Numerous people have asked me, over the years, exactly what supplements I take, in addition to a mostly vegan diet and regular walking as exercise. So, here’s my list...
Be careful about supplements; they are not regulated and may not contain what they claim. See Dr. Michael Greger, nutritionfacts.org.
I have gone from vegetarian to fully plant-based whole foods. Recommended supplements for WFPB diet are B12, Vitamin D, omega 3. Wish I had started 50 years ago!
If the only possible side effect of taking too many supplements was to have very expensive urine, well that would be ok. However John McDougall, M.D. in his paper "Just To Be Safe: Don't take Vitamins," explains firstly that the health issues we face in this country are not diseases of deficiencies, but rather diseases of excess (too much saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, junk, etc.) Vitamin supplements will not correct these. Additionally he cites numerous examples of how vitamin supplements actually can cause many illnesses. For instance, it was shown that those who consumed more beta-carotene had less incidence of some cancers. But those who took beta-carotene supplements actually had more cases of cancer, whereas those who ate more fruits and vegetables had less cancer. Beta-Carotene is just one of 50 carotenoids. "When a cell is flooded with one kind of carotenoid...then there is an overwhelming competition for the carotenoid receptor sites. The other 50 functional carotenoids are displaced by the beat-carotene from their cellular connections , creating deadly nutritional imbalances." Michael Greger, M.D. says in his latest book "How Not To Age," "Because of lack of government oversight, there is no guarantee that a supplement bottle even contains what's listed on its label. In one study only two out of twelve supplement companies had products that were labeled correctly." He goes on to say that "The New York State Attorney General commissioned DNA testing of seventy-eight bottles of commercial herbal supplements ...and four out of five didn't contain any of the herbs listed on their labels. Instead , the capsules often contained little more than cheap fillers, such as powdered rice and 'houseplants.'" Personally as a healthy 75 year old, nearly 33 year whole food vegan I absolutely take Vitamin B12. Since I live in Hawaii and get plenty of sun I have no need for Vitamin D ( actually not a vitamin, but a hormone). I take a few other herbs when needed, and take things like flax seeds, ginger, and turmeric ( with black pepper ) as food, not supplements.
When I'm out walking with my dog along the shores of the Mississippi or St Croix Rivers, or the many lakes, I'm constantly finding the detritus left by people fishing. Our swans, eagles, loons, and other water fowl are dying from lead poisoning from sinkers and getting tangled in fishing line. It's disgusting how lazy people are, and how little they think about the very places they get their fish from. The same, even worse, is happening in the oceans, where most people get their Omega3 supplements from - fish and krill. I always felt bad about that, then learned that algae is where the Omegas come from in the first place. I also learned that krill is the last thing you want to dredge out of the ocean, as it plays a crucial role in carbon capture, besides being food for whales. https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/antarctic-krill-carbon/. I found out about Iwi, a company that seems pretty damn cool and I've been taking their algae omega3/DHA supplement (I have RA and it's a vital thing for me). They leave the oceans entirely alone and don't use freshwater to grow their algae. I don't work for them, I just want to encourage everyone to stop our insatiable appetite for fish and seafood. https://iwilife.com/pages/sustainability. Thanks!
BTW I also like the supplement company MegaFood. They test their end products for pesticides. I take their Blood Builder because I tend towards low hemoglobin, and this formulation is easily digestible, food based and fermented. I don't take it on the days I have my super yummy beets and oranges salad.
OK - I have expensive urine...and what else?... I've been wondering about taking too many supps for a while, and have been reading up on it all ("What You Must Know About Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and so Much More" by Pamela Wartan Smith, MD,MPH). Thanks for your timely share, Thom.
My latest 'study' has been listening to aging researcher David Sinclair. I now atke MNM as he suggests. Would you mind writing out the brands of the supps you have on the list? I just went on Amazon to look one up (PC) and saw too many brands, most of which I do not trust. Also, do you have any book suggestions on this topic?
Hi Thom, I've been following the relationship between diet and the mind for about three years and have been especially excited by the new research showing that individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar--as well as autism and ADHD, can see reversal or diminishing of symptoms on a ketogenic diet--which has been around for nearly 100 years as a treatment for managing seizures in people with epilepsy.
Dr Andrew Palmer of Harvard Medical School is one of the key players, but the treatment has a growing international audience and is currently being supported by the Baszucki Foundation (https://baszuckigroup.com) in California, after the son of the founders recovered from his bipolar condition with Palmer's help.
Palmer has a book out titled "Brain Energy," where he posits that neurological problems are a result of the malfunction of mitochondrial dysfunction in brain cells as a result of anything from genetics to insulin resistance (80% of diabetics risk dementia in old age). Given that our culture no longer eats whole, organic foods--plus the nutrition in plants is not what it used to be due to chemically impoverished soils--there's little doubt that we are headed in a very tough direction in healthcare (60% of the population has some type of chronic disease, 50% of children).
I suggest a search of the recent Medscape online articles. One is about Vit D which when taken correlates to increased health ( decreased mortality) but causally has decreased cancer mortality and increased cardiovascular mortality. Lots of reasons bec of many variables involved.
In the same online “journal “ there is research on a new class of drugs that work on a cellular level ( such as semiglutide) but increases muscle mass, enhances longevity, etc. looks like its in Phase 2 ( no human studies yet).
Be careful about supplements; they are not regulated and may not contain what they claim. See Dr. Michael Greger, nutritionfacts.org.
I have gone from vegetarian to fully plant-based whole foods. Recommended supplements for WFPB diet are B12, Vitamin D, omega 3. Wish I had started 50 years ago!
If the only possible side effect of taking too many supplements was to have very expensive urine, well that would be ok. However John McDougall, M.D. in his paper "Just To Be Safe: Don't take Vitamins," explains firstly that the health issues we face in this country are not diseases of deficiencies, but rather diseases of excess (too much saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, junk, etc.) Vitamin supplements will not correct these. Additionally he cites numerous examples of how vitamin supplements actually can cause many illnesses. For instance, it was shown that those who consumed more beta-carotene had less incidence of some cancers. But those who took beta-carotene supplements actually had more cases of cancer, whereas those who ate more fruits and vegetables had less cancer. Beta-Carotene is just one of 50 carotenoids. "When a cell is flooded with one kind of carotenoid...then there is an overwhelming competition for the carotenoid receptor sites. The other 50 functional carotenoids are displaced by the beat-carotene from their cellular connections , creating deadly nutritional imbalances." Michael Greger, M.D. says in his latest book "How Not To Age," "Because of lack of government oversight, there is no guarantee that a supplement bottle even contains what's listed on its label. In one study only two out of twelve supplement companies had products that were labeled correctly." He goes on to say that "The New York State Attorney General commissioned DNA testing of seventy-eight bottles of commercial herbal supplements ...and four out of five didn't contain any of the herbs listed on their labels. Instead , the capsules often contained little more than cheap fillers, such as powdered rice and 'houseplants.'" Personally as a healthy 75 year old, nearly 33 year whole food vegan I absolutely take Vitamin B12. Since I live in Hawaii and get plenty of sun I have no need for Vitamin D ( actually not a vitamin, but a hormone). I take a few other herbs when needed, and take things like flax seeds, ginger, and turmeric ( with black pepper ) as food, not supplements.
I get it, which is why I take very few vitamins and concentrates: mostly herbs, minerals, and fish oil. And avoid E and beta-carotene. ;)
When I'm out walking with my dog along the shores of the Mississippi or St Croix Rivers, or the many lakes, I'm constantly finding the detritus left by people fishing. Our swans, eagles, loons, and other water fowl are dying from lead poisoning from sinkers and getting tangled in fishing line. It's disgusting how lazy people are, and how little they think about the very places they get their fish from. The same, even worse, is happening in the oceans, where most people get their Omega3 supplements from - fish and krill. I always felt bad about that, then learned that algae is where the Omegas come from in the first place. I also learned that krill is the last thing you want to dredge out of the ocean, as it plays a crucial role in carbon capture, besides being food for whales. https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/antarctic-krill-carbon/. I found out about Iwi, a company that seems pretty damn cool and I've been taking their algae omega3/DHA supplement (I have RA and it's a vital thing for me). They leave the oceans entirely alone and don't use freshwater to grow their algae. I don't work for them, I just want to encourage everyone to stop our insatiable appetite for fish and seafood. https://iwilife.com/pages/sustainability. Thanks!
BTW I also like the supplement company MegaFood. They test their end products for pesticides. I take their Blood Builder because I tend towards low hemoglobin, and this formulation is easily digestible, food based and fermented. I don't take it on the days I have my super yummy beets and oranges salad.
OK - I have expensive urine...and what else?... I've been wondering about taking too many supps for a while, and have been reading up on it all ("What You Must Know About Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and so Much More" by Pamela Wartan Smith, MD,MPH). Thanks for your timely share, Thom.
My latest 'study' has been listening to aging researcher David Sinclair. I now atke MNM as he suggests. Would you mind writing out the brands of the supps you have on the list? I just went on Amazon to look one up (PC) and saw too many brands, most of which I do not trust. Also, do you have any book suggestions on this topic?
I actually buy mine from Amazon, and those hotlinks are to of the specific brands that I use.
Thom, just heard you are sick 😷 again.
Thank you for still working from home!!!
You are soooo important.
Please 🙏 stay healthy, we need you!
I take Multi Collagen from Lewis Labs.
It helps my back. Have no joint issues.
Recently started liquid Hawthorne called Heart ♥️ Health by HERB PHARM.
It brought my blood 🩸 pressure back to normal.
Been taking fish oil for over 10 years. It keeps my eyes 👀 lubricated.
Appreciate all you do for us, Thom!
Hi Thom, I've been following the relationship between diet and the mind for about three years and have been especially excited by the new research showing that individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar--as well as autism and ADHD, can see reversal or diminishing of symptoms on a ketogenic diet--which has been around for nearly 100 years as a treatment for managing seizures in people with epilepsy.
Dr Andrew Palmer of Harvard Medical School is one of the key players, but the treatment has a growing international audience and is currently being supported by the Baszucki Foundation (https://baszuckigroup.com) in California, after the son of the founders recovered from his bipolar condition with Palmer's help.
Palmer has a book out titled "Brain Energy," where he posits that neurological problems are a result of the malfunction of mitochondrial dysfunction in brain cells as a result of anything from genetics to insulin resistance (80% of diabetics risk dementia in old age). Given that our culture no longer eats whole, organic foods--plus the nutrition in plants is not what it used to be due to chemically impoverished soils--there's little doubt that we are headed in a very tough direction in healthcare (60% of the population has some type of chronic disease, 50% of children).
Metabolic Mind is the YouTube channel, but I've attached a link to one of Palmer's many interviews -- this one about diet and ADHD and autism. https://youtu.be/3GVInaBCn_c?si=urDgkM4bOTutWnOM
I suggest a search of the recent Medscape online articles. One is about Vit D which when taken correlates to increased health ( decreased mortality) but causally has decreased cancer mortality and increased cardiovascular mortality. Lots of reasons bec of many variables involved.
In the same online “journal “ there is research on a new class of drugs that work on a cellular level ( such as semiglutide) but increases muscle mass, enhances longevity, etc. looks like its in Phase 2 ( no human studies yet).
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/968682
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/diet-and-exercise-pill-are-real-how-mimetics-work-2024a10004rt