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Supplements Stay In Your System?


LuluGirl

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One of my friends told me that with supplements, they are only effective while they're in your body as opposed to medicine which keeps working. I'm giving my son the "usual" supplements but I always give them to him in the morning so they are "working" while he's in school. Does this make sense and is it true?

 

Lulu

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I think the answer is: it varies.

 

Some supplements have an immediate impact. e.g. I heard that for adrenal issues, Pantothenic acid should be given in the am to help give the adrenals a boost.

 

Melatonin is given at night for sleep.

 

Yet something like calcium for building bones and protein for building muscles, certainly this is done at night also. Sometimes the body can't tolerate more than a certain amount of the vitamin at once, e.g. this can be true with magnesium, so people split them.

 

Certain vitamins are best taken separately, e.g. zinc and cal/mag. For this reason, and the fact that too many vitamins at once is an isse, we do a morning and evening dose.

 

Our DAN doctor said that if it works best for the child, it is okay to give them all at once though.

 

I think of it like meals--our body likes regular fuel throughout the day, vs one meal at one time.

 

Finally, I would assume that the fat soluble vitamins don't just flush out of the system like the water soluble ones.

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Thanks, Claire!

 

Let me know what you think about these two specifics: One of the reasons I give my son the zinc is that I read that it helps with concentration so of course I like to give it in the morning before school. (It is also wonderful for your skin!) I also give him cal/mag taurate which I believe helps with the tics so I also want to give him this in the morning before school. If I gave either one of these later in the day, he wouldn't be getting the benefit at the right time, right? I don't care if he doesn't concentrate or tic after school! (He's not ticcing, (well, not that anyone would notice except me) in the late afternoon/evening so maybe that conflicts with what I just said......). He also takes a multi, B and C.

 

Secondly, I want to give him cal/mag in the 2:1 ratio. However, doing this doesn't give him enough calcium (since I have a limit to the mag - about 400 - he's 11 - right???) and he's not really getting it elsewhere so he does need it. If I give him the cal/mag in the 2:1 ratio during the day and give extra cal at night do you think that would throw things off? Things are going smoothly now and I don't want to mess with it but I have to look into the future and make sure he's getting enough cal for his growing bones. There's SO MUCH for a mom to think about, isn't there?1

 

Lulu

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Hi Lulu,

 

I personally go nuts with all this balancing.

 

Believe it or not, Pfeiffer wants us to do 500 mg cal 500 mg mag, or a 1:1 ratio.

I don't think it needs to be exact. We are in the same boat, no other calcium source (except occasional cheese, but I don't think he absorbs it due to casein issues). We do only 500 mg calcium and 250 mg mag taurate, but only because we have so many other vitamins my son would rebel. I would probably like 750 mg calc and 375 mg mag taurate (based on the supplements we have).

 

Actually Pfeiffer says zinc is best given at night--but I think they said it is because it irritates some kids' stomachs. They do b6/cal/mag in the am and zinc/selenium in the pm, and have vitamin C and biotin split for both am and pm.

 

I am a little out of my league here, however, I will ask our DAN doctor at the next visit to get his opinion. I know FJ on Braintalk likes vitamins split. I think it truly varies with the vitamin

 

What I suggest is that over Christmas break experiment with am/pm dosing and see whether there is any difference in the day.

 

Also, I suggest you post to Mrs. Doubtfyre on the Braintalk ADHD board. She is awesome with the biochemstry of vitamins.

 

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/forumd...isplay.php?f=86

 

Not all supplements just stay in for a day. Our DAN doctor said it would take months to correct some of the deficiencies. I know that zinc takes a while.

 

Claire

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Claire,

 

I also do the AM and PM vitamins just because otherwise its so many at once. I was wondering why you said not to give Cal/Mag with zinc at the same time? I have been giving them to my son (250mg Mag Taurate, 500 mg. Calcium and 25 mg zinc.) Is it considered dangerous?

 

Thanks

Gina

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