Oops! Forgot to add that the government was advising people that the soil our food is grown in was so depleted they needed to add some vitamin and mineral supplements in the 1930s! I think it used to be true that eating a wide variety of foods could provide everything your body needed, but that may not be true any more.

Cathos5, you know when conventional doctors "prescribe" fish oil, it works. My dad was prescribed fish oil by his conventional doctor for elevated creatinine levels. I was impressed.

BTW, I'm surprised your doctor would put you on lipitor just b/c total cholesterol is high. Did you get a complete lipid profile?

Wanda

A conventional doctor "prescribes" fish oil and you take that as proof that it works? Keep in mind, this doctor first wanted to prescribe Lipitor for the woman's high cholesterol. Only this lady's own knowledge kept her from falling prey to that scam. So I would predict that this doc with the majority whose views on nutrition and cardiac health are antiquated and dangerous. Not exactly the kind of endorsement of fish oil, that leads me to believe it is a necessity.

It was said that once a week supplementation of EFAs was not adequate. I don't know whether this is the case, but I do know it is not for all of the essential nutrients. So, getting back to the original questoin of whether daily supplementation is necessary, I would say that it is not for many of the vitamins and nutrients.

I don't blindly take it as "proof" that it works, I've read the research on my own. In fact, I didn't say that Cathos5's doctor was "a great doctor", I said I was impressed with my dad's doctor.

My point is that, generally, conventional doctors are very reluctant to prescribe alternative treatments unless they know that the research indicates that it is an effective treatment. It takes a lot of convincing for them to stray from "standardized care" since it could end up in a legal nightmare.

Wanda

This is an interesting topic. I, too, thought I could get everything I needed from my food.

I have lost almost 15 pounds since starting Atkins on August 1, I lift weights 4 times a week, and I recently added cardio, like a 2-3 hour hike on weekends.

BUT ...

Despite all these seemingly positive improvements on my lifestyle, I feel depressed, lethargic, and lacking in energy. I could sleep all day and that is exactly how I felt when I was clinically depressed several years ago.

I should note that there is no tangible reason for my depression and lethargy. I have a good job that pays well, and so does my husband. We recently bought a house and are currently on vacation. I am not worried about anything, I rarely drink alcohol, and when TOM is around, it is the typical 3-4 days of psychoses. Therefore, there appears to be no sitiuational reason for depression. Must be organic?

I should also note that I do not currently take supplements.

In order to track exactly what I am eating and how it affects me (energy, mood, etc.) I think I'll go back on Induction on Monday for 2 weeks, follow it strictly, including the water and supplements (such as Solgar multi, calcium, and B6). I will also make sure I do at least 20 minutes of some form of cardio every day.

At the end of the two weeks I know I'll have lost weight, but I want to see how I am feeling.

I have to be honest, I don't like how I feel at all. I'm not a lot of fun to be around, and it bums me out because I thought losing weight would fill me with energy and make me feel better about myself. Don't know what's going on.

You're fairly new to the diet so you may still be adapting. I noticed changes in my energy level, sleeping patterns and so on even 1 year after starting the diet.

Heh! Sort of related to the original post but I have been reading recently that omega-3's can help with depression.

I forgot to add that I also take the flaxseed (Omega-3) for depression. It seems to help. I find myself glumly staring off into space a lot less than I typically do, although this could also be related to the new exercise regime.

I was taking fish oil capsules, but the guy in the vitamin/supplement department of my local grocery told me that he takes flaxseed and that it works just as well. Plus I'd heard about all the wonders of flaxseed on this board

Badgergirl
You might want to take a look at your vitamin D levels. They've discovered that vitamin D is really a kind of super hormone and deficiency can lead to a lot of ills, including depression.

I did get a complete lipid profile. HDL was 56, LDL was 213 and triglycerides were around 80. Blood pressure was normal and so was fasting blood sugar. So I'm not overweight, exercise a lot, eat pretty well, don't smoke or drink, have good bone density and muscle mass-- no way am I going to take a powerful drug like Lipitor when the only (possible) risk factor I have is an elevated LDL! (Half of all heart attacks occur in people whose chol levels are normal and a causal relationship between high chol and heart disease has never been proved)
I don't know if this guy is a good doctor or not. But doctors have been trying to get me to take one medicine or another for fifteen years and I keep resisting.
Actually, at 45 this is the best shape I've ever been in and the best I've felt in a long long time.

Since I eat a lot of raw fruits and veggies and have a pretty varied diet, I don't worry too much about the 'regular' vitamin supplements. As for the supplements I do take (eve. primrose, vit. c (after a workout), oil of oregano, cinnamon, magnolia bark, and 5-htp) I only take them because I do feel a difference. I use that as a rule of thumb after trying 1/2 the vitamin store: If I don't notice a physical change, either in appearance or feeling, I stop taking it. I don't know if you like fish, but I know I eat enough salmon to get plenty of omega. You could also use flax oil on salads.

Some people report these symptoms go away when they raise their carbs. I don't think induction is the answer for you. Judging from your description you sound like someone who need more of a moderate carb diet. Just my opinion though.

I love salmon, I just can't afford it. I think I am gonna take to eating sardines.

This is a great point to be raised, since it is possible to not notice a deficiency for quite a while, as one poster pointed out.

My husband, who has CFIDS, had phased out his supplementation shortly after we met because he didn't see any difference. A year later he was still struggling with a bad relapse, and it was his doctor's suggestion of starting supplementation again that led to us phasing in things (like l-carnitine and CoQ10) that our online research indicated would be helpful. And they did help.

Granted, my husband has a basic metabolic problem that needs attention. I have been tracking my eating again in Fitday, and what I see is very good RDA numbers except in some B's and in D. Well, I have yet to find a D supplement that isn't in calcium (which I have plenty of,) and then I read research that seemed to find that supplementation doesn't work for D.

So I'm going to take more walks in the sun, ten minutes a day is all it takes. And I've added a B complex (one shouldn't take singular B's, the body gets confused.) And I'm taking CLA, which gave me measurable results with muscle tone, cravings, and metabolism, and now I've added Oil of Oregano, because in less than two weeks I have friends and relatives taking me aside to explain my healthy glow...and I got my energy back on the third day, which was sadly lacking since a bout with bad bronchitis. And when I take glucosamine I can FEEL my achy thumb stop hurting.

So these are my rationales...for what they are worth. It is very hard to figure out, sometimes. I tend not to spend the money on maybes, especially since so many of them turn out to be based on flawed research...remember Vitamin A? The fuss over melanin? People overdosing on l-tryptophan?

Personally I don't worry about my fats, aside from not eating transfats. This might be the bliss of ignorance, because I've never had a lipid profile done...and then again, ALL the cholestoral research is seriously flawed. What, me worry?

I agree with the poster who suggested upping carbs slightly, rather than redoubling efforts to keep them low, for the person suffering from mood changes. I would also suggest that such change in mood are not ALWAYS associated with diet. As we go through life, our bodies change and it is possible that your problem is due to some such hormonal shift. Although, we do see reports of mood changes due to diet so it would be reasonable to fiddle with this some.

Salmon alert! Walmart was selling whole wild Alaskan salmon last week for cheap, we got one for $6. I smoked it on the grill, and it was quite tasty. Wish I'd cut some steaks off it first, because we are now sick of salmon and still have a fair amount left.

One thing about sardines and fish steaks, they are CHEAP (50 cents a can). Do miss my crackers with them though. Sniff sniff.

Gotcha Wcollier, not trying to be too argumentative (though it is my natural state) and I am doing some research on EFAs thanks to your info. My family has a history of heart disease so I just might be a candidate for a little boost of EFAs.