see frequently. Nope, unlike the arena concerts, the places are just too small to not be noticed. Then I thought, even if it became legal, I'd never do it, although I wouldn't mind a little nostalgic second-hand vapor. Other than wanting to hang on to the precious remaining brain cells I have left, the last thing I need right now is to have the munchies!



I looked up what I was referring to...

"White lines on the fingernails can mean a variety of things. The most common is caused by trauma to the nail (hitting it on things), but it can also be due to a zinc deficiency. If it is caused by lack of zinc eat plenty of red meat, poultry, and nuts."

I eat plenty of nuts, also oysters and pumpkin seeds. Probably why my nails are clear is because I have no zinc deficiency.

But yes, I am getting old.

Speaking of age, we've had family visiting lately to check out the in-law suite addition to our house. I've been catching up with first cousins around my age (50) and some are dealing with potentially life-threatening issues. I think we're on the verge of collectively saying, "Enough already!" and making wide-spread drastic lifestyle changes. This can't continue.

Speaking of possible placebo effect, I don't question it, I just eat the healthiest that I can...

If you've got small horizontal lines in your nails you've probably mashed your fingers around the nail matrix (base of the nail), trauma shows up as white lines a few weeks later and will disappear as the nail grows out, then you can cut it off. Even light trauma like flicking a hard surface can cause it even though you don't feel pain. No big deal most of the time.

Vertical lines in your nails may represent something more serious and you should research it on the net and consult a doctor the next time you're at a clinic if you have these - some vertical-stripe or vertical ridged nail abnormalities can be good indicators of fairly serious health issues like liver or kidney problems. They can also be benign, for example as a result of a past matrix trauma like cutting your finger with a kitchen knife (Been there). If the cut goes deep enough you may get a permanent ridge growing out from where you got cut.

Thanks for the info, VF9_Longbow. Just to clarify, I have no white lines in my nails, they're completely clear. I use to get them years ago, though.

White marks on nails are mostly a deficiency of minerals and vitamins rather than a serious health issue related to liver function or kidneys. As far as supplements go it really has to do with what you are choosing to consume. What I'm trying to showcase here is that this is pretty much a versatile subject, hence most of the cheap and unreliable complex vitamin supplements can't really compare to the superiority of Biotin as preventive supplements which has proven through clinical trials and various studies to benefit the body in so many ways.

FWIW: I've been on a ketogenic nutrition plan for about 40 years now (I had hit 220lbs vs nominally perfect 137) -- got down to 137 in 10 months. It seems to be working -- no serious health issues (unlike all my same age friends) -- weight good (now 144) -- quite athletic for my age.

For those interested: Ketogenic nutrition is based on studies that indicate the modern dietary issue is excess carbohydrate -- particularly refined carbohydrate (flour) and sugar. Carbohydrate from eating vegetables in proportion is NOT bad. Well thought out vegetarian diets are healthy. Ketogenic nutrition plans kill hunger pangs and keep the body using fat properly -- versus "storing it as waistline".



As a part of that, since my teenage years (longer than 40 years ago ), I have always taken vitamin, mineral, and fish oil supplements. If one does the math, one sees that one has to really pick foods well to meet all the vitamin and mineral requirements -- or just buy the supplements.

Nah, never.
A healthy and balanced diet is much more fun for my taste buds.

Cheers,
Slug