Keeping healthy tough on senior

February 23, 2012 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: Vitamin supplements cause me great digestive distress and chest pain — vitamin D, fish oil, multiple vitamins, vitamin C, to name only a few. I’ve tried taking them with food and still cannot tolerate them. Do you have any suggestions? Calcium tablets are also constipating.

I am 75 years of age and my doctor has said I need to be taking some of the above mentioned supplements. Diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and CAD are some of my health issues. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

DEAR READER: Dietary supplements, as you have discovered, may carry unwanted side effects. For example, calcium can cause gas and/or constipation in some people and may interfere with the absorption of iron. [Read more...]

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Reader taking 10 times more than recommended

February 20, 2012 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: Now 67, I’ve suffered with “pings” of sharp pain in my shoulders for three years. I could hear and feel the tendons and muscles pop when I moved or reached for something. My uncle, 94, claims to have “not an ache or pain” and recommended I take 40,000 units of vitamin D3 daily. I tried 20,000 with no results. I tried 30,000 with some relief. I tried 40,000 units and am mostly symptom free. I had been to MDs, chiropractors and had acupuncture and massages all with little or no results. What might have been my diagnosis? Are there any long-term side effects from this seemingly high dose?

DEAR READER: Vitamin D is fat soluble and found naturally in very few foods (fish liver oil, fatty fish, beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks). It is best known for promoting calcium absorption, but also maintains adequate blood calcium and phosphate levels, [Read more...]

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Weaning off supplements

December 29, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am trying to get my husband and I off some of our supplements. I started him on folic acid several years ago after reading about how it reduces homocysteine levels. My doctor didn’t see the need to order a level, so we started on it prophylactically. Is there a need to take it from your viewpoint? Also, what about magnesium? We started on that also for back pain prevention.

Once you start these things, one becomes paranoid about getting off of them for fear we will be missing out on something that might be helping us.

My husband is on pravastatin and has great cholesterol numbers but has a family history (maternal uncle) of heart disease. I did read somewhere that magnesium can cause [Read more...]

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Overusing supplements can cause long-term damage

July 3, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I have a friend whose husband consumes well over the recommended doses of liquid and tablet forms of mineral supplements. He purchases approximately $1,000 worth each month. It consists of liquid vitamins, liquid calcium, glucosamine pills, liquid minerals, tablets of Prost (a men-only supplement), selenium, OPC, Sweet Eze, and more from a mail-order supplier who is a veterinarian. He also takes liquid glucosamine, flaxseed tablets and cinnamon tablets.

He is adamant about keeping this daily regimen. He also is a Type 2 diabetic and has been for most of his adult life. He is an OCD personality and has become downright mean over the years.
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Review of vitamins D and E

March 20, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about vitamins D and E. Can you tell me the good and the bad about them? Thank you.

DEAR READER: Vitamin D is fat-soluble, meaning that it is stored by the body for future use. It can be produced within the body during exposure to sunlight and is also available in some foods and through supplements. Before the body can use it, however, it must undergo two changes. The first occurs in the liver, the second in the kidneys. At this point, it is now active and ready for use in the body.
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Reader offers advice on supplements

November 11, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: It is definitely better for some vitamins and minerals to be taken with food at mealtimes, but other food supplements must be taken on an empty stomach. You can also take smaller amounts of some vitamins and minerals between meals, with water, and get a bigger punch from them. For me, it’s better to take mineral capsules, tablets or powders with lunch or supper than it is for breakfast, when my stomach enzymes aren’t strong enough to digest them well. The minerals give me a stomachache. Also, never take a multi-B vitamin before bedtime or you won’t get to sleep. See, it all depends!

DEAR READER: You certainly appear to have done your homework. I could not find confirmation for some of your claims, such as multi-B at bedtime causing insomnia; however, each of us responds differently to medication, even over-the-counters. [Read more...]

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Vitamin talk, from A to K

June 30, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am deficient in B12 and get a shot monthly. Therefore, I am interested in information on vitamins in general.

DEAR READER: There are 13 vitamins that your body needs, all essential for maintaining good health. These are broken down into two categories, water soluble and fat soluble. The water-soluble vitamins include the B complex, which is comprised of eight vitamins — 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, biotin and folic acid — and C. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K.

B1 (thiamin) works with the nervous system and helps the body use carbohydrates for energy. When deficiency occurs, it can cause impaired growth, muscle weakness, mental confusion and more.
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When should meds and supplements be taken?

May 22, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My doctors have told me that there are better times during the day to take vitamins or calcium. I take a thyroid pill in the morning. About an hour or so later, I take my vitamin with an omega-3 tablet and then take my calcium tablet with a late lunch or after my dinner. Am I taking them correctly as far as getting all the benefits from them? I hope you can answer this question for me.

DEAR READER: You ask an extremely important question, and your doctors are correct in what they tell you. In some respects, the most appropriate time of day to take vitamins and other medications is when you are least likely to forget, such as the first thing each day.
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Are “supervitamins” worth super cost?

March 20, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: Would you please comment on the supposed super vitamins manufactured by a company named USANA Corporation that is listed on the stock exchange? Are they efficacious and worth the exorbitant prices that they charge for their products?

DEAR READER: The USANA Corporation is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. The company makes nutritional, weight management, and personal skin products, selling through a sales network marketing system of more than 140,000 independent distributors similar to Amway, Avon and other companies. USANA also produces skin and hair care products under a different brand name. I am unfamiliar with their “exorbitant” prices for the merchandise they manufacture, but am advised the company reported sales of almost $375,000,000 dollars in 2006.
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