in the early 1960's when the synthesis of b-12 began- it was the most expensive substance on earth for brief time.
B- vits can be very effective in a variety of maladies.

My view is that these are "supplements", not replacements for a balanced diet. Living here in SEA means you may not have access to good quality foods that still retain all the minerals and vitamins the body needs.

After several years here, my doctor back home noted I was deficient in vitamin B12, which typically strikes males over 50. Mostly we get this from red meats, which are minimally available. I was just outside the normal zone, which meant taking a supplements to get the B12 up into normal. After subsequent tests and confirmation, I was reduced to taking a supplement every 3 days.

By the way, if my test result had been even further outside the zone of abnormality, into the urgent zone, I'd have been transported to hospital immediately and given an emergency B12 injection in the butt. Truth. B12 deficiency is serious.

Quote:

Vitamin B12 is an especially important vitamin for maintaining healthy nerve cells, and it helps in the production of DNA and RNA, the body's genetic material. Vitamin B12 works closely with vitamin B9, also called folate or folic acid, to help make red blood cells and to help iron work better in the body.

armchairlawyer wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:21 pm All right then, if you are going to have a debate, then it is not acceptable to pull one study off the shelf and ignore everything else. For a more balanced view see this,
http://www.oprah.com/health/vitamins-ar ... ad-for-you

I am not interested in debating the issue I am just proffering "health promotion" information.

I dont think one article by a women's health writer pointing out that some studies are flawed (which we know to be the case) in any way detracts from the mounting evidence of the non-efficacy of supplements. I'm not knocking her article by the way, but what is missing is the citation of peer reviewed research proving supplement efficacy. It is a common ploy by big pharma to cast doubt on research that questions their "medicine" by calling the particular research flawed. However no research to the contrary is offered.

As Nancy Gottesman states in the article you cited:
"Listen to experts who consider the entire body of research." He and Stampfer both believe that most women need nothing more than a daily multivitamin and a calcium-plus-vitamin-D supplement. Though healthy foods like fruit, veggies, beans, low-fat dairy, and whole grains should be your primary source of nutrients,

Which I said in my first post: "Supplements can be beneficial, but the key to vitamin and mineral success is eating a balanced diet. Before taking vitamin and mineral supplements, talk to your physician about your personal dietary plan.http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Condition ... b9MCsYxVLM

And I did not pull one study "off the shelf" by the way I offered three fairly thorough studies
Study one
First, Fortmann and colleagues systematically reviewed trial evidence to update the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on the efficacy of vitamin supplements for primary prevention in community-dwelling adults with no nutritional deficiencies. After reviewing 3 trials of multivitamin supplements and 24 trials of single or paired vitamins that randomly assigned more than 400 000 participants, the authors concluded that there was no clear evidence of a beneficial effect of supplements on all-cause
mortality, cardiovascular disease, or cancer.

Study two
Grodstein and coworkers (2) evaluated the efficacy of a daily multivitamin to prevent cognitive decline among 5947 men aged 65 years or older participating in the Physicians’ Health Study II. After 12 years of follow-up, there were no differences between the multivitamin and placebo groups in overall cognitive performance or verbal memory. Adherence to the intervention was high, and the large sample size resulted in precise estimates showing that use of a multivitamin supplement in a well-nourished elderly population did not prevent cognitive decline. Grodstein and coworkers’ findings are compatible with a recent review (3) of 12 fair- to good-quality trials that evaluated dietary supplements, including multivitamins, B vitamins, vitamins E and C, and omega-3 fatty acids, in persons with mild cognitive impairment or mild to moderate dementia. None of the supplements improved cognitive function.

Study three
Lamas and associates (4) assessed the potential benefits of a high-dose, 28-component multivitamin supplement in 1708 men and women with a previous myocardial infarction participating in TACT (Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy). After a median follow-up of 4.6 years, there was no significant difference in recurrent cardiovascular events with multivitamins compared with placebo (hazard ratio, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.75 to 1.07]). The trial was limited by high rates of nonadherence and dropouts.http://annals.org/aim/article/1789253/e ... upplements

There used to be a Russian run supplement place down in SHV, sadly he sold up. Guess it didn't make money. A guy I know used to make a decent amount of wedge bringing in protein powder from the UK and flogging it on here, so I would guess that all those things are expensive.

General Mackevili wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2017 1:57 am

armchairlawyer wrote:

General Mackevili wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 10:39 am

armchairlawyer wrote:As far as I can tell, these are limited in availability here, and expensive and low potency. I have seen stocks at Ucare, for example. Bangkok seems a bit better but still way inferior to western suppliers. Any thoughts?

GNC in Bangkok.

Thank you for answering my question as opposed to offering me unsolicited health advice (believe it or not I am familiar with all the arguments for and against using supplements!)

Oh, I wanted to, I'm just not the person who should be handing out health advice. I consider a "balanced" diet to be when my stack of pizza slices don't fall over when I yank them out of the microwave for breakfast.

I take GNC's Megamen "once a day" multivitamins almost every other day. I don't know if I benefit from them, but I do know I piss bright yellow shortly after taking them, so they do actually have some sort of result that you can see.

That's some pretty expensive piss, you should save it. The fat soluble ones will be slowly building up to toxic levels in the fat around you liver. Try not to lose weight all of a sudden.