Top 5 Supplements Everyone Should Take
What supplements should I be taking? It is a popular question. Your supplement needs will vary based on your health, but here is a list of the basic ones that most people need.
All products should be reputable, quality brands and not some drug store, dollar store brands, or owned by a Pharmaceutical company. It’s an oxymoron to me-a drug manufacturer needs you in a state of ill health for them to profit and yet is making a supplement to support your health. I am hesitant to purchase products from a company that makes both.
Multivitamin/mineral: To cover the basics, including B vitamins, calcium, selenium, and iodine. Poor quality multi v/m will have smaller amounts of nutrients and difficult to absorb forms.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is important for your bones, immune health, lung health, and mental health, to name a few. Start with a baseline vitamin D level to know how much you require. Use the vitamin D calculator at grassrootshealth.net to determine the dose to reach optimal levels. How much you need also depends on a few factors, including how much extra body fat you have, how much mid-day sunlight exposure your bare skin gets without sunscreen, where you live, and your skin tone. The vitamin D level best for you depends on your health status. A general range is 40 ng/ml to 80 ng/ml unless you have cancer which may require a higher D level. Restest your vitamin D level 6 months later. Only trace amounts are found in food.
Magnesium: Magnesium is involved in hundreds of bodily enzymatic processes, so it is critical for your health. It promotes a calm and relaxed mind and is useful in stressful conditions. Even the healthiest eater may struggle to get enough magnesium since it is depleted in our soil from the lack of crop rotation. A general all-purpose form is a glycinate or bysglycinate chelate. Avoid magnesium oxide since it is very difficult to absorb. Citrate will loosen bowels. Ranges may be anywhere from 500 mg. to 2 g. daily. This will depend on your needs.
EPA/DHA: Promotes balanced omega ratios since people tend to consume a large number of omega-6s which contributes to an inflammatory state. Inflammation is at the root of many chronic health issues. This is another marker that I would get tested for. You can do a blood spot test, mail it in, and use their calculator to determine your desired dose. A general rule of thumb is the more inflamed your body is and the more processed oils you consume, the more you may need. Many people need between 1-2 grams daily of EPA/DHA combined. If you use a non-fish source, you may absorb less and take a higher dose. Preferred sources are fish or algae. On a day you consume a fatty fish source such as Alaskan wild-caught salmon, skip the supplement dose.(Omegaquant is where you can order at-home tests). Also make sure your doctor runs the c-reactive protein (CRP) test, which is a marker of inflammation (but it cannot tell you where you have inflammation). You want the number under 1 and close to zero.
Probiotic: Your gut health is critical for immune support, lung health, brain, and mental health. A healthy individual may not need one or may be able to take a probiotic 1-3 days per week and incorporate fermented foods, yogurts (not the Dannon-sugar-coloring-dye-kind), herbs, and spices. Others may benefit from a daily probiotic. If you have been taking the same probiotic long-term, mix it up and use a different brand for a while. A probiotic label should indicate genus, species and strains, and the amount of viable organisms (should be 1 billion or greater).
What other supplements you need depends on your health. A person with thyroid issues may need to add in more selenium, someone going through a stressful time may need more magnesium and an adaptogen, and someone else may need a proteolytic enzyme for cardiovascular issues.
Figuring out the correct dose, the best time of day, with or without food, etc., can be very challenging. For instance, an omega-3 supplement may not benefit you if you take a low dose without a fat-containing meal.
Contact me for a consult if you need help creating the best supplement plan, so you do not waste time on unneeded supplements, the wrong amounts, the wrong forms, and inferior brands.
