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Data driven decisions. Unfortunately, the lack of help from the medical industrial complex is by design. Why prescribe cheap and readily available vitamin d or even test for vitamin deficiency when there's a giant myriad of more profitable pharmaceutical options. Gotta pay those student loans and malpractice insurance rates somehow?

Case in point: three co-workers were discussing how they came to conclude that they needed vitamin d supplements. Only one of the three was tested for the deficiency and prescribed appropriately. The other two had to discover it on their own, despite having visited their doctor and been recommended pharmaceutical products instead!
 
I was told a few months ago that my Vitamin D level was low. Hard to believe since I am outside every day and MS is pretty sunny most of the time. Doc called in a nice $15 dollar supplement for me. Pharmacy said a lot of people had been prescribed the same one recently. I know there was a kickback involved somewhere. I went to Walmart and got the $3 pills. My level was fine the next time.
 
snappy1 said:
I was told a few months ago that my Vitamin D level was low. Hard to believe since I am outside every day and MS is pretty sunny most of the time. Doc called in a nice $15 dollar supplement for me. Pharmacy said a lot of people had been prescribed the same one recently. I know there was a kickback involved somewhere. I went to Walmart and got the $3 pills. My level was fine the next time.
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My doctors are happy if my Vitamin D level is over 30. My studies suggest at least 50 and 70 is better. I have brought my D level to just over 100 and I'm happy with that. Warm water surfers typically have a D level of around 150 and Caribbean fishermen of around 180. There is no known toxic level but if there is one it is over 350.

Being in the sun fully clothed reduces absorption of Vitamin D. Warm water surfers wear almost nothing.
 
Caribou said:
My doctors are happy if my Vitamin D level is over 30. My studies suggest at least 50 and 70 is better. I have brought my D level to just over 100 and I'm happy with that. Warm water surfers typically have a D level of around 150 and Caribbean fishermen of around 180. There is no known toxic level but if there is one it is over 350.

Being in the sun fully clothed reduces absorption of Vitamin D. Warm water surfers wear almost nothing.
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I'm sure I'm in the toxic zone😮😉
 
Here's some articles that contribute to the conversation. Many people don't trust big pharma but I've always wondered if the supplement industry is any better? I'm just not sure about that and wish I had an independent lab I could use for things like foods and supplements. I don't buy supps from WM anymore, but I would have thought that GNC would be different. According to the article below, GNC might need some extra scrutiny as well. That's why I was wondering where many of you bought your supplements. Just something to think about......

5 Supplements You Shouldn’t Take After 50​

https://cathe.com/5-supplements-you-shouldnt-take-after-50/

Do the Supplements You’re Taking Really Contain What You Think They Do?​

https://cathe.com/do-the-supplements-youre-taking-really-contain-what-you-think-they-do/
The interesting part of this article to me:
You might think that buying from a reputable retailer would offer some assurance against fraud & sloppy manufacturing– but not necessarily. In 2014, the New York State attorney general demanded that four major retailers, Target, GNC, Walgreens, and Walmart, remove herbal products from store shelves. The reason? Testing showed that four out of five contained either insufficient amounts of the herb listed or none at all. Instead, the products consisted of mostly inexpensive fillers such as other plant material, ground-up beans, or rice.
In fact, five out of six samples of an herbal product sold under GNC’s name contained substances other than the herb listed on the label. For example, Ginkgo biloba pills were filled with rice, spruce, and asparagus. What’s concerning is GNC is one of the premier retailers of supplements with prices higher than many of their competitors. What about suppliers that sell their products at cheap prices? That’s why you should question the purity of every supplement that you purchase.

Are You Taking Too Many Supplements?​

https://cathe.com/are-you-taking-too-many-supplements/
The interesting part of the last article to me was this:

Some Supplements May Contain Medications​

Studies show these products may contain active ingredients like sildenafil (commonly known as Viagra), tadalafil (often recognized as Cialis), and sibutramine (commonly referred to as Meridia). In certain cases, they may even include synthetic steroids.
How common is the problem? A study looked at information from the FDA’s records of dietary supplements that contained pharmaceutical substances found between 2007 and 2016. During this period, they found 776 dietary supplements with these substances. The study showed that most of these, about 86 percent, were sold for sexual enhancement or weight loss purposes.
In contrast, 12 percent of the tainted products were marketed for muscle-building endeavors. Intriguingly, approximately one in every five of these products, totaling 20 percent, was discovered to harbor more than a solitary concealed drug ingredient.
 
Having worked in the food manufacturing industry for over a decade, you are wise to question quality of manufacturing. However, don't allow runaway cynicism to cripple you with analysis paralysis?

"they don't have all those vitamins and minerals in that product. That's just marketing mumbo jumbo..."

"sir, with all due respect, I work inside the factory. I've performed maintenance on the silo equipment and scales for those vitamins and minerals and I have seen them personally"

"chirp.chirp." the sound of crickets
 
angie_nrs said:
you should question the purity of every supplement that you purchase.
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I do look at all the ingredients, but I believe that the FDA doesn't require all ingredients to be listed, like in food if the amount is supposedly small.
angie_nrs said:
Some Supplements May Contain Medications
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Yikes! And I bet those ingredients are not listed.

Thank you for posting those articles @angie_nrs
 
My fear is that the gov will use these examples to ban supplements all together. As with all companies, there are good ones and bad. Some are out to just get as much $$$ as possible, while others actually care about the quality of their products. I just wish there was a good way to tell which was which.
 
angie_nrs said:
My fear is that the gov will use these examples to ban supplements all together. As with all companies, there are good ones and bad. Some are out to just get as much $$$ as possible, while others actually care about the quality of their products. I just wish there was a good way to tell which was which.
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Stock up!!
 
Pearl said:
Stock up!!
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I'm pretty much already stocked.

They don't last forever..... I'm eating some chalky vitamin C tabs now. They are well past their 'best by or exp.' date and you can certainly tell. Many supps aren't packaged in a tight tablet like many meds are, which means that most of the time they won't store as well either. That's an advantage for absorbtion, but a disadvantage for longevity. Thus far I've had pretty good luck with powdered capsules, but gel tabs have leaked and stuck together, even when keeping them in a cool and dry environment.
 
angie_nrs said:
I'm pretty much already stocked.

They don't last forever..... I'm eating some chalky vitamin C tabs now. They are well past their 'best by or exp.' date and you can certainly tell. Many supps aren't packaged in a tight tablet like many meds are, which means that most of the time they won't store as well either. That's an advantage for absorbtion, but a disadvantage for longevity. Thus far I've had pretty good luck with powdered capsules, but gel tabs have leaked and stuck together, even when keeping them in a cool and dry environment.
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Freeze them.
 
angie_nrs said:
I'm a little concerned about how they would reconstitute?

Plus, I don't have a lot of freezer space left. I' hoping to get some venison to top it off this fall. I definitely have more supps than room in the freezer.
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Can you just swallow your chalky vitamin-C? Or do you have to chew them? I have the BIG capsule bottles.
 
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Patchouli said:
I’m using a homeopathic tincture for Texas allergies, mostly cedar bothering me lately. Kept thinking I was getting sick. Nope. It helps relieve my symptoms.
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Is there a "dog" tincture? Pretty sure I am and have been allergic to the bigger dog.
 
snappy1 said:
Is there a "dog" tincture? Pretty sure I am and have been allergic to the bigger dog.
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There are a few available, but I don't think with the same company.
I can't vouch for these, have never had to use anything like it.
You can check this one on Amazon: Amazon.com
On Swanson website and Vitacost website is a product called Natural Care BioAllers Animal Hair & Dander. Looks like it is also on Amazon.
The product I have been using for allergies is called Texaclear, bought it online. It is available in some stores in Texas.
Hope you feel better! @snappy1
 
I have a couple more to add to the list. Hubby has arthritic hips. He has been having increasing pain but thankfully his PT exercises have helped tremendously. He was prescribed a big pharma anti-inflamatory which he won't take. So, someone suggested he try the Solgar 7 joint supplement. Wow, is it ever expensive! Still, I bought some for him and he'll be starting on that. I guess it takes a week or so for it to take effect. The person he spoke to swears by it. But, just like everything, I'm sure the results vary from person to person. He started taking fish oil supplements as well and that has seemed to help. It's hard to say if it's the fish oil or the exercises that has helped the most since he started both at the same time.

I'm going to try B-1. This is not available at my local big box store so I had to order it online. Dr. Berg (who is a huge proponent of fasting) stated that B1 deficiency is a world wide health crisis. Apparently B-1 helps with nerve health, memory/cognition, increased energy, and is used for a pest repellent such as mosquitoes. Some people give it to their pets to deter fleas and other pests. It has something to do with sulfur in the bloodstream......I don't really know how it works. Anyways, if it helps with increased energy, I'm going to give it a try......at least until we get some sunshine! We have been under the clouds for several weeks (if not months) and it's really wearing on me. Also, the memory and cognition aspect would be welcomed as well. Hubby and I have been misplacing and forgetting minor things lately. I attribute that to this time of year and the lack of natural Vit D production, but any help would be welcomed. I like to have my mental sharpness all through the year!

As far a places to order vitamins at a discount.....these are the places I have used, but would welcome more ideas.
swansonvitamins.com - they almost always have a discount going on but often it is only for their brand
Amazon - if I don't order there, I can at least price check and read reviews
Ebay - you can find decent deals there, but I always check the sellers ratings
BotanicChoice.com - I have not ordered from them but they have decent deals with limited brands available
Local big box store - offers BOGO sales often but their brands and supply is not the best.

It's hard to find the BEST place to order when doing a search b/c all these places (except Amazon) run coupon code specials all the time. I wish they'd just put their best price out there and drop all the hoops to jump through. Ug!
 
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