Core Four

With the New Year right around the corner, many people will have a renewed commitment to health and several people have asked me what vitamins and supplements they should be taking as part of a program for wellness.  There’s so much confusion on this subject out there and I have seen people literally come in with bags of stuff that they’ve accumulated over the years.  Unfortunately, often much of what people are taking isn’t always necessary and even more times they are taking supplements that contain the same nutrients.  After numerous seminars and books, I’ve found four supplements that everyone agrees to be the basic nutritional foundation.

Understand, in a perfect world, we shouldn’t need any supplementation.  God didn’t screw this up.  We did.  As a result, unless you are eating an array of organic fruits and vegetables with every meal, a high quality multivitamin combined with a multimineral is necessary.  Vitamins don’t do much by themselves; they require the minerals to activate them.  Many of the vitamins out there are junk and don’t even absorb.  At the very least, you should observe your urine turning to a fluorescent yellow color after you’ve been taking these for a few days.  Secondly, you should take omega 3 fatty acids.  These are a required nutrient that the body does not produce.  They are a necessary building block for the anti-inflammatory hormones produced by your adrenal glands.  When you reduce inflammation with these hormones, you reduce your risk of nearly every disease.  Fish oil is your strongest source of omega 3 fatty acids.  However, make certain that the oil is fresh as it oxidizes and turns bad after about 90 days on the shelf.  Next, a probiotic is key.  These are the good bacteria that are found in healthy soil.  Microbes such as acidophilus and lactobacillus serve to break down waste in the colon and assist bowel function.  They also are a first line of defense for any bad bugs ingested from food and drink.  Probiotics also produce enzymes that are critical for the immune system.  We should take these regularly, but it is critical after a round of antibiotics as these drugs wipe out the good bugs.  Lastly, Vitamin D is often recommended.  Unless you are getting regular exposure to the sun and allowing time for this vitamin to be released to the surface of the skin and be reabsorbed before washing it off in the shower or the pool, you should supplement.  Nearly every sunscreen blocks the rays that stimulate Vitamin D.  This nutrient should not be looked at just as a vitamin – it is a hormone precursor that helps regulate the function of your endocrine (hormonal) system.  Most people are insufficient in D, but the only true way to know if your levels are adequate is with occasional blood testing.

As mentioned before, with a diet of healthy organic fruits and vegetables grown in natural soil and grass fed organic meats or fish along with adequate sun exposure, we don’t really need any of these things.  But in the world we live in, these four supplements should be considered essential for your body to function normally and to help prevent numerous forms of illness.  Work on your diet and consider adding these products to your strategy for better health and wellness.