Supplements -- immune system

[Paulagcl]

A lot of supplements say they enhance the immune system. Contain zinc, etc. We are not supposed to take zinc for that reason, I have read. Or anything enhancing the immune system.

[piglette]

Since zinc may make the immune system stronger, it should not be taken with corticosteroids.

[Ronnie101 in reply to piglette]

Does that include foods containing zinc, such as prawn?

[Paulagcl in reply to Ronnie101]

I am sure it does not. Food contains a mixture of nutrients and vitamins. But a pill is a concentrated form of just one. I haven't heard of any food overloaded on zinc and we need a certain amount of it, just not a concentrated shot like in a supplement.

[piglette in reply to Ronnie101]

As Paulagcl says real food should be OK. I could not give up prawns, I love them.

[Paulagcl in reply to piglette]

It's really hard to know--every drs office should have a nutritionist! I asked my GP and he didn't even answer -- most doctors don't pay attention to this. Medicine has become so compartmentalized, at least here in the USA.

[piglette in reply to Paulagcl]

I am reading a book called ‘Food is better medicine than drugs’ and the author goes on about doctors knowing nothing about nutrition!!

[Broseley in reply to piglette]

Sorry, could you explain that please? I have taken zinc ever since diagnosis.

[Paulagcl in reply to Broseley]

Ourmedications work by suppressing the immune system. Zinc strengthens it, so it works against our medication.

[Broseley in reply to Paulagcl]

Thanks. Oh dear, though I have successfully tapered from 40mg down to 2mg so far, with no flares. I started on the zinc as recommended by my dentist for my gums.

[piglette in reply to Broseley]

I shouldn’t worry too much if you have got from 40mg to 2mg. I suppose it means you may have taken more steroids than you would have otherwise but a bit late now I suppose! If it helps your gums, it has helped. Perhaps you should mention to your dentist that zinc and corticosteroids are not a good idea!

[Broseley in reply to piglette]

Yes I will!

[G-Jo in reply to Paulagcl]

Piglette, are there any more supplements we should not take(such as zinc), that work against pred?

Hard to find a multivitamin these days that doesn’t have zinc!

[piglette in reply to G-Jo]

I think it is better to take supplements separately personally, so you don’t waste money on supplements you don’t need. It seems that the vast majority of supplements purchased are just not needed and we are consuming enough in our food anyway. If you can include vitamins in your food rather than in pills it is preferable. Liquorice is not recommended and also they say nightshade vegetables and fruits. You should not take your vitamin D with calcium at the same time as the steroids, but leave at least two hours inbetween. There are many medicines that can affect the way pred works, or increase the risk of side effects. It's very important you check a medicine is safe to take with prednisolone before you start taking it. This includes anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen and aspirin.

[G-Jo in reply to piglette]

Thanks, I have put a note on my Ibuprofen bottle saying "do not take while on Pred." And darn it, I do love licorice, guess I'll have to save that for sometime hopefully in the future.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to G-Jo]

You can have the flavour with aniseed ...

[piglette in reply to G-Jo]

I do occasionally have the odd allsort!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

There is a lot of guff talked about "enhancing" the immune system. They never actually say what they mean. There must be things that help to calm the immune system that has become deranged - they would be good. They may "strengthen" the immune system by returning it to closer to normal function. But no-one wants to look at that. It is the same with probiotics - if they identified what gut bacteria are out of balance, then taking probiotics would "strengthen" the immune system by returning it to its balanced state. And using the word "moderate" would be more accurate.

A good diet - with high quality foods and nothing in excess and including pre-biotics is the best approach.

health.clevelandclinic.org/...

[G-Jo in reply to PMRpro]

Great article, thank you. Yes, prebiotics are very important to feed the good gut microbes, who love fiber. Then they produce SCFA's, among which butyrate is very helpful to us. I often refer to the Cleveland Clinic for medical advice. They are common sense.