In my practice, I find an interesting mix of patients wanting to take whatever supplement is necessary to feel good and be healthy, while others report they "don’t like taking pills." I can understand the not liking to pop pills thing, or want to carry around a pill-case divided up into days of the week. However I can say in our society, with our amount of toxins, lack of nutrients in our soil, and our poor lifestyle choices that supplements aren’t all bad.
Many patients ask me how many supplements I take every day and in the morning I take seven different types, and in the evening I take two or three depending on the day. I do not take any medications. Honestly, I feel pretty good, my skin and hair are healthy and I sleep well most nights. I thought about the top recommended supplements and have compiled them into a basic list.
1. A good quality multi-vitamin that is whole food based to pick up the missing pieces in our diet. The poor quality one-a-days or hard tablet pills that don’t dissolve do nothing for your body so go for sometime your body will absorb.
2. Vitamin D3 serves so many purposes and is so beneficial to our bodies that I will keep it brief and let you read all the wonderful articles on EmpowHER. Make sure you get tested first but a basic dose is 2,000 IU per day.
3. Calcium/magnesium supplements are good for your bones, muscles, constipation, anxiety, sleeplessness and more. Be sure to get a calcium citrate/malate blend for optimum absorption.
4. Omega 3/fish oil – great for every cell in your body, arthritis, inflammation, cholesterol issues, depression, hormones, and more. Be sure you’re getting good quality oil that smells clean and has at least 300 mg of DHA and 500 mg EPA per 1,000 mg.
5. An antioxidant blend that has nutrients such as natural vitamin E, Vitamin C, green tea extract, turmeric, alpha lipoic acid, CoQ10, and resveratrol. Antioxidants protect our bodies and our cells from free radical damage, inflammation, toxins, and possibly disease.
Be aware of quality over cost. A recent patient bought a turmeric supplement from reputable source and felt a major difference in her health. She then bought her second bottle from a large retail chain for half the cost and all of her symptoms returned. Other patients I ask to puncture their fish oil capsule and smell it – if it smells like rotten fish it has gone rancid and you must throw the entire bottle out. Do you research and be wary of deals too good to be true, especially if you aren’t noticing any difference in your health.