Do we need supplements

There's no such thing as a superfood. Blueberries it was a while ago. All foods have a share of nutrients but never all of them. The last fruit which had them all and more was the tree of life in the garden of Eden (that pair messed it up for us!). It's difficult finding a supp which is genuine (can we even trust Zoe and the other respected ones?). I take vit D and pop in a magnesum, Zinc, B complex every few days (on the basis ones normal diet is sparodic in taking in nutrients so may as well treat supps the same and no risk of overdosing on them. Cost as well of course. Grow my own veg for most of the year and make own bread form organic flour. Only consume organic oild esp Rapeseed and Olive. Trouble is I LIKE cakes!

effalump I agree with you. This is why I try to grow as much of my own fruit and veg as I can or buy organic.

Doctor has just put me on iron tablets as a blood test showed I am anaemic, with no apparent reason. During the conversation about diet etc. she asked if I drank tea soon after meals. I didn't know that the tea prevents the absorption of iron so now I wait an hour before having a cuppa.

Brigidsdaughter

I used take a lot. Currently I take Vitamin D as I was very deficient a few years back. Plus I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis where low Vit D is a symptom. I also take vitamins for my eyes as Mam had Macular Degeneration and her sister Glaucoma.
In a couple of months I'll be on a food programme by Zoe, linked to Tim Spector and Joinzoe. Their podcasts are fascinating. Definitely worth listening too.
I've been making Kefir and Kombucha for a month or two also

ZOE really is the way forward for health isn’t it. I did complain that their diet recommendations were far too expensive for most people but a recent one was about healthy eating on a budget. I don’t know whether to buy Tim’s book or if it will just end up on the shelf with my other unread books. I just seem to be a podcast person these days.

I used take a lot. Currently I take Vitamin D as I was very deficient a few years back. Plus I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis where low Vit D is a symptom. I also take vitamins for my eyes as Mam had Macular Degeneration and her sister Glaucoma.
In a couple of months I'll be on a food programme by Zoe, linked to Tim Spector and Joinzoe. Their podcasts are fascinating. Definitely worth listening too.
I've been making Kefir and Kombucha for a month or two also

This scientific article claims that blueberries can even be beneficial with osteoarthritis:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6413191/#:~:text=Blueberries%20Improve%20Pain%2C%20Gait%20Performance,with%20Symptomatic%20Knee%20Osteoarthritis%20%2D%20PMC&text=The%20.,gov%20means%20it's%20official.

It appears that even tomatoes aren't really "bad guys":

www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/ss/slideshow-rheumatoid-arthritis-food-myths-and-facts

There are loads of other links about this.

Bijou

I take Vitamin D, turmeric/black pepper, cod liver oil, iron.
Have a Guiness a day. Avoid oranges, blueberries and tomatoes which are bad for arthritis. Found glucosamine useless. Have a lot of salads and an apple a day.

I was suprised to read that. Oranges and blueberries are
good for Arthritis as they contain Vitamin C
Tomatoes are the only bad guys. Please check it out Bijou.

Thank you for all your input, still confused but obviously the one I should continue to take is vitamin D, will do a bit more research on the others

I take Vitamin D3 and have done for very many years. I also take calcium Vitamin B12 and FolicAcid, As advised by a doctor many years ago. I was recently told that I may have Osteoperosis and that is why I take Calcium, I also have AMD.

Before supplementing with magnesium, please Google "dangers of magnesium".

I don’t see how our bodies can get enough VitD is we’re fully clothed. And I wear sun bloc on my face, too.

Yes, I think we need (good quality) supplements because most 'fresh' fruit and veg have either been grown in depleted soil and/or sprayed with chemicals to make them last longer as a lot of them are kept for weeks before being sold.

Yes sugar can crop up in the most unexpected of foods, and one to watch corn syrup!

How can you have zero sugar. There's sugar in milk and all vegetables and fruits? Do you only eat meat?

Yes, we have a good diet, but due to intensive farming of the land meat and veg do not have all of the minerals we need and are lacking. Especially magnesium. We have zero sugar and very low carbohydrates in our diet. Sugars are inflammatory and cause insulin spikes so better off without it.

M0nica

But Yammy what if you are eating far less than you used to? I certainly am. I must be eating half the amont of vitamins etc.

I was told this by the Gp and a nurse at the practice. I was sent for a bone density scan. I suppose they all have their theories.
I am trying to lose weight as I have health problems. The nurse said no fancy diets but smaller portions with plenty of vegetables. Try to make the veg from different groups and be guided by colour. I have lost half a stone since just before Christmas, which included some birthdays as well. I must admit I am still tempted by the biscuit tin!!!!

I take Vitamin D, turmeric/black pepper, cod liver oil, iron.
Have a Guiness a day. Avoid oranges, blueberries and tomatoes which are bad for arthritis. Found glucosamine useless. Have a lot of salads and an apple a day.

I take Vitamin D all year round, as I avoid the sun in summer.
I take glucosamine and chrondoitin, also marine collagen . I was diagnosed with arthritic knees about 20 years ago but since I started these, I am rarely troubled. Though they don't stop me getting arthritis in my finders and wrists when the weather is cold.

Cont. I forgot to add: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/984626?src=WNL_infocu4_230208_MSCPEDIT&uac=193400PJ&impID=5148837&faf=1

NHS advice is for everyone to take vitamin D daily in the colder half of the year - and for those who cover up a lot in summer, like me as I burn easily, they should take it all year round, which I do. I also take vitamin C as my diet is not as varied as it should be, plus I smoke which depletes vitamin C. Vitamins and supplements certaintly have a place, its just a case of finding the right ones for your personal health requirements. Nobody who has reasonably balanced diet should need multivitamins though, no point in taking what is not necessary plus some vitamins can cause unpleasant side effects (such as diahorrea) if you are taking too much of them.

There is a lot of misinformation about this at the moment.

Vit D supplements have not had any statistically significant effect on fracture repair (MDedge News Mengru Wang, MD, MPH, January 20, 2023) or in general ( www.medscape.com/viewarticle/968682) Taking it appears harmless but if you eat butter & cream or drink whole milk from outdoor cows (they need sunlight to make the vit D which is stored in the fats - so not skimmed milk), then you ought not to need supplements. Actually walking in daylight is just getting the light waves directly and you can make your own.

Other supplements may be useful in specific individuals (my DH is bad at absorbing vit C as a couple of people per hundred are. He gets mouth ulcers and we know it is time to boost vit C with supplements, or better, oranges and other fruits (not bananas but they give you potassium).

Vit B12 is usually short in vegans after a couple of years so they need to eat supplements or buy tofu, etc., but those are high carbon demanding and definitely not good for the climate.

Ultra processed foods are nutrient deficient is all minerals and vitamins, but high in sugars, etc. Not good.

Studies have shown that fructose without glucose is cancer causing so maple syrup is a problem there. That's why it was taken out of food for diabetics, where its ultra sweetness replaced a higher concentration of glucose so sweetness could be maintained with fewer calories.

Red meat is cancer causing so fish from sustainable sources is better for a couple of meals a week. Oily fish provide omega 3s
and can also be sustainably sourced. As milk / cheese provide protein, an egg or equivalent meat is enough for adults if vegetables are also eaten as plant protein can provide most of what we need - but not all. Children cannot be reared satisfactorily on a vegan diet. That's why the Japanese who moved to America, with its focus on meat, had taller children.

Most supplements are harmless but too much vit A will turn you yellow as do too many carrots - carotenes. You do need to eat a lot though.

So a rainbow (lots of different colours) diet, with skins on vegetables and most fruits, is the base.

Milk and eggs are produced by cows and hens to grow whole offspring so those foods only miss the vegetable fibre (to exercise our gut muscles,) from a totally balanced diet.

I am nearly 82 and for the past 20 years I have taken Omega 3 oil capsules. I also take folic acid daily as my bowel does not absorb it well . I am fit, healthy and walk my dog twice daily. My vision is good and I've just had new glasses as the ones I got 12 years ago were falling apart. I have no joint problems and no usual aches or pains. I put that down to Omega 3 oil capsules.

I only take prescribed pills as some supplements can interfere with their efficacy.

I am in my 78th year. I take a multi vitamin every am and have done for years. Nothing else. After complaining of tiredness to dr a blood test was done. Everything was fine.
We eat a varied but plain diet so must be getting all I need from that plus the multi vitamin pill.