I've taken at least 3 grams of vitamin C, along with a multivitamin and a B-complex vitamin daily for the last 20+ years. I read a number of books in college, particularly those of Dr. Linus Pauling, which started me down this path. I've had more than one medical doctor tell me I had the most expensive urine in town but I feel the benefits have far outweighed any cost.

Recently I read this blog entry from Dr. Eades at proteinpower.com http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...low-carb-pt-ii/
where he recommended some additional supplements which made a lot of sense to me.

As a result, earlier this week in addition to what I'm taking above I started supplementing Magnesium, ALA, and CoQ10. So far I feel great and actually a bit more energetic however I've gained about a pound a day each of the three days I've been taking them. I started at 170 which has been my stable weight for the past 6 weeks and today I was at 173 and the only thing that hasn't stayed constant appears to be the additional supplements.

I did a body fat reading using my calipers and as I suspected I haven't gained any body fat so I'm guessing the additional weight is water retention but I don't remember reading about this as a possible affect of these supplements. Has anyone else had some additional weight gain as a result of starting these supplements?

Hi there,

I can't answer your question about water retention and these supplements, but lots of things can cause it, so it's difficult to say whether one thing alone has caused your seeming weight gain.

I'll just chime in on ALA, though...

I read a whole book on it and was so wowed that I got myself some straight away. But it isn't as simple as it might seem...

ALA is a chelator of heavy metals, which sounds good, but it actually can stop absorption of all metals, even the "good" ones, such as zinc.

After I had taken ALA for a while, I got symptoms of low zinc. I started taking zinc. If you take zinc without balancing it out with copper, you get low copper. I got low copper - which caused my mild arrhythmias to get very very frequent. I started taking copper and they went back to their "normal" frequency. I then started taking zinc and copper every other day, as each of these competes for the same absorption paths.

Now I have low ferritin (iron stores). And what do I find out lately??? That zinc impedes iron absorption!!!

I am now taking an iron supplement and using the zinc very rarely...

The iron supplement seems to be helping me a lot: I have better energy, which I think means that it is boosting my thyroid function, because I have actually managed to lose weight again recently, rather than gain.

Just wanted to tell you my experiences as a cautionary tale.

In my humble opinion, some of these diet gurus recommend the supplements a little too hastily.

I only found out about the link between low copper and arrhythmias by accident and then had to do a lot of fairly "deep" research using Google Scholar and pubmed. And, in the medical studies and research, I find that zinc supplements can be the cause of low copper: but zinc is recommended willy-nilly all over the place with nary a mention of copper.

I truly believe in supplementation, but my own experience has been that it is a veritable minefield and to be approached with extreme caution.

amanda

Thanks for relating your experiences. Do you mind saying how long you took the ALA before you noticed the zinc deficiency symptoms? How much ALA did you take and was it L-ALA or the more potent R-ALA?

Hi beernutz,

I'd tell you if I could remember!!! It is some time ago that I took it, but I guess I took it faithfully every day for at least three months, if not longer, maybe six months. I can't remember whether I just bought it the once, or whether I got a second batch. Most supplements come in bottles with a supply of about 90-120 tablets or capsules, so I'm assuming that the ALA I had came in the same kind of quantity.

I think I was taking "regular" ALA, not the r-form. I did find out about the R-ALA but it was so expensive that I decided to try the other kind first.

Anyway, just something for you to bear in mind and to monitor.

I may have had deficiency symptoms due to gluten intolerance, which only became apparent about 18 months ago when I began having regular BM problems. However, if I do indeed have celiac disease, I may have had poor absorption long before the obvious symptoms arrived.

amanda

Magnesium can help increase bone density which would lead to a little weight gain - but I doubt 3lbs in 3 days.

Lee