I will start with the basics. What everyone, regardless of age, gender, or health condition should be taking on a regular basis. The exception to this would be certain vitamins – for example, Vitamin E, which is a blood thinner, would not be acceptable for people taking the drug Coumadin. So please always check with your pharmacist if you are taking a prescription.
With that being said, almost everyone would benefit from a good Multivitamin. This is meant as a “bridge” for nutritional deficiencies in our diet. If you have a vitamin or mineral deficiency though, a multivitamin will not be enough. You need to get that particular nutrient in a higher dose.
For example, say you weigh less or more, or make too much vitamin D in the body, these would be a reasons that the one size fits all would not apply. A good multivitamin helps with energy, stress, and sleep support just to name a few. They will also help keep you healthy by protecting against free radicals in the body. An alternative to this would be taking a good greens powder which would give you the vitamins, but not the necessarily the minerals you need. I also want to tell you right now that if you believe you are getting all your nutrients from your diet, you are fooling yourself. Between depleted soil, chemicals & preservatives you are not getting the nutrition you need. End of soapbox.
The next product would be Omega 3 Fish Oil. The average dosage is 1000 MG or 1 Gram per day. Why fish oil over the other omegas such as flax seed or coconut oil for example? Fish oil is a long chain omega, meaning it stays working in the body longer than the other omegas. Now, here is a fun fact: If you turn over your Omega Fish Oil or Krill Oil bottle, you will see a number listed, here in the example 1250 MG of fish oil – right? You would be wrong. Add your EPA (400 MG) and DHA (300MG) types of omega and you get 700MG. The 700MG is the amount of actual working omega.
Where this becomes important is when you’re trying to lower your Triglyceride level and you should be taking 2000-3000MG per day of Omega 3 to treat this condition. If you go by the 1250MG dosage, you believe that if you take 2 softgels you are getting 2500MG, which would be in the range, when instead you are only receiving 1400MG, almost half of what you actually require. It is not important to just take fish oil. First it must be a good quality Omega. Then you must take the dosage that is required. The FDA states it should be around 1000MG or 1 Gram daily. Again, this is the after number (EPA & DHA). Certain health conditions you will take more (2000-3000 MG) to take a therapeutic dose for lowering triglyceride levels or less than 1000MG if you are taking a blood thinner. If unsure on dosage ask your doctor. But beware, some medical professionals, including doctors don’t believe anything other than a prescription works.
The final supplement I will recommend this time is called CoQ-10. If you are taking a Statin drug, blood pressure, or heart medication, it may be depleting your CoQ10 levels in your body. You should take at least 100 MG per day to replenish and if you can afford to take a higher dose such as 200-400MG per day it is to your benefit to do so. This is a supplement that also naturally depletes with age so if you are over 40 your levels have already dropped. Also, if you can, if you are over 40, take the Ubiquinol version of the CoQ10 because it is already broken down to easily enter our body. I have seen people, myself included, that once you start to restore CoQ-10 levels, your energy level will even increase which is a great side benefit for doing something healthy for your heart such as taking CoQ-10.
So in follow up, take a good multivitamin. Try to take a woman’s or men’s formula because it has levels of supporting vitamins based on gender. Then take a good quality fish oil omega 3. We do not need the omega 6 or 9 which we get from our diets. Lastly, take at least 100MG of CoQ-10 daily. If you do these things you have done major steps in helping your body stay active, energetic, and healthy.
**Disclaimer** The information shared in this article is in no way intended to be medical advice. This information should NOT be used as a replacement for the recommendations/prescriptions/treatments delivered by your primary care physician. I am not a medical doctor. Please refer to your primary care physician before implementing any supplementation listed in this article.
Garden of Life Multivitamin for Men – mykind Organic Men’s 40+ Whole Food Vitamin Supplement, Vegan, 120 Tablets
Nordic Naturals – Ultimate Omega, Support for a Healthy Heart, 180 Soft Gels (FFP)
Jarrow Formulas QH-Absorb, High Absorption/Enhanced Stability, 200 mg, 60 Softgels