I'm currently wading through a wish-list of vitamins and minerals, so I thought I'd ask what you all take. I currently just take a multi (one-a-day carb smart), so I'm wondering what else I need to add. Suggestions?

Robin

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I started taking fish oil pills because I read a study that it was not only good for your heart but 1000 people took it // 1000 people didn't and exercised together. Of those that took the fish oil each lost more fat! That sold me right there. I also take the one a day, drink my tea for antioxidants and make sure I get my 5 a day! From glutton to health nut!

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Welcome, Robin.

You'll find a variety of responses here. For myself, I take a multi and some extra C. That's about all I can handle before I get to the point of not taking anything because it's too many pills to deal with.

Hope you'll make yourself at home.

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Oh, shall I write a book here? I found loads of ideas from "The Best of Dr. Atkins' Health Revelations" that was sent to me when I first signed up for his newsletter, which I miss terribly.

I take a multi vitamin for people over 50, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, ginkgo biloba for memory (when I remember to take it!), COQ10, vitamin e, hawthorn to protect my heart, St. John's Wort to keep my mild depression under control, alfalfa for all the micronutrients it has (the roots go really deep, bringing lots of nutrition into the plant; that's why cows are so healthy), potassium, taurine as a natural diuretic, vitamin c, calcium/magnesium/zinc combo, glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM combo, folic acid and boron, both essential for menopausal and post-menopausal women, and chromium picolinate. I tell everyone I rattle when I walk. I buy the bulk of my vitamins from Puritan's Pride when they have a buy 2 get 3 free deal. If I had to pare it down, or couldn't afford to take what I do, I'd stick with the multi, the glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM and St. John's Wort, but I think the rest have been very helpful to me.

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Nita

I take a multivitamin, B50 complex, and 500 to 1000 mg of C as a minimum.

Beyond that I usually take fish oil, (now about 2000 mg, 2 pills of 1000 each), ginko biloba, and whatever flavor of the month I decide to add to this combination.

But make no mistake, if you are low carbing, at least multivitamin is non-negotiable. Anything beyond that is a plus.

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Started Atkins on 9/20/03
235-->190; 150 goal

There are more than a few threads on this site about vitamins and supplements:

Here's one....

This one is good, too...

Hope this helps.

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April

The face of a child can say a lot -- especially the mouth part of the face.

My Blog

Sometimes I wonder how the human race managed to survive before the supplement industry got going. It's possible that American devotion to processed foods boosted the need for supplements. Ironic, isn't it? The food industry removes all the nutrients, so the supplement industry sells them back to us. Fortunately, Atkins gets us back to eating whole, fresh foods, so we're getting better dietary nutrition than most.

That said, I do take a few. And like Nita, I watch for the deal at Puritan's Pride. These are what I consider the basics for me:

Multi-V
Calcium + D (divided dose a. m. and p.m.)
Glucosamine/Chondroitin (I'm 60, arthritis in my toes--this seems to help)
Fish Oil
CoQ10 (doctor recommended)
Potassium

Optional/occasional: magnesium, chromium picolinate, green tea (I also drink green tea)

No supplement, in my experience, ever "speeded up" weight or fat loss. Those things may be measurable in a laboratory experiment, but there's no magic in a pill. Eating well and exercising are the best practices.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

i have a cupboard full of various supps and take them with abandon, depending on my mood.

• always the mutli.
• vitamin b for energy, fat metabolism
• vitamin e- skin
• l-lysine-also for skin
• vitamin c - immune system
• fiber supps- depending on how much fiber i'm eating, sometimes i add this to help keep things, you know. regular.
• when i have it, horse chesnut and/or witch's broom for spider viens
• others, depending on what issues i'm concerned with recently

i found a book, "the vitamin bible" to be very helpful finding supps to address various issues i'm concerned with and learning which supps can be taken with what.

on the big plus side, since i've started lc-ing, i don't get down and out sick anymore. the last time i got sick-sick was before i started lc-ing and taking supps, in 2003.

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