@Bobby Cole I was really deep into supplementation when I quit drinking and wanted to repair any damage I may have done. That started in 1990 and went on for over 10 years. I still wrestle with whether or not to supplement in order to maintain the profile of someone much younger than I now. At some point, my body is doing what it needs to do at each stage of life, and trying to achieve a different result might be harmful??? I guess I'm specifically thinking of testosterone and HGH, not necessarily vitamins & minerals where I'll filter out unneeded amounts. Here's the info that guy gathered: Type of Zinc and % of Elemental Zinc in it Gluconate: 14% (Divide By 7) Ascorbate: 15% (Divide By 7) Picolinate: 21% (Divide By 4.8) Monomethionine: 21% (Divide By 4.8) Sulfate: 22% (Divide By 4.5) Bisglycinate: 25% (Divide By 4) Acetate: 30% (Divide By 3.3) Citrate: 34% (Divide By 3) Chloride: 48% (Divide By 2) Carbonate: 52% (Divide By 2) Oxide: 80% (Divide By 1.25) He also provided this bioavailability ranking: #1-Orotate and Picolinate #2-Acetate #3-Gluconate #4-Oxide I recently switched from gluconate to Oronate (10mg) due to its bioavailability. I have no idea how much elemental is in it. My local Walmart only carries one version of zinc: 50mg of gluconate. It made me nauseous, as though I were getting too much zinc, so I cut it in half for my daily dose. The label says "Zinc 50mg, 455% of RDA." So I'm not certain how the guy's conversion would work with this, unless he means there is only 7mg elemental zinc in it. And I'm not sure why anyone would put out a retail package with that much zinc in it, especially when there is no copper on Walmart's shelves.
I will definitely look at that chart in depth a little later. It’s funny but whilst conversing about how zinc can hamper copper I got a thought about something I ran into quite accidentally. I have a skin problem which I’ve written about before but the last time I hit the dermatologist she told me I also have Vitiligo whereas there are some areas where the color is disappearing. She said she could start treatment to help replace the cells responsible for the production of melanin but also said that it was a lengthy process and there are no promises. Okey-dokey so, I shrugged off the suggestion and went home enthralled with the idea that I have some studying to do. Small things excite me. I digress. I worked up a study about Vitiligo and found nothing that would make any difference in my life so I let it go. About a month went by and I was doing a little extra research on Vitamin C and low and behold, there’s one negative part about taking a lot of C and that is it is a direct enemy of melanin production. I take upwards of 6 grams of vitamin C every day. Of course, not at once but it’s an integral part of my kickapoo juice and I consume a gallon of it a day. So, what do I do? Lower my intake of Vitamin C and then have to rework all the other elements of my juice or can I shore up melanin production another way? Yup and the name of it is Tyrosine. It’s one of those items that the body makes and helps with cognitive functions as well as it is the main factor that kick starts melanin production. Problem solved. Take a gram extra per day with my shake in the morning and let’s see what happens. I could have started out taking upward of 3 grams but not wanting to load up I opted for using a smaller dose and after about 2 months it looks like I’m getting some skin color back in the areas where it was disappearing. Strange. I’ve been to 3 different dermatologists in 4 years and not one of them even asked about a daily regimen of vitamins or minerals much less had a blood test taken.
I like a Zinc/Copper Capsules by Jarrow. On Thyrosine, I'd like to take it, but know it can elevate blood pressure.
My brother from another mother! Yeh, it amazes me that doctors can often have blinders on. When I went on that extensive regime in 1990, I was shocked at all the pills I was thinking of taking, so I faxed the list to my doctor at the time. He called and we discussed it (and agreed it was not really necessary nor was it harmful.) I shall never have another MD I can trust like I trusted that guy. Many times we are on our own with this stuff. Congrats on figuring it out! I wish I did not have to go through a gatekeeper to get some of these tests, although my current MD does not put up too many roadblocks. That is one upside to my doctor being part of a large conglomerate...all referrals and tests represent income to a coworker. And I make sure to keep my supplement regime updated in their universally-accessible system, although I'm not certain it is referenced often. I carry a list to give them, since there are not enough blanks on the form they hand me.
I've had a few issues like having a bladder stone removed and my skin cancer surgery and other things that have caused to to avoid the blood thinners I used to take (like krill oil.) I'm concerned that I may have some emergency procedure required and won't have sufficient time for them to clear my system. I'm unaware of any medical issue I have that would require thinners...it's always been a precautionary thing with me. I take Puritans Pride chelated copper supplements. There's no real reason, other than I think the brand is trustworthy.
My experience with allopathic docs and I left them in the 80's, they are not in business to sell us on supplements, their cash cows are drugs. But I'd bet a good many of them take Vit C and some other goodies for their own health....
The issues of the past 2 years have really driven a stake through the heart of the Doctor/Patient relationship. I've had some I trust implicitly, and others who I use as gateways to tests and procedures, then I do my own research.
So far as “clearing your system” many bodybuilders are into some things they shouldn’t be putting into their system via a needle. One such bodybuilder whom I know and befriended is of that ilk in that he cycles his roids but even with the cycling he can’t be assured that when a competition is scheduled his blood will be rid of the illegal drugs unless of course, he’s also on a regimen of Milk Thistle. The way he explained it to me is if one has a pool complete with pump and filter, if the filter isn’t cleaned then all the pump does is pump forward dirty water. The liver is not only the body’s pharmacy and med lab but it’s also a filter and Milk Thistle cleans the liver (and kidneys) to such a degree that the drugs he takes to build more muscle are no longer found in his blood stream during the off cycle. Apparently all major bodybuilders who “use” have the same regimen of Milk Thistle and some, as I do, combine Dandelion with it to keep squeaky clean. Notably, I do not take illicit drugs but age and a lot of years clogging up and tearing apart my liver gave me reason enough to try it and I’m happy I did. Some scans that were taken 6-7 years ago revealed sclerosis and a couple of other maladies that I. cannot pronounce but the year after starting the milk thistle thing my scans and blood tests all revealed a perfectly healthy and normal liver.
I think the reason most doctors don't ask about supplements is because they have very little, if any, education in them. When they do, it is mostly concern about how the supplements interfere with the actions of the drugs they are trained in. I gotta admit, I have seen St. John's Wort cause problems, but few others. That is why I have mentioned Integrative Physicians several times. Of course, just like everything else, there are good ones and bad ones, but generally they are better than the allopaths or homeopaths in my opinion, as they have the best of both worlds available to them. As part of my wife's digestive issues I have mentioned before, she was also prescribed Oil of Oregano and L-Glutamine to support her other therapies. So little research has been done on vitamin therapy that it is difficult to find good data. If you look at the 1960s, you will find research that indicates that much of the heart disease is caused by a deficiency of pyridoxine and related to the "Methionine/Pyridoxine Ratio", where the amount of B6 needed is related to the intake of methionine. This was used to develop the Homocysteine test, that was used in the 1990s and into the 2000s, and is still used by many doctors still as an indicator of cardiac health. Not much money is to be made from B6 therapy, however, so it is not used as often as it should be. I noticed as a young man that the kids who developed the worst cases of acne were generally those who had the lowest intake of Vitamin A in their diet, although I am sure there is a genetic aspect to this as well. Little was done with this idea until Accutane was developed, which is basically a synthetic (thereby patentable) Vitamin A. It is a standard therapy for acne now, but no mention is made of just taking more vitamin A. There is great fear among the medical community about the toxicity of the fat-soluble vitamins, such as A and D, and it was thought until a few years ago that 10,000 units if vitamin D was a toxic dose and would potentially kill you...until they actually tested it. I have now seen prescribed levels of D2 as high as 50,000 units a day for deficient people. I have heard of over doses of vitamin A from starving people eating polar bear liver and such, but those are very, very rare and not applicable to normal circumstances. Sorry for the rant.
This is one reason I avoid the herbals. I know it sounds crazy to try to get closer to natural healing and be wary of herbals, but the problem is that potency can be erratic. You never really know exactly what volume of the active ingredient you're ingesting. Heck, Vitamin C levels (and likely bioflavonoids)vary greatly from fruit to fruit. It makes one wonder if those who relied on such things had local knowledge of the local flora and knew exactly what spot by the river to harvest specific plants for their potions. And they likely knew which specific plants "looked right" for a given ailment.
That is all very true, but many of our modern drugs came from herbals and such. Did you know that statins were developed from red yeast extract, first as an anti-inflammatory then to reduce cholesterol when that was noted as a more lucrative side effect?