Reddit reviews NOW Supplements, Vitamin D-3 5,000 IU, High Potency, Structural Support*, 240 Softgels

>it's like people are playing some kind of game, and they just want you to join their side

I completely understand this, and it makes it difficult to figure out what's true. I do think that vegans sometimes stretch the truth in order to try to win converts, but I look at that as a misguided act of compassion, because the new vegans are going to learn eventually and then they may very well give up.

Personally, I believe that we can absolutely be healthy on a plant-based diet as long as we supplement B12, D3, and omega-3 fatty acids.The first two are incredibly cheap: This supplement costs $20 for a three-month supply of B12, on top of giving a host of other useful nutrients in case you're missing anything, and for $12 you can buy eight months' worth of D3.

As for omega-3 fatty acids, they are unfortunately on the more expensive side. A lot of vegans say that we can get sufficient EPA and DHA by eating ALA, such as from flaxseed and chia, and converting it ourselves. While there was a promising study saying that vegans convert ALA to EPA and DHA more efficiently that omnis, flax and chia on their own are probably not sufficient.

At the recommended dosages, supplementing omega-3 FAs will cost you about $15 a month. I usually buy Ovega-3, although I recently tried Tesla and liked it as well. We probably need more than 500g a day, since we're meant to consume a somewhat even ratio of omega-3 and omega-6, which would push the cost up to $30 a month or higher. I take three grams a day for mental health, although I doubt that most people would need that much.

As far as needing eggs and dairy to be healthy, I suspect that that's the work of animal industries spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Dairies have taken a huge hit lately as people switch to plant-based milk (now with 100% less pus!), and I think they'd gladly lie to the public in order to tourniquet their losses. For instance, we were all told that we need milk in order to have strong bones, right? But that's absolutely not true. First-world countries have higher rates of osteoporosis. And while I'm not sure how credible this is, the great Yourofsky believed that it was because animal protein is acidic, and to counteract that acidity our bodies draw calcium from our bones.

I'm going to wrap this up before I ramble any more, but in short, take B12 D12 and omega-3s and you will be all set!

*While it wasn't dairy, /r/vegan recently had a laughably transparent article about someone who was arguing not only that it was okay to wear fur, but that it was actually a moral imperative* to do so. It was such a moving piece that I immediately drove to a mink farm and snapped those little fuckers' necks myself, because god damn it, I'm a patriot

I've been taking vitamin D for a couple months now and there has been literally zero difference in any aspect of my health/mood/fitness. I'm not sure if I should keep taking it just for the heck of it or if it's a waste of money? I work a desk job and don't get much sun most days except on the weekend so I thought it might be good to take, but now I'm questioning if I really need it. For reference, I'm taking one of these daily.

1. About .4 to .9g of protein per pound of lean body mass per day (Lean body mass = total body weight minus fat weight + (fat weight x .25)). So if you were 250lbs with 35% body fat, that would be 87 pounds of fat, so lean body mass would be 250 - 87 + (87x.25) or 184 pounds. So your protein intake would be between 74g (absolute minimum per day) and 165g, higher protein requirements are needed the more active you are especially if you do high-intensity or weight training exercise. If you need help figuring this out, then reply back with your height, weight, and BMI if you know it and i'll do it for you.
   
   As for carbs you should be aiming for 20-30g of netcarbs per day (a netcarb = Total carbs minus fiber carbs). So if you were eating 15g of fiber per day, your total carb intake would be 35 to 45g.
   
   The rest of your calories should come from fat. So if you were eating 1600 calories per day, 100g of protein, and 20g of carbs, that would leave 1120 calories for fat, or 124g of fat. To calculate this yourself: fat in grames = (total calories - (protein in grams + carbs in grams)x4) / 9. Using the above example numbers that would look like: (1600 - (100+20)x4)/9 --> (1600 - 480)/9 --> 124g of fat.
   
   If you need help figuring out how many calories you should be eating, provide the numbers requested above for calculating total protein intake and i'll help you figure that out as well.
   
   
2. It really doesn't mater when you eat your carbs. Spread out throughout the day is probably ideal, but it's really not important. Eat when you're hungry and have time.
   
   
3. It really depends on the type of exercise. If you're just doing low-intensity cardio (such as walking or biking or any other form of exercise under 60% of heart-rate max) then a post workout really isn't necessary.
   
   
4. I'm not sure what the question is here honestly.
   
   
5. As many or as few as you want. You shouldn't purposely eat multiple small meals. Eat when you're hungry and when you have time. Some people only eat one large meal per day (usually as their post-workout), others eat only two (usually skipping breakfast and/or only have fat-calories for breakfast such as MCT oil). Most people would probably be best starting off with three meals per day as they're used to and then transition to fewer (or more) meals depending on hunger levels throughout the day.
   
   
6. You should be getting about 3-4 grams of total salt per day. This usually means either drinking salted water (1/2 teaspoon of salt twice a day) or a salty consume or bouillon broth (be sure these are MSG-free) or even a home-made bone broth with additional salt.
   
   I would also recommend a magnesium supplement, somewhere between 300-400mg per day. If you get diarrhea, then you should probably take two smaller doses of ~150mg twice daily (use a pill splitter) or switch to a slow-release version. If you still have issues even with two smaller doses, then reduce the dosage until you no longer do (usually after the first month of magnesium supplementation you'll probably need to reduce the amount to 200-300mg per day depending on how much you're getting from food). Also be sure to get a chelated form of magnesium (magnesium aspartate, magnesium citrate or magnesium citrimate). And when determining how much magnesium is actually in each dose, you will need to calculate it based on the RDI (the RDI is 400mg per day). So if the dose is 50% of the RDI then you would know that it's only 200mg per dose.
   
   If you decide to take a potassium supplement, make sure you aren't on any other medication that might interact negatively (such as blood pressure medicines). If you plan your low-carb diet well you can get enough potassium from food. If you do decide to use a supplement or a potassium-salt, be sure to stay below ~500mg per day and preferably spread throughout the day. Excess potassium, especially from quickly absorbed supplements, can cause serious health problems.
   
   The last two supplements i would recommend would be 1g-1.5g of Omega-3 fish oil capsules (or liquid) and ~2-5000 IU of vitamin D3 per day. There might be cheaper/better brands of these two supplements out there, but the two i linked are what i personally use.

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-Softgels/dp/B0032BH76O/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1368560599&sr=1-1&keywords=vitamin+d+5000

This is the one that I'm taking right now: https://www.amazon.com/Metagenics-Mag-Glycinate-240-Count/dp/B004GLGXVO/ref=sr_1_14_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482431873&sr=1-14&keywords=magnesium+glycinate

It's expensive, but it's extremely high quality. Be warned though, the pills are only 100 mg each which means that you'll need 4 of them a day. At least it's nice for splitting up doses.

The one I used to take is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Labs-Magnesium-Bisglycinate-Chelate/dp/B00HQP51ZG/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482431977&sr=1-1&keywords=magnesium+glycinate+viva+labs

Much easier to get down, and much cheaper. I don't know too much about the purity, but I trust the Viva Labs brand enough.

As far as vitamin D goes, garden of life makes some of the best supplements out there. They use plant based sources for everything, so it's all incredibly absorbable (i.e. all of the natural enzymes that your body could use to process the vitamin are included in the pill). They're more expensive, but like the metagenics ones, incredibly high quality. https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Life-Raw-Supplement-Vegetarian/dp/B005JAT318/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482432076&sr=1-4&keywords=vitamin%2BD%2Bgarden%2Bof%2Blife&th=1

If money is a concern, however, either now foods or viva labs make a much cheaper D3 that should work fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Naturals-Enhanced-Absorption-Softgels/dp/B00FQKI3W6/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482432275&sr=1-1&keywords=vitamin+d+viva+labs

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-Softgels/dp/B0032BH76O/ref=sr_1_6_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482432235&sr=1-6&keywords=vitamin%2Bd&th=1

Do you mean your TSH was 80.56? Or T4 was 80.56?

TSH is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. It is released by the pituitary gland to tell the thyroid to release more thyroid hormones. If TSH is high, that is like your pituitary glad screaming at your unresponsive thyroid, so no surprise that your thyroid hormone levels were also low. That usually indicates that you need to increase your dose.

I have Hashi's and I take 146 ish mg of NatureThroid along with Hyperbiotics PRO-15 Advanced probiotics, B-complex with coenzymes, Iron, Magnesium, Omega 3-6-9, Selenium and D3-5000IU. I have tried to reduce the number of supplements I take but they all help. I sometimes take Zinc as well. I quit coffee and take caffeine pills instead and I am (not super strictly, but working on it) gluten and soy free.

The first time I took Nature Throid after switching from generic levothyroxine all of my symptoms were about 80% GONE. We increased my dose from 1/4 grain to the current 2+1/4 grain over the course of maybe 6 months.

What really fixed things for me was going gluten and soy free and adding magnesium and selenium. The selenium reduced my antibodies from nearly 500 to 100 in six months. That alone made a huge difference. And going gluten/soy free allowed me to lose 20 lbs in a month and then maintain it pretty easily just logging my calories.

Occasionally, due to poor planning, I eat regular bread or some pizza and I am sapped of energy and achy for a week afterwards. I'm working on getting into the habit of always having gluten free options on hand. But generally speaking, I feel better than I've felt my entire life.

I've never heard of having an immune response to desiccated thyroid. I've done very well on Nature Throid. You may want to get labs done every 6 weeks to check your levels and adjust your dose as needed.

Not really a supplement, but Bulletproof Coffee is incredible for keeping your energy high.
(https://www.upgradedself.com/Bulletproof-Coffee-Starter-Kit-Brain-Octane-Edition)

If you're not one for coffee, you could always try Yerba Mate Tea (http://www.amazon.com/EcoTeas-Organic-Yerba-Loose-5-Pound/dp/B0012BSLWU/ref=sr_1_1?srs=5856181011&ie=UTF8&qid=1380594143&sr=8-1&keywords=yerba+mate)


In terms of supplements, I personally take Athletic Greens, krill oil, iodine, vitamin D, and vitamin K-complex (links below). You can set them on a subscription and never think about them again.

https://www.athleticgreens.com/v5
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013OULGA
http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-Softgels/dp/B0032BH76O/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GW4S0G/
http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Encapsulations-Iodine-Potassium-Iodide/dp/B0017HS34A/

Amazon or Costco

This

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Vitamin-D-3-000-Softgels/dp/B0032BH76O/ref=zg_bs_3774781_7?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=BHV252GMGQ8AWVHDPA5M&th=1

or kirkland brand

No wonder yours affect you more! I use these.

> you want a DHA/EPA to make up at least 1/3 of that supplement

Sorry, can you elaborate what you mean by this? (perhaps with an example?) What do you think of the Nordic Natural brand of fish oils?

Also, what do you think of these?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032BH76O

> It is a fat soluble vitamin, so if you are good about taking a little too much per day, eventually it will catch up with you if you live long enough.

Why? What do you mean by this?

>That's 4 pills.

Number of pills seems pretty irrelevant... I get 5k iu in one pill. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032BH76O

And this is the k2 I take with it https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GW4S0G

Dat D3 can help with your winter blues.

problem solved

These have me feeling better.

Damn, that is a good price. I've been buying these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032BH76O/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1427055578&sr=1&keywords=5000+iu+d3

My husband was deficient and uses this one 2-3 days per week. It keeps his levels in range. You want to be rechecked after you’re on it for awhile to be sure you’re not overdoing it. Low vitamin d caused my aunt to feel how she did when she had zero thyroid hormones (ablation).

You're probably a lot better on D than most people (deficiency is extremely prevalent), but moderate supplementation like 5000 IU per day could be worthwhile. It's not very expensive off of Amazon or my personal preference iHerb.

Also it's perfectly fine to pop 10,000 IU every other day rather than worry about getting the perfect sized capsule for daily supplementation.

Hell, I think I even have a coupon code for like 5 bucks off at iHerb somewhere if you care about saving 5 bucks.

Hey, you may already know this, and if so, sorry, but maybe it'll help someone else.

Vitamin D is super important to preventing and minimizing SAD, and it takes your body a really long time to build and use up VitD, so start getting as much in you now as you can. Lots of time in the sun for all the sunny days we have remaining is the best way to do this. Depending on how your body processes VitD, that might be able to get you to early November, maybe even late November.

After that VitD supplements are the way to go. You should start those around Daylight Savings Time. They can be gotten pretty cheap, and if you're only taking them leading up to and during the SAD season, you run less of a risk of VitD toxicity. (Consult your doctor, obviously, before taking any supplement, much less more than the recommended daily allowance.)

All that said, it's a great idea to have a therapist on hand as well. Best of luck in locating one. I wish I had more info for you there.

Source: My wife has SAD, her VitD levels are around 10 nanograms per mililiter in summer months without taking supplements (normal people have 20 nanograms per mililiter or higher), so she takes about 10,000 IUs a day during SAD months (normal people maybe take 600 IU a day).

EDIT: Just thought of https://www.chasebrexton.org/ They might be worth a call.

EDIT EDIT: You also might be able to access free/cheap counseling services if you're in college.

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-Softgels/dp/B0032BH76O/

Yes 5000 IU. No it's not too much.

I can't recommend actual doses as I don't know enough about them, but the consensus from /r/supplements led me to believe that this D3 supplement and this K supplement are proper and safe doses.

Two a day keeps the rickets away.

Chiropractor here: Vit D Deficiency is EXTREMELY common and taking an inexpensive oral supplement usually combined with vit K can help with all sorts of health issues. Personally I was diagnosed with psoriasis at age 19 and was immediately put on steroid creams for about 3 years. I ended up developing stretch marks as a result of the steroids and my psoriasis was no better. After noticing my rashes were improved in the summer time, I started researching auto immune diseases and vit d deficiency. I'm currently 30 yoa, take no RX for my psoriasis and have not had a rash since I was in my early 20's. If you live in a cold weather place (i live in Iowa) it is especially important to get it checked. Also when you do go out in the sun, make sure to wait at least 10-15 minutes before applying sunscreen as to not block any natural vit D you can get for free from the sun.

Edit: Here's the brand I like personally as not all supplements are the same.

I take it over the counter. Mine was 7 when my doctor checked it. I started taking 2,000 IU's everyday. Then when I got it rechecked 3 months later is was still really low, 27. My doctor said it should be AT LEAST 50. So I got the 5,000 IU pills that I found on amazon ( I take one everyday, except Wednesday I take 2) and after a couple weeks at that dose I felt soooo much better. I haven't gotten it rechecked yet (will get it checked in July when I go to the doctor again,) but I'm pretty confident it's in range now. I'd say go for the 5,000 IU pills once a day. These are the one's I use 240 days worth of pills for $12. And they work really well. Can't beat the price.

My mom has a prescription for hers. It was like 50,000 IU's once a week, but they were like $20 a pill. So she started taking the 5,000 IU ones everyday and said she felt a lot better that way, because getting it in everyday didn't give her mood swings like the once a week pill did.

Good luck getting your levels up. It can take a while but once you get them up, as long as you keep taking the pills everyday it will stay up and you will feel sooo much better. It's really amazing what a difference it makes.

I also take 1,000 mg of magnesium everyday because it helps with the vitamin D absorption (from what I've read) and I realized that when I started taking it the random muscle spasms that I had for YEARS all over my body stopped almost right away. My doctors never mentioned that it might be a magnesium deficiency they just gave me a muscle relaxer to take at night so the twitching wouldn't keep me awake, but even with that I still got twitches all over. A lot of people who are deficient in Vitamin D are also deficient in Magnesium, so you might want to get that checked as well. :)

Yeah I don't take a multivitamin, just a vitamin D. My urologist says that he has prescribed up to 50,000 IU a day, so you really can't overdue it.
He has also told me that the bodies metabolism changes over the course of 3-5 years, so you many not be stuck with them forever.

Oh, too bad this isn't a thing.

Assange, bro don't give up.

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-Softgels/dp/B0032BH76O/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1408371248&sr=1-1&keywords=vitamin+d

$10 and your deficiency will go away. If you can't afford it I will pay for it myself. Please email me. I know all about Vitamin supplements.