NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION:
Are your supplements helping or hurting you?
Topics covered in this article:
- Why is nutrient supplementation necessary
- What must you know to be sure your supplement is doing more good than harm
- Besides vitamins and minerals, what else is considered a supplement
- What are the 3 primary reasons someone would take supplements
- Safe and effective supplement formulas
- Why is dosage so important
- Why is testing for purity and potency so critical
- Supplement cautions when taking medication
The need for supplementation has now been clearly established. It is no longer a question of whether or not we require nutrient supplementation, but instead, which ones and how much.
If you relate to any of the above (especially more than one), a properly selected nutrient supplement could help you look and feel your best!Why? Our nutrient reserves become depleted because of ...
- Medications (all kinds)
- Sedentary lifestyles and too little (or too much!) exercise
- Not enough, or poor quality, sleep
- Quick, and often nutrient deficient, meals
- Toxicity in our environment (food; water; air; clothes; homes; workplace...)
- Stress, stress, stress ... too much and too long
It isn't necessarily beneficial, or even safe, to take a nutrient
supplement without first finding out the answers to these "must-ask" questions:
- Has your supplement been tested ... for purity (contaminants) and potency, by an independent lab?
- Are you taking the nutrients you actually need ... given your age, sex, stress levels, diet, medical history, drug intake, etc.?
- How much should you take of each nutrient ... so you're not taking too little to get the benefit, nor too much to be harmful?
- What time of day is best ... to take each nutrient to get the most value from each? (chrononutrition)
- What form of each nutrient ... is most beneficial and necessary to elicit a favorable response?
- What combinations and ratios ... of nutrients need to be maintained to accelerate healing and repair?
To find out specifically which nutrient supplements would be most beneficial for you, call my office at (772) 283-4046, or Request a New Client Consultation.
When I mention "Supplements," I am not necessarily just referring to 'vitamins' or 'minerals'; instead, they can include any of the following:
- Vitamins
- Minerals (and trace minerals)
- Quality protein (and amino acids)
- Healthy oils/fats (omega-3 and 6 oils, etc.)
- Fiber (soluble and insoluble)
- Probiotics (saccharomyces c., rhamnosus, acidophilus, bifidus, etc.)
- Prebiotics (arabinogalactans, inulin, etc.)
- Enzymes (digestive enzymes; nattokinase, etc.)
- Herbs (and herbal formulas)
- Phytonutrients (resveratrol; EGCG; pycnogenol; sulforphane; grape seed extract; etc.)
... and other substances or combinations of the above
3 Categories of Supplements:
Basically, there are 3 categories or types of supplements:
- FOUNDATIONAL SUPPLEMENTS - fill in inevitable nutritional 'gaps' in our daily diet.
- REPLENISHMENT SUPPLEMENTS - top off our nutrient 'tank' when it is low in any of multiple nutrients. When evaluated, it is quite common to find a number of nutrient deficiencies in most people. When restored to optimal levels, feeling and functioning better naturally occurs.
- THERAPEUTIC SUPPLEMENTS - further support immunity, blood sugar balance, thyroid health, hormone levels, uncontrolled inflammation, pain control, etc.
For example, immune boosting supplements help 'prime' our immune system in preparation for bacterial or viral exposure, reducing our risk of infection.
FOUNDATIONAL SUPPLEMENTS:
First, it is usually wise to begin with a balanced, bio-available, safe, independently assayed (for purity and content), basic daily nutrient formula, like:
If OVER 40 years of age:
If UNDER 40 years of age:
Taking either of these formulas helps ensure that you have safe and fundamental vitamin, mineral, probiotic, and antioxidant support for your health and immunity, without worrying about contaminants or potency.
REPLENISHMENT SUPPLEMENTS:
Next, add in specific nutrients that you may be deficient in that directly impact your health and ability to heal.
ALERT! Be sure to receive proper guidance and nutritional evaluation before taking individual "single" supplements (as listed below). It is possible (and common) to take too much of individual nutrients, which can negatively impact your health. Please seek professional advice rather than self-prescribing supplements to avoid these unintended, and often imperceptible, consequences.
- Zinc is a commonly deficient trace mineral essential for wound healing, detoxification, energy transformation, and immune function
- Recommend: Zinc Glycinate more info >>
- Dosage: Dose according to your screening results*
- Alert! Overdosing of zinc can be harmful, and correct dosages are based on individual need.
- Vitamin C with bioflavonoids helps maintain healthy antioxidant recycling necessary for keeping your immune system ready to go
- Recommend: Bio C 1:1 more info >>
- Dosage: Dose according to your screening results, dietary intake or organic fruits and vegetables, etc.*
- Vitamin D is a critical
hormone-like vitamin found deficient in many people, and has at least
as much to do with maintaining a healthy immune system as it does
ensuring healthy bones (Canada is looking at Vitamin D for Swine Flu support)
- Recommend: D3-5000 more info >>
- Dosage: Dose when and only according to proper blood test results*
- Alert! Supplementing Vitamin D can weaken and undermine your immune system! Do not supplement more than 1000 IU a day without confirming the need first by testing both 25-OH-vit D and 1,25-di-OH-vit D!
- Vitamin A is another hormone-like vitamin that directs multiple aspects of our body's function
- Recommend: Mixed carotenoids included in Mature Essentials more info >>
- Dosage: Dose according to your blood test results and dietary analysis; etc.*
- Alert! Excessive intake of Vitamin A can be harmful, and correct dosing is highly variable and based on individual need, especially if your are pregnant or may become pregnant.
- Probiotics supplementation helps ensure a healthy balance of intestinal flora ('friendly' microbes), and as a result, a healthy immune system (60% of your immune system is wrapped around your intestinal tract, and its function is directly linked to the health of your gut)
- Recommend: ProbioDefense more info>> or ProbioMax more info >>
- Alert! Only specific strains, combinations, and quantities of probiotics have been proven effective.
- Dosage: Dose according to your medication history; test results, dietary intake of fermented foods, etc.*
- EPA/DHA-rich purified fish oil is
the active form of omega-3 healthy fats, and their common deficiency in
the diet is linked to immune deficiency, diabetes, heart disease,
arthritis, learning disabilities, visual problems, and more.
- Recommend: OmegaPure 780 more info >>
- Alert! Some sources of fish oil are toxic, and improper dosing can be harmful.
- Dosage:
Dose according to your test results (according to
your fat-soluble antioxidant reserves), dietary intake of health and unhealthy fats and oils, etc.*
INDEED, there are many many more vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, healthy fats/oils, amino acids, etc., then listed above, that we all need to feel good, function well, and help prevent heart attacks, cancer, etc.
However, the above list serves to provide a glimpse at some of the important nutrients necessary for health, along with information about good sources, precautions, dosages, etc.
My hope is that the above information helps create an appreciation for the complexity of nutrient supplementation, leading people to experienced, professional guidance in this critical area.
The last category of supplements are ...
THERAPEUTIC SUPPLEMENTS:
Botanicals
(herbs), homeopathic remedies, proteolytic enzymes, pre- and probiotics, specific amino acids, and many more substances,
can serve to assist the body in healing and repairing itself.
Selection, dosages, timing, and combinations, as with all supplements, determine whether the effect will have benefit, little of no benefit, or even potentially interfere with the body's healing efforts.
Before experimenting with supplements, especially therapeutic supplements, consider seeking guidance from a holistic physician specifically trained in nutritional supplementation.
Need some help?
Call (772) 283-4046 to make an appointment with Dr. Powers, or Request an Appointment online here.
* Important Messages about
DOSAGES and MEDICATION!
Too much is just as bad as too little:
It
is not wise to just dump a lot of nutrients into your body without
knowing what is safe to take; how much to take; when to take it; and for how long. Beneficial and safe dosages are based on your specific individual and changing needs.
Alert! Call or schedule a consultation to find out what supplements your body is thirsty for! (or an Immune Screening for immune-specific supplements)If you are taking any Medication:
There are many drug/nutrient interactions that can affect the effectiveness of your medication.
Alert! If you are on medication, consult your doctor before taking any supplements, or Request an Appointment.
BUYER BE AWARE:
Not all Supplements are ALIKE!
The
quality, content, and purity of supplements are not regulated by the
FDA. That means that you have no assurance that you are actually
purchasing what you think you are buying. For example:
- Amount of supplement: When buying supplements (Vitamin C, Zinc, Probiotics, fish oil, etc.), you have no certainty that the dosages indicated on the bottle is actually contained within. (Some samples of vitamin E supplements tested had almost no vitamin E in it!)
- Purity of supplement: You have no assurance of whether or not the supplement you are purchasing contains any impurities or additives that renders the product unsafe to consume. (For example, some fish oil sources of omega-3 healthy fats contain toxic PCB's and mercury.)
Only purchase supplements that have been independently and randomly assayed for purity and content by a qualified, "third-party" lab. (Not sure? Request an Appointment)
BE CAREFUL:
How much to take is critical!
- Ratios of nutrients in supplement: Preserving specific ratios of certain vitamins and minerals is critical to receiving their benefit. (For example, improper ratio of Zinc to Copper can create imbalances in the body resulting in more harm than good.)
- Dosages of supplements: Taking too much of a supplement (vitamin, mineral, fish oil, etc.) can also do more harm than good.
Be sure you actually know what supplements to take, and how much to take, before just "dumping" them into your body and hoping for the best! (Immune Screening)
For more information on determining what nutrient supplements would be most beneficial for you, call my office for an appointment at (772) 283-4046, or Request a New Client Consultation
For more information on Nutrient Supplementation, click here ...
For more information on Chrononutrition, click here ...