[bridge]

What do you spend yearly on vitamins and supplements? Do you feel the benefit is worth the cost?

I am figuring yearly costs and my calculation puts my vitamins at $250 per year. Just wondering if this is "average" and also rethinking if they are needed.

 

[Trishagirl]

I'd say that's about the same for me.
Yes suppliments keep us healthy. We didn't get the flu when everyone else did.

 

[Spirit Deer]

We don't bother. We try to eat right and we rarely get sick. I'm one of those people who think supplements are a huge scam.

 

[dcompton]

I take (rather erratically) only calcium and flaxseed oil that my doctor recommends, so I don't spend much. She thinks the rest is unnecessary, and I have always thought so too, unless there is a specific deficiency that has been identified.

 

[TDN]

I do not take any. I do try to eat right and get what is needed that way. I have over the years bought some calcium or other vitamins but then didn't end up taking them and threw them away. I have read alot about supplements going right "through" our bodies and not being absorbed, now I do not claim this to be true, I don't know. I feel if a well balanced diet is eaten along with a healthy lifestyle and there are no health problems present that require extra nutrients then they are not needed.

 

[photogal06]

I don't take any supplements anymore. I eat very well and get plenty of rest, and that does the trick. I can't recall the last time I was sick (knock on wood!)

 

[zakity]

I take a butt-ton of supplements. But, I hit menopause early and then was one of those people who got a blood clot from Yaz. The doc won't give me anything for the hot flashes (no more b/c pills). I was miserable and I was so ready to kill someone because I was so "off". The only thing I was offered was valium, like that would do me any good.

I went to a naturopath and she put me on flax, vit E, vit B complex, and evening primrose oil. I was taking soy isoflavones and black cohosh. The black cohosh quit working completely and the soy isoflavones only works some of the time.

I also take amberen, a daily vitamin, calcium, a baby aspirin, vit D (live in oregon, the sun only shines here in August), ginko, and a glucosamine "mix". The hot flashes are minimal and I am never sick. And, the urge to kill someone has diminished a ton. I live with teen boys and I am sure that urge will stick around for a few more years. But, it is no longer because of my hormonal issues, it is because of their hormonal "issues".

 

[shp1055]

I notice a huge difference if I do not take B-12, am diabetic taking metformin and one of the side effects is the B12 shortage. Doctor prescribed D3 as mine is low. I take a senior multi and magnesium (my mom's body wouldn't hold magnesium and we all take after her in most things). I usually take the above 4 or 5 days a week. I'm not sure of the cost, but I'd say it's appx $175.00 or $200.00. Sometimes I will buy something else and take it for a while.

 

[ladykemma2]

I notice a huge difference if I do not take B-12, am diabetic taking metformin and one of the side effects is the B12 shortage. Doctor prescribed D3 as mine is low. I take a senior multi and magnesium (my mom's body wouldn't hold magnesium and we all take after her in most things). I usually take the above 4 or 5 days a week. I'm not sure of the cost, but I'd say it's appx $175.00 or $200.00. Sometimes I will buy something else and take it for a while.

yes - this. me too.

 

[gaja]

There is severe lack of sunshine here, so I need to take vitamin D/cod liver oil. The kids get some vitamins on and of, and DH likes to take some ginseng on occation. It costs us nothing, due to affiliates we get it for free from iHerb.

 

[Sophiasmama]

Sophie's vitamins and supplements cost 28.00/ month...mine are about 20.00/ month...she has sensory issues so she likes the gummy multivitamin made by Ironkids and she takes omega 3 gel caps

 

[photogal06]

Oops...I forgot one! I usually do take Vitamin D3 during the winter months. We are so desperately sun-deprived here during the winter that I'll try anything, and I'd read once that Vitamin D3 helps. I'm not sure that it actually does, but at least I feel like I'm doing something to try to beat the winter blahs, lol!

 

[bookwormpeg]

I buy when on sale....which is pretty often here...I just picked up Centrum silver, 3 month supply $3.99...was $6.99, and had a $3 coupon. Last week I purchased fish oil pills for him....b1g1f...so $17 for 2 bottles.....Last year, I gave my 4 grandson's a year supply of vitamins in their Christmas stockings....all with coupons, of course.....I probably spend less then $100 a year for 2 people vitamins..

 

[bonnotsm9]

I take a menopause supplement and another for my varicose veins. They both help. I also take iron in a multivitamin, vit D, magnesium, and, when I remember, calcium. The vitamins I take, except for the magnesium, were at the suggestion of my dr's office.

I buy the vitamins at WM and the supplements online. I'm estimating I spend ~$500/yr just for mine.

 

[Sophiasmama]

I forgot to answer the rest of your question Bridge...sorry about that...yes I do think it is worth it...especially with Sophie...with her sensory issues...she is sensitive to textures...for example she gags on hamburger with pasta...so I know she is getting the vitamins her body needs by taking a suppliment...it's a back up if she doesnt get all she needs from her food.

 

[bridge]

Thanks for everyone sharing. I think it helped me decide that the cost is some-what normal. I do believe they make me feel much better. It is the really only healthcare expense I have. I never go to the doctor (unless it is Emergency, very few times in my life)

So I guess I will just pencil it in and be happy with good health. Maybe the vitamins are helping that.

 

[Spirit Deer]

My husband never went to the doctor either. He didn't think he needed to because he felt fine, his weight was normal, all that good stuff. I could never convince him to go. Then a friend of ours who works a whole lot harder than we do at being healthy was diagnosed with a triple whammy she never saw coming: Cancer of the brain, breast, and colon. She hadn't had any symptoms and felt fine but routine testing had picked up these life-threatening diseases. My husband was shocked, like we all were, and it motivated him to see a doctor himself after not going for fifteen years. He found out he had HBP so high he was lucky he wasn't already dead. It's not called the silent killer for nothing. Our friend's colon cancer convinced him he needed a routine colonoscopy, too. That test found pre-cancerous polyps, which were removed during the exam with no more treatment needed. Our friend's diagnosis saved my husband's life twice. Both of the things routine care found could have killed him. By the time he would have had any symptoms, he most likely would have either died outright, or it would have been too late for treatment to save him.

Luckily, our friend went through some nasty chemo and has come out on the other side just fine. I'll always be grateful to her for sharing her experience with us. It woke my husband up in time to prevent a tragedy in our family.

 

[daylily]

I would have to check my accounting program to get a dollar figure but we do take some supplements. We all take B12, with DH taking shots, because we are vegan. We also take Vitamin D, DH and I have been tested and are both low, his lower than mine.I do not understand the whole Vit. D issue because we are both in the sun a lot in the summer. In winter, we don't get a lot of sun. I take chromium to stabilize my blood sugar.

Bridge, where is that thread about how much you spend on groceries? I can't remember ! Thanks.

 

[zakity]

I know I feel like I spend a small fortune on the supplements, but I feel better on them. And, the hot flashes are lessened which improves my quality of life considerably.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Wow.

I went looking for info about magnesium because of a thread posted on another board, and was surprised to come across this info from the highly respected Mayo Clinic: "The newest research is from the Iowa Women's Health Study. This 20-year study of 38,000 women age 55 and older showed that taking a multivitamin appears to increase the risk of premature death. Evidence from this study and others suggest there is no need to take most supplements for general health or disease prevention. Exceptions appear to be calcium supplements and vitamin D for bone health." Here's the full article: Mayo Clinic - A Vitamin a Day Might not Keep the Doctor Away

I should say I was surprised to read about the possibility that vitamins might be linked to premature death. That thought had never occurred to me. I'm not surprised at all that there's no need to take most of them in the first place though.