Answering Questions - Supplements

This post is for everyone. I just started with Katie (she is special though), because I had Jordan's links handy. ;-)

Katie, yes, I am familiar with Jordan Rubin’s book, The Maker’s Diet. I think I have it, if I haven’t loaned it out. I read it and agree with much of what he says, but it is pretty extreme (as I’m sure you know). I study with another doctor (an M.D.) and he calls eating Jordan’s way, The 3000 diet ~ if it wasn’t around 3000 years ago, don’t eat it.

For those of you who do not know Jordan’s story, you can read it here. It is both interesting and inspiring.
Jordan is also the founder of Garden of Life (vitamins and supplements) which is one of the Cadillac companies in the health food industry. It is a great product, but pricey. Still, they have one or two products that are above comparison.

Biblical Health Coach

This is another one of Jordan’s sites. You can take courses in health and wellness and even become certified as a Biblical Health Coach. I am working my way through these courses (slowly) now. The information is A+ and they are well written. If you are interested in these courses, be sure and leave a comment. I have a little more information to share.


My General Recommendations

(Sorry, these are not organized better. I promise to do better next time.)

Nearly everyone is iodine deficient. You can test this using tincture of iodine. I had to purchase mine at a locally owned drug store. The cost was around $2.00. Under your breast bone, above your waist area, use the tincture to paint a circle about the size of a silver dollar. This should be visible for between 14 to 16 hours. If it disappears sooner, you are iodine deficient. The first time I did this, the circle was not visible after 30 minutes!

Every cell in your body needs iodine to function properly. I use Iosol which I order from Fubao Health Store in San Francisco. My naturopath recommended this brand and it has worked well for both me and dh. The cost is $11.90 for one ounce, which will last us almost a year.

Fubao is also a good source for Sodium Ascorbate, which is a form of Vitamin C. You can take unlimited amounts of Vitamin C in this form and it will not cause loose stools (Ascorbic Acid, the most common form of Vitamin C will cause loose stools.)



They also have a great price on Natural Calm which is a powdered magnesium supplement – we buy the Raspberry Lemon flavor, which I don’t mind but it is tart.
Magnesium protects the heart and the brain, besides strengthening the bones. If you have severe headaches or restless leg syndrome, magnesium is wonderful. (I should probably explain how to properly take magnesium, but will try to get back to this.)

I would not be without any of the products I am mentioning today. Our whole family benefits from the ones I am telling you about.. I also try to keep a good supply of Vitamin B Complex and Ginkgo Biloba. Ginkgo helps to open up the small capillary veins that close as we get older. It is good for treating high blood pressure and to prevent memory loss. On the Vitamin B, I like the liquid supplement such as Perfect B. The body absorbs it much faster.



Judy, on the Skull Cap, I buy Solar Ray brand. Mainly, because I have better results with this particular brand. Skullcap can lower your blood pressure. If you have low blood pressure you should use more caution.

Everyone should have activated charcoal capsules on hand. If you get food poisoning the most common treatment in the ER is charcoal. It will help stop nausea and will pull toxins from the body.

If you know someone who has gout or arthritis, a good treatment is concentrated dark cherry juice. You can buy it at the health food store. You only want to take about a teaspoon a day starting out, but you can build slowly to a tablespoon if needed.

If you are buying supplements to improve your health (and why else would you buy them?), do not buy from Wal-Mart and do not buy from GNC (I think that’s the right letters). Most of these are a waste of money.

Vitacost is a good company to order from and the shipping is $5.95 regardless of how large your order is.

Fubao has good prices and the shipping is reasonable. I was surprise how quickly my order arrived.

If you have a good locally owned health food store (and their prices aren’t too high), they are a great source, not only for products but also for information.

This past week, I started taking a new supplement Phosphatidylserine. Because I am taking this for the first time, I am not fasting or doing anything out of the ordinary, other than trying to get my water intake up to where it should be. You can read about what Phosphatidylserine does here. I started taking it Sunday and remarkably, I’ve had two nights of really good sleep! Which is pretty amazing for me.

Another vitamin we don’t think about that is very beneficial (okay, they are all beneficial, so that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense) is Vitamin D 3. Before you say, “I get Vitamin D from dairy products,” let me explain. Once the cream is separated from the milk, then the milk is pasteurized and homogenized, you are left with very little Vitamin D and what is there is Vitamin D 2, not 3. Also, dairy (unless you are purchasing your milk from someone you know, therefore know their feeding practices) is loaded with female growth hormones, in order to increase milk production. But these hormones are passed on to the consumer. This isn’t good for little boys or little girls. (I’m sure you understand all the problems ivolved, but we can talk about this later.)

Vitamin D 3 comes from the sun. It would be nearly impossible to overdose on this vitamin. Imagine this – if you where on a south seas vacation, wearing a bikini (okay, maybe you aren’t wearing a bikini – I won’t be either), the sun on your skin would be producing 20,000 units of D 3 an hour.

One study showed a higher percentage of women developed MS in the more northern states. This was true until sun screen use became so popular. Now, studies show women in the more sunny south develop MS at the same rate.

Vitamin D3 helps to strengthen and build the immune system. It is believed it helps fight diseases such as cancer and auto immune diseases. As we get older, we spend more time inside. When we are outside, we are often wearing clothes that prevent the sun from reaching the skin or we are wearing sun screen.

Vitamin D3 is about $7.00 for a month’s supply.

Dianna, if I were you, I would be taking the following:

Magnesium (Natural Calm)
Iodine (Iosol)
Vitamin D 3

I would cut out sugar, wheat and corn from my diet for a month and see if there was noticeable improvement. During the cold and flu season, I would also take Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate). And absolutely, no artificial sweeteners.

Patrick suggested an educational site, I will try to visit the site over the weekend. Thank you for the heads up, Patrick!

And thank all of you for putting up with me!

Blessings,
Cheryl