Who can advise on superfoods and herbal supplements?

[Tarzan]

I read some older threads on multivitamins and superfoods and am very curious. Are things like spirulina and chlorella and maca a better source of some vitamins or minerals than the equivalent vitamin/multivitamin supplement?

I am in EU so I was thinking about ordering some stuff from Chemistdirect. Do you know anything about the brands they carry like Healthaid, Kudos, etc? If you can suggest another source inside EU, I am all ears.

At the moment, I am only taking 1 fish oil gel per day at 140mg EPA and 100mg DHA. Do you suggest more per day?

My nutrition is quite good but sometimes I am a little low on energy. What could give me a boost especially in the morning? No coffee or energy drinks.

I have read some "bad things" about ginseng and ginkgo biloba, don't remember where and what. Should people generally avoid these?

What would be a relatively safe intro to superfoods? There are so many of them and the descriptions are pretty vague, how one decides what to choose?

 

[javyn]

You've probably read my old posts touting spirulina and chlorella algaes, and yes, I still love them. Taking my daily chlorella tabs right now as a matter of fact.

The algaes are really foods rather than supplements so I'd say yes, you are getting more vitamins than with a regular multivitamin supplement.

As far as what you need for energy, spirulina is where it's at.

 

[Tarzan]

Thanks javyn.

I was hoping you would reply.

 

[javyn]

OH yeah, as far as maca goes, I don't think it will provide you much nutrition, but for energy levels and sex, it's stellar.

It's my usual pre-workout supplement.

I was hoping you would reply.

HAH thanks. I think that's a first for me at SF.

 

[1969]

Originally Posted by Tarzan

I am in EU so I was thinking about ordering some stuff from Chemistdirect. Do you know anything about the brands they carry like Healthaid, Kudos, etc? If you can suggest another source inside EU, I am all ears.

What, if any, are the restrictions on supplements in Europe?

 

[Tarzan]

I don't know, I asked this because there is trouble when ordering something from outside the EU that doesn't have licence from the greek FDA. Shipments from EU pass without check at customs.

 

[Sunnydale]

You probably want to take more fish oil. At one capsule a day you are not receiving full benefit. Here is an article that should be of help as it explains EPA/DHA dosage and quantities to look at taking: http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/20...oil-right.html Getting your dose of fish oil right Confusion often stems from the simplest of calculations: dose of fish oil. Actually, you and I don't take fish oil for fish oil. We take fish oil for its content of omega-3 ***** acids, the dominant ones being EPA and DHA. The contents of fish oil outside of its EPA + DHA content likely exert little or no benefit (beyond that of other dietary oils). To determine what you are currently taking, simply examine the back of your fish oil bottle and look for the EPA + DHA composition. This should be clearly and prominently labeled. If not, don't buy that brand again. Add up the EPA + DHA content per capsule, then multiply by the number of capsules you take per day. That yields your daily EPA + DHA intake. The only other substantial source of omega-3 ***** acids is fish. Other food sources, such as non-fish meats, eggs, etc., contribute little or none. Processed foods that bear health claims of "contains heart healthy omega-3" often contain linolenic acid or flaxseed oil, which contributes very little to total EPA + DHA, or contain relatively trivial quantities of DHA. What are you doing eating processed foods, anyway? What should the total daily dose of EPA + DHA dose be? That depends on what your goals are. If your goal is to modestly reduce the risk of dying from heart attack, then just eating fish a couple of times per month will begin to exert an effect, or just taking a dose of 300 mg EPA + DHA per day from a low-potency capsule will do it. However, that's an awfully unambitious goal. Our starting omega-3 dose in the Track Your Plaque program has, over the years, increased and now stands at 1800 mg EPA + DHA per day. However, the dose for 1) full reduction of triglycerides and/or triglyceride-containing abnormal lipoproteins, 2) reduction of Lp(a), and 3) the ideal dose for coronary and carotid plaque control are substantially higher. But once you know your desired daily target of total EPA + DHA, you can easily determine the quantity of capsules to take by doing the above arithemetic, totaling the EPA + DHA per capsule. For example, if you have been instructed to take 6000 mg per day EPA + DHA, and your capsule contains 750 mg EPA + DHA, then you will need to take 8 capsules per day (6000/750).

 

[javyn]

That's true sunny, but taking 7 or 8 capsules of fish oil every day would IMO thin one's blood way too much. Better to either find capsules with as high a EPA/DHA content as possible so you don't have to take as much, or just supplement with algaes.

Best bang for your buck on fish oil I've ever found is this:

http://www.countrylifevitamins.com/m...Product_ID=362

Two softgels totaling over 1 gram of EPA. Not too shabby for the price at all.

 

[Sunnydale]

Nah, that amount should be fine, no blood thinning problems. Here is another article that asks the question Does fish oil cause blood thinning. As for myself, I've been taking around 2500mgs of EPA/DHA for 4 years without issues. And haven't sprouted gills yet!

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2009

Does fish oil cause blood thinning?
Omega-3 ***** acids from fish oil have the capacity to "thin the blood." In reality, omega-3s exert a mild platelet-blocking effect (platelet activation and "clumping" are part of clot formation), while also inhibiting arachidonic acid formation and thromboxane.

But can fish oil cause excessive bleeding?

This question comes up frequently in the office, particularly when my colleagues see the doses of fish oil we use for cardiovascular protection. "Why so much fish oil? That's too much blood thinning!"

The most recent addition to the conversation comes from a Philadelphia experience reported in the American Journal of Cardiology:

Comparison of bleeding complications with omega-3 ***** acids + aspirin + clopidogrel--versus--aspirin + clopidogrel in patients with cardiovascular disease.(Watson et al; Am J Cardiol 2009 Oct 15;104(8):1052-4).

All 364 subjects in the study took aspirin and Plavix (a platelet-inhibiting drug), mostly for coronary disease. Mean dose aspirin = 161 mg/day; mean dose Plavix = 75 mg/day. 182 of the subjects were also taking fish oil, mean dose 3000 mg with unspecified omega-3 content.

During nearly 3 years of observation, there was no excess of bleeding events in the group taking fish oil. (In fact, the group not taking fish oil had more bleeding events, though the difference fell short of achieving statistical significance.) Thus, 3000 mg per day of fish oil appeared to exert no observable increase in risk for bleeding. This is consistent with several other studies, including that including Coumadin (warfarin), with no increased bleeding risk when fish oil is added.

Rather than causing blood thinning, I prefer to think that omega-3 ***** acids from fish oil restore protection from abnormal clotting. Taking omega-3 ***** acids from fish oil simply restores a normal level of omega-3 ***** acids in the blood sufficient to strike a healthy balance between blood "thinning" and healthy blood clotting.

 

[javyn]

Interesting. From personal experience, taking so many fish oil caps a day made me very ill. Not emergency room ill, but just felt sick to my stomach and head for a few days. Which is why I found the Country Life Mood/High EPA.

Nowadays I don't even bother with fish oil though.

 

[jessetk313]

Javyn, may I ask what chlorella algae and spirulina supplement brand you take/recommend?

 

[javyn]

I take NOW brand Spirulina powder. I bought a 4 lb jug for around 70 bucks last year and it's still going strong.

I just buy the Vitamin Shoppe chlorella tabs since I can only tolerate one shake a day heh. ~20 bucks for 300 grams. Not bad for tablets.

 

[jessetk313]

Solid Solid, I think I may try both out. Since I was about to purchase a new multi vitamin anyway, I think Im going to dish out the extra cash and go with these two supplements since my energy sucks on the Multi's and I could definitely use some energy in the gym after sitting in class all day. I am going to start with the 1ilb. of Spirulina and see how it goes. Javyn, you recommend a morning does of Spirulina, and another before workouts?

 

[Sunnydale]

Originally Posted by javyn

Interesting. From personal experience, taking so many fish oil caps a day made me very ill. Not emergency room ill, but just felt sick to my stomach and head for a few days. Which is why I found the Country Life Mood/High EPA.

Nowadays I don't even bother with fish oil though.

I'm sorry to hear that. And yeah, concentrated fish oil works well too. What matters is obtaining the EPA/DHA.

Your comment about coming down with an upset stomach is actually humorous to me. I used to have a severe stomach problem. It was very similar to crohns disease. After I began taking fish oil and another supplement, vitamin D3, my GI issues all but went away. I tell everyone about it! And the two supplements have helped others with stomach problems. So taking lots of fish oil along with vitamin D3 has had the opposite effect for me. The two have been better than any prescription I've taken.

 

[waldenbags]

I like to keep things simple with a Champion juicer for carrots, apples, and kale.