Nutritional Supplements
Nutrional supplements
as categorized here, include vitamin and mineral supplements.
Herbs are covered in a separate section because they
are quite different in effect and issues.
There are three schools
of thought on nutritional supplements:
- The first is that our
diet is so deficient due to soil depletion and chemicals
in our foods which interfere with our body's ability
to use nutrients, that everyone needs supplements, and
everyone needs to take a multivitamin, etc.
- The second is that you
don't really need it, you might as well take a multi-vitamin
as "insurance" to make sure you get all the
nutrients you need.
- The third is that the
best source of nutrients is actually food, and that
if you eat a whole food diet with very few prepared
foods, and as many fresh foods as you can reasonably
incorporate into your diet, that you are going to get
what you need more effectively than from any supplement.
I subscribe to the third
theory, and I have good reasons. I do realize though,
that there are certain circumstances in which a supplement
is necessary - some forms of metabolic disorders, certain
auto-immune diseases, and some types of malabsorption
syndromes cause chronic deficiencies in specific nutrients.
The answer is NOT a
multi-vitamin! In fact, there are very few situations
where a multi-vitamin helps, and a good many in which
it harms!
You see, multi-vitamins
contain just a handful of commonly known nutrients.
They are artificially produced, not absorbed well, and
those that DO absorb will give you an overdose rather
than make up for a deficiency. This is because the nutrients
in a multi-vite are the SAME ones that all of the mass
produced "enriched" foods contain.
Processed foods have
the natural nutrients stripped out, then a handful of
well known ones added back in. This results in too much
of some things, and none of others, which means if you
eat a lot of processed foods, you are already in a state
of imbalance. Take a multivitamin on top of that, and
you don't end up improving the situation, you just make
it worse! You are still lacking the lesser known elements
which are only present in whole and fresh foods, and
which are responsible for many long term health benefits.
And even when you are
deficient in just one or two nutrients, taking high
doses of those may not make any difference at all, depending
on where the problem is originating.
You see, if your body
is not absorbing a nutrient properly, then taking more
of it is unlikely to help, because your body won't absorb
that either. There are very few situations where supplements
actually help, and when they do, very large doses are
needed because the nutrients are so badly absorbed in
their artificial form. Sometimes, the solution to a
deficiency is actually to take a DIFFERENT nutrient
than the one you are deficient in. Nutrients interact
with one another, which makes the whole picture more
complex.
I take a few very carefully
selected supplements. One, is biotin. I take it because
low levels are associated with genetic abnormalities
in babies when the mother has a deficiency. I gave birth
to an infant with a genetic disorder.
Biotin deficiency is
also associated with neuromuscular disorders (which
I have symptoms of - doctors have so far been unable
to isolate the cause), peripheral parasthesias (also
an issue for me), and with glucose use within the
body (I also have blood sugar irregularities). It also
is associated with some types of dermatitis - I have
had skin problems as long as I have had muscle problems,
so these things, combined with a child with a genetic
disorder, suggested that this was a reasonable element
to supplement. In addition, microflora in the large
intestine help to increase biotin within the body -
for people with colitis or other colon conditions, marginal
biotin deficiency may occur - since I also have colitis,
there was another reason to suggest a reason for a deficiency.
My muscle problems have slightly improved with Biotin
supplementation. (People with biotin related
symptoms should also avoid consumption of raw egg white,
because it binds to the biotin and prevents its absorption
even in healthy people.)
Anyway, I only used
it after a lot of research and after being able to see
that most of the symptoms associated with that specific
deficiency were there. Since intestinal disorders can
contribute to a deficiency, there was a reason why supplementation
might help - it was not an issue of my body not being
able to USE it, rather of not being able to produce
it in the way that most do.
So, what does all this
have to do with infertility and miscarriage? I began
taking biotin because genetic anomalies are a common
cause of miscarriage. With other nutrient supplements,
you'll have to be extremely careful and be sure that
the ones you choose are chosen because of genuine need.
Overdoses are as likely to complicate miscarriage and
infertility as to help, so go for good natural nutrition
instead.
Do NOT take a prenatal
vitamin "just to make sure". Eat well instead
- whole grains instead of white, brown rice instead
of white, skin-on potatoes, fresh or frozen veggies and fruits
instead of canned, and as few processed foods as possible.
If you are at risk for giving birth to a baby with anencephaly,
then by all means, take your folic acid, but skip the
multi-vite unless you have a verified malabsorption
syndrome. It is more likely to harm than help, especially
if you are eating an unbalanced diet anyway! If you
are eating healthy, then you really don't need the multi-vite.
During my first eight
full-term pregnancies, I had daily migraines and
nine month morning sickness. I sort of figured that
my body simply did not do pregnancy well, and that migraines
and upset stomach were an inevitable factor of
pregnancy for me. Then during my last pregnancy, I did
not take prenatals - I had discovered in between the
pregnancies that every time I tried to take a vitamin
or mineral supplement, I got headaches. So I did not
take the prenatal vitamins either. I had virtually no
morning sickness, and headaches only about once every
couple of weeks. What a difference! But boy did the
doctors have fits about it when I stated that I did
not, and WOULD not, take prenatal vitamins!
Vitamin supplements
are not insurance. They are a myth, and a harmful one.
Learn all you can, and be selective about what you take.
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