Supplementing: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 03:24, 20 October 2022
Whassup!!!
A nutritious diet is absolutely essential to prevent or recover from a failure of The Great Assumption. But deficiencies can happen even on a healthy diet. Fortunately modern health science has produced a wide array of supplements to fill many nutrient gaps.
When I say supplements I am talking about herbs, herbal extracts, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants and more.
Here is a survey of all the different supplements I use, their purposes and how I use them. I encourage all readers to do their own research and analysis to determine the best supplements to use.
I have used and endorse the products and companies I list here but I am not collecting any income by doing so.
Overview
Healthy Diet
The best way to get nourishment is to eat a healthy diet. But I still need supplements to make up the nutritional deficiencies in the Safe Space Diet due to its restricted intake of foods with biogenic amines and oxalate.
Cronometer
The best way to figure out your particular nutritional needs is by using an app like Cronometer. Then you can make more accurate decisions on how to supplement for nutrition.
I find that day to day I am usually deficient in certain vitamins and minerals so I regularly supplement them regardless of what I eat.
Not A Cure
Some supplements actually make me feel better but to be clear: none of the supplements I list here are a cure for the symptoms I associate with MTMDTI. I still have to maintain the Safe Space Diet in order to keep the MTMDTI in check. But these supplements do provide nourishment and are helpful to promote healing post failure of The Great Assumption and post reduction of the level of MTMDTI.
Organization
Because I take a lot of supplements I use a few different techniques to organize and manage their consumption to make sure I take the right one at the right time. Some I take between meals, some not, some I take with certain types of food.
Overlap
There is a lot of overlap of the benefits of different supplements so taking one supplement can help you in multiple ways. So some supplements are mentioned more than once.
Caution
Some supplements can exacerbate MTMDTI because they themselves have inflammatory ingredients.
First Time Use
All these supplements are safe to use but it is wise to be cautious the first time one is taken. I try not to take more than one new supplement at a time until I am confident it is not causing any problems.
Basic Nutrition
Recommended Dietary Allowances
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are the levels of intake of essential nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, are judged by the Food and Nutrition Board to be adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy persons.
Although I am extremely critical of the medical industry for the failure of The Great Assumption I do trust for the most part their analysis that resulted in the RDAs for nutrition.
The Safe Space Diet is nutritious and useful to reduce the inflammation caused by biogenic amines and oxalate but it is hard to get all the nutrients you need because it is so narrow. Using Cronometer I am able to precisely supplement the vitamins and minerals I need to meet my RDAs.
B vitamins
There are several B vitamins. I take half a B-50 complex tablet daily. This is one of supplements that actually makes you feel better and more energized.
Vitamin D
Unless you get a fair amount of sun on bare skin on a daily basis or take a vitamin D supplement you are probably vitamin D deficient. Humans are designed to produce vitamin D when the sun shines on their skin. And the RDA for vitamin D is waaayyyyy low compared to what our bodies naturally produce or what is generally recommended these days as a healthier dose of vitamin D. The RDA is 600 IU. 5000 IU is the newer dosage recommendation.
Taking vitamin D actually makes me feel better and gives me more energy.
Minerals
Based on the RDA analysis I get from Cronometer, I need to bump up my intake of several minerals to meet RDA.
- Bamboo and horse tail, for silica
- Calcium
- Copper
- Kelp, for iodide
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Potassium, really hard for me to get enough of
- Zinc
For Digestion
Our food gets mixed with acids, enzymes and more in our stomach to breakdown nutrients into compounds that are small enough to assimilate. This acid crucible helps eliminate pathogenic bacteria that ride in on our food while many of the beneficial probiotic microbes that we eat can tolerate the low ph.
As gut health degrades due to a variety of factors it may help to take digestive supplements. I take different digestive supplements with meals depending on what I eat.
Betaine HCl
This is the acid part of the digestion equation. It is a form of hydrochloric acid that helps breakdown protein and minerals. There are many brands available. Be sure and follow the easy test protocol to determine the dosage:
I take betaine HCl with every big protein meal.
Enzymes
Taken with food, usually at the start of a meal, enzymes aid digestion.
- Country Life Maxi-Zyme - a good all purpose digestive enzyme.
- Now Super Enzymes - a good all purpose digestive enzyme that includes betaine HCl.
Ox Bile
- Yummmy!! Ox bile! Sounds gross but it is an emulsifier that helps digest fats and better utilize fat-soluble vitamins.
Prebiotics and Probiotics
Antioxidants & Anti-inflammatories
Antioxidants are often anti-inflammatories and vice versa.
Antioxidants are man-made or natural substances that may prevent or delay some types of cell damage.
Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation or swelling.
Quercetin with bromelain
Quercetin is an antioxidant and bromelain improves its efficacy.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/quercetin
Its effect is subtle but I feel it reduce the inflammatory buzz level in my body. I like to take it between meals on an empty stomach.
This combination is also known to act as a mast cell stabilizer which is beneficial for people suffering from biogenic amine triggered inflammation.
Vitamin E
I get just enough vitamin E in my diet to meet RDA but I take 100 IU once or twice a day for its antioxidant properties.
Joint Health
Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM
Vision Health
I see dry eyes and fuzzy vision as symptoms of [[MTMDTI]. The symptoms improved the longer I maintained the Safe Space Diet but these supplements seem to help as well.
Lutein
Zeaxanthin
Sleep Aids
I have used chamomile, valerian and melatonin for years. They are useful sleep aids and very effective with no side effects.
As I hammered through The Great Inflammation I felt fortunate to have them because they gave me a good night's sleep to keep my energy up and body stress down.
I describe the combination of these three together as like a morphine drip. They are that effective, even when drinking caffeine.
Chamomile
Chamomile flowers.
If needed, I take 1 or 2 capsules an hour to half an hour before bed.
Valerian
Valerian root
If needed, I take 1 or 2 capsules 15 to 30 minutes before bed.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone the body produces when it gets dark.
If needed, I take 1mg in bed. It is VERY effective.
Hair Loss
This section is likely to be the most read section. Unfortunately I think I owe 90% of the success to the Safe Space Diet so there is not an easy fix.
Seeing my hair grow more healthy and thicker was one of the more surprising results of reducing the MTMDTI in my body. It was really unexpected.
I have excellent hair genes and by any standard I have thick hair, even in my late 60s. But my hair was thinning and it had less body. It was typical male pattern baldness and it was thinning on top.
I started to see it improve as I reduced the MTMDTI to lower levels on the Safe Space Diet. Specifically, reducing my biogenic amine intake helped significantly. More immediately than my hair improving, I felt better, my blood pressure dropped significantly and I had less stiffness and pain and more flexibility in my shoulders and neck.
On the supplement side of the equation, coincidentally about this time I found a new shampoo on Amazon. I was looking for a shampoo with a natural formula and found:
Pura D'Or Original Gold Label Anti-Thinning Biotin Shampoo
I actually hesitated to buy it because it said it was anti=thinning and I did not think I had thinning hair. I tried it and liked it as a shampoo.
Then weeks later I realized my hair was improving. Then I made the connection between DHT blockers, which this PURA D'OR shampoo has, and hair loss. Further research led me to these supplements which all seem to have helped to some degree.
Pumpkin seed oil
A natural DNT blocker. I take it internally with meals and sometimes apply it to my scalp as well. Only a few drops are needed.
Sage Extract
Mixed at 1% with a carrier oil. I apply it to my scalp. Only a few drops are needed.
Horsetail
High in silica.
Bamboo Extract
High in silica
Gelatin
Great for hair and the rest of the body too.
Downward Dog
This yoga pose is good for scalp circulation.
Sources
I get supplements from different sources:
- Amazon, www.amazon.com
- Amazon usually has what I need at a reasonable price.
- iHerb, www.iherb.com
- They have everything.
- Swanson, www.swansonvitamins.com
- Swanson has an amazing array of products, their own and other manufacturers, and excellent prices.
Life Extension, Now and Seeking Health products all making well researched and high quality. They are available from Amazon and Swanson or direct from their own websites.
- Life Extension, www.lifeextension.com
- Now Foods, www.nowfoods.com
- Seeking Health, www.seekinghealth.com