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What supplements NOT to take together

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
I've been taking my MTHF, MB12, and 1000 mg Vitamin C all at the same time for six months now. I just found out that's not recommended. What other things shouldn't be taken together? Or with/without food? I have just been going by the labels.
 

helen1

Senior Member
Messages
1,033
Location
Canada
Yes apparently Vit C prevents some of the absorption of folate so should be taken an hour or two apart from them.

Vit C however improves absorption if iron. If you've got iron overload like I do, take vit C or C rich foods away from iron rich foods. Or together if you're low in iron.

Amino acids such as carnitine should be taken away from food especially protein food but since many foods have small amounts of protein best to take them away from any food.

Probiotics should be taken at least 30 mins before food.

If you take SOD it's to be taken away from food too.

.
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
If you take SOD it's to be taken away from food too.

Thanks, Helen! I had to look up SOD. Where does that come into a person's protocol? I think I am (+/+) for some parts of NOS2 and NOS3, and short of BH4 (from MTHFR A1298C (+/-)). I am not working with a doctor who understand this stuff. In fact, all the docs I've seen look at my labs and say "looks great!". My RN says "I've never worked with anyone as sick as you." How's that for typical?
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
Amino acids such as carnitine should be taken away from food especially protein food but since many foods have small amounts of protein best to take them away from any food.
.
Oh, all my instructions, including on the BCAAs (for muscle wasting) and from my RN say to take my AAs with food. Hmmm. What AAs specifically should be taken away from food?
 

helen1

Senior Member
Messages
1,033
Location
Canada
It's my understanding that when you take specific amino acids, such as BCAAs, the carnitines, tryptophan, lysine, glycine and GABA amongst others that CFS people take, if you take them with food the supplements compete with the amino acids in the food and so less is absorbed. So it would be any amino acid supps that should be taken away from food. It's probably okay to take them with really low-protein foods like blueberries or apples.

I'm trying SOD as it can help improve mitochondrial function. It's an enzyme that's an antioxidant against the superoxide free radical produced in the mitos. It can also be helpful for gut inflammation apparently. As I have the SOD2 snp, i'm hoping some supplementation will be helpful. I'm not completely convinced but willing to give it a try.

I sympathize with your doctor woes. I'm pretty sure we all have similar or worse stories but it doesn't make it any better, does it. Just not a surprise maybe. For me, to get useful tests that I can use to guide my treatment, I go the functional medicine route and pay for them.
 

NilaJones

Senior Member
Messages
647
What is 'the functional medicine route'?

(Is this the thread for us newbies to ask random questions? :))

Re: What not to take together:

- don't take calcium and magnesium together

- do take vit D with some kind of fat or oil (I extrapolate this to other oily supplements like fish oil, GLA, vit E, and take them all at once with some nut butter or chips or something)
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
Thanks, Helen!

What you say makes sense. I had a relatively high quality protein diet and it seemed that I wasn't breaking down the proteins, so I was muscle wasting with night pain, particularly deep in the thighs, that caused insomnia. Taking the BCAAs with meals fixed that the first day. I had an elaborate protocol, so I didn't know what fixed it until I ran out of BCAAs. The insomnia returned the first night and stayed until I started taking them, again. So, maybe it was a way to get around my non-digestion, and just having the BCAAs available was enough. Other stuff not digested = no competition.

After 3 months, we added Me and Try to my protocol. The Me was with meals and the Try was with Mg glycinate.

Oh, I should say I don't have a ME/CFS patient. But I have a lot of the same SNPs and my current health issues started with a respiratory infection that went to my chest.

For me, to get useful tests that I can use to guide my treatment, I go the functional medicine route and pay for them.

I'm with you there, as of now, as my employer just cancelled my health insurance today.
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
Are you supposed to take methylfolate at a separate time to methylcobalamin?
Al, I just learned this Thursday, but it seems the answer is yes. I developed "paradoxical folate deficiency" (per Freddd - THANK YOU, Freddd!!!!) by taking 1 mg MTHF (methylfolate) with 5000 mcg MB12 (methylcobalamin) with breakfast each morning per my health care practitioner. Oh, I was also taking 1000 mg Vitamin C at the same time, so that would have been destroying the MTHF, per Ben Lynch. After about 4 months of supplementation, I had sores at the corners of my mouth, acne-like sores around my nose and mouth and in my scalp that did not respond to Neosporin or steroid cream. After 2 more months, I had just started similar breakouts on my feet. Here is the post: http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/the-stages-of-methylation-and-healing.21725/ .

So, the answer for me was to take the MTHF in the early morning and the MB12 with dinner. I also found out that I had SHMT (+/+) so added Folinic acid mid-morning with a second 1 mg of MTHF. My mouth is healed, my face and scalp are mostly healed. Since Thursday! I did find that I got very sleepy mid-morning, so today I added some supplements from the AMRI website under CBS mutations subtitle "Energy Production will falter". They are L-carnitine 500 mg and NADH 5 mg, which I take about 2 hours before the folinic acid, and d-ribose 5 g in water twice a day. Two day's worth of data says it was a good thing - I've had none of the super-sleepiness I did on days 2-4.