Do we need supplements

Yes, I think we need (good quality) supplements because most 'fresh' fruit and veg have either been grown in depleted soil and/or sprayed with chemicals to make them last longer as a lot of them are kept for weeks before being sold.

I don’t see how our bodies can get enough VitD is we’re fully clothed. And I wear sun bloc on my face, too.

Before supplementing with magnesium, please Google "dangers of magnesium".

I take Vitamin D3 and have done for very many years. I also take calcium Vitamin B12 and FolicAcid, As advised by a doctor many years ago. I was recently told that I may have Osteoperosis and that is why I take Calcium, I also have AMD.

Thank you for all your input, still confused but obviously the one I should continue to take is vitamin D, will do a bit more research on the others

Bijou

I take Vitamin D, turmeric/black pepper, cod liver oil, iron.
Have a Guiness a day. Avoid oranges, blueberries and tomatoes which are bad for arthritis. Found glucosamine useless. Have a lot of salads and an apple a day.

I was suprised to read that. Oranges and blueberries are
good for Arthritis as they contain Vitamin C
Tomatoes are the only bad guys. Please check it out Bijou.

It appears that even tomatoes aren't really "bad guys":

www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/ss/slideshow-rheumatoid-arthritis-food-myths-and-facts

There are loads of other links about this.

This scientific article claims that blueberries can even be beneficial with osteoarthritis:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6413191/#:~:text=Blueberries%20Improve%20Pain%2C%20Gait%20Performance,with%20Symptomatic%20Knee%20Osteoarthritis%20%2D%20PMC&text=The%20.,gov%20means%20it's%20official.

I used take a lot. Currently I take Vitamin D as I was very deficient a few years back. Plus I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis where low Vit D is a symptom. I also take vitamins for my eyes as Mam had Macular Degeneration and her sister Glaucoma.
In a couple of months I'll be on a food programme by Zoe, linked to Tim Spector and Joinzoe. Their podcasts are fascinating. Definitely worth listening too.
I've been making Kefir and Kombucha for a month or two also

Brigidsdaughter

I used take a lot. Currently I take Vitamin D as I was very deficient a few years back. Plus I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis where low Vit D is a symptom. I also take vitamins for my eyes as Mam had Macular Degeneration and her sister Glaucoma.
In a couple of months I'll be on a food programme by Zoe, linked to Tim Spector and Joinzoe. Their podcasts are fascinating. Definitely worth listening too.
I've been making Kefir and Kombucha for a month or two also

ZOE really is the way forward for health isn’t it. I did complain that their diet recommendations were far too expensive for most people but a recent one was about healthy eating on a budget. I don’t know whether to buy Tim’s book or if it will just end up on the shelf with my other unread books. I just seem to be a podcast person these days.

Doctor has just put me on iron tablets as a blood test showed I am anaemic, with no apparent reason. During the conversation about diet etc. she asked if I drank tea soon after meals. I didn't know that the tea prevents the absorption of iron so now I wait an hour before having a cuppa.

effalump I agree with you. This is why I try to grow as much of my own fruit and veg as I can or buy organic.

There's no such thing as a superfood. Blueberries it was a while ago. All foods have a share of nutrients but never all of them. The last fruit which had them all and more was the tree of life in the garden of Eden (that pair messed it up for us!). It's difficult finding a supp which is genuine (can we even trust Zoe and the other respected ones?). I take vit D and pop in a magnesum, Zinc, B complex every few days (on the basis ones normal diet is sparodic in taking in nutrients so may as well treat supps the same and no risk of overdosing on them. Cost as well of course. Grow my own veg for most of the year and make own bread form organic flour. Only consume organic oild esp Rapeseed and Olive. Trouble is I LIKE cakes!

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I have had sciatica for years. Had to yelp when I sat down, sometimes a sensation of fire going down the outside of my thigh. I take COQ10 and since the first day of this, sciatica pain is gone. 300mg is what I take daily. It doesn't work for everyone, I'm sure. but does for me. 2 years on now and cannot tell you the relief I have felt!

This thread has reminded me of years ago when my two younger brothers had a very bad year of colds, sore throats etc in grammar school. Pediatrician had my mum give them cod liver oil and it truly kept them well all school term for years.

K2, B12 and Magnesium are very important as well I think.

Agree about the food grown in depleted soil.

Also many people don't realise that a number of drugs also deplete the body of vitamins and minerals.

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Vitamin D is needed by most people as they age. The skin
becomes much drier and does not absorb as well from the
sun plus I find now the hot days are too hot for me and I
cover up or seek the shade.
Alot of veggies are now grown in much depleted soil with
little mineral take up and sprayed excessively, if you cook
them you loose even more , if you eat them raw you risk
chemicals, we can't win.

I only ever buy organic veg and meat. Some may say it’s expensive which it is but I prefer to cut back on other things than compromise on this. A non-organic farmer I know has annual blood tests to test for chemicals in his blood. That says it all.

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My mother lived till 93, with no supplements and no balanced diet, no five-a-day. Had low BP . Genetics plays a big part. And what someone up there has planned for you .

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