Have You Ever Taken Vitamins?

[saralarson]

I was wondering if anyone has tried this or has heard of it: A friend of mine turned me on to Chaga extract which is derived from a medicinal mushroom harvested in Siberia. It is very high in antioxidants (higher than mangosteen). I was desperate to find some relief from the severe pain caused by my torn rotator cuff, so I tried. I noticed a difference in the first week, and to this date I am pretty much pain free.

If anyone is interested, my friend's website is www.mychaga.com/seal

check out the success stories, it worked for me

[kat]

Nope, not a scam. Anyone who believes that doesn't understand enough about diet or nutrition. There is no way that modern diets are going to supply all the nutrients you would need, all the time. Women are full aware of this, because we can see the difference in our hair, skin, nails, and menstrual cycle with increased supplements and nutrition.

At any rate, I have a chronic health problem that leaves me dangerously deficient of B-12, calcium, Folic Acid, Iron and magnesium. I use a combination of supplements and diet, because I have serious consequences if I am lacking any, especially B-12.

So, don't judge prematurely what you don't know. Some may just know more than you.

[sfokevin]

I have taken a multivitamin since my Flintstone days...A years supply of a multivitamin at the superstore is 300 baht... So it couldn't hurt...

Edited July 1, 2008 by sfokevin

[libya 115]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

Alcohol consumption, especially in a tropical climate leeches the body of B1 and to a certain extent the other B vitamins.

It is the only vitamin that has very noticable results after taking it for a few weeks. It will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Nerve damage caused by B vitamin deficiency can be lessened by daily B vitamin tablets.

The good news is that in Thailand, A bottle of 100 vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased for just 100 baht.

[libya 115]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

Alcohol consumption, especially in a tropical climate leeches the body of B1 and to a certain extent the other B vitamins.

It is the only vitamin that has very noticable results after taking it for a few weeks. It will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Nerve damage caused by B vitamin deficiency can be lessened by daily B vitamin tablets.

The good news is that in Thailand, A bottle of 100 vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased for just 100 baht.

I recommend these: Photographs Libya 115 © 2008

[h90]

it's all out there...veggies, poultry,pork, beef, fish, fruit in abundance and cheap and much more fun to enjoy while eating, tasting... then downing a couple a pills? there is absolutely no fun factor in it, is there?

Not pills - I make a drink with powder and water.

It's the Linus Pauling formula.

P.S. I like to eat, too

Can you get the powder here?

If I don't eat massive Vit. C I get frequently herpes inside the nose (don't ask if that is itching and hurting). Taking a 1.000 mg per day and nothing for month.

Very well tested....

[h90]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

Alcohol consumption, especially in a tropical climate leeches the body of B1 and to a certain extent the other B vitamins.

It is the only vitamin that has very noticable results after taking it for a few weeks. It will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Nerve damage caused by B vitamin deficiency can be lessened by daily B vitamin tablets.

The good news is that in Thailand, A bottle of 100 vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased for just 100 baht.

I thought Vit B is in beer? Is that wrong?

[firefly]

I was wondering if anyone has tried this or has heard of it: A friend of mine turned me on to Chaga extract which is derived from a medicinal mushroom harvested in Siberia. It is very high in antioxidants (higher than mangosteen). I was desperate to find some relief from the severe pain caused by my torn rotator cuff, so I tried. I noticed a difference in the first week, and to this date I am pretty much pain free.

If anyone is interested, my friend's website is www.mychaga.com/seal

check out the success stories, it worked for me

I heard of this product from a friend who had prostate cancer- He started taking chaga and ended up avoiding surgery. To this day he has been cancer-free.

I wanted to get a bottle for myself and went on the website, but you need a "sponsor id" number to make a purchase- how do I get that?

[saralarson]

I was wondering if anyone has tried this or has heard of it: A friend of mine turned me on to Chaga extract which is derived from a medicinal mushroom harvested in Siberia. It is very high in antioxidants (higher than mangosteen). I was desperate to find some relief from the severe pain caused by my torn rotator cuff, so I tried. I noticed a difference in the first week, and to this date I am pretty much pain free.

If anyone is interested, my friend's website is www.mychaga.com/seal

check out the success stories, it worked for me

I heard of this product from a friend who had prostate cancer- He started taking chaga and ended up avoiding surgery. To this day he has been cancer-free.

I wanted to get a bottle for myself and went on the website, but you need a "sponsor id" number to make a purchase- how do I get that?

I used my friend's sponsor id: 375570. Eventually I signed up as a member because it's much cheaper that way. Anyone can use that sponsor id.

[libya 115]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

Alcohol consumption, especially in a tropical climate leeches the body of B1 and to a certain extent the other B vitamins.

It is the only vitamin that has very noticable results after taking it for a few weeks. It will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Nerve damage caused by B vitamin deficiency can be lessened by daily B vitamin tablets.

The good news is that in Thailand, A bottle of 100 vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased for just 100 baht.

I thought Vit B is in beer? Is that wrong?

Yes, Beer contains B vitamins, but the irony is that the alcohol lessens absorption. Vitamin B1 Thiamine becomes low in regular heavy drinkers, causing mental confusion. B12 deficiency is also a concern, again due to a decrease in absorption and synthesis in the stomach and ileum.

In recent years; there has been much discussion of the loading of beers with Thiamine to help prevent vitamin B deficiency in regular drinkers, but this has been fraught with argument, so self-medication of vitamin B by regular beer drinkers is something to consider.

[Wrong Turn]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

I agree libya. I started taking Vitamin B-complex during drinking about 7 years ago. I feel, that I actually do feel better. Especially the next day. I break a a b-complex in half, and take a half, about every 2.5 hours.

....t will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Is this "wet brain." What does it do? TIA.

[h90]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

Alcohol consumption, especially in a tropical climate leeches the body of B1 and to a certain extent the other B vitamins.

It is the only vitamin that has very noticable results after taking it for a few weeks. It will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Nerve damage caused by B vitamin deficiency can be lessened by daily B vitamin tablets.

The good news is that in Thailand, A bottle of 100 vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased for just 100 baht.

I thought Vit B is in beer? Is that wrong?

Yes, Beer contains B vitamins, but the irony is that the alcohol lessens absorption. Vitamin B1 Thiamine becomes low in regular heavy drinkers, causing mental confusion. B12 deficiency is also a concern, again due to a decrease in absorption and synthesis in the stomach and ileum.

In recent years; there has been much discussion of the loading of beers with Thiamine to help prevent vitamin B deficiency in regular drinkers, but this has been fraught with argument, so self-medication of vitamin B by regular beer drinkers is something to consider.

thats new for, most probably eating Vit B has no negative side effects or? As you pee out what is not needed, right?

[libya 115]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

Alcohol consumption, especially in a tropical climate leeches the body of B1 and to a certain extent the other B vitamins.

It is the only vitamin that has very noticable results after taking it for a few weeks. It will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Nerve damage caused by B vitamin deficiency can be lessened by daily B vitamin tablets.

The good news is that in Thailand, A bottle of 100 vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased for just 100 baht.

I thought Vit B is in beer? Is that wrong?

Yes, Beer contains B vitamins, but the irony is that the alcohol lessens absorption. Vitamin B1 Thiamine becomes low in regular heavy drinkers, causing mental confusion. B12 deficiency is also a concern, again due to a decrease in absorption and synthesis in the stomach and ileum.

In recent years; there has been much discussion of the loading of beers with Thiamine to help prevent vitamin B deficiency in regular drinkers, but this has been fraught with argument, so self-medication of vitamin B by regular beer drinkers is something to consider.

thats new for, most probably eating Vit B has no negative side effects or? As you pee out what is not needed, right?

Correct: B & C vitamins are water soluble, so overdose potential is not a problem. Some other vitamins A & D are fat soluble and overdose is a possibility.

Edited July 4, 2008 by libya 115

[h90]

Absolutely all serious beer drinkers (and that includes a lot of people here in Thailand) should be taking Vitamin B vitamins (B-Complex).

Alcohol consumption, especially in a tropical climate leeches the body of B1 and to a certain extent the other B vitamins.

It is the only vitamin that has very noticable results after taking it for a few weeks. It will also help offset the dreadful Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, all to common in elderley lifelong drinkers.

Nerve damage caused by B vitamin deficiency can be lessened by daily B vitamin tablets.

The good news is that in Thailand, A bottle of 100 vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased for just 100 baht.

I thought Vit B is in beer? Is that wrong?

Yes, Beer contains B vitamins, but the irony is that the alcohol lessens absorption. Vitamin B1 Thiamine becomes low in regular heavy drinkers, causing mental confusion. B12 deficiency is also a concern, again due to a decrease in absorption and synthesis in the stomach and ileum.

In recent years; there has been much discussion of the loading of beers with Thiamine to help prevent vitamin B deficiency in regular drinkers, but this has been fraught with argument, so self-medication of vitamin B by regular beer drinkers is something to consider.

thats new for, most probably eating Vit B has no negative side effects or? As you pee out what is not needed, right?

Correct: B & C vitamins are water soluble, so overdose potential is not a problem. Some other vitamins A & D are fat soluble and overdose is a possibility.

Thanks, thought so. Actually I forgot what the Vit Bs do. Can you tell me or do you have a link to a good page?

I always focused on Vit, C, A and E but didn't care about the different Bs.

[kat]

I just went through a phase of serious vitamin B deficiency this past spring, and it wasn't pretty. There was a dramatic loss of short-term memory, confusion, word loss and stuttering, nerve tingling, and shortness of breath. I seriously felt like I had an onset of Alzheimer's, although as of now there is no correlation with the disease. But, there is serious loss of brain capacity and nerve damage. For me, it was an intolerance issue. Luckily, I figured it out in time and introduced daily flax seed in my diet, walnuts, and gluten-free vitamin B-stress tablets. Good as new.

http://www.aging-parents-and-elder-care.co...Deficiency.html

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Symptoms

Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms, like those of many other treatable health conditions, can be virtually identical to age dementia symptoms, senile dementia symptoms and Alzheimers symptoms. As many as 20% of people over age 65 have low Vitamin B12 levels. Correcting the deficiency can help older people resume a full and normal lives.

Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms include:

*

Loss of appetite

*

Diarrhea

*

Numbness and tingling of hands and feet

*

Paleness

*

Shortness of breath

*

Fatigue

*

Weakness

*

Sore mouth and tongue

*

Confusion or change in mental status in severe or advanced cases. This is sometimes confused with dementia. More importantly, even a moderate deficiency of this important vitamin and its counterpart, folic acid, may ultimate contribute to the onset of Alzheimers disease or other related dementias.

[mahtin]

it's all out there...veggies, poultry,pork, beef, fish, fruit in abundance and cheap and much more fun to enjoy while eating, tasting... then downing a couple a pills? there is absolutely no fun factor in it, is there?

Not pills - I make a drink with powder and water.

It's the Linus Pauling formula.

P.S. I like to eat, too

Can you get the powder here?

If I don't eat massive Vit. C I get frequently herpes inside the nose (don't ask if that is itching and hurting). Taking a 1.000 mg per day and nothing for month.

Very well tested....

I make it up myself using Vit C, L-Lysine and L-Proline in powder form. Little 4 gramme spoon came with one of the purchases.

At the moment I am in Europe, buying over the internet. Soon to be looking for a retirement visa, hence my question:

Does anyone know if these amino acids are available in powder form in Thailand?

I take 8 grammes a day of each, so capsules are not really an option.

Thanks for the Vit B pics, Libya. Will buy some next visit.

[Galong]

There are several very important factors in deciding whether to take supplements or not.

1. Do you want to be merely be healthy or do you want optimum health? If you're an athlete, you deplete certain vitamins in amounts that are not easily replaced by just eating good food... whatever that means. You have created an imbalance and certain nutrients need to be re-introduced quickly (free radicals are your enemy after a hard workout) and efficiently.

2. Do you have any physical diseases or problems that could deplete certain vitamins or minerals? I do.

3. Do you honestly think that the ground that either directly grows the plants that you eat or that the animals that you eat that eat those plants still has the nutrients that soil is supposed to have? In other words, do you know that after decades of pesticides and artificial fertilizers being dumped on the ground, certain nutrients could be missing altogether? Some nutrients are very sensitive to chemicals. A good example would be Selenium. This is a very important nutrient that is only available in minute amounts in food that has been grown in over-worked soil.

4. Do you believe that science has been able to isolate nutrients? If you do, then why wouldn't you think that they could put that in pill form? Or, do you think that it can't be natural if it's in a pill? If so, do a bit more research.

5. Do you trust the same food industry that uses tricks to make you think you're eating something healthy, when in fact that food is highly processes? What I mean is "enriched" wheat, for example. 21 natural nutrients are taken out and 6 synthetic 'vitamins' are put back in. The government of the US (where I'm from) allows all sort of tricky wording that you need to be able to understand if you really want to eat 'whole' foods. Whole Wheat is still de-natured. The hush has been removed for shelf life. This removes the natural vitamin E and certain other elements. In the US, if it doesn't say "100% Whole Wheat", it's processed and not much better than white bread.

6. Do you realize that there are a ton of different types of supplements and saying something so vague as to whether 'they' (putting them all in the same bottle) are or aren't good for you is rather silly. There are issues with bio-availability. There are issues of knowing which supplements are necessary for other supplements to work.

7. Taking a single type of any vitamin, let's say vitamin D, without calcium, magnesium, zinc, mangaese, etc will not be beneficial in most cases. It's the symbiotic relationships that make the difference. There are certain vitamins that are potentially toxic. These tend to be fat soluable, such as vitamin A. Water soluable vitamins, such as vitamin C or the B complexes, can be taken in very high doses and whatever the body does use, ends up in pretty pee. I'm not saying you can eat a whole bottle of B complex without side effects, but the levels of toxicity are very high.

8. And my all-time favorite reply from folks who don't want to truly research the benefits of taking supplements is that all you need to do is "eat a balanced diet". Right. And who of you eats whole foods every day, every meal and even if you do, do you know exactly where you food comes from?

Vitamins, if nothing else, are insurance. The food industry is BIG BUSINESS, but so is the supplement industry. This is NOT a black and white issue. If you dig deep enough into it (including the politics of both camps), you'll find a LOT of corruption... surprise! Some people will do anything for money (in case you didn't know).

I have a terminal lung illness and my doctor can't believe how I'm still doing what I'm doing considering the usual state that a human's body is in after having this illness for over 30 years. I've been heavily into mega vitamin therapy for that long too... coincidence? At 52, I can ride a mountain bike hard all day or paddle a kayak from sunrise to sunset... day after day. I've been at it for most of my life and I attribute part of that to proper (key word here) vitamin supplements. I used to race bikes and our team physician did hair analysis back in the day to determine which nutrients I need to replace or build up to be competitive.

Anyway [stepping off of soap box], believe what you want, but unless you've really done your research, I suggest not slamming supplements. If you really want to know what to take and what brands are completely fake, do some research... or PM me.

Edited July 6, 2008 by Galong

[Tolley]

There are several very important factors in deciding whether to take supplements or not.

1. Do you want to be merely be healthy or do you want optimum health? If you're an athlete, you deplete certain vitamins in amounts that are not easily replaced by just eating good food... whatever that means. You have created an imbalance and certain nutrients need to be re-introduced quickly (free radicals are your enemy after a hard workout) and efficiently.

2. Do you have any physical diseases or problems that could deplete certain vitamins or minerals? I do.

3. Do you honestly think that the ground that either directly grows the plants that you eat or that the animals that you eat that eat those plants still has the nutrients that soil is supposed to have? In other words, do you know that after decades of pesticides and artificial fertilizers being dumped on the ground, certain nutrients could be missing altogether? Some nutrients are very sensitive to chemicals. A good example would be Selenium. This is a very important nutrient that is only available in minute amounts in food that has been grown in over-worked soil.

4. Do you believe that science has been able to isolate nutrients? If you do, then why wouldn't you think that they could put that in pill form? Or, do you think that it can't be natural if it's in a pill? If so, do a bit more research.

5. Do you trust the same food industry that uses tricks to make you think you're eating something healthy, when in fact that food is highly processes? What I mean is "enriched" wheat, for example. 21 natural nutrients are taken out and 6 synthetic 'vitamins' are put back in. The government of the US (where I'm from) allows all sort of tricky wording that you need to be able to understand if you really want to eat 'whole' foods. Whole Wheat is still de-natured. The hush has been removed for shelf life. This removes the natural vitamin E and certain other elements. In the US, if it doesn't say "100% Whole Wheat", it's processed and not much better than white bread.

6. Do you realize that there are a ton of different types of supplements and saying something so vague as to whether 'they' (putting them all in the same bottle) are or aren't good for you is rather silly. There are issues with bio-availability. There are issues of knowing which supplements are necessary for other supplements to work.

7. Taking a single type of any vitamin, let's say vitamin D, without calcium, magnesium, zinc, mangaese, etc will not be beneficial in most cases. It's the symbiotic relationships that make the difference. There are certain vitamins that are potentially toxic. These tend to be fat soluable, such as vitamin A. Water soluable vitamins, such as vitamin C or the B complexes, can be taken in very high doses and whatever the body does use, ends up in pretty pee. I'm not saying you can eat a whole bottle of B complex without side effects, but the levels of toxicity are very high.

8. And my all-time favorite reply from folks who don't want to truly research the benefits of taking supplements is that all you need to do is "eat a balanced diet". Right. And who of you eats whole foods every day, every meal and even if you do, do you know exactly where you food comes from?

Vitamins, if nothing else, are insurance. The food industry is BIG BUSINESS, but so is the supplement industry. This is NOT a black and white issue. If you dig deep enough into it (including the politics of both camps), you'll find a LOT of corruption... surprise! Some people will do anything for money (in case you didn't know).

I have a terminal lung illness and my doctor can't believe how I'm still doing what I'm doing considering the usual state that a human's body is in after having this illness for over 30 years. I've been heavily into mega vitamin therapy for that long too... coincidence? At 52, I can ride a mountain bike hard all day or paddle a kayak from sunrise to sunset... day after day. I've been at it for most of my life and I attribute part of that to proper (key word here) vitamin supplements. I used to race bikes and our team physician did hair analysis back in the day to determine which nutrients I need to replace or build up to be competitive.

Anyway [stepping off of soap box], believe what you want, but unless you've really done your research, I suggest not slamming supplements. If you really want to know what to take and what brands are completely fake, do some research... or PM me.

Agree 100 percent.

Men should be especially aware that Selenium and for that matter Zinc are not available in vegetables as they once were because of the depletion of most of the soil by fertilizers and chemicals. These two things are extremely important for the functioning of the prostate gland in men and it is interesting that prostate cancer is becoming a very huge problem in the western world. Put two and two together and you can see that supplementation of these two minerals might be a good idea for many men.

I also agree that you need to research your vitamins and minerals because a lot of products are almost useless. You need to find the supplements that work and that have sufficient active ingredients.

[camerata]

Has anyone taken vitamins everyday since they were a child?

I started taking multivitamins when I was about 20 because I knew I didn't have a healthy diet. I practically lived on bread and peanut butter. I wonder how many people really have a healthy diet according to what nutritionists tell us?

Some vitamins work for specific things. B1-6-12 eventually got rid of my trigeminal neuralgia, so I'll take it till the day I die. After much testing, I found Glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin worked well for my aching knees, so I'll take it as long as I think it's worth it. I experienced real benefits from these two that no drug could provide.

[Galong]

Agree 100 percent.

Men should be especially aware that Selenium and for that matter Zinc are not available in vegetables as they once were because of the depletion of most of the soil by fertilizers and chemicals. These two things are extremely important for the functioning of the prostate gland in men and it is interesting that prostate cancer is becoming a very huge problem in the western world. Put two and two together and you can see that supplementation of these two minerals might be a good idea for many men.

I also agree that you need to research your vitamins and minerals because a lot of products are almost useless. You need to find the supplements that work and that have sufficient active ingredients.

Oh, gee wiz, I was expecting to be flamed for being some sort of weirdo health nut... thanks Tolley and camerata!

To add to what you're saying, age and lifestyle have a lot to do with what your body needs. Selenium and Zinc are two elements that adult men (coffin dodgers) need more of.

It is easy to see why some folks don't believe in supplements at all. Real studies done in real labs using scientific methodology often proves supplements completely worthless... absolutely no value whatsoever. This, however, does not negate the benefit of other, usually more natural forms of nutrients (I'm using the word nutrient to include vitamins, minerals and other elements such as amino acids, etc... basically anything that can come in pill, liquid or powdered form).

Really worthwhile nutrients aren't cheap unfortunately. And double-unfortunately, they are a bit ridiculous here in the Land of Smiles.

One of my favorite authors on nutrition is Dr. Colgan I've read four of his books and they're all easy to understand and findings are back up with solid evidence. He does a lot of nutritional programs for high-level and olympic athletes. I actually don't like his website, but his books are enlightening.

My top three are:

The New Nutrition

Optimum Sport Nutrition

The New Power Program

Another easy and cheap way to increase your health and definitely your energy level is to try what's called "proper food combining". This is based on the principle that you're putting different food types into one vessel, the stomach and different types of food require different mediums to initiate the digestion process.

For example, carbohydrates are broken down by alkaline enzymes and proteins are broken down in an acidic medium. This site explains it in pretty simple terms.

All I know is when I follow this I tend to loss a bit of weight and my energy level is noticably higher. The reason why you see a noticable increase in energy is because your body isn't bogged down trying break down poorly combined foods (carbs and protein at the same time).

It's dead easy to follow:

Breakfast - fruit

Lunch - carbohydrates

Dinner - protein

Fruit goes through the stomach quickly, unless there's something there to stop it. If you start your day with fruit, you won't need coffee...most likely... unless you're an addict (like me sometimes, god I love it). Stop eating fruit about an hour before lunch. In other words, when you're hungry eat fruit.

Proteins are the hardest thing for your body to break down, so eating them for dinner makes the most sense. You can relax and let it start working.

Give it a try for a few days. If it doesn't work, you've merely had a few days off of your standard diet. I think you'll find that your body will start letting you know something different has happened. You might even feel a bit edgy or maybe a better word would be 'speedy'.

OK, now I'll wait for the flames to flow forth... or the support.

[BSJ]

Hi folks, my view is that for me a multivitamin and a fish oil capsule each day have some benefit considering I don't eat regular fare. Don't get me wrong, I don't eat a lot of junk food, I eat regular items poached eggs on toast, baked beans on toast, home made soups, occassional casseroles. But not a lot of vegies as in steak and steamed vegies.

I been doing it for a lot of years and see no reason to stop. Cost about 40c a day....and it's not doing any harm....except for the extra testicle!

[Galong]

Hi folks, my view is that for me a multivitamin and a fish oil capsule each day have some benefit considering I don't eat regular fare. Don't get me wrong, I don't eat a lot of junk food, I eat regular items poached eggs on toast, baked beans on toast, home made soups, occassional casseroles. But not a lot of vegies as in steak and steamed vegies.

I been doing it for a lot of years and see no reason to stop. Cost about 40c a day....and it's not doing any harm....except for the extra testicle!

Hi BSJ, it sounds like you're taking the 'insurance' stance... which makes a lot of sense. For the price of one beer, you're putting something in your body that could be beneficial. Even if the specific vitamins you're taking aren't the top brand, there's probably helping and there's probably a good bit of psychosomatics working for you too... nothing wrong with that Like one of my buddies says, Where the mind goes, the body follows. In other words, if you think it's working, it probably IS.