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Hi there, 62 and diagnosed at 43 with RRMS. After twenty years and few relapses now have a slight limp (I think its unnoticeable but some people notice). Other than that still hiking etc.and active. Not on any rx except for fosamax (bone health) My bloodwork always comes back steady. On a pretty good diet tho I am gluten free. Would appreciate any thoughts!! The bone issue is almost certainly due to early menopause (when HRT was not popular). Wish I had not listened to the experts on that...

Vit B
Extra Folic
Niacin
Vit C
Vit D
Vit E
Vit K2 (bones)

Zinc
Mag.Threonate
Selenium

CoQ
Alpha Lip
NAC
Acetyl L Carn

Calcium (bones)

Hi CAGirl,
There’s much involved in evaluating a supplement list. It’s often not just a matter of which supplements you take, but also several other factors as well. For example, it’s important to consider the brand, dosage, and even when you and how you take it, i.e., with food or between meals.

With respect to brands, some are good, some are bad and others could be dangerous. I’ve had experiences with supplement retailer house brands that turned out to be no good. Example: my father used an acai supplement from one retailer’s house brand. The capsules had a charcoal gray colored powder in them. Then, one time when he ran out I ordered a different brand. These had a purple colored powder. The difference was striking. Acai is a purple berry, it’s not surprising that a concentrated extract of the berry should be purple as well not charcoal gray. Who knows what the gray stuff was. The retailer probably just ordered the cheapest thing they could find labeled acai from China and put it in capsules. Who knows what it actually was.

With respect to dosage, sometimes a supplement is sold with dosages that are too high. Here’s my experience with vitamin D.

With respect to how you take it, taking a supplement with food or not can make a difference. Some supplements are best with food, e.g., B vitamins, and some are best without, e.g., probiotics and lipoic acid.

There are other things to consider as well such as the form a compound is in. For example, is your lipoic acid “alpha lipoic acid” or is it Na-R-Lipoate? Supplements labeled as alpha lipoic acid are a 50/50 mix of the R and S isomers while Na-R-Lipoate is the sodium salt of the purified R isomer. The R isomer is the natural form in our bodies while the S isomer is a product of chemical synthesis and has been reported to have some negative side effects. See my post discussing a review comparing the two isomers.

Lipoic Acid: R vs. S

Na-R-Lipoic Acid is also better absorbed. Being the sodium salt of the acid, it’s also stabilized so it doesn’t polymerize. R-Lipoic Acid is sensitive to heat.

Na-R-lipoic acid is better absorbed than R-lipoic acid

and

Polymers of Lipoic Acid

Here's the Na-R-Lipoate I use.

It would be great if you can provide more details regarding your supplement list.

Hi CAGirl,
Here are my general thoughts on your supplement list.

• I would not take folic acid. It’s a synthetic substitute for folate that's not absorbed well and interferes with the absorption and processing of dietary folate. As an alternative, I recommend taking methyl folate instead. That’s a small sublingual tablet. You can find it in capsules as well.

Here's a video from Dr. Ben Lynch with more information on folate.



• I would not take a vitamin E supplement unless it was an E8, i.e., one balanced with all 8 of the natural tocopherols and tocotrienols. See this post for a brief overview of the different forms. I think it's best to eat foods rich in natural vitamin E.

• I recommend getting calcium from food sources instead of from supplements. Calcium from supplements is poorly utilized. It tends to spike serum calcium which then leads to it being deposited within the circulatory system. In contrast, calcium from food sources was found to be protective against cardiovascular disease.

Are Calcium Pills Hardening Your Heart Arteries?

People's Pharmacy wrote:Millions of women routinely pop calcium pills to build strong bones. Instead, they may be creating calcified coronary arteries. What to do?

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/article ... t-arteries