In episode 13 of The Pitt (our favorite medical show) , a 48-year-old woman comes into the
ER with jaundice (yellow skin) and nausea, and testing reveals she has
inflammation in her liver. It turns out, and after investigation by Dr. Santos, the patient had been taking five
500-milligram capsules of turmeric a day, and the doctors explain that there
have been cases of liver failure in doses of turmeric that large.
Indeed, when asked to explain the veracity of the plot, Sohaib Imtiaz, MD,
chief medical officer for the People Inc. Health Group, said:
“Yes, turmeric supplements have been definitively linked to
liver injury, including cases of acute liver
failure.”
Adding that while turmeric
as a culinary spice is generally safe, high-dose turmeric supplements can cause
drug-induced liver injury, a form of liver damage caused by medications, herbs,
or supplements, which typically develops within one to four months of starting
supplementation.
But similar warning can apply to all supplements, including vitamin A, cod liver oil, and B12 - if taken with a weight loss med. See e.g.
Concerns over rise in supplement-induced liver injuries
Enter now a host of online 'influencers' (quotes because I don't regard it as a real job) pushing assorted vitamins, supplements in their respective 'stacks'. According to a recent WSJ piece ('Influencers Stir Vitamin Frenzy', p. A11, April 2):
"Over the top supplement regimens have become bragging rights for the health conscious and wellness-obsessed. From beauty lovers to masculinity influencers, everyone is boasting about their 'stacks' - the numerous capsules, powders and injections theyh take in the hopes of achieving a cumulative, self -optimizing effect."
Alas, much of it is for naught, and basically an elaborate addiction, this according to Mona Sharma, a nutritionist in L.A. According to her, quoted in the WSJ article, many of her clients "take upward of 15 supplements a day."
Adding that one female client:
"Had been taking 70, following guidance seen online, without feeling any positive effect on her well-being."
And many of these powders, pills etc. ain't cheap. The top twenty percent of one set of users spend "upwards of $479 a month on supplements". Incredible, given many of these items can exacerbate health issues.
For example, the choice of ingesting higher T (testosterone) which I have warned about in earlier posts, e.g.
But there are many other pitfalls, especially if one veers off the path of sound medical advice and chooses to follow influencers' babble instead. On the other hand, as I learned from the recent Harvard Health Letter, taking 1,000 iu of Vitamin D3 a day will help you avoid respiratory infections. I have had to do this anyway as part of my bone protection regimen - along with taking 1,000 mg of calcium a day - given the ADT for prostate cancer means bones are more susceptible to fractures.
As for the 'stack' of vitamins, supplements I take, apart from what I already noted it's limited to basically 5 a day, no more. These arrived at following 50 years of research and carefully monitoring the effects they've had on me. Ensuring first no negative impacts, and second that I see positives I can point to. So my set includes:
Vitamin C: 1500 mg, timed release.
Vitamin B 12, 1000 mcg daily
Soy Lecithin - 1200 mg capsule daily (to sustain brain functions)
CoQ10, 30 mg daily: to alleviate muscle pain arising from daily statin
Vitamin B6 - 50 mg daily, to counter depression from the ADT
I have also begun taking 500 mg of Green Tea Extract every other day to limit the cancer's chances of getting into the bones. (Bone mets)
As for the supplement influencers written about in the WSJ piece, an alarm that emerges in the first two paragraphs concerns one of them (Kristin Leite, 38, ) who takes "four powders and five capsules each morning" - and then proceeds to whine about how much pain she experiences in the aftermath.
That alone ought to warn the sensible person off taking advice from any of these attention seekers.
See Also:
And:
Liver Damage: Let's Not Confuse Vitamins With Dietary Supplements
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