DAILY SUPPLEMENTS

A SUPER MULTI-VITAMIN

A super multivitamin is one that is rich in vitamins, minerals and B vitamins and includes higher concentrations of anti-oxidants, folic acid and superfoods. This kind of multivitamin will require you to take more than one capsule per day spread out over two or three meals. Hundreds of studies have shown the benefits of multi-vitamins so if you don’t take one perhaps this is your cue to start! It has also been discovered that people taking daily super multivitamins have longer telomeres.

OMEGA 3 FISH OIL (EPA and DHA)

Fish oil is known as an essential omega-3 fatty acid for the simple reason that your body cannot make it. It can come only from the outside – from your diet. As with all essential vitamins and minerals, there must also be a relatively constant intake because it is used up (oxidized) in everyday living. Ideally, fish oil should be taken with food once in the morning and once in the evening. During times of extraordinary stress or physical duress increase the dosage. It is truly one of the most important supplements you can take as every single one of our cells contains omega 3 fatty acids!

Thousands of independent scientific studies have proven that fish oils have innumerable anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects, and evidence continues to mount that it is crucial to the prevention and treatment of many other forms of degeneration including arthritis, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, fish oils rejuvenate and regenerate brain and nerve function. So much so that the old paradigm ‘once neurons are gone they are gone forever’ has shifted.

Fish oils are the next level of brain plasticity. People who maintain consistently high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their bodies have less cancer, less cardiovascular disease, less arthritis, and a significantly reduced risk of dementia.

Fish oil contains the pre-formed omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA and in supplement form should contain a ratio of 300/200 EPA/DHA. Make sure that you buy a good quality supplement using purified fish oil supplement that has been molecularly distilled. This is the only way to guarantee that it is free of contaminants that pollute our water sources.

Flaxseed oil is sometimes mistakenly thought to be an adequate substitute for fish oil because it contains the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid which is the precursor of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. Although the body is capable of converting the alpha-linolenic acid to EPA and DHA, the converted amounts are minimal so it cannot be counted on as a substitute for fish oil. If you are a vegetarian or vegan then algae-based omega-3 is probably the best source, although not as potent and more expensive.

Warning – fish oil is a blood thinner so if you are taking any drugs that thin the blood caution should be used when combining them with fish oil.

VITAMIN D3

Often called the sunshine vitamin as our bodies can manufacture it from sunlight, Vitamin D is traditionally associated with bone health because it helps our system absorb calcium and phosphorous. However, new studies show that Vitamin D affects human health in a more profound way than ever imagined. It is actually a hormone and is part of all of the different layers of the immune system everywhere! This makes it a first line of defense. Vitamin D also controls more than 300 genes and is involved in practically every bodily system, it improves metabolism and seems likely to protect against the four most common cancers (breast, prostate, colon and skin).

Deficiency has been linked to depression, asthma, dementia, type 2 diabetes and many other chronic conditions. Unless you are drinking unusually extreme amounts off fortified milk, orange juice or spending many hours a day in the sun, the levels circulating in your body will be less than optimal. In fact millions of people around the world are unknowingly deficient in Vitamin D.

Make sure to take the right type: D3 not D2.
It can take 6-12 months to “fill up your tank.”

Ask your doctor for the 25(OH)D test to determine the levels of Vitamin D in your blood. Strive for numbers between 50 and 100 nanograms per milliliter. For women Vitamin D3 levels tend to lower significantly in peri-menopause and menopause.

A SUPER MULTI-MINERAL

The mineral content of our soil and food has deteriorated to such a point that mineral supplementation is now a necessity. Look for a formula that is iron free. This is because as our bodies age they accumulate iron which is a powerful generator of free radicals, a major player in the degeneration of tissues and obviously something that we want to avoid.

ANTI-OXIDANTS

Anti-oxidants work as a network. For proper effect you need a full range of anti-oxidants as each one works on a different types of free radical. With that in mind I have created a slightly longer list. Pick a few of them and add to your supplement regime.

Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)

ALA is found inside each and every one of our cells. Being both fat and water soluble it can penetrate into all of the cell parts where it neutralizes free radicals (It is the only anti-oxidant that can do this). It is also a mitochondrial booster, helps process sugar in ways that reduce the typical damage that occurs after eating starchy or sugary foods and can improve the clearance of glucose by 50%!

Essential to take before and/or after large compromising meals.
ALA is up to four hundred times more potent than vitamin C and E combined. It seems to have positive impact on a long list of ‘dis’eases: obesity, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular health to name but a few. Alpha Lipoic Acid also enhances the potency of glutathione, helps the liver to detoxify itself and protects the brain from free radical damage. Deficiencies have been linked to strokes, Parkinson’s and dementia. The body cannot produce enough of it to reap the above benefits which is why a supplement is necessary.
There is a new form of ALA available called R Lipoic Acid (R form of ALA) which is even more potent! When taken in conjunction with Acetyl-L-Carnitine the results are very powerful.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate

Acetyl-Carnitine has been used for years by athletes to increase performance and recovery and plays a crucial role in energy production in the body. When your muscles have enough Acetyl-L-carnitine they can better access fat or protein for energy instead of just glucose, reducing muscle fatigue and build up of lactic acid. Acetyl-L-carnitine also increases the production of testosterone (which boosts muscle and bone mass, sex drive and mood in both men and women), and repairs and strengthens the mitochondria of our cells. This is crucial since every cell in the body has mitochondria, brain cells have more than a thousand, and it is estimated that ten percent of mitochondria is eaten every day!
Research indicates that when taken in conjunction with R Lipoic Acid the effects are more potent.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

NAC is rapidly metabolized in the body where it becomes a precursor to intercellular glutathione helping to boost the body’s levels of glutathione.

Glutathione

Considered the master anti-oxidant, is used to detoxify the body and to help it repair the damage caused by stress, pollution, aging and other traumas. It neutralizes free radicals, improves the body’s ability to recycle sick, dying and dead cells and keeps the body running smoothly.

Unfortunately taking glutathione as a supplement is not bio-available. In other words very little of it actually passes through the cells. Until other options (such as a transdermal delivery through cream) become available, the best way to boost glutathione levels is by having it injected directly into the bloodstream or by taking oral NAC.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant that does powerful health-promoting, age-reversing work.

Amongst other things it stimulates the immune system, helps the liver work better and strengthens our adrenals. For best absorption take it in a gel/liquid form such as Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C. Current clinical trials show that this product creates serum levels almost double what was originally thought possible in an oral form.

Be sure to take Vitamin C between meals to prevent excessive iron absorption. As our bodies ages they accumulate iron: a powerful generator of free radicals and a major player in the degeneration of tissues – obviously something we want to avoid!

Coenzyme CoQ10 (ubiquinone) or Co Q10

Mitochondria are the powerhouses in our cells. They provide us with the energy that we need to live. As we age they degenerate, eventually producing the final demise of the cell.

During this degeneration process our power output declines and we form more free radicals. Since the mitochondria are weakened they lose their ability to buffer these toxic free radicals and instead release more of them into the cell!

CoQ10 protects these precious mitochondria and boosts their function. In recent years researchers have discovered that the more CoQ10 present, the more mitochondria. We could thus say that every cell on the body is dependent on CoQ10.

The ubiquinone form of CoQ10 is cheaper but poorly absorbed and unstudied. The softgels containing ubiquinol have been shown to be more absorbable.

L-Carnosine

From studies we know that L-carnosine has strong anti-oxidant properties that protect us and boost our immunity. It also plays an important role in enzyme activities, as a chelator of heavy metals, and is a potent anti-glycation agent. It has even been shown to rejuvenate dying cells, and the most recent evidence suggests that it dramatically reduces the rate of telomere shortening.

If you eat red meat, poultry and fish your body will still get the L-carnosine it needs but possibly not in optimal amounts. If you are a vegetarian you need to take a supplement to prevent deficiency.

Green Tea Extract

A major neutralizer of benzene (carcinogen).
It has also been shown to increases stem cells.

Curcumin

An extract from the turmeric root and has an amazingly broad-spectrum effect: it has a profound effect on inhibiting cancer, it protects the brain, it has the ability to stimulate wound healing and is also one of the most powerful anti-inflammatories in the world, apparently rivaling the potency of steroids.

Resveratrol

This compound found in grapes protects the DNA from radical damage and is considered to be a potent anti-aging weapon. Unfortunately you can’t get what you need from red wine alone!

Garlic, Cinnamon and Oregano

All powerful anti-oxidants.

There are of course many more anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins that can be used for specific boosting purposes but this is the ‘Essential List’ so simplicity is key.

Whether it’s reading further information, taking immediate action or contacting me with specific questions, hopefully this list will inspire you to expand your experience with supplementation.