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One of the age old questions in the world of nutrition, health and wellness is — does the body require additional supplement products, and if so which ones and how much should be consumed? This is one of the most complex and involved questions to answer. I will do what I can to share my insights resulting from many years of experience and education. Please know that I am not a nutritionist, a doctor or a medical professional. If it is medical advice you seek, then use a medical professional and if you seek advice from a nutritionist then you should find that individual. I am simply sharing with you the awareness I have accumulated in almost eight years as of the time of writing from my own obsession with achieving optimal wellness.
Do We Even Need It?
I recall when I was very ill and suffering badly from over-toxicity and I felt horrible for four years. During this time, I turned to different supplement products, whether they were vitamins, minerals, nootropics, or some other blend, hoping that this would provide me with some relief. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel any better and some of them made me actually feel queasy and strange. At this time, I knew very little about where to source supplements and I suspect quality may have been a factor in why this was ineffective, as well as me not knowing which ones to take and just shooting blindly. I pretty much gave up on supplements at this point (while still holding out a small kernel of hope that my health problems could be solved somehow).
Years later, I discovered a good quality source of supplements, including different cleansing herbal products as well as protocols which utilized vitamins and/or minerals. I warmed back up to taking supplements because of how much they helped me in a very short span of time and the results were very dramatic.
A few years passed by, during which time I cleaned up what I was eating dramatically and really felt the power of foods impacting my state of wellness and energy. I slowly reversed all my health problems completely and felt pretty much back to my normal energetic self. This was accomplished using mostly just the power of foods themselves, with a lot of fruit and raw foods, as well as plenty of herbal protocols.
It was during this time that I became intrigued with the rather romantic notion that, if we can simply live a life where we are eating the most optimum foods, then we don’t really need to take any extra synthesized products like supplement pills. I was progressing onwards and actually getting really good results just eating very healthy foods, and consuming herbal formulas, but without taking additional vitamins, minerals or other compounds.
This continued for years, but eventually I reached an evolutionary jump-point. It became clear to me that for whatever reason it seemed like humans, at least in most modern environments, are probably not best served just with the foods they are eating — even if they are eating the healthiest of foods. I came back around full-circle and it was at this point when I learned everything I possibly could about supplementation and what seems to work best to optimize wellness in terms of supplements, whether an individual is eating a super-healthy intake of foods, or not.
How did we get to this point where things are so bad that the very nature of what we have so much passion for (natural whole foods) isn’t providing enough sustenance? Because I really did fall in love at one point with the notion that a human being can live on the Earth just like Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden, where God just provided all of the most wonderful and perfect means of sustenance all around in the providence of nature. Eating a food like the most amazing fruit is a sort of beautiful interchange between a human being and nature after all, and this ideally could provide the individual with all of the amazing chemistry that will fuel the body and that it needs in totality.
But where are we now? The Garden of Eden is certainly no longer. And if you want to take the Biblical series of events to their logical ecological conclusion, a Great Flood supposedly later washed over the Earth. I personally don’t know what exactly transpired with regard to a massive worldwide flood around 10,000 years ago although I am aware there are many historical accounts of such a thing. Let’s just say if that did happen, then you might have to presume how much mineral content washed away from our soils when that flood receded. If you follow this ancient story, then this fall from grace — in the form of departure of humans from the Garden of Eden, and later the purging of the Earth via a great flood — would have resulted in not only a spiritual deficit inside of men and women but also a substantive lacking of nutrients in our surrounding environment.
Seriously though, all speculations aside about the history of humanity and this planet, let’s get real honest about the quality of our foods — even organic foods. It is indeed lacking, to put it nicely. Unless you can find a very special farmer who grows with intense love and care on a very unique property, you are likely eating a product from the big commercial growers which is probably intensely devoid of certain vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, antioxidants, and more. This is due to a number of expedient commercial decisions by the growers — such as not putting a full spectrum of all the natural minerals back in the soil after depleting it with a crop yield — which leads to poor soil quality. The huge decline of vitamins and minerals in the food over the last century is well documented.
Also, an unprecedented environment that we live in today should also be factored in. For example, extremely high levels of aluminum have been observed in the the air, water and resulting soil content (which ends up in the food), which is just one example of pollution. This heavy metal ultimately winds up inside the body, and can cause us to become more toxic and function at a lower and lower level as a result. Also consider the impact of what some would describe as toxic pollution in the form of EMF radiation and electronic pollution, which has been documented as causing much stress, tension, and potentially free radical oxidation within human cells.
Whenever there are outside environmental factors which are creating a higher amount of oxidative stress to a person, then it ultimately would require extra resources from within that person’s body to balance out this lack of ease. This could also be applicable regarding the modern lifestyle of most individuals which is filled with constant pressure, stress, complexity, and artificial stimulation, not to mention the litany of unnatural and processed foods! All of this could be potentially draining to the resources inside of the body of a human which was really designed to live a much simpler, cleaner existence. The ancestral human would have still had his or her challenges, no doubt, but the problems were cleaner, simpler and not as toxic.
There is also an observation worth considering that the genetics of humans have over time become compromised due to all of these environmental factors, not to mention generations of families eating unhealthy foods and causing their own genes to suffer before and during passing them on to the next generation. It is true that incidents of health issues with babies for example have exploded in recent decades and are on track to continue increasing at an alarming rate. One way to define this issue is a litany of genetic weaknesses being proliferated to the next generation and progressively growing more intense with each transfer.
As explored in more depth in another segment about testing, the question of whether supplements should be taken, and if so which ones and how much, is best answered with some helpful data from your own body. I do think this investigation is enriched by doing testing of the blood, urine, genetics, and perhaps even hair sample testing. For example, if your blood is showing dangerously low amounts of Vitamin D3, then you might strongly consider supplementing with Vitamin D3 if it’s not feasible to get adequate sunlight. If your urine is showing that you have extremely low amounts of iodine in your body, then depending on that measurement it would help you figure out whether to supplement with iodine and by how much. And if you have genetic mutations showing suppressed enzyme activity for certain genes, then that could indicate whether or not certain B Vitamins may be worthwhile to supplement with.
With all this in mind, it is certainly possible that many individuals could benefit from certain vitamins, minerals, or other compounds which otherwise are not being supplied in adequate amounts by the food, or which are getting depleted too quickly by the body due to excessive toxicity or because of an especially high imbalance within the body because of extreme oxidative stress, or which could help to solve a functional problem of the body created by a genetic mutation.
Categories of Supplementation:
I would break down the potential areas of the most helpful supplements that I would consider using into the following categories.
The first category would be supplements that I would certainly consider consuming, and I would think that the vast majority of individuals on this planet today would be well served by strongly considering consuming from these areas:
— Herbs and Botanicals
— Nutrients which are concentrated into a certain food product like a powder
— The most essential and most commonly lacking Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients
The second category in my view is not nearly as critical, but has been documented to provide benefits to individuals in some cases and so therefore would be worth your consideration as well:
— Other Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients, including Essential Fatty Acid or Amino Acid supplements
— Compounds extracted from nature which enhance bodily function
There is also another category which would be supplements that I would personally be inclined not to take, which would include:
— Completely synthetic chemical creations not found in nature or made in the body
— Actual hormones, steroids, or enzymes which would otherwise be made in the body
Lastly, there is a sort of ‘Grey Area’ category which I would prefer not to take but in some certain circumstances I would not rule out taking, which could include:
— Biological precursors, which are compounds normally made by the human body from other raw materials but that that have been synthesized by modern technology
— Also included within this category are glandular extracts
We will explore all of these further so you can understand more context to make decisions for yourself about how to achieve your personal wellness goals.
Herbs and Botanicals:
Herbs and botanicals and a no-brainer for me after experiencing the powerful effects from them firsthand in my own healing journey. Some practitioners will offer concern that they are too stimulating. I understand there is some downside in this sense, but personally do not take issue with this. Most herbal products are essentially just foods, either in a powder, tincture, or liquid extract form, which happen to have qualities than can enhance cellular function of certain tissues within the body. While it would be nice to not have to use them, the stimulation from these compounds can help to increase awareness within a certain system of the body. This would be one of my favorite most expedient ways to get results in an area of the body.
A list of dozens of the most powerful herbs to enhance different functionality of the body’s various systems is much too long to include here, and there are many potent combinations that can target a certain system of the body. You can always see which herbal formulas I like to use (there are many listed) at RapidRegeneration.com.
Nutrients Contained within a Superfood Product:
As covered more extensively in another segment regarding green powder, finding an extremely high quality and potent green powder can be a major game-changer, because not only does it provide amazing fuel from a standpoint of being a food, but it also provides so many potent nutrients as well. These vitamins and minerals are best absorbed when attached to the produce itself (which is why some people object to taking isolated supplements). Adding this type of powder to your diet can cover for a litany of sins in terms of improving nutrient levels in the body.
The main nutrients which are found in this green powder would be Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Sodium, Folate, Chromium, Manganese, and Thiamin (B1). It also contains trace amounts of other nutrients like Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), Vitamin B12, Boron, Copper, Vitamin E, Lithium, Phosphorus, Selenium, Vanadium and Zinc.
You can find a high quality form of it here:
RapidRegeneration.com/GreenPowder
Most Essential and Commonly Lacking Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients:
There are vitamins, minerals and certain nutrients which are of utmost essentiality, and it should raise alarm bells if their levels are too low in the body. While all vitamins and minerals get lumped together so often, there are a few that stand out as being very commonly lacking amongst individuals in our modern world, while at the same time being extremely critical to optimal health. These would include ones like Vitamin D3, B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Iodine, Iron, Zinc, Magnesium, Selenium and Chromium. Probiotics are not a vitamin or mineral but are worth including in this category because of their absence in the average modern person’s microbiome and their absolutely critical role in supporting chemical balance in the body.
You will see other segments which are dedicated to providing a more in-depth understanding to some of these individual compounds, like Vitamin D3, Probiotics, B Vitamins, Vitamin C, and Iodine.
Other Vitamins and Minerals:
Then are also other vitamins and minerals which seem to be either not quite as important as the most essential ones, or otherwise not missing from our food sources as badly. However, these are still worth considering in terms of taking additional supplementations. We already covered some of these before in the most essential and most commonly lacking vitamins and minerals section.
For vitamins, this would include things like Vitamin A, B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K, among other compounds and cofactors like Choline.
For minerals, this would include things like, Iodine, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Manganese and Molybdenum. There are also other trace minerals like Chromium, Nickel, Copper, Tin, Boron, Vanadium and Silicon, among many others.
You will notice that some of these nutrients listed above are contained within the green powder. And so, just by adding the green powder to your existing meals, you are already solving a major issue of getting some of these main nutrients which are needed, and without even supplementing with an isolated ingredient (just by consuming a nutrient-packed superfood). If a nutrient is not in the green powder, or it is but only in very small amounts, then you might consider the benefits of additional supplementation with some of these vitamins or minerals.
You can also look to see how much of a certain nutrient is contained in the types of foods you are eating, but as you calculate the stats on what you are eating, please remember to have an awareness that the estimated levels of nutrients used by many mainstream sources are not necessarily accounting for a shocking and dramatic drop-off in soil nutrient values over the last century or so. Therefore, they have a high likelihood not to be accurate (take them with a big grain of salt).
For good measure, in this section, you could also consider the supplementation of other important nutrients that are found in food, like Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs like Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9), as well as Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) and Non-Essential Amino Acids. Some individuals might also take certain specified amino acids (especially depending on a genetic test) that could include L-Methionine, Theanine or Tyrosine, just to name a few.
Compounds Extracted from Nature
In addition to basic herbs, botanicals, vitamins, minerals and amino acids, there are other amazing compounds which modern technology has allowed us to extract from nature. In a prehistoric age, we rarely could have consumed these substances in such concentrated and potent amounts that exist in some of these formulations. As a result, consuming some of these can have less of a natural approach. There is potential to be overstimulating and even perhaps create an imbalance within the body.
Depending on the unique situation and where somebody is at in their health journey, I would more strongly consider consuming these isolated extracts that have be shown to be very beneficial. The result may be somewhat unnatural, because you would not find such a concentrated potency in a food, or because the compound has been synthesized on some level and doesn’t exactly replicate nature.
Some of these compounds can include:
R-alpha Lipoic acid (made in the body but also found in foods)
Ancient peat
Apple skin extract
Trans-resveratrol
PQQ
Pterostilbene
Nattokinase (enzyme which is produced by food)
Quercetin
Lycopene
Inositol
Lutein
Zeaxanthin
Betaine
Antioxidant, flavonoid and flavonol extracts
Phosphatidylserine
Shilajet
These are just a few, but there are many, many more
This is sort of a modern solution to a modern problem. The risk seems low and the benefits seem to outweigh the downsides. Make sure to do your own research, exercise caution and carefulness, and use your divine intuition to figure out if you should do something and to what degree.
There is a particular product which is a good example of combining the power of herbs with amino acids and certain other potentiated nutrient extracts to create a powerful support for brain and cognitive function. There are many different supplement products that can help with many things (although only a few of good quality), and this is just one example of a supplement that has helped me personally from time to time when I have really felt the need for extra assistance in this area:
RapidRegeneration.com/BrainSupport
Problem Children of the Supplement World:
There are also some other categories of supplements which personally I would not want to supplement with because of the potential downsides involved. These ingredients can include:
Completely synthetic chemical creations not found in nature or made in the body
Actual hormones, steroids, or enzymes which would otherwise be made in the body
Just look at the category of completely synthetic chemicals which are supplement products. Now we are delving into the territory of the pharmaceutical people. Haven’t we seen this movie before? The problem is that this same philosophy of Big Pharma spills over into the supplement world. Not only can taking synthetic, artificial ingredients — which are not found anywhere in nature nor are these material created within our body — create imbalances and obstructions in the body, but this could also be toxic and quite poisonous. This seems more than obvious to me, but I find it worth mentioning that my approach is to avoid these types of supplements like you would anything that is toxic and can severely damage body tissue.
Separately, it seems quite popular nowadays to see people who are supplementing with ingredients which are made in the body, specifically hormones, steroids or enzymes, which would otherwise be produced exclusively by the body. Indeed, this has grown in popularity for example as we have seen testosterone levels in men dramatically decrease in recent decades. Replacing the compound that the body has stopped making enough of is an expedient solution to this much more deeply-rooted problem.
However, it is only common horse sense that if you supplant a compound which the body makes, then the body may be inclined to make less of it on its own presently or if this artificial stimuli is ever removed. This can cause real issues later on down the line and could require higher dosages as well to get the same effects, as the body’s function becomes more hypoactive.
There are certain scenarios where taking hormones may be a life-saver or could provide relief to somebody in an otherwise very desperate setting. If I were an elderly person who had been taking synthetic thyroid medication for years, would I consider a different approach which was a little more natural, involving taking desiccated thyroid hormone? If my pancreas didn’t produce adequate insulin would I consider taking insulin? If I were an old man with testosterone levels at dangerously low levels, would I consider TST (testosterone replacement therapy)? I don’t wish to make judgements about others or rule anything out. At this point in my life, I feel certain for myself about staying away from the type of imbalances these things seem to create in the body. But I understand that sometimes you have to stand in somebody else’s shoes to understand how different people might apply different values to the risks associated with these types of supplements.
Actual hormones can include: Testosterone, Estrogen, Progestin, Human Growth Hormone, Thyroid Hormones, and Insulin, among others. Steroids are also commonly used as a short term gain, but often trading for a long-term pain, as hypo-function of the body can set in. Synthetic enzymes are often used for stimulating and speeding up the body’s processes, including digestion, but can work at the expense of the body relying on an outside source and no longer depending on how to produce enough of its own enzymes for proper balance. This would be a distinction from enzymes that you could consume which can actually be sourced from an external source like in a raw food — a natural externally-sourced enzyme is far less controversial in my view as compared with supplementing with an enzyme that can only be made by the body.
Grey Area of the Supplement World:
These issues are not black and white and I don’t pretend to have all of the answers. All I can do is share what I’ve learned and what I observe in the hopes that you will benefit from my hard work and insights, and that you might appreciate my authenticity that I will shoot you straight.
There are some compounds which exist that are so powerful that it’s quite impossible for me to totally discount them, while at the same time their source is still quite controversial to me and definitely causes some concern and trepidation about taking them. Personally, going through my regular routine, I tend to avoid supplements from this category and prefer to allow my body to balance itself while perhaps supplementing myself with potentiated forms of other ingredients which are already existing in nature.
Rather than just throwing up caution tape around this category of supplements and saying never take them, I do want to offer a more nuanced approach. The fact is that I have taken some of these over the years and have felt extremely powerful effects and benefits from doing so. Now that I have solved my major health problems and gotten myself healthy and well, I would prefer not to use them. But, I believe there is a potential role for these types of compounds and you should decide for yourself if taking them is the right thing for you to do.
The potential risk of consuming a material that can only be made by the human body is that it could send a signal to your body to stop self-producing as much of it. If somebody’s body is already in a state of certain dysfunction by means of not producing an adequate amount of a certain material, and then you start supplementing with it, then this could be a slippery slope because the body could then go from a state of already low function in this area to producing even less and less, worsening the original problem.
I hope that you understand that I am not a part of the Supplement Police and I’m not looking to get you in trouble for violating Natural Standards of which supplements are most natural and which ones aren’t. I do have genuine concerns about the unnatural methodology of putting things into your body that your body is supposed to make on its own and the risks associated with that. But I do also understand that some people’s bodies don’t work properly. I understand that we live in a modern world where there are so many environmental toxins that we’re putting our primitive bodies in a very disadvantaged position. It can be an uphill battle and sometimes you feel like you could use all the help you can get. And I understand that some of these compounds can make somebody feel better, and that people should have the freedom to make their own independent choices about their own bodies.
This is obviously a nuanced issue. I have my concerns but I do not consider myself a purist in this regard because there exist different situations out there. Ultimately, the choice is yours in this regard if you do wish to utilize some of these more unnatural and controversial ingredient which humans have figured out in the last few decades how to synthesize and turn into products. I have used some of them personally, but my preference is to see if I can get by without having to use them. Some of these like hormone pre-cursors are more controversial and risky in my view as well. Definitely keep in mind that there is a spectrum even within this grey area, of some of these ingredients which seem to be riskier than others to start supplementing with.
These types of compounds can include:
CoQ10
Gonadorelin
Pregnenolone
DHEA
NAD
SAM-e
Glutathione
NMN
L-Carnitine
Glutamic Acid
N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
Peptides
Among so many others
I would be lying if I said that I had never taken supplements containing these ingredients and claimed to have never benefited from these things. In fact, there were times in my journey when I was at such a low point health-wise and I did take a certain supplement which contained mostly potentiated nutrients and concentrated formulations of actual natural ingredients, but contained one or two ingredients like CoQ10 which were on this more unnatural synthetic side of the spectrum.
That particular product is the DNA support and cell cleansing formulation:
RapidRegeneration.com/CellCleanse
To be clear, I consider this type of supplement controversial and more on the unnatural side of things. Now that I am cleaned out and healthy, I typically would not consume this personally, and prefer to take a more balanced and natural approach. However, for me to deny that I was helped by this powerful stimulation when I was at my lowest point would be inauthentic and would go against the values of transparency that I believe in which I believe can provide the most help to others.
Separately, it is worth acknowledging briefly the use of glandular supplements, which are capsules containing dried up raw tissues (usually from a cow or sheep) that are taken from the animal’s glands, such as the pituitary, thymus, or thyroid gland for example. The philosophy behind this is that the intelligence of the DNA inside the animal tissue may help to stimulate and enhance the awareness of that same glandular system within the individual taking it. Somebody with low pituitary function might take a pituitary glandular for a short period of time to help stimulate the awareness of that gland and help jump-start it to a higher state of function.
Personally, I have taken glandular products and I found that they made me feel overstimulated and uneasy. I am also not crazy about the idea of consuming raw animal tissue as a stimulant and would prefer a more natural approach. This method really is not for me at this time, although I understand that some individuals have reported positive effects, especially in desperate cases, and so I want to acknowledge that this modality is out there if you should ever need to investigate it further.
Therefore, be warned about this category’s liabilities, and also informed about the potential. It’s your life and your body and I’m not going to make your decisions for you. Use caution, discernment and prudence about what you would put in your body just like you would with food, beverages and other products. Please don’t ask me for all the answers because I don’t have them all, but I hope this background helps create some context for you to figure out what will work best for you.
Throwing the Body Out of Balance
Let’s say if you rule out the ‘Problem Children’ supplements and even the ‘Grey Area’ supplements and just focus on the other less-risky forms of supplementation. So, what is the downside if any to taking them?
One of the legitimate concerns about taking isolated supplements is that it can create an imbalance in the body. Indeed, once you start to play mad scientist, tinkering around with the chemistry in your body, you do run that risk. But if you don’t do anything, there already exists a risk that your body’s existing state is already imbalanced and this could be presently causing serious issues and a lack of ease.
Also, some vitamins and supplements when isolated not only are not absorbed well, but can become toxic and obstructive to the body. Vitamins and minerals work in concert with each other (for example, sodium and potassium are often interrelated, as are calcium, phosphorous and magnesium) and so taking too much of one can risk the underutilization of another.
Take for example calcium, which is an amazing benefit when consumed in its plant form among all the other constituents which work synergistically together (such as when you consume the green powder or fruit that contains calcium). But compare that with if you were to consume a mineralized, isolated calcium like you would find in a supplement or multivitamin — doing this creates a major problem in the body that risks getting addressed with a defensive measure which could even potentially create an imbalance or deplete levels of phosphorous in the body. For this reason, my personal preference is to avoid taking any form of isolated calcium supplementation, with the exception of a green powder type supplement or whole food where the calcium is contained within that food.
Do be aware of the downsides and liabilities of supplementing with these isolated compounds, and decide for yourself it that is the right thing to do for you and/or your family. Certainly, there is no perfect solution and we have to figure it out with the tools we have and the environment that we are in.
Supplement Quality Issues
If you are going to take a supplement, what you should not do is to consume something toxic that is simply there to preserve the supplement, or make it more digestible, or allow it to be processed cheaper by using an artificial filler. I don’t wish to be a Debbie Downer, but this is so common in the supplement world. This seems to be affecting at least 95% to 99% of the products out there in the marketplace as of the time of writing.
Nutritional supplements are regulated in a sort of ‘buyer beware’ environment. A supplement may in fact end up containing nowhere near the potency that the buyer perceived as being presented with the product. The way an ingredient is produced could be completely not absorbable and/or biologically unavailable, creating extra work for the body to excrete it out, and worse, causing potential obstructions and toxicity within the body.
Watch out for these toxic fillers and preservatives in supplements, which can include:
Magnesium stearate
Stearic acid
Silicon dioxide
Soy lecithin
Gelatin (from animal tissue)
Potassium sorbate
Titanium dioxide
Propylene glycol
Magnesium silicate
Dicalcium phosphate
This is not an exhaustive list — there are so many others
There are other fillers which are basically natural or almost natural and seem to be more or less harmless ingredients, like microcrystalline cellulose, rice bran flour, or in some cases sodium ascorbate. Always read the labels before buying for a full list of ingredients, and use your best judgement.
Weighing the Cost of Supplements
A side issue is how supplement companies will oftentimes mark up a product by 10 or 20 times — leaving you with only $2.50 to $5 worth of actual nutrients in a $50 bottle of product. Truly, there are only a handful of companies that are committed to using the best quality ingredients, while avoiding harmful fillers, and only marking up the product approximately 1, 2 or 3 times as compared with the cost. I do take pride in my own reputation for providing to you the resources on which products specifically meet these standards. It is my own reputation on the line when I make a recommendation on RapidRegeneration.com.
This brings up another financial point to consider which is that supplements cost money, and its benefit must be worth the money it costs. If somebody is going to spend $150 per month on supplements, which is $1,800 per year, then those supplements had better enable him or her to earn at least an additional $1,800 per year by performing at a higher level to generate more income, or perhaps could allow this person to save $1,800 per year from better cognitive function leading to fewer mistakes. Or, the financial investment into supplements would need to extend this person’s life by a factor of a certain number of years, or otherwise would need to improve the quality of life and how good this person feels during the existing time they are living, in order to make the cost worth justifying.
However you slice it, there had better be a great ROI (return on investment) if somebody is going to use his or her hard-earned money to invest in supplements, and they had better work very well in providing immediate and long-term value to the user in order for a customer to justify reordering.
Should You Just Take a Multi-Vitamin?
Not counting the importance of certain extremely critical nutrients which can be approached in a more focused way, there is a certain perceived liberation in just taking a multi-vitamin and not worrying so much about figuring out which nutrients are the most important and at what dosages you should be consuming them and when. In this sense, a multi-vitamin is often perceived to solve a big problem.
I have a few issues with the multi-vitamins personally. First of all, I have yet to find one that checks all the boxes for me. I have found only a small handful of multi-vitamins which do not have toxic fillers and preservatives for starters. Out of these options which are in the top 1% of quality of all multi-vitamins, even in this small grouping I have still found minor but important faults with each product. One of them might use sodium ascorbate (the preferred formulation) for Vitamin C instead of citric acid (a problematic formulation because of its acidity), but will use folic acid (a very problematic synthetic form of B9) instead of methylfolate (the preferred formulation for B9). A different multi-vitamin that made the final cut might use methylfolate for B9 but will include citric acid for Vitamin C — the opposite of the first example. Yet another multi-vitamin brand might include calcium which I would prefer not to take at all.
In all these examples, there is a problem which has to be contended with because the multi-vitamin formulation contains in one of its ingredients something that I would never consume on its own. And so, you lose some control over each individual ingredient when you make compromises like this. Also, you could risk not getting enough of certain nutrients because the dosage may be quite conservative, and then you may also be getting excessive dosages of a vitamin or mineral that you are already getting sufficient amounts of in your food intake.
For some, these compromises may be worth it because that means you don’t have to have a bunch of different bottles and maybe you’ll actually remember to take it when you should, and it seems like it is also a lower cost way to supplement as opposed to taking individual nutrients.
Quite frankly, years ago I used to think that somebody was better off not taking any supplements as opposed to taking a multi-vitamin because of the liability of consuming imbalanced isolated ingredients. More recently, the more I learn about nutrition, I tend to think somebody would probably be better off taking it than nothing at all. With all this said, I still haven’t found a multivitamin that I personally like, so personally at this point it’s not for me. Ultimately, it’s not an either/or choice because somebody can avoid a multi-vitamin but still consume green powder and other individualized supplement choices.
All this considered, even though my approach is not to take one, I respect your personal choice. I will still include a resource page you can reference if you wish to see what I have found as the top quality multi-vitamins, with additional context about the benefits and liabilities of each one. You can find that here:
RapidRegeneration.com/MultiVitamin
Nuances to Dosages:
The first big question with regard to supplemental elements is whether to take them at all. The second big question is which ones are worthwhile to take depending on the unique situation. The third big question is — how much should you take and how often?
There many experts out there including many natural health consultants who will universally instruct specifically a certain amount and frequency of how to take a supplement. In a way, this is an expedient way to provide assistance, because it gives somebody a very actionable and specific thing to do without the need for further questioning. What this is missing are several factors including a person’s weight, height, apparent metabolism, whether male or female, pregnant, or breastfeeding, lifestyle factors, diet, age, various body testing, and genetic mutations, among other factors. And so if somebody is saying that generally somebody should take 500 mg of a certain substance once per day, then certainly you wouldn’t expect the same amount to be assimilated for a 200 pound 25 year old male as it would be for a 125 pound 65 year old female, as these are two physiologically completely different individuals.
There is also the question of how does an individual respond to a certain dose. Somebody may try the recommended dose, but find that this amount doesn’t seem to have any affect, while taking two or three times that amount (assuming this is within the safe, non-toxic range of consumption) will cause them to experience numerous literal benefits to how they feel. In this case, this person may decide that a higher dose would be more fitting for them — and the same is true with somebody who responds better to a smaller amount consumed.
Lastly, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I know all the answers to everything. There are too many experts who present their recommendations almost as gospel, and act like their stuff don’t stink. We have all seen a self-proclaimed expert preside with his or her levels of expertise patronizingly, almost like a priest would talk to a commoner in the Middle Ages under the supposed premise that God has endowed him with divine abilities that the common man or woman didn’t have access to. It is true that I am an expert in a range of subjects revolving around natural health, wellness and self-healing. But I will certainly admit when there are extents to my observations and awareness of certain things, such as the ability to accurately recommend the correct specific dose of exactly what somebody should do and to what degree without knowing any other details or context.
I don’t pretend to know the exact perfect amounts of certain dosages of supplements. I do know that supplements can be extremely powerful and I am aware about certain ranges of dosages within which somebody can generally find what they are comfortable with and what works for them. Somebody should work with an expert practitioner if they wish, but they should also be careful to make sure they are not working with charlatan, or an innocent but ignorant individual who doesn’t have a full-spectrum awareness of the truth surrounding natural wellness as it relates to these different nutrients and supplements.
Somebody could start off with smaller amount and see how they respond. Ultimately, how you feel when taking a supplement is not necessarily the best or most important metric — but I do consider it highly important. Some practitioners will say that how a person feels is not a reliable barometer of whether something is working and should be basically disregarded as more scientific measurements should be the only guiding compass. For me personally, I want to feel good. If a supplement makes me feel good, and it is relatively safe to take and checks the boxes which are important to me about not causing harm or imbalancing the body, then I am that much more likely to take it. If a larger or more frequent dose makes me feel better, and it is still within the safe range of consumption, then I would be inclined to consume it.
Ultimately, as much as data and numbers are important, I have learned over the years to value my own intuition and instinct about whether to do something and to what degree. Highly consider fostering that ability within yourself as well in this area.
You can refer to specific segments regarding some general nuances about dosage amounts based on personal experience, such as the segments specifically about B Vitamins, Probiotics, Vitamin C, Iodine, and Vitamin D. In some cases, I don’t presume to know the exact correct amount for every scenario, and so you are going to have to figure some of it out for yourself. That’s okay — trust your own discernment to find the expertise and insights and correct knowledge for ultimately how you will decide to proceed.
In Closing:
Make sure you review carefully the other segments which go into certain specific areas of supplementation more in-depth. I am truly committed to sharing with you everything I have learned in almost a decade’s worth of working to solve my own health problems naturally and achieve optimum health as of the time of writing — I am in this with you all the way if you’ll take the plunge with me.
Keep an open mind and don’t just take somebody else’s opinion — including mine — as gospel. Question your own cemented beliefs about supplementation that you already have, because they may be holding you back from making a breakthrough to go to the next level. Truly, supplementation is an area where almost all of the information and products out there are not worth their face value and can cause potential harm. And yet, we are living in an amazing modern age where humans truly have developed the capabilities to manufacture and create the most amazing compounds and ingredients. If done correctly, we can improve how we feel, enrich our quality of life, and even extend our years far beyond conventional spans.