Supplements - biotin, pantothenic acid, zinc, folate .... ???

[kortner]

We've been talking a lot of supplements here lately (and though I would love to get more from food, it seems like in some cases it is not doable - like biotin: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...trient&dbid=42). I also don't know how much I am able to absorb from food at this time. Would love to bounce ideas off one another to sort out our various needs. Here's my list:

Magnesium - looking into Natural Calm (no calcium), to be taken starting slow and increasing over time, separate from calcium! (for me indicators are: Epsom tastes sweet and I used to eat half a bar of chocolate a day - now intolerant), Epsom is another opt... we've been doing baths 2-3x/wk... other options?

Enzymes - right now I am taking SourceNaturals Daily Essential Enzymes, 1 with each meal (ind: food intolerance!, now better feeling tummy, better output)... other brands that work for you?

D - taking 1 tsp of Carlson's per day, planning on getting FCLO from buildinghealth, and poss. supp'ing with D3 - SourceNaturals 2000 IU or other??? waiting for sunshine...

HCl - I have 'Biotics Research' brand, considering trying to add (til 'fizzy') (ind: I passed the beet test last time, but have trouble digesting meat, so I am unsure, was rec. by a friend from her ND) experience? *started taking 1 with each meal, adding 1 each time to find level (see 'fizzy' link above)

Zinc - looking into a supp. (like SourceNaturals OptiZinc - 30 mg, also has 300 mcg copper???) (ind: I should do the liquid taste test - if it is tasteless, I need it (not gammadyn <sp?> as it has no taste) other rec.s for zinc supps?

Biotin - looking into a supp. (Country Life high potency biotin 5 mg -P/SB rec. 16 mg divided) maybe with
Pantothenic Acid/B5 - (ind: I have the 'burning feet' sx, listed on WHfoods
or
B Complex - (ind: Neon pee after eating nutritional yeast, dandruff <biotin - which I read works hand-in-hand with B5>) I am under researched here - any rec.s?
Folate - Folapro for folate has been floating around here. Other folic acid supps. are not as easily absorbed? or compete with actual folate? I could use some clarification here.

Iodine - need to do betaine patch test on tummy (see how long it takes until t fades - quickly ind. I need it), have heard Iodoral rec. here, also looking at Kelp.

Glycine - add gelatin

C - take to bowel tolerance, slowly increasing, divided in day (ind: helps liver filter toxins, everyone can benefit from Vit. C, yes?) brands? Aller-C? Right now I have Garden of Life 'Living C' and only take when I am feeling yucky or the little guy is snotty.

Other stuff I do: homeopathic remedy 20c cyclamen 1x/day, flower essences: vervain, red chestnut, cherry plum and pine 0-5x/day, water kefir w/ lemon: 4-8 c./day, sauerkraut 1 meal/day, probiotic supp.'s occasionally, 1-3 tbsp. coconut oil/day, avoid IgGs (eggs, nuts, gluten, choc., dairy, beans), blender batter pancakes w/ coconut kefir cream, herbal teas, chickweed/nettles tincture occasionally, lots of nutritional yeast, bone broth, honey!, will be adding clay when I get it!

I am sure I am forgetting something, need to check whoMe's step-by-step again and go back over the threads, like Pat's list and neveryoumind's ND's rec.s. Thanks for any input and experience you can share!

[changingseasons]

:

[kortner]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

:

Hey! I was just searching for your 'vitamin D' search thread to link here - I remember it listed a lot of D supp. options, including the one you found (Pure Encapsulations? Is that right?). Would you post a link to it?

[changingseasons]

hmmm.. I think it was this one. Yeah, I ended up with the Pure Encapsulations capsule.

[MyLittleWonders]

Subbing. My goal is to find biotin at the HFS today for dh and I, and also add a very small amount of biotin plus a very small amount of a B-complex to the boys' smoothie in the morning (plus added Vit. C - I'm using sodium ascorbate).

[kortner]

Originally Posted by MyLittleWonders

Subbing. My goal is to find biotin at the HFS today for dh and I, and also add a very small amount of biotin plus a very small amount of a B-complex to the boys' smoothie in the morning (plus added Vit. C - I'm using sodium ascorbate).

Thanks for mentioning sodium ascorbate! I remember reading about which kind to take and why, but had forgotten! I've been looking at supps at vitacost (they have several options for biotin - I know Country Life is gluten free, so that was what I was thinking of getting). I don't really know how to weigh the B-complexes!

If anyone cares to share the brands they currently use (for whatever, D, C, etc.) that are allergen-free, please do!

Here's the fermented cod liver oil link (thanks Pat!)
While I was shopping there I saw they also offer pH testing strips, and I remembered someone thinking about getting some, but couldn't remember why - anyone? I haven't ordered from here yet, so I could get some to share if I knew what they were good for.

Here's a place where I think you can buy both Iodoral and Folapro.

[changingseasons]

I am currently using:

• vitamin C - TwinLab Allerg-C (from sago palm)
• calcium - TwinLab Calcium Citrate (calcium from lime, citrate from fermented beet sugar)
• vitamin D - Pure Encapsulations capsule (filler & cap from pine fiber)
• mag - Source Naturals Mag Active liquid (yuck!!)
• zinc - TwinLab Zinc Caps
• CLO - TwinLab regular- I did verify that their A&D are natural, not synthetic. No soy antioxidants added.

[WuWei]

You all might want to have this thread stickied.

Pat

[lil_miss_understood]

subbing

[lil_miss_understood]

Just Googled and found this on wikipedia:

Biotin is widely distributed in a variety of foods, but most often at low concentrations. Estimates are that the typical U.S. diet provides roughly 40 ug/day. There are only a couple of foods which contain biotin in large amounts, including royal jelly and brewer's yeast The best natural sources of biotin in human nutrition are swiss chard, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and carrots. This includes almonds, eggs, onions, cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower, goat's milk, cow's milk, raspberries, strawberries, halibut, oats, and walnuts. The most important natural sources in feeding nonruminant animals are oilseed meals, alfalfa, and dried yeasts. It is important to note that the biotin content of food varies and can be influenced by factors such as plant variety, season, and yield (endosperm-to-pericarp ratio).[2]

[tanyalynn]

I've used Bronson sodium ascorbate (item 50B) and NOW sodium ascorbate, I haven't noticed any problems switching to the NOW which is quite a bit cheaper, esp if you shop around (lots of variation in prices). We're just gluten and dairy free, it probably has corn.

Iodoral is pretty high dose, 12.5mg per pill (vs the 0.15 mg RDA) so slowly ramping up may be prudent. But I just started taking it, not knowing any better, and didn't notice any bad reactions (but we've discussed other places that it can mobilize halogens and heavy metals, which I wish I'd known before I did it with a nurseling).

You may want to ramp up on the biotin, I think it's faster at, basically, starving out the candida than the other supps, so slowly ramping would help balance toxins released by candida with your detox bandwidth. I ramped up with my daughter, I saw her vitamin C need go up but she had no behavioral or other signs that she was having difficulty with it.

pH testing strips--my understanding is that keeping first-morning-urine pH within a sort of middle range, and I don't remember exactly what it's supposed to be, I think it's roughly 6.0-7.0, reduces stress on the body. If you google things like acid alkaline urine or something like that, you'd get a better discussion than I can do. My HCP recommended I figure out the dosage of my mineral supp (cal and mag, but other stuff too, perque's bone guard forte 20, gfcf, no idea on corn, so probably not no-corn-compatible) based on how it affected the pH of my urine (only testing first thing in the morning). The strips I have go from 5.5-8.0 I think (I think there are some out there with a wider range).

[MyLittleWonders]

I just bought some Country Life biotin at the HFS. It's 5mg, but in a capsule, so short of opening it and halving it in my smoothie (which I still might do), it'll be 5mg, once a day. I'm thinking if I up my sodium ascorbate for a while too, it should help (I hope).

We use:

• *Sodium Ascorbate (Vit. C) from Bronson Labs
  *Multi from Metagenics
  *B-Complex from Country Life
  *Biotin from Country Life
  *MethylMax from Sanesco
  *Prolent from Sanesco
  *Vit. D - one from Jarrow (1000 IU) and one from Carlson (2000 IU)
  *CLO - Kirkman Labs and Green Pastures
  *AdreneVive from Ortho Molecular Products
  *PhosphatydilSerine from Ortho Molecular Products
  *Licorice Root from Ortho Molecular Products

I'm debating adding the Iodoral back in - I was thinking of breaking the little tabs in half (I don't think I could get them in quarters) and starting from there. I also have VitaMineral Green on order to help add more good stuff in us each day. I debated the fermented CLO but I don't know if anyone other than dh would even dare try it!

[kortner]

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

Just Googled and found this on wikipedia:

Hmm, that's interesting, from whfoods it seemed like the only source with any large amt. was chard, and you'd need 3.5 c./day! I miss eggs! They have everything! Here's Jacqueline's vitamin D (at 100,000 IUs/day)

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

I've used Bronson sodium ascorbate (item 50B) and NOW sodium ascorbate, I haven't noticed any problems switching to the NOW which is quite a bit cheaper, esp if you shop around (lots of variation in prices). We're just gluten and dairy free, it probably has corn.
Thanks for the brand, allergen, and price info!!! Thank you changingseasons and MyLittleWonders too for your lists!
Iodoral is pretty high dose, 12.5mg per pill (vs the 0.15 mg RDA) so slowly ramping up may be prudent. But I just started taking it, not knowing any better, and didn't notice any bad reactions (but we've discussed other places that it can mobilize halogens and heavy metals, which I wish I'd known before I did it with a nurseling).
Thanks Tanya!

You may want to ramp up on the biotin, I think it's faster at, basically, starving out the candida than the other supps, so slowly ramping would help balance toxins released by candida with your detox bandwidth. I ramped up with my daughter, I saw her vitamin C need go up but she had no behavioral or other signs that she was having difficulty with it.
Good to know! I was planning on ramping with this one too, but I actually had no idea *why*, now I think I may wait the howevermany weeks until my clay comes before starting biotin (see Detox thread below, for why clay w/ candida)! Oh, and maybe adding chlorophyll would be a good idea too, eh? Or for those of you further along, green juice!

pH testing strips-
Thanks again for explaining!

Also, upon reviewing Detox, HTG & HCl, I realize B12 and folate are important when adding biotin. And I need to look into selenium (as L-selenomethionine - Country Life makes one, yeast free!) since I can't do Brazil nuts yet.

And the chat thread has gotten so heavy I'm thinking about K2 now too (eggs again! drat! guess I need to branch out in the liver dept.), we don't have nosebleeds, but since supp'ing with CLO my mood has greatly improved and my son's teeth have tartar build up. Thanks for mentioning your experience with this, Tanya!

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by kortner

Here's Jacqueline's vitamin D (at 100,000 IUs/day)

100,000 IU per *week*

[kortner]

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

100,000 IU per *week*

Oh, well then no jaw drop, just big eyes:

[mtn.mama]

We use:

Thorne Research liquid K2
Pure Encapsulations liquid D3
Source Naturals ColloidaLife Minerals
TwinLab Allergy-C
PhytoPharmica B-Complex End Fatigue
NOW NAC-molybdenum-selenium
NOW Caprylic Acid
Country Life Biotin
NOW Omega 3
Kirkman Bifido Complex
PhytoPharmica DHEA
Adrenal Assist
Iodoral
Baby Calm Magnesium
TwinLab Niacin
Nature's Sunshine Zinc
GSE
HerbPharm Thuja, Motherwort, Milk Thistle, Eleuthero, Rhodiola, Turmeric, Chickweed tinctures
Nettle, Red Clover Blossom, Comfrey Leaf, Oatstraw infusions

[kortner]

Thanks, mtn.mama!

Here's a link to Tanya's list of supp.s, I'll copy and paste some here too:

Here’s what we do:
--DHA-250mg (sometimes I skip this)
--Perque Mg Plus Guard 110mg (1-2/day)
--Thorne zinc citrate ½ cap, each cap is 30mg so I give 15mg/day per kid
--Perque Bone Guard Forte 20 (tablet ground in a coffee grinder—kids get ½ tablet per day)
--Thorne B-complex #6 1/day
--Perque Liva Guard 1/day (has silymarin (milk thistle extract), reduced glutathione, and other stuff)
--modifilan started at 2-3/day, now mostly 6/day and will go higher when the kids need it (on rounds of ALA or after cranial-sacral—have noticed significant toxin releases after bodywork for both kids—it caused irritability and a jump in vitC need)
--Thorne melaton-1 (1mg)
--Perque activated B-12 guard (sublingual B-12) usually ½ tab 2x/day but lately 1tab 2x/day for extra support while chelating
--Perque Life Guard Chewables – multivitamin, 1-2/day
--Thorne vitamin K2—daughter gets 1 drop 2x/day, son gets 3 drops 3x/day (1 drop = 1mg—this is considered a very high dose of k2, the vitamin k yahoo group has a good store of knowledge on this, and K2 isn’t standard for biomed, it seems to be a quirk of ours—my daughter doesn’t seem to need nearly as much, but son is different)
--cod liver oil—I use Green Pastures cinnamon flavored (which still has a hint of fish, sad to say), the kids get about 7000-8000 IU vitA/day, plus the vitD and EPA/DHA also in CLO
--Bronson sodium ascorbate (vitC) item 50B (mild salty flavor) to bowel tolerance 3x/day

[kortner]

Dairy Free Probiotics - rough draft

Please call the company before buying any of these supplements!!! BTDT mamas have found that lots of places like to claim dairy-free, even when they're not.

If anyone has firsthand good or bad experience with the following, please let us know!

Dairy-free probiotics:

infants
Custom Probiotics http://www.customprobiotics.com
DDS Junior http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=1692
GI ProHealth http://www.giprohealth.com/
iFLORA http://www.relfe.com/acidophilus_bab..._children.html
Klaire Labs (must have HCP to order) http://www.klaire.com
Pharmax HLC Intensive (no FOS/inulin – double check)
http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/HLC...le_p_0-63.html
Natren http://www.natren.com/veganmain.asp
Solaray BabyLife http://www.suzannes.com/allnatenpow2.html post 1
adult
Country Life (gluten free, some are NOT dairy free, some are)
DDS Plus http://www.vitacost.com/UASLabsDDSPl...ilusBifidusFos
HMF Intensive by Genestra http://www.rockwellnutrition.net/HMF...p_151-239.html
Kirkman – many varieties Bifido Complex, ProBio, etc.
http://www.kirkmanlabs.com
Natren (some are, some are not – check site) http://www.natren.com
Solgar Advanced Acidophilus http://www.n101.com/solgar_advanced_...984000261.html
yogurt starter
Custom Probiotics http://www.customprobiotics.com/yogurt_starter.htm
GI ProHealth ProStart (also corn free) http://www.giprohealth.com/

Pharmax Probiotics human strains, allergen free ~ $5 off with coupon code "Mothering"

also see this thread on FOS/inulin: http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1015167

RED ALERT: Nutrition Now PB8 Vegetarian "dairy-free" probiotics NOT dairy-free!!!!

[WuWei]

Water kefir are dairy free probiotics.
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/...-tuturial.html
http://www.weim.net/homeovet/Docs/water%20kefir.pdf

Source water kefir grains and kits: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/zen...f7d9495863f447


Pat

[KimPM]

Originally Posted by kortner

If anyone cares to share the brands they currently use (for whatever, D, C, etc.) that are allergen-free, please do!

I have a whole spreadsheet on vitamin D options, including the source of the vitamin D and all the excipients they either list on the package or that the companies emailed me back when I asked them. (Allergen-free means different things to different people)

Not sure I've got ALL of the vitamin D options out there, but I've got a LOT of them. PM me if you want me to email it back to you.