OT: Vitamin D

have you been randomly picking letters from the scrabble bag again

Yeah, wait until you are ill then do something about it even though there is advice to take Vitamin D during the winter months.

cobalamin", "hydroxocobalamin" or "methylcobalamin".

ta-carotene. Some people do not convert that adequately into vitamin A. It is just a precursor. No idea what form the selenium is in, which form of vi tamin D, or B6, ...

Just above the list it says "Ingredients". If it isn't a list of ingredient s, what is it?

In the case of genuine B12 deficiency (usually with people with an auto-immune disease called pernicious anaemia), the body resorts to stealing the B12 needed for RBC creation from the sheath that surrounds the peripheral nerves resulting in partial paralysis, unsteady gait etc.

By the time it has got to this stage, giving the patient B12 supplements (by injection) simply stops the nerve damage from getting any worse, but the damage has been done.

People using Nitrous Oxide put themselves at risk because it seems to cause similar symptoms.

nocobalamin", "hydroxocobalamin" or "methylcobalamin".

beta-carotene. Some people do not convert that adequately into vitamin A. I t is just a precursor. No idea what form the selenium is in, which form of vitamin D, or B6, ...

nts, what is it?

It's a list of the nutrients delivered. Nowhere in that list is binders, no r does it state the substances the tablet contains. Look at any multivitami n ingredient list & you'll see what's missing. And no multivitamin includes the substances iron, magnesium etc, in cheap tablets the Mg will be in mag nesium oxide, the iron in ferrous sulphate etc, not powdered magnesium & po wdered iron.

NT

Well that's bound to turn up some solid medical 'facts' then :-(

Now you have me thoroughly intrigued. I need to take quite a large dose of iron every day, as otherwise I become anaemic. It's in the form of ferrous sulphate. There are various other salts available - gluconate, etc - but never powdered iron. What makes you think powdered's preferable?

Unless you are losing blood somewhere (a problem that females suffer from), a typical male would get all the iron needed from a normal diet.

Excess iron intake can be potentially bad for you.

l supplement rather than just one.

n affect the absorption of many other substances. Taking a multivitamin whi ch contains iron therefore sees some of the constituents less well absorbed . There has been at least one company which made a two (or more) part multi vitamin - something like take A in the morning and B in the evening - so as to avoid some of these interactions.

erated or absorbed.

cts contain. Centrum for Men says "vitamin D" without saying D2 or D3. Iron - but not which form. Vitamin K - claims it helps with bones - but doesn't express whether it is K1 which is largely related to blood clotting or K2 which is largely concerned with calcium.

e. But admittedly I would not consider buying 'centrum,' so don't look at t hem.

Agreed.

Indeed. That's why my iron levels are regularly checked. I have a Haematology appointment booked for later this month.

, nor does it state the substances the tablet contains. Look at any multivi tamin ingredient list & you'll see what's missing. And no multivitamin incl udes the substances iron, magnesium etc, in cheap tablets the Mg will be in magnesium oxide, the iron in ferrous sulphate etc, not powdered magnesium & powdered iron.

He didn't say powdered iron is better!

I have seen that some breakfast cereals have (or had) pretty much iron fili ngs - no idea why they went down that route!

Many people find ferrous sulphate upsets their stomachs. One reason they mi ght choose bisglycinate, fumarate, or whatever. You can also purchase iron on the form of ferritin or haem. Humans have at least three separate pathwa ys for absorbing iron. One for "mineral" iron, one for ferritin and a third for haem. Taking all three forms can result in faster absorption which is helpful if severely iron deficient.

obviously it'll get you the whole range.

NT

, nor does it state the substances the tablet contains. Look at any multivi tamin ingredient list & you'll see what's missing. And no multivitamin incl udes the substances iron, magnesium etc, in cheap tablets the Mg will be in magnesium oxide, the iron in ferrous sulphate etc, not powdered magnesium & powdered iron.

that powdered what is preferable to what?

NT

How come I keep failing the haemoglobin test at the blood transfusion service then, with readings like 13.2 instead of 13.5? I am not routinely losing blood and eat a pretty normal diet.

My uncle died of haemochromatosis. AIUI lack of processing ability rather than excess intake but it shows too much iron is dangerous.

Normal Hb range for a male used to be different 40 years ago, I'm sure it used to be ?12 to ?17.5 gm/dl, but I have discarded all my old Haematology text books from many years ago.

If you donated 500ml your body would make up the deficit pretty quickly. My Hb in the 70's varied between 17.8 and 18.5. The medical staff in he Haematology lab where I worked were convinced I might have Polycythaemia Rubra Vera, but the last time I had a full blood count was 2014 and it had dropped to 15.8 gm/dl, so not a problem.

It never stays exactly the same because it can be affected by your fluid balance and a host of other factors.

They still use the copper sulphate method, but, in my experience, if you fail they take another sample for a 'proper' test. The first time they used a syringe to take a sample out of my 'other' arm and took it away somewhere. Lately they take a finger-prick sample and put in a natty little gadget with an LCD.

Dye of some sort, so they can see the difference between the two, which are at different concentrations but not enough to be obvious. I think they also use blue dye in the other one, but I'm not sure, it may just be the CuSO4.

The Scottish service has stopped using the finger prick test.

I have often wondered about that. I assume it is because women are habituated to having a lower haemoglobin count.