Consult your doctor?
In this article ‘best nutritional supplements’, I will tell you what I take. I did not consult my doctor before deciding on these supplements, what would he know! I’m not saying you shouldn’t consult your doctor. What I am saying is to take charge of your own health and work with your medical practitioner. Don’t rely on your medic to always know what’s best for your health.
Allopathic and naturopath
If your doctor is an MD and a naturopath then you’re lucky. These are the doctors of the future who will find natural treatments above allopathic ones. Drugs are not a natural necessity for the body. Hence, they cause toxic stress and can drain your natural nutrients such as magnesium.
Educate your doctor!
Perhaps you can even educate your doctor because they are definitely in need of education in nutrition. They certainly don’t receive any in medical school, that’s for sure! Why is this? Because medical education is run mainly by the pharmaceuticals. Pharma’s main concern is teaching about their drugs and how to administer them.
Research your own ailments
Start researching alternative and natural ways of treating your conditions. Your body will respond to what it naturally needs to function healthily. You have an amazing biological body which is programmed to be healthy. It is built for health, not for sickness. All it needs is the right nutrition.
Each to his own
You will find as your look around the web, that many naturopathic doctors, scientists and researchers, have favourite nutrients. This is usually because of their experiences when treating their patients and loved ones and the research they have done. You will find that many of them will be touting these favourite supplements which may make you suspicious of their intentions.
Most just want to do good
Don’t be. They are mostly on a mission to help, even if they do make a living on the way. Be aware, most of these practioners and researchers are trying to do good. If I had the means, I would certainly be distributing magnesium to as many people as I could. This is because I have learnt how this mineral is vital for all of us. If we were all replete in it, I reckon the hospitals and doctor’s surgeries would only be half full!
For example…
Doctors such as Dr Levy a cardiologist whose favourite supplement is Vitamin C and what a great nutrient this is. Dr Carolyn Dean, her favourite is Magnesium and it is her book that led me to this wonderful mineral that brought me back to health. Dr Mercola, proud to be a bit of a renegade but he has so much knowledge on his site, it’s unbelievable. One of his favourites is the ketogenic diet.
All these MD/NDs have a wealth of information which has taken most of them a lifetime to accumulate. They will be following the latest trusted research and their specialisations is what makes them so significant and crucial. They know an awful lot about their particular niche, so take notice when you are trying to decide which supplements would be best for you.
But the pharmaceuticals…
The general exception to these honourable intentions is the pharmaceutical industry. They have no scruples when dealing with their customers (patients). The bottom line for them is profit and plenty of it. Many use fraudulent tactics and are morally inadequate. Just take a look at these figures
Follow the money!
Pharmaceutical drugs should be a last resort choice. Don’t forget, you are a paying customer to the pharmaceutical industry. This industry controls much of our medical research, education and medical facilities. Follow the money!
As for my own health…
It is very difficult to work out which vitamins and minerals your body needs. The first one I found, was the amazing mineral magnesium. This was a life saver for me and it’s why I started this website. I have spent much time researching and learning about magnesium and other important nutrients. Hopefully, this will help others to take control of their own health.
Finessing your nutrients
But now I am finessing my nutrient needs. Everybody will have different deficiencies and excesses. Nutrient balance is a fine art and you are the only one who really knows how your body feels. Do the research necessary for you and your loved ones’ wellbeing. Only you know how you feel and where you think your health needs improving. If you have an illness, research it thoroughly, even to the extend that you know more about it than your doctor, which won’t take long! Know your own body and research your illnesses thoroughly.
Doctors are not taught about nutrients
Remember, your doctor is not taught about nutrients in medical school. Your doctor is a “GP” which means General Practitioner. He cannot specialise in every ailment out there. He will do his best to decipher what ails you and look for a suitable pharmaceutical drug to control the condition. But his information about drugs comes from the pharmaceutical companies that make them. They will be keen that he prescribes their drug rather than a drug manufactured by a competitor company. They are known to offer bribes and incentives to doctors. It is a very competitive and unscrupulous industry with many deceptive and duplicitous tendencies.
The B vitamins
As for my nutrient needs, I have a sneaky suspicion that I may be a tad B₁₂ deficient although I haven’t been tested. I try to avoid going to the doctor and getting prescribed a drug. Instead, I have started to take a general B vitamin complex supplement which includes 4μg (4 micrograms) of B₁₂.
I know that the B vitamins are crucial and actually complement magnesium, especially in the area of the heart and cardiovascular diseases.
Supplements I take
I want to take as few supplements as possible. I will be taking magnesium for life, that’s for sure. Supplements I take are:
-
Magnesium – In my opinion, everyone should take this vital alkaline mineral. It is necessary for so many functions including making ATP (adenosine triphosphate) our energy source. Each one of our 37.2 trillion cells needs Mg. Without it our cells slowly die. Research has shown that where Mg is lacking in the cells, toxic aluminium will take its place.- Vitamin C – This is a must to keep you free from cold and flu. High dose vitamin C, particularly liposomal encapsulated vitamin C is the ultimate anti-toxin. It has neutralised all toxins with which it has been tested. Vitamin C is an absolute virucide. Doses as high as 50g-100g have been used successfully to treat coma and cancer and a multitude of other serious diseases such as poliomyalitis and rabies in animals. Vitamin C is critical to support a strong immune system.
- Vitamin K2
- Krill oil
- B complex – here is a list of the different B vitamins:
- B1 – Thiamine
- B2 – Riboflavin
- B3 – Niacin (nicotinic acid), nicotinamide riboside
- B5 – Pantothenic acid
- B6 – Pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine
- B7 – Biotin
- B9 – Folate
- B12 – various Cobalamins; commonly cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin in vitamin supplements
The B complex of vitamins needs an article of its own. I am working on that post and it will be available soon.
- D3 – this is actually a hormone. We get scant amount of sun in Wales, UK, so I have started on a low dose of D3.
- Ubiquinol – my most recent addition. If you take statins, you MUST
supplement with ubiquinol. Your doctor should have advised you to take it or given you a prescription for it. He should also be checking your liver regularly for enzyme levels. Ubiquinol is a conversion of Co enzyme Q10. As we get older we do not convert readily from CoQ10 (ubiquinone) to ubiquinol. It therefore makes sense to miss out the conversion and just take ubiquinol. Better still, don’t accept a statin drug in the first place.
Statins
The problem with statins is that they knock out the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase which is needed to produce cholesterol. This enzyme is also necessary for producing CoQ10 which then converts to ubiquinol. Apart from the above two vital processes, this enzyme converts vitamin K1 to K2. As if that wasn’t enough, statins also shuts down the ability to make ketones. Not helpful if you’re on a ketogenic diet. No wonder those who take statins start feeling unwell!
No pharmaceutical drugs for me
Perhaps I’m just lucky but I don’t need to take any pharmaceutical drugs, which is quite rare for someone of my age. If I do succumb to a serious illness, I will definitely be researching it avidly and using natural methods to heal or control it. If I am unfortunate enough to get cancer, I will NOT be going down the chemo route. It doen’t make sense to me to poison the body when the body is already under immense stress. Better to find the nutrients that will heal the body and keep the immune system in good order.
Nutritional treatments for cancer
There are many natural treatments for cancer and they all need investigating before resorting to chemical toxins. You will not find the pharmaceuticals researching nutritional treatments. There’s no money in it!
Spread the word!
What about Alpha Lipoic Acid, sir? It is also produced by our body in small amounts, which get smaller as we get older, but isnt’t it called Master or Universal Anti-oxidan because it rejuvenerates both Vitamin C and E as it may dissolve in both water and oil? It has also tons of other benefits to the body as far as I have read so far.
Hi Haris, the whole point of this article was that each individual should research their own deficiencies of vitamins, minerals and other nurtrients. This is what you have done. Now you need to find out if it helps your health, checking firstly that it will not give you any side effects or clash with any drugs or supplements you are already taking. It is thought to help neuropathic pain and there has been some research on it which you may have seen. Keep researching and learning!
Not only did I pick up a few useful bits of info reading this, I totally agree with many of the points that you make about doctors not really being trained to understand the supplements widely available and the unscrupulous (may I add evil and greedy?) pharmaceutical companies and their operations. Knock on wood I’ve enjoyed good health due to diet, exercise and a few supplements but I know so many – probably at least half of family members and friends- who are on meds that might not even be necessary. When did meds for depression become the norm and not for those suffering from true depression? Thanks for this informative article that will hopefully open some eyes.
Thank you for your input Lynn and I must say, my family is the same. In fact I think myself and hubbie are the only ones that are not on pharmaceutical drugs, apart from the grandkids. Even so, one of the grandkids has been prescribed drugs for depression but luckily she refused them. She was also prescribed a PPI and didn’t take that either, thank god. A couple of younger relatives are already on BP drugs, entirely unnecessary. Magnesium would bring both their blood pressures down if they took a good quality supplement regularly. What do they say ‘you can take a horse to water……’ By the way, for pharmaceuticals, you can certainly add ‘evil and greedy’ in my mind.
I have persuaded 2 family members not to touch statins with a bargepole, but one close relative continues to consider his doctor godlike and will likely take this nasty drug for life. I’m sincerely hoping it does not shorten that life because he already has side effect symptoms.
Hi Chessie,
What a great article, I really enjoyed the reading!
I used to suffer from high level of bad cholesterol, and the Doctor suggested me to take medication to lower it. I simply refused, and I remember she was almost mad at me. I started to walk every day and changed the way I was eating. I also took a natural supplement to help lower the bad cholesterol, and it really worked. A few months later, I went back to my Doctor, and she was amazed how my cholesterol dropped down. Now I am looking for a way to regularise my thyroid gland. Do you have any idea which supplement to use? On Friday, I’ll be fixed about my thyroid:) So I am already doing some researches about it:)
Thank you for this excellent post!
Hi Daniella and great that you are not taking every drug your doc suggests. Doing your homework about statins is a must. People must find out for themselves what the problems are with these drugs and any other drug your medic wants to prescribe.
As for your thyroid, there are many different thyroid conditions. I presume you have hypothyroidism which is the most common. If you’re going to the docs on Friday she will probably prescribe a thyroxine type drug to regulate your thyroid. I would say that iodine should be looked at as a possible supplement. The food with the highest amount of Iodine can be found in sea vegetables, but most people are not keen on eating it. Here is a link to a pdf about iodine and foods which you may find useful.
I was tested for thyroid and was found to be in normal parameters and that is quite common but my results were showing on the low side. Ask your doc for the results and then check for yourself if your test results are in the low end. If so, do your homework and start eating foods with iodine to see if it helps. Otherwise a supplement may be the way forward.
Be aware that thyroxine medication can be a lifelong commitment. My Mum actually stopped taking her thyroxine suddenly and developed a pseudo-dementia, having an affect on her cognative function. She had many other symptoms like headaches, muscle pains, arrhythmia etc.. Getting off thyroxine should be a slow process so IMHO it would be better you don’t go on it in the first place! Try to go with food and/or supplementation. Here is an article about thryoid which may be helpful. Good luck and good health!
Right there with you regarding big pharma business which aims solely to fatten its pockets! By creating customers for life by interfering with most of us from birth they’ll be laughing all the way to the bank for a long time to come! Unless of course we wise up and learn about proper nutrition and the power of natural medicine. Rant over!
Which vitamin C do you recommend?
Hi Lace and thanks for your input. As for the vitamin C, there are a number of ways to take it. I was taking the vitamin C powder but it does have laxative effects for most people, especially if you take large doses, as do the tablets.
I bought a months supply of Atrient Liposomal encapsulated vitamin C by Livon. The trouble is, it’s SO expensive here in the UK. There are other makers of this form of vitamin C but IMHO this is the best. If you have the money, it is an amazing supplement and very effective. The technology allows for the vitamin C to go straight to the cells, bypassing the digestive system. If you are really sick, high doses of this stuff will really benefit. Remember, you cannot overdose on vitamin C! Doses of up to 100 grams per day have been given intravenously to very sick patients. The LET (liposomal encapsulation technology) is rated to be more efficient than IV according to Dr Thomas Levy.
Now there is a version that can be made at home so hubbie decided to make his own. His field is chemistry based and he has made liposomes in a professional laboratory, so he knows what to do. There are a number of videos on the web which will give you the recipe. But they are not exact enough to be really effective. If you want hubbie’s recipe, get back to me. After I’ve finished the months supply of Atrient, I will be taking hubbie’s home brew!