s/o Vitamin D / General Vitamin Supplement Question (long...!)

[sahm99]

Let me start this off by saying that we have not been a "Supplement Family" at all...until now...

No daily Multivitamins, nothing else, either.

 

We eat reasonably healthy, I suppose.

 

Our older kids (dd9, dd10, ds13) are very active physically, each swimming about 3h a day Mo-Sa.

I have recently (last week or two) become worried about ds, in particular. He looks increasingly pale, dark shadows under his eyes, general lack of energy,...

He is seems overworked and physically exhausted. I put him on a 10-day holiday from school, and his coach eased his swim training until the end of March (much to ds' despair!).

 

Still, I cannot shake the feeling that more is going on, and that a good rest with lots of sleep is not going to fix the problem.

 

I will call the pediatrician tomorrow, first thing in the morning, to ask for blood work.

What should we look for specifically? Iron and Vitamin D are my first bet. Anything else? We live in Europe and much less emphasis is put on the vitamin and mineral status of a person, with generally much greater margins considered acceptable and not worthy of consideration / treatment.

 

As much as I believe they will do the blood analysis if I insist, I don't expect to gain much information, apart of being reassured that no "serious illness" is present - which, while very reassuring, is not something I am really worried about. All three kids, with ds certainly much more so, just seem to slowly but steadily "decline", for lack of a better term.

 

On a side-note, I just ordered a bucket-load of different multivitamins / Omega 3s in the US, and the parcel should arrive in the next couple of days. Shopping for these was not easy, as I really don't have a clue and feel like I am shooting blind.

 

Could you please share some insights about vitamin / mineral deficiencies. Any good internet sites à la "Supplementing for Dummies"... I am particularly uneasy about treating one thing, without knowing about the impact / interaction this could have.

 

Thank you so much for your help!

 

P.S. Actually there is one supplement, which is very present in our family:

The kids each take about 1000-1200mg of Magnesium daily (after swim-training).

[SarahW]

As far as supplements go, I think the most useful one is Cod Liver Oil. A good one will have DHA, EPA, D and A. Green Pastures seems to be the best one, in that they don't add anything artificial to it.

 

Beyond that - you can freeze grass-fed liver for two weeks, then cut it up into pill-sized pieces, and swallow a few a day. You can also do that with heart if you want to increase CoQ10.

 

Humans used to eat a ton more organ meats than we do today, so I don't think it's unreasonable to think that some of our current health problems stem from a vitamin and mineral deficiency of the things present in organ meat.

 

I'm pretty anti-supplement pills myself. There is a thing called "bio-availability," meaning that your body is able to use vitamins in certain forms better than others. Vitamin pill manufactures tend to use the cheapest and most "stable" form of the chemical, not the one your body will be best able to use. That's why I think it's best to stick to supplementing with nutrient dense food, like CLO and organ meat.

[AdventureMoms]

I think that nearly everyone living a modern, mostly indoor life would benefit from vitamin D. We do not spend hours nearly naked in The sun like our ancestors did. The current recommendation of 15 minutes of exposure on the hands and face is absurd for those who don't live in the tropics. Where I am, the sun isn't strong enough to even start the process for about half the year.

 

DW and I take 4000Iu and the children (all 35-45lbs) take 1000 IU each. Vitamin d3 only, d2 is not worth taking. Check the vitamin d council website for more. I can't link from my phone but google should find it.

[Joules]

 

 

I will call the pediatrician tomorrow, first thing in the morning, to ask for blood work.

What should we look for specifically? Iron and Vitamin D are my first bet. Anything else? We live in Europe and much less emphasis is put on the vitamin and mineral status of a person, with generally much greater margins considered acceptable and not worthy of consideration / treatment.

 

Just a few ideas: you might ask for B12, thyroid, and cortisol tests. If it's common over there, things like Epstein Barr and Lyme can cause fatigue in a healthy person. And maybe consider allergy testing. The dark circles under the eyes is a hallmark of an allergic child.

[flyingiguana]

Check for asthma. A child can have it without obvious wheezing. Also be sure the doctor listens very carefully for heart murmurs.

 

Although it could just be that he's starting a growth spurt. Growing kids can sleep just about constantly, except when they're eating. Or maybe they don't sleep, but they're just inordinately tired and listless. This can go on for months.

[gardenmom5]

wheat allergies often cause dark circles.

when looking at supplements, look for ones that have the forms most readily absorbed. many don't and your body has to convert them - reducing what you're actually getting from what the supplement claims is in it during the process.

[sahm99]

Thank you for your advice!

 

I mentioned all your suggestions this morning when we went to the pediatrician.

 

She agrees that ds seems "off"/ tired/exhausted and ordered very complete blood work. We'll see what comes out of this, I am really impatient at this point...

[saraha]

How do you know which forms are readily absorbed?

 

Thanks