# I need to talk to sensible people (like you folks) about dietary supplements **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2025, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357 "2025-12-03T05:13:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/61 "2025-12-06T02:59:39Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’m so glad you’re mostly “veterinarian”.. @Ellecram > > I have a mostly “cat”, can you offer advice? 😆 I am not strict about it and will occasionally eat a bit of meat here and there. Meat is just not a regular part of my diet. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/62 "2025-12-06T06:08:07Z")
I hope not Cat meat. (You realize you misspelled Vegetarian, right?😆 ) ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/63 "2025-12-06T07:03:33Z")
Lol I did not realize this. Have had a bad week 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/64 "2025-12-06T19:29:51Z")
It gave me a giggle. Have a better week, next week. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/65 "2025-12-06T20:06:35Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > It gave me a giggle. > > Have a better week, next week.. 😊 I laughed once I realized my mistake. Thanks for the good wishes! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/66 "2025-12-06T20:24:37Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Lol I did not realize this. > Have had a bad week 🤣 Just say you were posting from your phone and blame autocorrect. Everyone else does! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/67 "2025-12-06T20:27:57Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@Ellecram](#): > > > > Lol I did not realize this.. > > Have had a bad week 🤣 > > Just say you were posting from your phone and blame autocorrect. Everyone else does! 😁 Ok I can roll with this! I am almost afraid to go back to work Monday and witness the mess I may have made with routine data entry. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/68 "2025-12-07T00:03:45Z")
When my sister was in college, she got herself in trouble with her credit cards, and Mom & Dad refused to help bail her out. She signed up for a 30-day study on biotin deficiency, for which she had all her food provided, and would get $500 if she lasted the whole month. I remember that she could not have any dairy, and she really did miss pizza and cheeseburgers (and she was regularly tested to see if she was cheating!). During the last week, she was very fatigued and had GI issues, mostly diarrhea, all of which resolved in a matter of hours after she was released from the study. During the study, she was also given shakes that contained raw egg white, which destroys biotin, and afterwards was given megadoses to take for a few weeks, to restore her bodily stores. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan\_myers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@aruvqan\_myers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan_myers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/69 "2025-12-07T15:33:37Z")
jack away =) not afraid of comment or discourse - that is why we are here after all! I took to joking with my doc I should give up and just buy the damned iris and grow my own colchicine [dosing would be the bitch, the issue with going natural!] ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/70 "2025-12-07T15:48:21Z")
Going by what your doctor prescribes is all well and good, but my doctor is so into supplements that he recommends some stuff seems very woo. So I double check things with studies. And that’s my recommendation. Look for actual studies. Sure, maybe look up some benefit first to see what they say might help, but then look for studies that back it up. The leaky gut stuff doc said was bullshit. But Vitamin K seeming to help your body utilize Vitamin D (and not have it stick around in your arteries) seems like it has some merit. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/71 "2025-12-07T15:58:08Z")
As a good general rule, avoid like the plague practitioners who recommend supplements and coincidentally sell them in their online shop. Note: even having a shop on a practice’s website is a red flag for quackery. The Cleveland Clinic’s Functional Medicine Center has closed down its Healthy Living Shop, possibly because of criticism over it and the center’s Functional Guru, Dr. Mark Hyman getting a cut of the proceeds of supplement sales.\* No worries though, Hyman still maintains [his own supplement operation](https://store.healthylivingshop.com). \*the disclaimer is still up: “Dr. Mark Hyman is an employee of Cleveland Clinic. In addition, he is the President of Vitamin Portfolio, LLC. If you purchase supplements from the Healthy Living shop, Vitamin Portfolio, LLC will fill the order. Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Hyman could benefit financially from this arrangement.” ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/72 "2025-12-07T19:27:52Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And that’s my recommendation. Look for actual studies. Sure, maybe look up some benefit first to see what they say might help, but then look for studies that back it up. The real studies will be behind a paywall and take an advanced degree to really understand. There are lots of websites that will put up the bogus crap. Look at RFK Jr. and his vaccine and autism thing. It started from a study that was discredited and withdrawn long ago. It has lived a long time on the web though. The quack effect will kill many people of diseases that should be long gone. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/73 "2025-12-07T19:32:54Z")
> [@Ancient\_Nerd](#): > > The real studies will be behind a paywall and take an advanced degree to really understand. Not all studies will be behind a paywall, and best case you might be able to find a summary of a lot of studies, with methodologies evaluated and conclusions. But I don’t disagree with the 2nd part of the sentence. At least, there is often a lot of jargon, both about medical things, and about research methodologies. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/74 "2025-12-07T21:24:06Z")
Even if the studies are behind a paywall, the abstract is generally available. I look a lot for “it has been well established” and words like that. But I also just look for multiple studies. I’m not saying it’s perfect. Ideally there would be some place that actually looked up the studies and found conclusions. For my specific situation, I do more woo-spotting than I do finding the stuff that’s legit. I don’t generally have to dive very deep. and, yes, meta studies are the best, though makes sure they started with their hypothesis and then looked the data, not the other way around. the latter often suggests p-hacking, where you fit your conclusion to your data, which heavily increases the likelihood of coincidences. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/75 "2025-12-07T21:53:17Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’m of the opinion unless you are severely depleted, over the counter vitamins will just go right in the toilet. Can’t argue with that! For me, they’re cheap insurance (as I do have some conditions that lead to poor absorption of some nutrients). As long as I don’t overdo them, a multivitamin, iron supplement, or calcium supplement does no harm and may help. For water soluble vitamins, they do get excreted. For fat soluble ones (A, D) buildup to the point of causing harm is possible, though unlikely at reasonable doses. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/76 "2025-12-07T22:10:55Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > a multivitamin, iron supplement, or calcium supplement does no harm and may help. I’m not saying they do cause harm, but I wouldn’t be confident they don’t - > **[Could too much calcium cause heart disease? - Harvard Health](https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/study-links-too-much-calcium-to-heart-disease-20100812204)** > > ... Specifically supplemental calcium, and not huge amounts. Not in the article but I wonder if the putative harms are related to its rate of absorption as a supplement and not seen when calcium is ingested as part of a food matrix. A little extra iron possibly beneficial in women and possibly of harm in men. The automatic presumption of “couldn’t hurt” is not necessarily always justified. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/77 "2025-12-07T22:24:37Z")
Good point. I’ll need to read that article. I do have absorption issues (long term PPI user, plus chronic diarrhea) and I have osteopenia, so for me I do need to watch this. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/78 "2025-12-08T00:39:18Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > The automatic presumption of “couldn’t hurt” is not necessarily always justified. Too much of many good things is bad. With a “one a day” or similar multi-vite, that isnt going to happen. And, as always talk to your doctor, and > [@BigT](#): > > Going by what your doctor prescribes is all well and good, but my doctor is so into supplements that he recommends some stuff seems very woo. So I double check things with studies. Your doctor knows better than you do, and “studies” can be deceiving. If you think your MD has suggested something you shouldnt take, do one of two thing- discuss it with him, or change doctors. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > As a good general rule, avoid like the plague practitioners who recommend supplements and coincidentally sell them in their online shop. Chiropractors do that too much. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/79 "2025-12-08T01:13:12Z")
Let’s be very clear - I am not making a specific recommendation for @Mama_Zappa . She has specific circumstances. But the concern of increased heart attack risk was with reasonable total calcium intake by way of supplements. Not huge doses. To emphasize - the heart attack risk is big as a relative increased risk but still small as an absolute number. For someone with osteoporosis it may be the benefits outweigh the risk (coupled with appropriate exercise etc.). It is merely that there can be risk even at these levels. Same with iron in men. There actually is some potential risk ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357/80 "2025-12-08T01:24:46Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > But the concern of increased heart attack risk was with reasonable total calcium intake by way of supplements. Not huge doses. The BMJ study- _trials of calcium supplements (≥500 mg/day),… **Conclusions** Calcium supplements (without coadministered vitamin D) are associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction._ See- pretty large 500mg+ a day and without Vit D. Note those caveats in the study. Your article didnt mention those critical caveats. It is then, IMHO- scare tactics. For example, _One-a-day for Women_, has only 300mg of calcium and also has vitamin D. So one of those would not qualify as a risk in that study. Nature Made for men, has 160mg, and also Vit D. So, like i said- _for most people_, a daily multi-vite is not a bad idea- those dosages do not fall under your study. Of course, when your Doctors says NO, then you listen. Of course if your doctor says you have absorption issues and such and need to be careful about Calcium- listen to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-to-talk-to-sensible-people-like-you-folks-about-dietary-supplements/1025357.md?page=5)