Posted by Larry Hoover on April 28, 2003, at 10:48:23
In reply to Re: Supplements for a near-beginner?, posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 26, 2003, at 13:01:16
> Thanks for the abstracts, that is interesting to think that most of us are really starving ourselves from the inside out by neglecting these small (but important) details.
For emphasis, I'm repeating this part:
Just for the record, here's the actual zinc intake status for the most recent analytical period. Take note that "adequate" is defined as obtaining 77% of the appropriate age and gender-matched RDA intake from diet, not 100%.
Table 4. Percentage of the U.S. population with "adequate"1 zinc intake, 1988–1994
Age Total Male FemaleAge Total (S.D.) Male (S.D.) Female (S.D.)
2 mo23 55.6 (0.62) 67.1 (0.78) 44.5 (0.87)
2–11 mo2 96.3 (0.57) 96.9 (0.83) 95.6 (0.86)
1–3 y2 18.9 (1.42) 20.4 (1.73) 17.3 (1.63)
4–6 y 51.5 (2.00) 59.2 (2.59) 43.2 (2.58)
7–10 y 77.1 (1.29) 86.9 (1.64) 66.6 (1.94)
11–18 y3 50.5 (1.43) 61.9 (1.64) 38.7 (2.22)
19–50 y3 60.7 (0.85) 76.7 (1.22) 44.6 (1.22)
51–70 y3 51.1 (1.25) 56.8 (1.73) 46.1 (1.66)
71+ y 42.5 (1.67) 43.9 (1.98) 41.5 (2.19)
Pregnant — — 59.4 (3.91)
Lactating — — 51.5 (9.42)1 Based on a total zinc intake at or above 77% of the 1989 RDA age/sex-specific value (National Research Coucil 1989) .
>
> As for my symptoms, they're entirely under control with my prescribed medications, though I hope that my meds could work in tandem with my supplements to provide a better long-term result. My major psychological complaint would be my social anxiety (mostly psychological anxiety, few physical symptoms, coupled with total avoidance of anxiety-provoking situations).Would you say that you have a low startle threshold? Are you sensitive to strong stimuli, e.g. bright light?
Magnesium, fish oil, and phosphatidyl serine will all help with this.
>I also have a bit of a low mood all the time (dysthymia) and a rather flat emotional panorama (schizoid personality disorder).
You said your symptoms are entirely under control. Yes? No? Not meaning any criticism. I'm just not sure if you're pragmatically accepting of less than optimal function.
Selenium has been shown to elevate the mood of normal people, and depressed subjects. The establishment says most people are getting enough, but I say that's bollocks. Just dealing with mercury ingestion may well bind all the available selenium, as selenium forms a covalent bond with mercury and protects against mercury damage. Low thyroid function is associated with chronic selenium deficiency, particularly in that normal circulating levels of thyroid hormones may be present, but activation of T3 may be sub par if selenium stores are low. Selenium is well absorbed from selenium yeast, and less well absorbed from selenium salts.
>Physically, I really can only complain about my fibromyalgia, which is characterized by constant, unrelenting pain all over my body, in the muscles. Lesser symptoms would be chemical sensitivity (light, caffeine, aspartame), nonrestorative sleep, and horrible morning stiffness. Could glucosamine/chondroitin be of any help here?
I well know about fibro.
Fibro has been linked to hypercoagulability of the blood, and particularly, excess tendency to fibrin formation (Fibrin is a component of clots). So, many alternative practitioners (there are no mainstream treatments, at least what I'd call mainstream) recommend interventions which "thin" the blood. Now, nothing you do will actually thin the blood; there is a lot of misconception about this. Your concerns about fish oil thinning the blood are likely unwarranted, and based in misunderstanding of the effect of the long-chain omega-3 PUFAs. Yes, they reduce the tendency to clot, but I would argue that what is taken as normal clotting should better be stated as typical clotting; there is a common tendency to coagulation caused by omega-3 deficiency. There is no evidence of a dose-dependent decrease in clotting with fish-oil intake. Instead, there is a plateau. Fish oil fixes the tendency to clot too readily, and then nothing more happens. Just look at how many people need to take warfarin and heparin and so on. Occlusive stroke, myocardial ischemia and occlusion of heart arteries. That's what commonly happens. So.....fish oil......highly recommended for fibro.
Second, magnesium malate. I don't know why the malate is said to be so effective, but many fibromytes ( a common term for sufferers of fibromyalgia) swear by it. And high doses, too. Some say benefits accrue at greater than 2 grams/day magnesium, which corresponds with about 6 grams of magnesium malate.
The sleep thing may well be solved with temazepam (Restoril). It fixed my non-restorative sleep problem, and I have successfully used it for over two years without loss of efficacy.
What about SAM-e? Is it safe to take with an SSRI (Lexapro)?
I prefer the use of TMG (trimethylglycine, a.k.a. anhydrous betaine or betaine freebase). You can safely use it with an antidepressant, if you're cautious about dose. I find it to be very activating, so I use it sparingly.
>Finally, I have hypertension, which I just discovered recently.
I had borderline or frank hypertension all my life (systolic 135-145, diastolic 90-110). Since I began my fish oil supplementation, my blood pressure has stabilized at around 125 over 78. Other interventions may well have contributed to that, but I focus on the fish oil. My triglycerides went from levels associated with high risk of coronary artery disease to levels considered to be "excellent". My cholesterol is high, but the ratio of HDL/LDL is so good, it is not a risk factor. I think fish oil did all that, but like I said, there may be other interventions which contributed.
> I've thought about trying magnesium, but am completely unsure how to go about it. What form of magnesium is best, or is there one? What doses have people found the most effective?See above.
> I know I need to supplement with calcium, but once again, what form? Is that coral calcium stuff just a gimmick, or does it actually possess some qualities the other supplements do not?Price. Coral calcium is a gimmick, IMHO.
> I'm definitely going to start the fish oil again, but I think I may have heard that higher doses thin your blood... I wonder if this could be dangerous?Not that I know of.
> Really, aside from using these supplements to help manage symptoms, I'm also trying to decide which ones I should take for the rest of my life to promote good health in general. The whole subject just overwhelms me though, and I just know I'd end up taking 80 pills a day to cover all the bases if I left it up to myself, lol. Thanks for the help!Ackk, you don't need 80 pills a day. 75 will probably do it.
No, really, I take a lot of different things, but I don't take them every day. The RDA and RDI concepts are based on seven-day averages. I think your body utilizes nutrients better in pulses, anyway, once you've overcome the malnutrition/malabsorption angle. That's my rational justification for my constitutional inability to do anything in an organized and rigorous manner (i.e. I'm too lazy to bother every day).
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:222291
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030423/msgs/222894.html