Multivitamins, but Not Cocoa, Tied to Slowed Brain Aging

I take a daily multivitamin and oesomeprazole...I'm hoping the first one cancels the side effects other!
I would be a bit wary off this study, which is apparently sponsored by Glaxo Smith Kline, the makers of (surprise, surprise!) multivitamins !

side effects of the other !

Took Lansoprazole for several years with no problems! Then a very young locum doctor who I have never seen since decided that I should stop Lansoprazole & start Omeprazole! Only reason was ‘well you have been on it for a while’! What made him think I should come off it was never explained nor put on my notes! Several months later I could not keep even plain water down & ended up in Hospital to try to find out why my kidneys were failing! After many tests it was found the Omeprazole was the cause as this is a common side effect of Omeprazole! So am now very careful what I take now, always asking my favourite doctor for their opinion! Pays to be careful!

What is it about the 'azole' drugs that is worrying?

I have been taking Carbimazole for years (for Graves Disease), and whereas the list of possible side-effects is long, there is nothing about impaired cognitive function that I have seen.

Thank you for this link Blossoming, its a very interesting study. I probably wont start taking a multi-vitamin however. I try hard to include as wide a range of food as possible in my diet and supplement with specific vitamins and minerals I think I am lacking. I take a vitamin D supplement every day (25ug or 1,000 IU), calcium and zinc every other day and a B vitamin mix if I dont eat much meat for a while. Three months ago I started on Apple Cider Vinegar and it has transformed my life. Before I was taking antacids nearly every night in order to get any sleep at all and I havent taken a single one since I started on the vinegar. Its amazing. Apparently some older people dont make enough stomach acid and cant digest their food properly, hence the indigestion. Taking antacids makes this worse, whereas the cider vinegar corrects it. Not so great for the teeth which means it has to be very watered down and I rinse my mouth out after drinking it.

Doodledog

What is it about the 'azole' drugs that is worrying?

I have been taking Carbimazole for years (for Graves Disease), and whereas the list of possible side-effects is long, there is nothing about impaired cognitive function that I have seen.

I can't pretend to be an expert on "azole" drugs, nor to know everything about side effects.

However, I do know of one side effect.

I was prescribed Ticagrelor and Aspirin after a heart attack, as a preventative measure. However, both can cause gastric problems, so I was prescribed Lansoprazole to protect my stomach. This is normal practice.

Unfortunately, Lansoprazole can interfere with absorption of Vitamin B12, as can Metformin, which I also take for diabetes. I had a number of symptoms of Vit B12 deficiency, but my blood plasma results were satisfactory. My dietary intake of Vit B12 is OK, so deficiency was dismissed by my GP. Fortunately, a new GP was better informed and explained that although I had enough Vitamin B12 in my blood, it probably wasn't being absorbed, which was almost certainly caused by Lansoprazole and Metformin. She took a gamble and started a course of Vitamin B12 injections, which have been a game-changer for me.

Maybe the "azole" drugs (PPIs) interfere with the absorption of other vitamins and minerals.

That's interesting Growstuff. I'm wondering could my omeprazole cause extreme tiredness.

nadateturbe

That's interesting Growstuff. I'm wondering could my omeprazole cause extreme tiredness.

No idea, I'm afraid, but a full blood test would probably be a good starting point.

Personally, I wouldn't start multivitamins before knowing what's going on inside my body. It's always seemed to me that multivitamins that are a bit scattergun and many of the components aren't needed. Excess Vitamins B and C will be excreted, but excess A, D, E or K could cause problems.

I do take Vitamin D because I was diagnosed with low levels a couple of years ago and they're recommended in winter for everybody in the northern hemisphere.

A friend of mine was prescribed ibuprofen without also being given omeprazole and ended up with a life threatening stomach ulcer.

I started taking Wellwoman 70 after someone on GN said her nails had improved greatly on them (thank you, whoever it was, I’m afraid I omitted to make a note of the name). My nails, which had been incredibly weak and flaky, have improved greatly. And my diet is pretty good, cook from scratch almost daily, lots of veg and fish as DH is pescatarian, some meat though not often red meat, and Vit D and Selenium supplements as these are known UK deficiencies , especially Vit D in winter. So interested to see the OP’s link, though I note the caveats about sponsorship. I also take omeprazole!

I take vit D, a co-enzyme Q10, and collagen. The coQ10 was recommended to my DH after he had bypass surgery, and once I read up on it I thought it would do me some good as well. The vit D has many good studies showing it can prevent some diseases, including MS which my father had and may be hereditary.

We do what we can to keep healthy and active.

I used to take sage and turmeric tablets to help my memory but it didn't improve. My diet isn't good I know so I'm trying to improve it by making more dinners with veg. Less pizzas. I'm only 64 I've been on heart meds since 51. I must start and get walking instead of using the car. I've thought of taking vitamins as young colleagues take them and it's made me think perhaps I should too.

Omeprazole is a horrible drug, my DH takes it and I am sure it causes more issues. Fortunately I don’t need anything like these drugs, just take Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother every day to regulate stomach acids and aid digestion. Also I am zero sugar and low carbs, all of which help to fight off dementia etc.

14.35. jocork.... Thank you for the correction on my befuddled post. I did realise shortly after.
60% does seem a very high result though.

Shropshirelass

Omeprazole is a horrible drug, my DH takes it and I am sure it causes more issues. Fortunately I don’t need anything like these drugs, just take Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother every day to regulate stomach acids and aid digestion. Also I am zero sugar and low carbs, all of which help to fight off dementia etc.

Do you have any link to research about low carbs and dementia? I must admit I've never come across anything.

I do take multivitamins BUT I get so befuddled by advice. We are told (by various bods) to take Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Q10, Selenium, Turmeric, B vitamins, Ginko Biloba, Iron, Ginseng.... the list goes on and on... I don't know what I should be doing!

Applegran

And I take Vitamin D every day plus calcium and vitamin K, which I am told helps the body to access the vitamin d.

I take vitamin D every day, plus vitamin K, like Applegran does. I take a low dose, well it’s actually the recommended daily dose, because often vitamin supplements are in far too high a dosage.

Vitamin D isn’t a vitamin but a hormone ( I believe) and is needed for just about everything in our bodies. According to DrJohn the recommended daily amount is the amount needed to prevent rickets, and a much larger dose is needed to protect against respiratory infections etc. I take 4,000iu a day but combine it with K2. I wish I could have a blood test to check my Vit D level but don’t want to bother my GP with stuff like that at the moment. I know Dr Fauci in America said he was taking 6,000 in a day which seemed excessive at the time so I stuck to 4,000. It also protects against MS and prostate problems I believe. I also take zinc and Vit B and a cheaper version of Maccushield for my eyes, plus a magnesium tablet. Oh, and turmeric in the form of golden paste. David Davis, much as I dislike him politically, is a great advocate for taking VitD supplements.

I understand the need to take Vitamin D, although I'm a little cynical about whether it's truly the wonder drug people claim. If you're taking 4,000iu a day MayBee70, you're unlikely to be deficient. You should have your calcium levels checked because that's a high dose and Vitamin D toxicity can lead to a build up of calcium, which can cause bone pain and kidney problems.

As a matter of interest, why do you take zinc, Vitamin B (presumably all of them), Vitamin K, turmeric and magnesium?

I tend to go by what DrJohn advises ( although I don’t follow him blindly). Magnesium because I get leg cramps. Zinc because anything to do with respiratory tract problems seems to have zinc in it (eg Strepsils). The VitK prevents the build up a calcium I believe. I wasn’t sure about K2 at the start of the pandemic and took it intermittently but now take it a couple of times a week. My daughter has been taking 4,000 in of VitD throughout the pandemic. I was concerned that it was a high dose but she does have several friends who are doctors or nurses and she does consult with them. Her husband has been taking the same amount and he’s currently recovering from covid and hasn’t had it too bad. Whether the VitD helped I don’t know. I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone else to take what I do and I’d love to have a blood test done. But I do think that a lot of people are Vit D deficient and the amount advised by the government is too small. I’ve always tended to take various supplements throughout my adult life and the pandemic has probably made me do so even more. It all goes back to a puppy I bred that was a swimmer and wouldn’t have survived. But I gave him halibut oil and it was like a miracle watching him day by day become normal again. I realised how great an effect a deficiency can have on the body and how easy it can be to rectify.

The turmeric was advised when my last dog had a tumour so I started giving it to her. I was going to have radiotherapy on some Ledderhose nodules on my foot and asked the doctor if I should stop taking turmeric and they said I should. So I thought that it must be doing something if I needed to stop taking it so cancelled the radiotherapy and continued to take the turmeric and, thus far, the nodules in both my hands and feet haven’t progressed.

The vitamin K is needed because it works alongside the vitamin D. It prevents the calcification in the veins and arteries which cause blockages. However ideally, only recommended daily amounts should be taken.

I was worried when I read that VitK thickened the blood which is why I stopped taking it, but there seems to be a difference between K1 and K2.

Sorry, I'm another who will read the link in detail later. I wanted to add that the trouble with all research is that it tries to smooth out anomalies so that all are treated as one type, plus research into drugs, for instance, is based on a male model and it is known that women react differently to medication, not least because of hormones and body weight.

So, as this thread shows, many of us take multivitamins and supplements because we have found them useful. For instance, I know that fish oil supplements make my memory better and my thinking sharper along with helping my arthritic knees. I also find turmeric helpful for general aches and joint pains, if I don't take it, those problems return. I also take b vitamins, especially B12 which a nursing friend recommended as being a key one for all bodily processes.

I also take an expensive probiotic from a company who make carefully researched products for the body building and fitness industry and those have completely turned around the digestive problems I was having. I can't tell you the relief and pleasure I now get from not being bothered by IBS/whatever type problems that were making life a misery.

So thanks for the link, always good to see these things but I like to think and notice for myself not just meekly follow instructions that may make things worse. And I do know all about the placebo effect!

Sorry, I take magnesium too, helps me sleep and helps with stiffness after exercise.