What supplements should I be taking?

A question was posed to me this past week along the lines of "I'm a well person and I would like to stay this way, what supplements do you think I should take"? Unfortunately there is no easy answer that could be applied to everyone and biochemical individuality comes into play. Testing yourself to determine your deficiencies and imbalances is the best way to determine what supplements you should be taking and a hair tissue mineral analysis does exactly this and more. But what if you don't need or want to take a full therapeutic amount of supplements? What if you have been on a Nutritional Balancing program for a while and just want to maintain your health gains? What is cash is tight?

Before I explain what I suggest for people in these categories I would like to mention the supplements that I feel everyone should be taking with few exceptions. (skip to the bottom if you are in a hurry!)

The first of these is fish oil. Fish oil is probably the most accepted supplement on the market and for good reason. It helps to normalise your essential fatty acid balance in the body. Fats are critical for good health and most of us have an imbalance of the good ones to the bad ones. Fish oil helps to restore this balance. Every single cell in your body has a membrane around it keeping it in a "ball" shape. This membrane is largely composed of fats and if you have bad fats in your membrane from your diet the cell can't control what is getting in and out. This lack of control has significant negative health effects. Essential fatty acid balance is a factor in many health conditions and is critical to get right.

Of note to mention here Krill is not an acceptable substitute in my opinion. When we put it to the test question of what were traditional people eating we clearly see that people were eating fish, not krill. Whales eat krill, people do not. In my opinion and those of some research scientists krill may be popular, but it is most likely going to be a fad as we are not designed to be eating this animal and research on its benefits is very slim.

Vitamin D is the second recommendation that most people could be taking as a supplement. The exceptions are those who work in the sun regularly. If you are in the sun regularly a test for Vitamin D status would be recommended as you can overdo your levels. The benefits of Vitamin D have been well stated elsewhere. Suffice it to say that it is best to think of it as a "General" to use a military analogy. It is in charge of a lot of various things.

Kelp is also a good supplement for most to take. We need the iodine. The reason most of us need this is that we are inundated with chlorine, fluoride and bromine which all have a cancelling effect on the iodine our body requires. A better solution is to cut out these harmful substances but where this is not possible flooding the body with extra iodine is helpful.

A good quality digestive aid is also recommended for anyone over 40 and those with digestive troubles. The saying we are what we eat is only half true. The truth is we are what we digest! Over about the age of 40 stomach acid levels start to drop and we can use some assistance. If you are wondering why I'm suggesting it for everyone else, just think of how many digestive problems are going on: indigestion, heartburn, reflux, constipation etc. This is a massive problem for many people.

For anyone just looking to take supplements that are geared to them specifically or for those who have reached a level of health they are happy with I suggest the following.

1. From your most recent hair analysis determine what supplements your chemistry requires.

2. Take the recommended supplements ONCE per day instead of three times.

3. Retest every 6 months.