Should I have these supplements in my cabinet?

[WonderSeeker]

So I just began part-time work at a health-foods store. They have a gigantic array of supplementary options I've been browsing lately. I already take B12 as I'm a vegan and D3 because I'm in those elevated latitudes.

But lately I've been considering respiratory health. In various web searches, I've found that Vitamin-C and NAC (N-Athytl Cystine) have come up repeatedly. Have any of you tried these and if so did you notice better immune health ± less mucus in the lungs?

Cheers!

[JohnnyAb]

If you're a vegan then your ascorbic acid levels should be fine, as long as it's a balanced type of vegan (I'm talkin peppers, broccoli, potatoes, brussels, black currants etc). You can't find NAC in food but if you're well then what's the point? What kind of respiratory problems are you experiencing?

I've had some pretty good results with vit C. I haven't been 'sick' for past 5-6 years or so but when I catch some common cold I usually take mad amounts of it and I'm fine the next morning. But then again it might be the outcome of my daily lifestyle.

I sometimes drink it before workout too.

You can try popping some vit C if you feel fatigue or something, which I assume might be the case with you being vegan.

 

[Michael569]

@WonderSeeker do you have a respiratory condition? (Asthma etc.) If you're healthy i wouldn't go beyond b12& D.

Supplemental vitamin C is mostly waste of money and NAC is more a therapeutic supplement rather than something I'd use long term. Just google cysteine rich foods and add more of them in the diet should leave enough cysteine to maximize glutathione production if that's of an interest

[WonderSeeker]

@JohnnyAb Yeah, I get fatigued pretty often. I'll give C a shot. For the breathing, I have had asthma for most of my life and usually it's because my throat gets quite mucussy. It's just really annoying because it fucks with baseline consciousness in my day-to-day (especially combined with fatigue) so I'm looking into supplements as a possible way to help it. Frankly ripping the asthma inhaler doesn't work anymore and is only a quick fix.

[WonderSeeker]

@Michael569 Thanks Michael, I am pretty healthy. Strangely I go for runs all of the time with no issue whatsoever; the asthma only kicks in when I'm doing ordinary things.

[Michael569]

15 hours ago, WonderSeeker said:

 the asthma only kicks in when I'm doing ordinary things.

Asthma is often just an extension of allergic reaction. Not always but very often. Could you be reacting to environmental allergens / irritants? Mould spores are a common one, I have a huge problem with a mouldy environment, my throat literally starts closing up in such case and I starts sneezing a lot, probably because I was never exposed to it as a kid and did not build up a tolerance in those early years. Dust mites, dust, combustible particles are other possible irritants. Could also be certain chemicals in foods such as sulphies

Other causes could be also related to pro-inflammatory dietary patterns, microbiome imbalance, gut health overall etc but not sure if any of that could be relate to you. 

Also you maty benefit from looking into Buteyko breathing if mouth breathing is an issue. 

[Breakingthewall]

I have been taking 2 grams of calcium ascorbate a day for some years. It is like ascorbic acid but with 10% calcium so that it is at neutral pH. Does anyone know if there are any contraindications to this?