supplements: gelatin; various forms of cellulose; fillers; bulkers. HELP!

[oh_noes]

Hi everyone I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season as best as possible.

I'm in a pretty large quandary about supplements and was wondering if anyone could advise anything. Apologies if this question has been discussed before.

Are there any alternatives to gelatin or cellulose (any form of) capsules? If not, which would you say is generally less harmful for CFS patients? The issue is, I have autism, for which, according to Amy Yasko, gelatin is excitotoxic. BUT I also have Hashimoto's (hypothyroid), for which cellulose inhibits the absorption of vital T4 and T3 medications.

Then there are the fillers, such as magnesium stearate, silica, microcrystalline cellulose and more; all of which may likely have some sort of detrimental effect. A general google search yields some very frightening results, with side effects ranging from stirring up yeast, to destryoing the gut lining, to major inflammation of internal organs including the brain.

I cannot seem to find any supplements free of all the above. Even liquid forms seem to contain potentially harmful ingredients. If, like me, you are taking 30-45 supplements per day (excluding medication) and likely will have to do so for the rest of your life, these problems quickly accumulate.

What, in your opinion, would be the best overall option for people with CFS?

I would welcome and appreciate anyone's input on this. Thanks.

 

[South]

Try to look at how much (how little) of these things are in those supplements, and what really would they do. (and use that to make your decisions, not the scare tactics in ads from certain supplement companies saying to avoid companies using these ingredients.)

For example, cellulose: there is more cellulose in a serving of vegetables than there is in the shell of a capsule made with cellulose. The health issue you mentioned regarding cellulose - is the advice there to also not eat vegetables? I really don't know, I'm not being sarcastic - as I'm not familiar with that thyroid health issue.

On the other hand, I try to buy supplements that do not have magnesium stearate in them, because finding those without it is easier now than it used to be, and stearates are not a natural ingredient in any food found in nature.

But finding a capsule that does not have gelatin AND does not have cellulose...ask yourself what the reason is before you try to do that search.

And so forth. I guess for each ingredient you have to decide if it's worth worrying about or not.

There are some sites that sell powder form supplements, free of anything. A way to find is to do a search for the name of the ingredient you want, and the word "powder" in the same search string.

 

[helen1]

Hi oh_noes
What about doing what I do with gelatin capsule supplements - either open them up if that's possible and empty into your mouth or glass to mix with water, or if it's one like COq10 I just bite through it and throw out the gelatin covering. So far the only one that's tasted bad has been resveratrol.

 

[Ambrosia_angel]

Why you look for a liquid or powder version of all these products. Liquid is better to be honest because at least it is in its most natural form.

But you may have to take more as the product may not be as strong. I'm currently reluctantly taking gelatine capsules even though I don't eat pork. But taking production in its natural form is so important.

 

[oh_noes]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I'll get back to you later today. Gotta collect my thoughts.