Nutritional Supplements: Should You Use Them?

Are you taking nutritional supplements? If so, why? Don’t get me wrong, supplements can be very beneficial if you use them properly.

I guess the most obvious question that comes up is “why even take supplements? If I eat a healthy, balanced diet, don’t I get everything I need out of food?”

The answer is a resounding “no.” Why? For one thing, our food today isn’t as nutritious as it was 100 years ago (and yes, this applies even if you’re eating organic). Secondly, in certain cases, your requirements for different nutrients rise to the point where you just can’t get enough from food.

Let’s use an example. A person under stress who also exercises requires higher amounts of vitamin C. It can be as high as 3000-5000mg/day (according to Dr. Michael Colgan’s book “Your Personal Vitamin Profile”). The food that is richest in vitamin C (according to http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/vitamin-C.php) is green chili peppers. They contain 242.5 mg of vitamin C. So how many green chili peppers would you need to fulfill your daily requirement of vitamin C? The answer: more than you can handle.

The only supplement that I believe everyone should be taking regardless of your goals is a high quality multi-vitamin (if you want to know what makes a supplement high-quality, read this newsletter that I wrote).

Every other supplement is conditionally good. For instance, as good as vitamin D is, you don’t need it if you’re a white-skinned person who spends 20 minutes in the sun during the months of May to September (or a darker-skinned person who spends about 50 minutes in the sun). It won’t do you any harm, but it may not do you much good.

The same applies to every vitamin and mineral. Vitamin and mineral supplements are only beneficial when you have a deficiency. If you’re not deficient, they won’t do you much good. Most of them won’t do you much harm either, with the notable exceptions of iron, copper and calcium. These will indeed cause some damage if you take them when you’re not deficient.

Here are some examples of when you may be deficient:

• If you are under stress, your levels of B vitamins and vitamin C will be depleted.
• If you are living north of Los Angeles, you are deficient in vitamin D between September and May.
• If you are taking any medications, you are depleting certain nutrients (which nutrients depends on the medication that you’re taking).
• If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you are likely deficient in B12, carnitine, carnosine, vitamin A (I know that many people think that beta carotene is vitamin A. It isn’t. Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, and doesn’t get converted to vitamin A very effectively) and cholesterol.
• If your consumption of meat is very high, you require more B6 and B12.
• If you have a slow thyroid, you may be deficient in iodine.
• If you have insufficient stomach acid, you may be deficient in calcium, zinc, B12, protein and others.

And the list goes on and on.

But keep in mind that as your body changes, as your conditions change, and as your diet changes, so does your requirement for different nutrients.

So how do you determine what supplements you should take?

There are 2 ways.

First, take a supplement consistently for about 3-4 months, and evaluate whether you notice any changes. The changes can be subjective, like increased energy levels, better mental clarity, better sleep quality, etc. Or they can be objective, like improvements in your blood work, or in performance in a certain sport, etc.

The upside of this method is that besides the supplement, there are no other costs. The downside of this method is the accuracy and that you have to wait 3-4 months to find out.

The second method is to get laboratory testing done. There are certain tests which are very powerful (unfortunately not covered by OHIP) that can very accurately determine your individual requirement for different nutrients. These tests are called “organic acids profiles.”

The upside is the accuracy. There is no guessing necessary to figure out which nutrients you should be taking. You also don’t need to wait 3-4 months to figure out if the nutrients you’ve been taking are right for you.

The downside is cost and accessibility. An organic acids profile is quite pricey, and only a very select few doctors actually run those tests. One of them is Dr. John Dempster, and if you’d like to get an organic acids test, just call him at 416-551-9577.

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Quick Summary

• Even if you eat a healthy, balanced diet, you are still deficient in certain nutrients.
• The only essential supplement is a high-quality multi-vitamin.
• Different circumstances will deplete different nutrients.
• To figure out which nutrients you need, you can use two methods:
  • Method 1: take a nutrient for 3-4 months, and evaluate whether you have any subjective of objective improvements.
  • Method 2: use a laboratory test called “organic acids profile” to help you determine quickly which nutrients you require.