Supplements: The Top Picks and Ideal Complement for Your Healthy Diet
My main recommendation for better health is to include as much whole and organic food in your diet. However, you may find it difficult to eat healthy at all times because of certain reasons, and as a result you may not be able to get enough essential nutrients from foods. In this case, you can take supplements to ensure that you’re getting the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that you need for optimal bodily function.
Four Important Supplements for Good Health
There are three supplements I consider to be staples in complementing your journey towards improved health: Complete Probiotics, Krill Oil, and Ubiquinol. These are my “Essential 3.”
1. Complete Probiotics
Complete Probiotics works in the gastrointestinal system, where most of the body’s bacteria strains are. Probiotics are good bacteria in the gut whose primary purpose is to ensure there’s balance among various strains. Eighty percent of our bodies’ immune system is found in the gut, and nourishing with Complete Probiotics can:
- Aid in food digestion
- Enhance synthesis of B vitamins
- Improve calcium absorption
- Help balance intestinal microflora
- Promote vaginal health in women
- Support the immune system
Complete Probiotics also contains the Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 strain. Research showed that this strain has properties crucial for human health and is able to colonize well in the human gut. Because of its human origin, the DDS-1 strain can adapt to the human body well. It’s also acid and bile resistant, which is important for intestinal survival.
2. Krill Oil
Krill oil offers important benefits compared to fish oil supplements, which have a weak antioxidant content, high potential to be contaminated, and are susceptible to spoilage. It contains antioxidants and omega-3 fats in the form of phospholipids. These are liposomes or tiny packages that transport fatty acids directly into the body’s cells, and are the safest and most effective carriers of EPA and DHA, which are then promoted to have profound effects on the heart.
Phospholipids deliver an extra boost by providing building blocks and free radical defenses for cell membranes, and regulating cellular transport by being “gate-keepers.” They also work with omega-3 fatty acids to manage the passage of fatty acid molecules through the intestinal wall, making them more bioavailable.
Krill oil can provide support for healthy joints, brain and nervous system function and development, immune system, and overall mood. It helps maintain blood sugar and cholesterol levels already in the normal range.
3. CoQ10 / Ubiquinol
Ubiquinol is a nutrient converted from ubiquinone, also known as CoQ10. As you age, your body's levels of CoQ10 diminish, and so does its ability to convert CoQ10 to ubiquinol, due to factors like oxidative stress, inadequate dietary CoQ10 intake, age-related changes in the genes, and more.
Ubiquinol allow the body to get its CoQ10 dose in a more direct way. If you’re older than 25 years, taking this supplement can help you (those who are younger may still be able to absorb regular CoQ10). Ubiquinol helps:
- Improve your cardiovascular system
- Jumpstart your body’s energy and stamina levels
- Reduce the visible signs of aging
- Act as an antioxidant and provide a defense to protect your body from free radicals
- Maintain normal blood pressure levels and spearhead healthy blood circulation
- Boost your immune system
- Support your nervous system and stimulate an active mind
Ubiquinol is also essential if you’re taking a statin drug. Statin drugs work to lower your cholesterol. However, this happens in the same pathway where the body produces its supply of ubiquinol, leading to a depletion of this all-important nutrient. Restocking your body’s ubiquinol with a supplement can help maintain healthy energy levels.
4. Vitamin D
An alarming 85 percent of Americans have insufficient vitamin D levels, and a major reason is because they spend most of their time indoors. Not a lot of people are aware of the importance of vitamin D for our bodies, so spending time under the sun is a factor that could make a difference.
To get enough vitamin D, you need to expose large portions of your skin. A light tinge of pink on the skin is the marker you need. If you notice this, it means your vitamin D production has reached its maximum levels. People with lighter skin usually need 10 to 20 minutes for this to occur, but people with darker skin tones need to stay for a longer time.
To test your levels, you can purchase a vitamin D measurement kit from the D*Action Study by the D*Action Project of GrassrootsHealth.
However, if you live in an area where there’s not much sun, you can take a vitamin D3 supplement, also known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, which has been proven to be 87 percent more effective than D2. The amount you want to achieve when it comes to vitamin D levels is 40 to 60 ng/ml. Meanwhile, when it comes to dosage levels, 5,000 to 6,000 IUs (international units) is the way to go.
| Age | Dosage per day in IUs (International Units) |
|---|---|
| Below 5 years | 35 IUs |
| 5 to 10 years | 2,500 IUs |
| Adults | 5,000 IUs |
| Pregnant women | 8,000 IUs |
Be 'Nosy' With Vitamins
It’s not a habit people usually have, but smelling your supplements makes a difference. Obviously, if the supplement doesn’t smell fresh, don’t take it. To prevent capsule or tablet spoilage, use a small fishing tackle box to store them. It’s a convenient and easy way to store and transport your supplements.
The Top 6 Picks for Your Health
Once you have incorporated the Essential 4 supplements in Level 1 into your routine, it’s time to enhance your health with these additional supplements: Astaxanthin and Whole Food Multivitamin Plus. These, along with the Essential 3, make up the “Core 5” supplements that can improve your health.
The Benefits of Astaxanthin
Obtained from the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis,astaxanthin is a powerful marine carotenoid that can cross the blood-brain and blood-retinal barriers, a feat that can’t be claimed by most antioxidants. Astaxanthin is also more powerful than vitamin C (65 times more), beta-carotene (954 times more), and vitamin E (14 times more).
What’s more, this antioxidant is very effective at neutralizing singlet oxygens that are made from a specific type ofoxidation caused by sunlight and various organic materials. Astaxanthin can weaken singlet oxygen molecules 550 times better than vitamin E and 77 times more than beta-carotene.
The benefits don’t stop there. Astaxanthin helps in supporting your eyes, brain, immune and cardiovascular systems and blood sugar levels and lowering risk for diseases linked to them. It can enhance your endurance, workout performance, and recovery as well.
This antioxidant also aids in healing spinal cord- and nervous system-related injuries, lessening inflammation from all causes, lowering oxidative damage to DNA, relieving indigestion and reflux, preventing sunburn, and protecting your body from radiation.
It can also potentially lower your risk of several types of cancer and prevent diseases such as pancreatitis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
Making the Most Out of Your Multivitamins
Statistics show that one-third of Americans today take multivitamins, with the number rising to about 40 percent among older Americans. This increase in multivitamin use has spurred debates tackling multivitamins’ usefulness. However, the latest research highlights is that multivitamins are actually beneficial for you.
Multivitamins have been shown to benefit your heart. A study, which followed 9,000 adults who took multivitamins for nearly two decades, showed a 35 percent lower risk of heart disease mortality recorded among women who took multivitamin-mineral supplements for at least three years.
The study noted that this doesn’t prove cause-and-effect, since people who took multivitamins may have had a healthier lifestyle to begin with, and the other changes worked in combination to result in better health. Researchers also took note of the adults’ weight, blood pressure levels, blood sugar control, education, and alcohol use, but all things equal, this beneficial association remained
It’s important to know that multivitamins are a part of the solution, but are not THE solution. One proof that multivitamins aren’t quick fixes was that the lowered risk of illnesses was seen after about three years of regular multivitamin use.
Multivitamins can also help fill nutritional gaps, but don’t fool yourself into believing that they are a substitute for fresh and organic food. Instead, if you’re struggling with a poor diet, use them to ensure you receive important vitamins and minerals. There are 19 studies that support multivitamins’ benefits, and you can find the complete list in Dr. Andrew Saul’s article “NBC’s Vitamin Ignorance.”
Multivitamins also save on healthcare costs. A report by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) says that $11 billion could be saved each year by the U.S. healthcare system if people would take supplements for prevention.
According to the report, 75 percent of expenditures in the U.S. health care system go to treat preventable diseases, but only 3 percent of this amount is invested in disease prevention programs. You’ll still spend money, but the difference is you’ll be spending for prevention and not for treatment. For your health, it pays to think long term, and multivitamin use can help you do that.
The report highlighted that high-risk populations of people over age 55 could benefit from taking a multivitamin as it can help reduce their risk of heart disease, diabetes-related heart disease, age-related eye disease, and osteoporosis. One caveat: Men of all ages and post-menopausal women should choose a brand that does not include iron.
Multivitamins also have a clean record when compared to other preventative or treatment measures — zero cases of deaths all-in-all compared to vaccines and over-the-counter drugs. In the March 2013 GAO Dietary Supplements report, there were 1,080 adverse effects reports (AERs) sent to the FDA — a far cry from the 26,517 vaccine AERs and 526,527 prescription drug AERs recorded.
In fact, 106,000 hospitalized patients die yearly because of drugs that have been deemed “safe” and are properly prescribed and administered, while 2 million patients suffer other serious side effects (not including deaths and side effects from other medical errors).
The numbers do not lie. If you want to add more years to your life, start by making healthy food choices and complementing your diet with the right supplements.
Sources and References:
https://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/beginner_supplements.htm
https://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/advanced_supplements.htm
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