Vitamins

Good ready meals are natural foods, but prepared ready to eat. They are not all stuffed full of fat and additives.

There are good additives (ie ascorbic acid or vitamin c) and not so good ones. There is a tendency to tar all of them with the same brush, and to want to call all additives "E-numbers" and avoid them all, but those with E numbers are those additives which are permitted by the EU.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly of Food Additives lists separately the useful additives and those that are known to have drawbacks.

starbird Who are "they" and what are probiotics?
They also recommend probiotics and fermented food, especially if you have been on antibiotics as that destroys the good bacteria apparently.

Sweetness I cannot imagine what the response of your GP was if you visited to ask him/her if you should take supplements.

The supplement industry is alive and doing well on GN.

I wouldn't lump ready meals together with junk food. You can get excellent ready meals, with no artificial additives at all. Just add your own vegetables and you're away.

Regarding good gut bacteria, I have read that eating whole natural foods help to keep it healthy whereas ready meals and junkfood destroy it because our body is confused by additives. Don't know if it's true or not, but eating proper food and lots of veg has to be good. They also recommend probiotics and fermented food, especially if you have been on antibiotics as that destroys the good bacteria apparently.

Oh no! It's on top of the chest of drawers in the spare bedroom. (out of sight, out of mind) I'd better check that!

It'll probably be out of date now anyway, jingl. Is it in the fridge?

Oh .'eck! Anya's post about gut bacteria has reminded me. I bought some jollop just before Xmas which you swallow down first thing in the morning to encourage the good bacteria. Ana probably remembers what I mean. The reviews say it tastes horrible, so I really don't want to drink it. Why did I go and buy it?!

Emelle19 I only take cod liver oil. I never get colds either. All those pills and other stuff must cost you a fortune - but not as much as a cruises I guess.

I agree somewhat with your comment Ajanela - but so much of our food these days is processed and generically altered that much of the goodness we hope for isn't necessarily available from our food any more - hence the rise in popularity of eating organic everything! It just gets harder and harder to get the necessary vitamins we need from our food. I do believe in vitamin supplements and I start everyday with a green shake made from kale or spinach, a banana, and some berries and all blended together with almond milk. To that I add a concoction of vitamin D, a probiotic capsule, a garlic capsule and a cumin capsule - all mixed with the green shake. This is my daily breakfast and has been for about 4 years. It's a wonderful start to the day and - for me - this vitamin routine has improved my energy level, my joints and aches and pains, my resistance to colds and flu, and my outlook on life. I have to say I feel better now than I did a decade ago. Us grans should just do whatever works for them - and this concoction works wonders for meat 73.

I take Calcium and also Vitamind D. I don't take Vit D in the summer. I also take Co-enzyme Q10 because it is recommended if you take Statins ( which I do) and a VitB complex.
I think it is best to get a blood test for the GP to see if you are low on any of the vitamins before taking any. I also find the more exercise I do, the less tired I am and sleep better too.

My solution to bit D deficiency is to go on cruises to sunny places. If that doesn't work I'll consider tablets! ( prefer cruises)

Sorry have to ask, what does one do as an active anti vegetarian ?

Something which is becoming clearer the more we learn is the function that gut bacteria play in our general good health. Certain conditions, such as a tendancy to diabetes and/or obesity, is being linked to poor variety of gut flora.

What is uncertain is which comes first. Or how much we can influence our gut bacteria ....hmm]

annifrance while I am not a vegetarian, I have friends who are, and I respect their choice not to eat dead animals. I find the phrase 'anti-vegetarian' offensive and unneccessay.

You eat what you want to eat and let others choose for themselves.

loved cheeselets and can get something similar here in France, so have been munching them all Christmas.

have not come across the natural snake venom or Ebola here! However some mushrooms can be lethal. I love the way the pharmacists here have a display of them during the Autumn, and all pharmacists have to do regular training in fungi and can identify them if you take them in. Another things the French are good at. Probably saves their wonderful health service a pot of money.

how did we get from vitamins to cheeselets and mushrooms?

Ps.. I remember cheeselets!

Just been to dr to see if I should buy vitamins or minerals ..cos it's a minefield of how do you know what u need .. blood tests shown very low in vit D.. So am going with that .. also bought a nutribullet..

Blood test showed I was low on vitamin d, NHS prescribed version much stronger and cheaper than ones on chemist shelf. Teenage son was also very low on vit d back in the day, but he was nocturnal at that time.
Do remember when I was young and doing a press trip with a media doc who said all the multi vits and extra things I was taking cos I'd read about them in the press were basically just being peed out by my body. A good diet was the key.
However, tonight, I have eaten just Cheeselets -'remember them?

My GP told me to take minerals daily. He said multivitamins shouldn't be necessary with a varied diet but quite often your diet can be lacking in
Minerals. So I take one tablet a day. I get mine from Asda. I do feel a great deal better but I don't really feel it's down to the minerals! When you feel really lacking in energy anything is worth a try.

@annifrance - agree with you all the way, with a reservation for the word 'natural'. So many terrible things are 'natural' -- snake venom, Ebola etc...

my doctor years ago said vitamin supplements were a waste of money and having spent out on supplements now and then with absolutely no effect I agree with her that eat a normal balanced diet of fresh food then you shouldn't need supplements anyway. Excess vitamins in the system go straight down the 'pan' and with them the pound notes spent on them!

I am a normally healthy 66 yr old and I eat what I cook from scratch with no processed food which I have always done ( and yes I did work and run a home) and brought my children up to eat that way, including what they didn't like!

We have a alimentary system and dental set that dictates that we should be omnivores and should eat accordingly. I am actively anti vegetarian as I believe that Nature intended us to eat as ominivores, and not doing so could unbalance nature if too many people became vegetarians. Why on earth not eat animal proteins and then have to spend money on supplements.

If I do need to take anything it tends to be natural things like honey and lemon, orange juice, and for really bad chesty coughs then cinnamon, camphor and eucalyptus essential oils on a teaspoon of honey. works a treat.

and yes we do need sunshine to keep up the Vitamin D, but like everything else - in moderation.

My doctor advised me to take Vit D for aching legs. My level was tested and found to be ok but on the low side. This was in September after we'd been on holiday. My doctor thought my level should be much higher for the time of year. My legs are much improved.

I've had cancer and surgery. Low vitamin D has been talked about in relation to cancer but I'm not sure if it means anything. Levels can also drop after major surgery.

Vitamin B12 is another vitamin that can cause older people problems, or lack of it should I say.

I take an eye health supplement, Q10 and zinc + vit c which my doctor recommends against colds and flu, also at the first hint of a cold or just to use up veg in the fridge, usually once a week, I make soup which is very similar to Emelle19's conconction: onion, garlic, celery, fresh ginger, turmeric, carrot, all sweated then simmered together in a very good quality chicken stock, (Usually bought although i do use the bones to make stock when I buy chicken), then at the end I throw in any green veg I have - I always have frozen spinach on hand if nothing else- and lots of herbs, fresh or dried. I liquidize it then eat as is, or you could add some chickpeas, kidney beans or lentils etc. This is from a middle eastern recipe where it is eaten with a dollop of plain yogurt.
I also have flaxseed sprinkled on my porridge every morning, this is a real superfood, google it to see the benefits.

My nails go through phases of splitting and breaking, then being stronger for a while, usually in the summer.
It is not connected to whether or not I'm taking any supplements, I haven't taken any for a while yet my nails seem stronger. Normally at this time of year they are flaky and split.

Re Emelie19 Elixir. I eat a lot of garlic with my meals. Eat died ginger instead of sweets, add turmeric to rice and use a lot of black pepper so it must have the same effect. Am healthy apart from the osteo arthritis.