supplement question

Stephanie0523

Stephanie0523

Cathlete
I recently bought ginger and milk thistle supplements. I also take fish oil supplements and a multi-vitamin. Does anyone else take ginger and/or milk thistle? I feel weird taking all these supplements and wonder if they have any bad interactions. I've read articles about their benefits, separately, but I didn't know if it's OK to take them together... Any thoughts?
 
We give milk thistle to my brother because he is on prescription meds which compromise his liver. The milk thistle facilitates the disposal of medications by the liver.

We give ginger to my Mom and Dad for their arthritis, it works like a champ without the undesirable side effects of asprin (tinnitus.) Its also an effective soother for the stomach. I have not noticed any side effects. I had one arthritis lump on my thumb and it went away, it shrank. I don't know that success would replicate with others because I am younger than most arthritis patients (I'm 32 yo.) You may notice that it gives you gingery burps:p I would take your ginger with a meal and the other supplements with a different meal. How much were you planning to take and what ailment are you trying to treat?
 
Milk thistle is a great antioxidant, supposedly, that fights free radicals. I read in Health Magazine, a long time ago, that it's supposed to be a very good preventative supplement. I recently read in Natural Health magazine that ginger helps in weight loss. I don't buy in to "diet pills" so I thought ginger was a safe alternative, but since I bought it, I've been doing more reading and those claims haven't been substantiated. Oh well. I do have a lump on my wrist (ganglion cyst), so maybe it will help shrink it. I take the fish oil for the omega 3s. Once my fish oil supplements are gone, I plan on switching to flax seed oil because I think that's a safer way to get Omega 3s.
 
I take almost all of the supplements you mention, as well as about a million more (see my previous threads on this for the details). I have not noticed any trouble with Milk Thistle at all. Ginger is lovely for many things, but I don't take it in supplement form, I grate it and drink it in a tea- chewing the grated ginger too. It is excellent for stomach issues, but also seems to help with respiratory problems. I've never heard of using it for weight loss, but then, I don't take supplements for that purpose. Flax seed seems to work differently than fish oils in terms of the effectiveness of the body using its Omega 3s (except for vegetarians, weird, huh?), but fish oils are considered quite safe, to my knowledge.

My general suggestions for supplementation:

  • take amino acids (L-Glutamine, L-Tyrosene, BCAA's, etc.) about 45 minutes before meals, or 1.5 hours after a meal (or within 30 minutes of exercising for amino acids that support exercise)
  • take calcium with zinc, magnesium, potassium and Vit. D with your evening meal. Calcium can interact negatively with some medications and herbs (such as St. John's Wort), so ensure that you wait at least 2 hours before or after taking calcium to take other medications. The ones I specifically suggest taking with calcium actually work better taking them together.
  • take all other vitamins and minerals with either your breakfast or lunch meal to avoid interaction with the calcium.
  • take your oils (fish oils, evening primrose, flax, Udo's, etc.) with each meal. It is okay to take them with your evening meal too -they won't interfere with the calcium or vice versa.
  • take Vitamin C with your iron supplement
  • take Ferrous Gluconate as your iron supplement to help with constipation
 
Thanks, Morningstar! I feel I should pay you for all of your nutrition advice lately. :p You are very helpful! BTW: What do you take amino acids for?

As for the fish oil vs. flax oil, I had read that fish oil can contain high levels of mercury. :confused:

I'll take your advice on when to take the supplements. I had no idea that calcium can interact negatively with anything. Good to know. I don't take a separate calcium supplement. My multi-vitamin has calcium, and I typically drink one to two glasses of milk a day.

I hadn't thought about grating ginger into my tea. That sounds wonderful! I'll have to try that! I also read that it was good for respiratory issues. So I'm glad I'm taking it during allergy season. EVERYTHING here is dusted with pollen...

Speaking of... Do you use a nettie pot? (I know this is off-topic.)
 
One tip from me - don't take your iron with your calcium (general statement, not directed at anyone). My doctor just told me I'm anemic and they have me on iron pills along with VC. I am also on a high dose of Calcium & VD because of the Gerd medicine I take, so the doctor said to make sure not to take them at the same time because the Calcium will cancel out the iron. There was even a study that suggested that taking Calcium can cause anemia. It's always something...
 
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Liann said:
One tip from me - don't take your iron with your calcium (general statement, not directed at anyone). My doctor just told me I'm anemic and they have me on iron pills along with VC. I am also on a high dose of Calcium & VD because of the Gerd medicine I take, so the doctor said to make sure not to take them at the same time because the Calcium will cancel out the iron. There was even a study that suggested that taking Calcium can cause anemia. It's always something...
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Yep, I agree- as I mentioned, all other minerals and vitamins than the ones I mentioned should be taken separately from calcium.

I must be reading this wrong - your doctor gave you VD???? Shouldn't you be suing him???
 
Stephanie0523 said:
Thanks, Morningstar! I feel I should pay you for all of your nutrition advice lately. :p You are very helpful! BTW: What do you take amino acids for?

As for the fish oil vs. flax oil, I had read that fish oil can contain high levels of mercury. :confused:

I'll take your advice on when to take the supplements. I had no idea that calcium can interact negatively with anything. Good to know. I don't take a separate calcium supplement. My multi-vitamin has calcium, and I typically drink one to two glasses of milk a day.

I hadn't thought about grating ginger into my tea. That sounds wonderful! I'll have to try that! I also read that it was good for respiratory issues. So I'm glad I'm taking it during allergy season. EVERYTHING here is dusted with pollen...

Speaking of... Do you use a nettie pot? (I know this is off-topic.)
Click to expand...

I take different amino acids for different things. The L-Glutamine I take to help control my reactive hypoglycemia and to help my muscles before and after workouts, the L-Tyrosene supports the Glutamine, I take Taurine for calmness before an insane workday, the BCAAs support my workouts.

I don't use a nettie pot- they freak me out!!! I don't seem to have allergies to pollen, or at least, not enough to do anything about it.
 
morningstar said:
I don't use a nettie pot- they freak me out!!! I don't seem to have allergies to pollen, or at least, not enough to do anything about it.
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I used to use a nettie pot, but then one time the water went up and didn't come out! I walked around with water hiding in a sinus chamber somewhere for a good week until one day at work, I bent over to pick something up I had dropped on the floor and all this water gushed out of my nose. Haven't used it since. :eek:
 
Liann said:
I used to use a nettie pot, but then one time the water went up and didn't come out! I walked around with water hiding in a sinus chamber somewhere for a good week until one day at work, I bent over to pick something up I had dropped on the floor and all this water gushed out of my nose. Haven't used it since. :eek:
Click to expand...

Jeeze, I wonder why?
 
Liann said:
I used to use a nettie pot, but then one time the water went up and didn't come out! I walked around with water hiding in a sinus chamber somewhere for a good week until one day at work, I bent over to pick something up I had dropped on the floor and all this water gushed out of my nose. Haven't used it since. :eek:
Click to expand...

That's horrifying. :confused: I think I'll pass on the nettie pot.
 
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