Let me introduce this 'spiel' by saying that I firmly believe that the science
of nutrition is like the 5 blind men describing the elephant - it all depends
on where you're standing. That said, here's my opinion:
I find this interesting - the doctor's comment about the amount of B6. I too
am interested to hear more about what he says. I share his concern (not
knowing exactly what he's thinking of - I'm assuming he's talking about people
taking TOO MUCH, as taking megadoses of B6 are known to have caused
neurological disorders.). I often raise my eyebrows at how much B6 is included
in so many supplements! For me, personally, if I take more than 5 or 10 mg /
day, I'm wired for 24 hours! I've been known to not be able to sleep at all.
If I take as much B12 as the hospital sent me home with instructions to take, I
get so dizzy I feel like I'll pass out. But this is me - other people react
differently. I'm not posting this to scare anyone away from taking supplements
- just want to remind you to be aware that even though vitamin supplements are
not like drugs, you still need to use a bit of caution.
I find a lot of people tend to misunderstand about vitamins as a result of
thinking of them as 'natural', and reading things like, for example, 'vitamin C
is non-toxic and big doses are okay because your body can just flush out the
excess'. That is true, but you have to remember that doing so, puts extra
stress on the kidneys, whose job it is to do all that flushing! Within reason,
it's not a problem. But taking MEGA doses of vitamins for extended periods of
time, if they are not really needed, can throw things way out of balance, and
give the liver a lot of unnecessary work to do.
Just as an example, if you take extra B6, you're likely to need extra magnesium
(if you're not already getting it in food), because they balance each other.
If you take extra magnesium you may need to take extra calcium, because they
need to be in balance. If you take too much of some nutrients, your body will
learn to absorb less. People on mega doses of C, for example, when they cut
back, have been known to have reactions similar to people that are actually
suffering from LACK of vitamin C, because the body has learned to absorb only a
small percentage of what is consumed, to protect itself.
Don't misunderstand - I'm a great proponent of vitamins, minerals, and other
supplements! If the body can be strengthened to naturally fight off disease
and heal from insult (like TM), I would rather do it that way than with a lot
of drugs that have myriads of side effects. (But that's not to say that drugs
shouldn't be used when they're needed, either.) I feel like I've healed as
much as I have due to nutrition, extra supplements, exercise, and only minimal
meds. But on the other hand, I had a lighter case of TM than some people.
Everyone has to do what works for them.
Long before I was hit with TM, I found that taking extra B vitamins helped me
to overcome both extreme fatigue and depression. Being cautious that I not
over-do it, every once in a while I try to cut back. But expecially since I've
had TM, my body seems to need all those B's, as well as other supplements. So
I'm not trying to scare anyone off of vitamins, etc. But please remember that
taking too much, for too long, can also cause problems. Just because something
is 'non-toxic' doesn't mean some good judgement isn't needed. Be aware that
there are reasonable limits and be a bit cautious.
Sally
P.S. Just to clarify, I'm only talking about supplements. Your body has a
greater ability to handle excess nutrients that come naturally in foods. In
addition, foods don't generally have only single nutrients; they come with a
combination of nutrients that supplement each other so that a balance is more
easily kept.
