Essential Supplements Guide

These supplements are chosen because they have a significant positive impact on health, they are commonly deficient in most people, and they're safe to take. This list is supplementary to a healthy diet of red meat, eggs, milk, fatty fish, and oysters, for example. Everyone is different, so if you practice a restrictive diet like veganism, it's likely you have many more deficiencies.

I'm not a doctor and I can't provide specific medical recommendations, but doctors study sickness, not health, which is why so few have knowledge about vitamins and minerals. Most of the scientific studies of supplements include such small amounts - 10% or less of what actually works - so no effect is commonly found. Many doctors will claim these essential micronutrients are ineffective, but that's just ignorance and faulty science that they're taught by pharmaceutical companies. In order to live a healthy life, it's up to you to do your own research. Use the information here and form your own opinion.

Vitamin D3 & K2

Vitamin D is technically a hormone, not a vitamin. In fact, it's a super hormone because it positively affects the entire human body. Once absorbed, vitamin D regulates over 1,000 genes involved in immunity, bone health, cancer prevention, mood, insulin sensitivity, and more. Almost every cell in the human body has receptors for vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for bone health, immune function, cell growth, inflammation regulation, metabolism, calcium and phosphorus absorption, neuromuscular function, glucose metabolism, brain health, muscle function, and cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. It's easier to say what vitamin D doesn't affect than to list what it does.

In fact, vitamin D supplementation has been shown to cure or improve multiple sclerosis, cancer, diabetes, autism, and depression, and people with low vitamin D are twice as likely to get the flu! [Source]

Vitamin D is produced in large amounts when cholesterol in your skin is exposed to UVB sunlight - up to 25,000 IUs in just 30 minutes for a light-skinned person at midday. The recommended daily amount (RDA) of vitamin D recommended by doctors is absurdly low - less than 1,000 IUs daily, when just 30 minutes of sun can get you 25x that amount! People often forget a doctor's RDA is the amount you need to not die, not the amount needed to thrive. Vitamin D's essential functions along with the high prevalence of deficiency is why it's top of the list.

How to Get Enough Vitamin D

The best way to get vitamin D is to get direct sunlight on your skin daily. Clothing blocks the sun, and SPF 30 sunscreen reduces absorption by 95%, so avoid these products for the first 15-30min of sun exposure. Darker skinned individuals need more exposure to the sun to get the same amount of vitamin D, so if you have dark skin, consider doubling the amount of time spent in the sun - 30-60min to make sure you're not deficient.

Time of year plays a big role in vitamin D deficiency because in the winter the sun is less strong and most people are bundled up. Getting sun through a window also doesn't help because glass blocks the good UVB rays, so deficiency in the winter is very high. This is when diet and supplementation becomes essential. Certain animal foods like fatty fish, egg yolks, and liver contain vitamin D3, as do mushrooms that are UV-exposed, so if you're not getting enough sun, consider adding some of these foods to your diet. However, most people don't like sardines or liver, so it's wise to take a vitamin D3 supplement.

How to Supplement Vitamin D

10,000 IUs of vitamin D3 daily with 200mcg of vitamin K2 and 500mg of magnesium is a good starting place for most people. After 1-2 months, get a blood test and if you notice your vitamin D is low (<40 ng/ml) you can increase to 15,000 IUs daily. If you notice your vitamin D is very high (>150ng/ml) then consider reducing the amount of vitamin D3. Get a blood test again in 2-4 weeks to confirm you're on the right track. This book is a great read if you'd like to learn more about vitamin D.

Risk of Vitamin D

The risk of vitamin D supplementation is hypercalcemia - too much calcium in the blood - which happens because of an imbalance between calcium and magnesium (read more about electrolytes here) and/or insufficient vitamin K2, which takes calcium out of your blood and puts it into your bones. Too much calcium in the blood is what clots our arteries, can cause brain damage, and even cancer. This process would be gradual and you would have obvious symptoms of low magnesium (muscle cramps, eye twitching, fatigue, headaches, dizziness).

Supplementing vitamin D3 can potentially exacerbate this imbalance because it increases calcium absorption and uses magnesium in vitamin D synthesis. Our modern environments worsen this problem as calcium is easily available in a normal diet with fortified foods, and magnesium deficiency is common (>80% of people) since most soils are magnesium-deficient, so the foods that used to provide significant magnesium now only provide a fraction of what they used to.

To prevent hypercalcemia, we limit vitamin D3 supplementation to 10,000 IUs per day, a perfectly safe daily intake, and combine this with vitamin K2, because Vitamin K2 takes calcium out of the blood and puts it in our bones, and finally we supplement with one of the most common deficiencies today: magnesium.

Magnesium

Most things in the body are ratio dependent, not total amount dependent. For example, total sodium doesn't matter as much as our sodium:potassium ratio, total omega-6 fats in the blood doesn't matter as much as our ratio of omega-6:omega-3, and total calcium doesn't matter as much as our calcium:magnesium ratio. The standard American diet has 10x more calcium than magnesium! Since most people's diets have excess calcium from fortified foods and insufficient magnesium as a result of depleted soil, supplementing with magnesium is a wise choice.

Magnesium is an essential mineral crucial for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including energy production (ATP synthesis), muscle and nerve function, bone health, protein and DNA synthesis, blood sugar and blood pressure regulation, heart rhythm maintenance, and neurotransmitter support. Magnesium is needed for the absorption and distribution of calcium and for the metabolism of vitamin D. It helps reduce inflammation and oxidative stress while balancing electrolytes like calcium and potassium.

Blood serum magnesium tests are an inaccurate measure of total magnesium in the body because even a magnesium deficient person is likely to have normal blood levels due to how essential it is. There are more complicated tests to measure magnesium, but since the risks are so low it's recommended to start taking it as a supplement and notice how you feel. Magnesium is extremely safe and has a laxative effect if you take too much so the risks are very low.

Here are some of my favorite sources of dietary magnesium: Pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, quinoa, dark chocolate. To supplement magnesium, start with 500mg of magnesium per day. If you're a larger person, consider taking more - 10mg/kg of magnesium per day. This is a good book to learn more about magnesium supplementation.

Omega-3 Oil

This is an essential fat that is necessary for critical functions of the body and we must eat it because our bodies can't create it. The best forms of Omega-3 are in fatty fish like sardines and mackerel, wild salmon, pasture raised eggs, and grass fed beef. I personally eat at least 1 serving of fatty fish daily, but since most people are unwilling to eat a food that they don't like for their health, supplementing is the next best choice.

The biggest obstacle to supplementing fish oil is the quality of the supplement because the oil can oxidize and become rancid like other oils, so you might think you're being healthy but you're actually not helping. I haven't yet found a good brand that I trust for supplementation and that's why I continue to focus on getting my omega-3 fats from sources I trust like fatty fish.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that is essential for immune system health and collagen synthesis. It enhances the flow of electricity in the body, makes most vaccines unnecessary, and has cured or improved polio, hepatitis, measles, mumps, encephalitis, chickenpox, herpes and shingles, pneumonia and flu, tetanus, and venom attacks. Wild claims, I know, but that's what the science has shown.

It's the premier antioxidant in the body that helps your body to heal itself and increases effectiveness of other treatments. It's great to take vitamin C regularly to maintain your health and critical to take it if you're experiencing any illness or poor health. Taking 6,000-12,000 mg of liposomal vitamin C daily is an effective dose if you have sickness and 1,000+ mg is good for daily maintenance. Similar to magnesium, the risks of too much vitamin C are very low and there's a laxative effect so you'll know if you need to reduce your dose. Make sure you're taking the liposomal vitamin C and not some other type as its absorption is far superior. It's also very cheap, so everyone can afford it. This is the best book I've found on the benefits and proper supplementation of vitamin C and it includes the evidence for the health claims made at the beginning of this section.

What About Other Nutrients?

There are a lot of essential vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. If you eat red meat and eggs, you're unlikely to be deficient in many nutrients. Having oysters, beef liver, and fatty fish weekly will help to keep your body fueled with essential micronutrients.

For a more in-depth explanation into micronutrients, watch this video below.

If you're vegan or vegetarian, it's significantly more challenging to get the nutrients your body needs, so getting regular bloodwork and working with a doctor or dietician is recommended. We currently know so very little about the human body and optimizing health, so I expect this information to change over time. Use this as a resource and perform your own research to optimize your health.

Conclusion

Every 6 months is good for a complete blood panel, but when adding a new supplement it's a good idea to get a blood test 1-2 months after adding your new supplement. Leave any questions or comments below. Hope this helps! - Tom