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[Andy]

Supplements for thalassemia major and intermedia.

B Complex. Get a good B complex and take daily.

Vitamin C. OK, time to get past the hysteria and acknowledge that thals are almost universally deficient in vitamin C. Thal doctors are finally admitting that patients need C. While patients with an iron load should avoid high doses, doses up to 250 mg daily are fine. Patients with no iron load have no reason to avoid vitamin C.

Vitamin D. If your level has not been checked recently, get it checked. The majority of people on earth are deficient because we do not get adequate exposure to the sun. Your level should be at least 30 with a goal of over 50. If you are low, high doses will be needed to correct the deficiency.
Doses of 5000 IU daily or up to 60,000 IU weekly will be needed to correct deficiency. There is no nutrient that is more important to your overall health. If your doctor disagrees, ask your doctor to go back to school on this one, Almost everything we know about D has been learned in the past 10 years.

Vitamin E, natural only. Look for d-alpha tocopherol. Don't use synthetic E. It is labeled as dl-alpha tocopherol and is industrial waste. 400-1000 IU daily. It is one of the best anti-oxidants you can find. Vitamin C reactivates vitamin E after it has already been used as an antioxidant, so once again, we see another value to vitamin C. I have taken natural E for over 40 years. People ask me why I look young for my age. Vitamin E is the answer.

Folate. 1-5 mg daily.

Calcium and magnesium. Please take together as they need to be taken in balance to properly control heart function. Each mineral controls one side of the heartbeat. Make sure your D level is at least 30. When your D is low, you absorb as little as 10% of your calcium intake, but when your D is above 30, you will absorb about 30% of the calcium you ingest. 500-1500 mg calcium daily and 250-750 mg magnesium daily. Take in a 2:1 ratio.

Zinc. One of the most important things for bone strength. 20-50 mg daily.

Iron should be avoided by majors and intermedia patients. Minors should only take iron when an iron panel has demonstrated iron deficiency is present. It should never be taken by minors based on Hb level, alone.

Trace minerals. Look for a mineral supplement that contains calcium, magnesium and trace minerals, including copper, chromium and selenium.

L-carnitine, L-citrulline or L-arginine. Needed for production of Nitric Oxide, NO. This is depleted in thals, resulting in a loss of flexibility in the blood vessels, specifically the pulmonary artery. As patients age, this becomes more of an issue and can lead to pulmonary hypertension.
1000-2000 mg daily. I listed the 3 because some people find tolerance issues with L-carnitine.

Antioxidants. I cannot emphasize this enough. Your enemy is oxidation. Diet and supplements should be used to counter and also prevent oxidation. Vitamins C and E are both powerful antioxidants. Wheatgrass, IP6 and green tea extract are all good antioxidants which also chelate iron and can supplement your chelation program, while supplying their antioxidant properties.
There are many antioxidants that are worth considering.  This is a list of some that are beneficial.
Alpha lipoic acid.
CoQ10.
Resveratrol
Glutathione (Highly recommended)
Conjugated Linoleic Acid
Search online for lists of "antioxidant foods."

[ekilucky]

Thanks Dr.Andy

[Nomad]

  I can only agree with that Andy. Since 4 months I use to work a lot with Antiox through food and suplements.I have started this because of my reduced hearing ability.(Exjade?)  I take the Antioxidant Formula of PURE ENCPSULATIONS and also something that called Taraxacum for liver protection. I reduced my meat consume to 1 - 2 times a week, eat many fresh products, vegetables and fruits...Also I stoped drinking milk and since then I never had Hartburn again. (something I suffered many years from but this may work only 4 me ) My dayly,lets say nutrition,includes also a handfull nuts like cashews, almonds, walnuts, dark chocolate (over 70% coccoa) and a glass of red wine.
I musst say, I have not felt that good for a long period!! And I go to the gym 2 - 3 times a week.

[Syeda]

Does anyone have any research/experience of cabbage for iron chelation? I thought I read somewhere that it was very successful for hemachromatosis patients and thought it may also be applicable for beta thal major patients with iron overload.

[Ade]

Hi Andy, thanks for the list. With re: Gluthathione. I heard it lightens the skin. Is this true?

[Andy]

Ade,

There is some belief that glutathione can lighten the skin, but not enough study to verify it. Since it is a valuable antioxidant, trying it to see if it does so certainly wouldn't hurt. I take glutathione daily for its antioxidant effects.

[jsbhavsar]

When my body was pumped with
Cyanacobalamin 500mcg + Niacinamide + Folic Acid

My uric acid levels rose sharply. I felt the Niacin (B3) was causing rise in uric acid levels.

And
Getting a B Complex supplement that will not contain the B3 is a very tough find.

Somehow I felt that B3 raises uric acid levels.

[Isha]

Hi,

(1) I found a link somewhere in this website,

https://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-11559-dynamic-health-liquid-l-carnitine-1000-mg-with-coq-10-25-mg-plus-l-arginine-1000mg-16-oz?itemKey=60531&site=google_base

L-carnitine= 1000mg
L-arginine= 1000mg
CoQ10 = 25mg.

1000mg + 1000mg(both L-carnitine and L-arginine works same on body) , is it ok to take 2000mg /day ?

(2) what should be the dose of CoQ10 or Glutathione  per kg ?

https://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-28290-now-foods-glutathione-cellular-antioxidant-500-mg-60-vegetarian-capsules
glutathione 500mg + milk thistle 100mg.

https://prohealthindia.com/product/l-glutathione-250-mg-60-capsules-item-012802/
it suggests 2 servings of 250mg per day= 500mg.

Any suggestions..

[Andy]

Are you asking doses for yourself or your child?

[Isha]

Hi Andy ,

I'm asking for my wife(thal major), 25 yrs, 52kg. mother of 1yr old baby girl.

Sometimes I ask questions on this site by assuming myself my wife. It's odd asking everytime mentioning her. So I become she.