Fwd: Four Nutritional Supplements as a Foundation for Health

January 23, 2008

Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

Free Weekly Health Tip prepared for Cyndi

January 22, 2008

The Sponsor:

Check out our on line shopping mall for your supplement needs. You'll find high quality products from over 100 manufacturers. http://www.innovativehealing.com/shop/

Your Tip:

Four Nutritional Supplements as a Foundation for Health

Recently a client asked, "If I could take just a few basic supplements to support my overall, long-term health, what would they be?" Here's my answer.

First, take a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement. I prefer capsules because they dissolve quickly in the stomach. Certain forms of minerals are easier for the body to absorb. Choose a supplement with magnesium citrate or malate or citrate or ascorbate or chelate, etc. rather than magnesium oxide, or calcium aspartate or citrate or chelate rather than calcium carbonate.

Because no "one-a-day" provides a healthy amount of vitamins and minerals, look for brands that specify amounts by taking 2 to 6 capsules daily. Begin with one capsule a day or one with each meal and then increase. Do not take any supplement containing dl-alpha-tocopherol. Look for d-alpha-tocopherol or a mixture of alpha, beta, gamma, and delta tocopherol. Also look for at least 50-200 mcg of chromium, and 2-5 mg of manganese.

Add an essential fatty acid supplement, the omega-3 fats from fish oils or krill oil. The label should include amounts of EPA, DHA, ALA and DPA (abbreviations for different essential fats). I prefer fish oils over flax or hemp oils because many people cannot elongate hemp or flax into the essential EPA and DHA.

Recommendations for adults range from 1,000-3,000 mg per day. Be certain that the label reads "molecularly distilled" or something like "regularly tested using AOAC international protocols for freshness, potency and purity by an independent, FDA-registered laboratory and has been determined to be fresh, fully-potent, and free of detectable levels of mercury, cadmium, lead, PCBs, and other contaminants."

We often don't eat enough greens. So consume a good quality "green drink" powder mixed with water or fruit juice daily. A green drink adds vital nutrients and alkalinizes the body. Possible greens on the label might be wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa grass, oat grass, chlorella, spirulina, and dulse.

Fourth, take a good quality probiotic to help maintain a healthy digestive tract and immune system. Human intestinal flora includes 400-500 types of bacteria. Here's a short list: Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. rhmanosus, L. casei, L. salvarius, Bifidobacteria bifidum, B. breve, B. infantis, Streptococcus thermophilis, S. faecium, S. lactis, Escherichia coli. Recommendations for adults range from 5 to 10 billion live organisms per serving for prevention and maintenance. Therapeutic dosages can be much, much higher. I prefer probiotics in capsules, and powders (rather than liquids). Begin by following the directions on the container. Observe changes in bowel movements. Then you could experiment by taking the probiotic with food or before bed on an empty stomach and observe changes. Choose different combinations or brands from month to month to vary the strains of probiotics.

Tip Provided By:

Dr. Liz Lipski has a PhD and is board certified in clinical nutrition. A 30-year practitioner, author, and the Director of Doctoral Studies at Hawthorn University. She is founder of Innovative Healing Inc., author of Digestive Wellness, Digestive Wellness for Children, and many other publications.