Vitamins may be tiny but they are oh so mighty! Just like we require air to breathe and water to stay hydrated, we require vitamins to keep our bodies functioning. Generally you should get your vitamin intake from eating a well balanced diet however supplementing your vitamins can be useful especially when you have a deficiency or require some extra TLC (tender loving care).
I work for a company that sells vitamin supplements amoung other products so I have a good understanding of the benefits of these types of products. However although I knew how good vitamins were, why you should have good vitamin intake, what vitamins to take for certain circumstances and what a lack of vitamins can do for ones body. I never really took supplementing vitamins seriously, well that was until my own health was at risk. I suppose I was ignorant because they say "you should get majority of your vitamins from eating a well balanced diet" therefore seeming as I eat pretty healthy I didn't think I needed to supplement. However it seems there are some vitamins I require in a supplement form in order to help me function with my condition and to manage the effects of steriod treatment.
So today I thought it would be nice to run through my daily vitamin supplement intake and why I take these supplements;
Calcium - If you have been following me on social media you would be aware that so far since being diagnosed with ITP I have had two doses of prednisone with only a small gap between treatment. Prednisone although the so called "safest" treatment method (can be taken whilst pregnant) does come with some serious side effects. One of which is the reduction of ones bone mass. Due to this reasoning my doctor had suggested that I supplement with Calcium even long after discontinuing treatment.
You see Calcium is a great supplement to help with bone strength, if your body doesn't get enough calcium or has something reducing your bone mass (eg. prednisone) it can cause your bones to become weak and brittle putting you at risk of osteoporosis.
Calcium is an essential mineral required for the growth and maintenance of our bones along with relieving and reducing the effects of nervous tension.
I believe the key take away here is: regret your bones now and you'll regret it later!
B Vitamin - any ITP patient I think would agree that ITP can make you at times feel sluggish, tired, irritable or moody. Hence the important of a good quality B-Vitamin. B Vitamins are great for increasing energy, helping with maintaining healthy levels of serotonin among many other benefits that help with your overall health and well-being.
B vitamins are found in many foods, but because they are water soluble, they can’t be stored in the human body and therefore must come from the foods we eat or through supplementation.
Off memory this is the first Vitamin my doctor recommended I started to supplement with in order to help me manage my condition. So far it has really done wonders in regards to keeping me functioning throughout the day.
Vitamin C - this Vitamin is well known for helping with immune functions and in a survey completed by PDSA of Non-Traditional Treatments for ITP about 30% of those who tried vitamin C felt it helped their platelets and bleeding symptoms. Not a bad result I say!
Vitamin C is an antioxidant and is good for maintaining your immune functions as well as overall health. It is a water-soluble vitamin that the human body cannot synthesise; therefore we must get it from the foods we eat, like citrus fruits, or through supplementation.
I'm sure I could add a lot more vitamins to the list but for now this is my daily intake and I am pretty pleased with how I am feeling so for me these vitamins are doing what I require them to do. If you are supplementing vitamins for your ITP please comment below what vitamins and why?
#fightingfatigue #vitamins #supplements #takingsupplements #itpaware #treatingimmunethrombocytopenicpurpura #immunethrombocytopenic #immunethrombocytopenicpurpura #immunedisorder #immunesupport #autoimmunedisease #chronicitp #takingvitamins #vitaminsforhealth #livingwithitp #itpbeginnersguide #lowplatelets