taking anti-ox, omega3-6-9, acidoph/bif, & multi: HELP!!

[CalvinC]

Hi

I am taking these four pills:

1) anti-oxidant: green tea extract; milk thistle extract; curcumin extract; quercitin; bromelain; cranberry powder; romsemary extract; grapeseed extract; ginkgo biloba extract; hawthorn berry extract; bilberry extract
2) omega3-6-9 (fish oils, essential fatty acids)
3) acidophilus/bifidium
4) regular multivatim

I am not on meds and my counts are good.

Does anyone see any contrandictions? Are any of these "dangerous", even for a no-meds person like me?

I will ask my doctor, but am not seeing him until next week.

andrew

[alisenjafi]

From how it was explained to me, most people get way too much omega 6, so you might want to just get an omega3 supplement.
Check this out;
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsLookups/Supplements.html#letO

I never was good at taking multivitamins  and am using bee pollen instead. You can read up on that here;
http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=1988.0
which has some peoples views and links to help you decide.

I also eat one brand of yogurt which is also on this forum aptly titled yogurt.  I drink Lakewood cranberry juice as it has no added sugars or the dreaded corn syrup, and add wheat germ to my breakfast.
 I have come to the conclusion that it is better to get your nutritional supplements from other forms than the multi vitamin pill. Just me.

I am on meds so you might want to ask your doc if you can speak to a nutritionist  as well because everyone's needs on and off  meds are different.
Cheers
Johnny

[penguin]

Hello andrew

And you are taking all these things because….?

Is good , I think anyway, that you are exploring/using  natural medicine as a way of improving & maintaining your health. 
But really, and so many people don’t get this (largely due to media’s insistence on pushing people to take every new supplement that comes out…)

more supplements do not = more health, or wellness, or energy.

These are medicines, they have power, but they will lose a lot of that power if used continuously or unnecessarily. Also, your body only needs a certain amount of each thing - if it has too much, it will simply excrete it. So, effectively, much of what you are swallowing each day could just as easily be put straight down the loo…
 
As to safety, these are all  (in moderation) fairly “safe” herbs/supplements, assuming you are not on any medications, for anything, and have no other health issues.  You need to make sure your doctor knows that you are taking these things, and what doses etc.. It  might also be  a very good idea to go and see a (qualified, please, preferably dual trained in  western medicine) naturopath/holistic medicine practitioner so they can advise you on exactly what might be beneficial for you.

I understand  you want to benefit from the good things anti-oxidants can do. But, you can very adequately get a good amount, and in a much purer, cheaper, easier to process form, from your diet. Dark green leafy vegetables, green tea/rooibos/chai tea; citrus fruits, berries (blueberries, cherries etc etc). I am assuming that is why you are taking those first lot of supplements, rather than to treat any particular illness/symptom?

Probiotics, get these from live yogurt, sauerkraut etc. Save the more concentrated, tablet form for if you are having  digestive problems, or are on antibiotics.

 a good quality mutivitamin and mineral would be a good idea, dunno if you can get this where you are, but maybe something along the lines of Immunace , which has pretty much most things in it- ? http://www.vitabiotics.com/immunace/immunace_cap_proinfo.aspx?ID=8&sm=1

 fish oils, good (again, you could get omega-3’s quite easily from diet, oily fish, flax/linseed etc, but I know not everyone’s so keen on salmon, or mackerel)..are you having joint problems? Just wondering, as you have been taking these, + bromelain/quercetin too?

As with food,  is quality, not quantity you want. i expect this is costing you a small fortune too…maybe treat yourself to something nice…a bit of salmon, perhaps : )

Kate

[allopathicholistic]

It  might also be  a very good idea to go and see a (qualified, please, preferably dual trained in  western medicine) naturopath/holistic medicine practitioner so they can advise you on exactly what might be beneficial for you.

INDEED. You can search for dual trained medical professionals via websites belonging to holistic-allopathic associations such as the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (just an example)

[CalvinC]

Kate and Johnny, thanks so much for your detailed replies. They remind me that I need to think more closely of proper diet and sleep and exercise (which I do do) and what I am using these supplements for.

Andrew