Gary Null
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 One-a-day supplements are the easy way out. I have met people who say, "I eat meat. I eat sugar. But it's all right because I take my one-a-day vitamin." My friend, that does not work. The body cannot be lied to. After 30 or 40 years of the body's debilitation by an unhealthy lifestyle and environment, a little pill will not do the trick. You need to detoxify and cleanse the body.
Another illusion is the idea of the recommended daily dose, given by drug companies and conventional physicians. This is not the best way to think about health. These recommendations are like the minimum wage. |
Kathi Keville
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 The fear of anemia leads most doctors to prescribe iron supplements to pregnant women. However, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (a nongovernment panel sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, a federal agency), "There is currently little evidence to suggest that routine iron supplementation during pregnancy is beneficial."
Instead you might want to try yellow dock root, a more easily assimilated source of iron. Yellow dock contains only a small amount of this important mineral, yet herbalists consider it one of the most effective herbs for raising your iron level. |
Gary Null
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| It's best to take supplements.
Vitamin K_
Vitamin K is an oil-soluble substance that helps your blood clot properly, and aids in proper bone development and function.
The microorganisms and bacteria that naturally live in your large intestine produce vitamin K. You can help them work by eating yogurt and other fermented dairy and soy products. Other good sources include green leaves of plants like kale and spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. A tendency to bruise easily is a symptom of vitamin K deficiency. It can be the symptom of other nutritional deficiencies as well. |
Kathi Keville
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| University College in Galway Ireland, believes that supplements of this herb not only help recovering alcoholics to stay sober, but also slow down the damage that alcohol is known to cause to brain cells.
According to the latest research, the relaxant herb valerian may also slow brain cell damage that results from excessive alcohol consumption. Herbalists in Europe use valerian—in tea, tincture or pill form—to help overcome and lessen alcohol withdrawal symptoms. In Brazil, passionflower is preferred. |
| David decided to concentrate on improving his diet and taking nutritional supplements. But it wasn't until he started taking an herbal tincture similar to the recipe provided below that he saw permanent results. In fact, the herbs worked so well that David decided to enroll in an herbal training program to learn all he could about preventing other health problems.
Candida Tincture
1 ounce tincture of black walnut husk
(must be fresh) Yi ounce each tinctures of lavender flowers, valerian root and pau d'arco 10 drops tea tree essential oil *V> Combine ingredients and shake well before using. |
| Mary thought that her diet was fine, but she tried a GLA supplement anyway Since diet and supplements affect only new hair at the roots, it took a few months before she noticed that her hair was growing in with more shine and body. Not only that, she was certain that it was growing faster than usual.
Another thing you can do to improve dry hair is to drink a tea made with equal parts oat straw, nettle and horsetail (or take these herbs as a tincture or as pills). These herbs are high in silica and other minerals that are important for hair growth. |
| Drinking a tea made of equal parts oat straw, nettle and horsetail or taking capsules or tinctures of these herbs daily can improve your nails from the inside out, since these herbs are high in silica and other minerals important for nail growth. supplements of GLA in the form of evening primrose, borage or black currant seed oil also help.
How else can you achieve beautiful fingernails? Soaking them in herbal teas or oils of comfrey, oat straw and horsetail strengthens nails and cuticles, the thickened skin at the base of your fingernails. |
Gary Null
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| Little is known about the precise daily minimum need for vitamin K, and supplements are not available over the counter.
Bioflavonoids_
Bioflavonoids are a group of water-soluble substances that ensure the strength and proper function of your capillaries. Along with vitamin C, with which they are almost always found in food, the bioflavonoids help manufacture collagen. They also protect your cells against attack and invasion by viruses and bacteria. |
| Hence, supplements may be beneficial. Those with elevated needs for vitamin C are the elderly, dieters, smokers, heavy drinkers, users of certain medications including oral contraceptives, pregnant and nursing women, and those under any type of stress.
Vitamin D_
Vitamin D helps your body utilize calcium and phosphorus to help form strong bones, teeth and healthy skin. Its action also is vital to your nervous system and kidneys. |
| During times of disease, trauma, pregnancy, or lactation, supplements may be advisable, but should be administered under a physician's or nutritionist's direction, since megadoses of vitamin A can be harmful.
The B Vitamin Complex_
This family of water-soluble vitamins works together to unlock the nutrients in fats, carbohydrates, and protein, making them available as energy. When each component of the B vitamin group is present in the proper ratio, the entire complex will work harmoniously in every cell of the body. |
Henry Pasternak, D.V.M., C.V.A.
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 Essential nutrients are nutrients that cannot be manufactured by the body, so they must be supplied in the diet as food or supplements. There are two essential fatty acids: alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) and linoleic acid
(omega-6) fatty acid. If we get our omega-3 oils from wild fish or game, it comes in the form of EPA (eicosapantaenoic acid). Alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) is present in small amounts in many oils, but highest in hemp and flax oils.
In the wild, herbivorous animals obtain the two essential fatty acids in plant foods that they eat. |
Gale Maleskey
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 Under normal circumstances, glutamine is not considered an essential amino acid, but some people do need supplements in certain situations, says Dr. Heffley. Cancer cells like an acidic environment, and glutamine helps to shift the body chemistry in the other direction—that is, creating a less acidic, more alkaline environment. This happens even when cancer is present.
Glutamine has also been used for its calming effects. Once in the body, it's made into gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. But the calming effect is not universal. In fact, Dr. |
Jean Carper
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 If you are nursing a baby with diarrhea, stop drinking milk temporarily (you can take supplements for calcium), because your own breast milk can carry and pass on to the nursing infant the diarrhea-inducing agents. It happens frequently. Studies show that when the nursing mother gives up all dairy products, the infant's diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms often totally disappear.
• Children and adults with chronic diarrhea can go on a lactose-free diet for a couple of weeks or so. Primarily, avoid milk, cheese and ice cream. Yogurt is okay, but not if frozen. |
Mary G. Enig
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 Can I buy supplements in health food stores? Thank you, L.R.
Answer: Omega-3 fatty acids are reported to have anti-inflammatory properties; this is related to their ability to displace the irvflammatory fatty acids. These effects are related to prostaglandins and the response to injury/infection signals. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in the fat part of many whole foods, but usually only in small absolute amounts unless the food is relatively high in total fat and the fat is high in omega-3. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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 When supplements are used in research, they often reach doses of four hundred to eight hundred milligrams per day, or even higher. However, such large doses are really used as medications rather than as part of normal nutrition, and they are not a guide to how much your body actually needs. Although benefits have sometimes been shown from these doses, they have generally been in subjects following diets that are otherwise far from ideal or suffering from medical conditions. |
| The tests shown below will show if your iron level is too low, too high, or just right and can help you avoid supplements when they will do more harm than good. These tests are far more accurate than standard hemoglobin or hematocrit blood tests, which are not sufficient. Don't be shy about asking your doctor to run a test or two for you. Most doctors welcome such requests because they know that a patient who takes an active interest in his or her health is much more likely to stay healthy over the long run.
How to Check Your Iron Level
Your doctor or clinic can run the following tests. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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 For example, if you stop drinking milk, you'll need to take calcium supplements and eat lots of green leafy vegetables to keep your bones strong.
Nutritional blockbusters that fight IBS
Fiber. If most of the bread, rice, and pasta you eat is made with white flour, your stomach ends up full of something like the flour-and-water paste you made in kindergarten. And that's a recipe for a stomachache. On the other hand, fiber-rich grains like whole-wheat bread and brown rice can help keep your bowels humming along. |
Laurie Deutsch Mozian, M.S., R.D.
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 I am afraid they are seeking a quick cure, and phytochemical supplements will not vault a steady diet of hamburgers and French-fried potatoes into the realm of healthy foods.
Nature packages phytochemicals into whole foods, and if your health-care goal is preventing disease, the best phytochemical delivery system you can use is whole foods. The evidence we have that links certain phytochemicals to disease prevention comes mainly from population-based studies of what people eat and far outweighs the data available from analysis of swallowing isolated phytochemicals. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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| Eat candied or pickled ginger by the handful, or take ginger supplements. Any way you slice it, ginger's just too good — and good for you — to pass up.
6 ways ginger keeps you healthy
Calms your queasiness. Researchers now know what Chinese sailors figured out thousands of years ago; ginger fights motion sickness without annoying side effects. It takes care of dizziness, nausea, and vomiting when you're in just about anything that bumps and shakes — a boat, plane, or car. By relaxing the nerves and muscles in your digestive tract, ginger promises one quiet ride. |
Laurie Deutsch Mozian, M.S., R.D.
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| Standards for dietary supplements, which are not as stringent as the standards for food additives, are controlled by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, regulated under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Proponents of stevia as a dietary supplement claim that it can lower blood pressure, strengthen the heart and vascular system, boost immunity, improve digestion, reduce weight, clear up skin problems, act as a contraceptive, and enhance youthfulness. Scanty evidence is available on the validity of these claims.
Stigmasterol (STIG-muh-STER-awl). |
| Allicin, which is related to the phytochemical diallyl sulfide, is detected in fresh garlic, dehydrated garlic powder, and some garlic supplements. Table 3.1 indicates the quantity of allicin found in a variety of sources.
Alpha-linolenic (AL-fuh lin-o-LEN-ick) acid. Alpha-linolenic acid is an omega-3 fatty acid found in soy, flaxseed, and rapeseed oil, as well as in some leafy green vegetables. The human body converts alpha-linolenic acid into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and, more slowly, into docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the valuable essential oils found in
Table 3.1. |
| If they have not yet been discovered, they cannot be included in supplements. Furthermore, phytochemicals probably work in conjunction with other nutrients found in plants, such as vitamins and minerals. It is probably best to consume phytochemicals, as well as vitamins and minerals, in the form that nature presents them to us. To best achieve chemopreventive levels of phytochemicals, a daily intake of at least five fruits and vegetables as part of a varied diet is the preferred method. |
| However, supplements may not be as useful in maintaining optimal health as is a phytochemical-rich diet. Studies designed to measure the effects of supplementation with the antioxidant beta-carotene on the prevention of both lung and colorectal cancer have been disappointing for supplement advocates and have demonstrated the superiority of fruits and vegetables as a method of disease prevention. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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| We need a trace of iron and zinc in our diets, but we do not need huge amounts of either one. supplements of these metals should only be used when medically necessary. Our bodies have no need for aluminum at all. eliminating chemicals from your body
• Natural compounds in many vegetables help eliminate toxins that may be inhaled from auto exhaust, industrial pollution, and othet sources. They stimulate your liver to make more phase 2 enzymes.
• The strongest enzyme inducers are found in cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale. |
Jean Carper
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| If you are worried about calcium, take supplements.
• If your infant is on cow's milk formula, discontinue it and substitute casein hydrolysate formula (for example, Nutramigen) for a week or so. This type of formula is commonly sold along with other commercial formulas and is considered safest for infants with reactions to cow's milk because the offending proteins have been obliterated. You can also try less expensive soy-based formula, but many infants also find it intolerable.
• After you stop the cow's milk, keep a daily record of your infant's colicky symptoms for a couple of weeks. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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| Drug companies have their own solution, pushing estrogen supplements for postmenopausal women in spite of their dangers and in spite of the fact that, if supplemental hormones are needed, a simple, over-the-counter preparation is safer and much more effective than prescription hormones, as we will see shortly.
You can gain extraordinary power over the strength of your bones by avoiding calcium depleters and taking advantage of bone builders. Using them is easy, and the effecrs are striking. |
Jean Carper
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| Canadian investigators, for example, deliberately deprived subjects of vitamin C, and then gave them supplements of 60 to 70 milligrams a day, the amount in an orange. They showed that vitamin C biochemically pepped up the gums. Bleeding decreased; white blood cell formation increased; collagen-producing fibroblasts increased; the gums showed biological signs of better health. This does not mean, however, that megadoses of vitamin C push the gums into greater health. Vitamin C seems to improve gums only in those who lack it. |
| This does not mean you need to load up on zinc supplements to maintain proper memory. You can get the memory-boosting amount in the diet by eating seafood, such as oysters and fish, legumes, cereals, whole grains and dark-meat turkey. A mere ounce of raw oysters supplies 20 milligrams of zinc, more than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 15 milligrams. Three ounces of smoked oysters contain 103 milligrams of zinc, according to Agriculture Department figures.
"There's a theory ... |
| A British expert says three and a half ounces of herring provide as much active EPA-type oil as the typical arthritis treatment doses offish oil supplements.
The point is it takes more fish oil to subdue active rheumatoid arthritis than to prevent it. You may never be plagued with arthritis in the first place if you consistently eat small portions of fatty fish over many years, say researchers.
Thumbs Down: BEWARE CORN OIL AND COUSINS
If fish-fat is good for arthritis, other fats are not. Don't stoke the fires of arthritis by eating too much of the land-based fats. |
Dr. John Yiamouyiannis
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 Hard of the Department of Veterinary Pathology of the University of Sidney, Australia reported that fluoride-contaminated phosphate supplements used for animal feed wiped out a significant part of the guinea pig population in Australia. Drs. Atkinson and Hard pointed out:
"Deaths often reaching epidemic proportion occurred in at least 8 major guinea-pig breeding units in Sidney and Canberra during 1964 and early1965. |
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