Best Supplements: TOP 5 for foundational health!

Did you know that 75% of Americans have 1 or more nutrient deficiencies?

Thankfully in mid-2021 things are getting back to normal and the hyper-focus of immune health has shifted more to general wellness and getting and staying healthy.

But what does healthy mean?

To me, true wellness means you are eating a nutrient-rich diet, getting routine exercise, prioritizing sleep, and managing stress well.

With the focus on wellness and maintaining a healthy weight, most are looking for guidance on what type of supplements they can take to maintain wellness to obtain good physiological resilience so that can withstand any immune or inflammatory attack on their system in the future.

Think about nutrients and vitamins as a bank account… For every nutrient and vitamin deposit you put in, you are making sure your body has when it needs when a stressful trigger (injury, allergy, inflammation attack, stress) requires a withdrawal of these nutrients for immediate support.

Now if you have been regularly depositing high-quality absorbable vitamins into your nutrient savings account which is also known as a metabolic reserve, then you should have no problem when your body demands more of these nutrients from a withdrawal.

Now on the flip side, if you haven’t been adequately depositing nutrients and minerals in your metabolic savings account when your demands for these nutrients become elevated, and your body has no savings, well this is when your body becomes more at risk for a plethora of diseases.

But even if you are encompassing all of these amazing lifestyle factors, you could still be deficient in some key vitamins and minerals, which is why I recommend these top 5 foundational supplements.

With the nutrient savings account analogy in mind, I have compiled a list of the TOP foundational supplements that I believe should be a staple of one’s wellness routine. These supplements can be taken by most, regardless of gender, diagnosis, etc. * However, everyone is encouraged to seek guidance from a knowledgeable healthcare provider for personalized guidance on supplements.*

The 5 key foundational nutrients that we believe every person should be taking every day regardless of condition or diagnosis to maintain an optimum state of wellness are as follows:

High-quality multivitamin, Fish oil (OrthoMega), Ortho Biotic, Vitamin D, and a high quality magnesium (reacted magnesium).

Read below for more information for the TOP 5 overall supplements.

MAGNESIUM

It’s no secret that magnesium is my favorite supplement. In fact, if I had to pick one supplement to take with me on a desert island, it would definitely be magnesium! Magnesium is basically the swiss army knife of minerals..

With the robust activity of magnesium and with so many people that are deficient in this key mineral, we need to make sure that we are getting magnesium in our bodies from both diet and supplements. The impact magnesium can have on our health is huge, which makes choosing the right magnesium supplement so important. With many different magnesium products in the market today, which one do you choose and why? A good rule of thumb for selecting high-quality magnesium is looking for a “chelated version” of magnesium. For example mag glycinate, mag malate, or mag lysinate citrate. Most over-the-counter or retail magnesium features inferior mag oxide which is only 4% bioavailable and makes you go to the bathroom. And the magnesium in most multivitamins is in super low doses because magnesium is a big molecule and takes up to much space to fit in a multivitamin capsule. Good luck finding enough magnesium in a one a day tablet…not possible!

With all the different types of magnesium, I love taking a blend. Therefore, this is why I love our Reacted Magnesium! It features a high-quality blend of 3 forms of magnesium. Most of the reacted magnesium is mag malate, which is great for muscle pain, tension, energy issues, and more. The 2^nd component is magnesium glycinate which is great for sleep, and anxiety, the last form is mag citrate in a small dose, to help with normal bowel transit times. *This small of a dose should not cause the gastric issues you normally see in doses of 250mg or higher!

Vitamin D or ProHormone-D

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is really more of a prohormone than a Vitamin. The definition of a vitamin is an essential nutrient that our body must obtain from food. Yet, this is not the case for vitamin D, because our bodies manufacture it naturally (or are supposed to).

Vitamin D, which has the chemical structure of a steroid molecule, is derived from cholesterol and is similar to the adrenal and sex hormones. It circulates in the blood and binds to receptors in order to evoke biological action listed in the table. Look below at the chart, to see how numerous various organs and physiology is impacted by low vitamin D levels.

Picture Credit: Pharmacy Times-https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/vitamin-d-is-the-new-hormone

With all the important functions of vitamin D, we still have a ton of people that are low in this critical hormone

It is actually estimated that one billion people worldwide do not have sufficient vitamin D. This deficiency is thought to be largely due to insufficient exposure to the sun and in some cases to poor diet. As well as being a well-known risk factor for rickets, there is a growing body of evidence that vitamin D deficiency also increases an individual’s susceptibility to autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, as well as certain cancers and even dementia.The extent to which vitamin D deficiency may increase susceptibility to a wide range of diseases is dramatically highlighted in newly published research. Scientists have mapped the points at which vitamin D interacts with our DNA — and identified over two hundred genes that it directly influences.

Vit D is needed for strong bones, an effective immune system, heart health, blood sugar balance, and healthy inflammatory levels.

Multivitamin/ B-Vitamin Complex

Vitamins and minerals are essential for life and for maintaining optimal health. A good multivitamin provides nutrient “insurance” to help round out any nutritional gaps that you may have missed on a day from your diet. Now with the numerous different forms of multivitamins on the market place, you may be wondering how to find a good one, right? Let me give you some tips below on how to find a good multivitamin.

One of the main constituents of any good multivitamin wll be a solid blend of absorbable b-vitamins. B-Vitamins are critical for energy production, healthy red blood cell production, preventing certain types of anemias, and more! A good multivitamin will have vitamins and minerals in the most absorbable form that your body can actually use, good luck finding all of this in one day multivitamin!

High-Quality Fish Oil

What is the best supplement to fight inflammation,keep joints in good condition, brain working sharply, and protect and promote heart health? Omega 3 fish oil has been used for decades for fighting inflammation. In fact, chronic inflammation is associated with almost every disease including heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune conditions, and more!

Eating wild-caught fish several times per week or taking a supplement equal to about 1,000 milligrams daily is the best way to beat inflammation and get enough omega-3s.

Probiotics

Did you know that 70-80% of your immune system is located in your GI tract? With over 100 trillion bacteria that are both good and bad living inside the digestive tract, doesn’t it make sense to have a good balance in there? When you supplement probiotics you are ensuring that good bacteria will continue to line your digestive tract and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection. Certain strains of probiotics enhance immune function, whereas others promote health or hormone balance. Your “good gut bugs” help produce vitamin B12, butyrate and vitamin K; crowd out bad microbes; create enzymes that destroy harmful bacteria; and stimulate secretion of IgA and regulatory T-cells, which support immune function.

When buying probiotic supplements, look for strain diversity. The label should also indicate the type of CFUs (colony forming units) that are present at the time of manufacturing. It’s best to take a probiotic that has at least 50 billion CFUs and has strain diversity, and also special technology to keep their organism alive, viable, and fresh. Probiotics can also help maintain GI stability, boost immune function, support bowel regularity, and support optimal digestion.

In addition to a healthy diet, and a good exercise routine, I truly believe that smart supplementation can help us bridge the nutritional gaps in our diets to have the best chance for optimal health!