P

E O P L E
often ask me
what I think about
taking supplements. In truth, I honestly
believe that supplements are not the best way to get
our vitamins and minerals. I prefer to help my patients
understand how to get the critical nutrients they need
from the foods they eat. The problem is, however, that
people are not eating well. It is a reality of our culture.
Our modernized society and time-pressured lives have
created a lifestyle where we eat a lot of easy-to-
obtain rened, whitened, processed foods that
are much more decient in vitamins, nutrients
and minerals than the wholefood diets of the
past. The recognition of this deciency led many
world governments to mandate that vitamins
like riboavin and folic acid be added to
the foods we eat. We dont seem to have the
time or the money to prepare nourishing
foods. Its a major problem. So with that in
mind and based on evidence based scientic
research I offer you this quick reference guide
to taking vitamin and supplements.
One Caveat:
I do not talk much in this column about dosages
because I feel that vitamin dosages are patient
specic. That being said, one can easily obtain a
list of the recommended daily intake (RDI) values.
These values differ if you are male or female, a child
or pregnant. I would suggest, however, that everyone
talk to their naturopathic doctor, nutritionist or
medical doctor specically about what they would like
to try and why before starting to take supplements.
This is because vitamins can be dangerous when taken
with certain medical conditions, and some vitamins
interact with other medications you might be taking.
This is why it is always important to discuss your
supplements with your doctor. So please be cautious
when taking supplements and get guidance from a
licensed professional.
I wrote this to help educate about some common
deciencies, and possible medical benets that can be
found by using vitamin and mineral supplementation.
The Multivitamin
Although this is the most popular supplement, it is
considered by many alternative medical practitioners
as one of the most overrated. Multivitamins are a good
idea in theory but they have some major drawbacks. A
multivitamin usually does not contain enough of each
vitamin for that vitamin to have any effect. As well,
taking a multivitamin might provide you with more
than enough of certain vitamins like Vitamin C which is
already very plentiful in most diets, but not enough of
the vitamins many people are decient in like Vitamin
D. I dont recommend multivitamins unless a patient
has a very restricted diet and really cannot afford to
purchase more than one supplement.
Common Vitamin Deciencies
The following are a list of vitamins people are
commonly decient in:
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is currently a very popular supplement
and this is for good reason: most people are decient
in it and it is very important for our health. Vitamin D
is different from other essential vitamins because our
own bodies manufacture it through our exposure to
sunlight. Since sunshine is somewhat limited during
certain months in the UK and since we are covered all
of the time, Vitamin D can be somewhat difcult to
acquire.
The main function of vitamin D is to regulate the
absorption of calcium
and phosphorus in our bones
(bone health). It also plays a critical
role in healthy immune function. If you or
someone you know has constant colds and u it may
be due to low Vitamin D status. It has also been
s h o w n t o help maintain
healthy b o d y
weight,
reduce
t h e
risk of
h e a r t
a t t a c k s a n d
some cancers. Interestingly, it has
been shown to prevent the natural cognitive decline
in aging. Ask your doctor to test your Vitamin D levels
and if decient take it as a supplement.
Calcium
Calcium deciency tends to be common in older
people and those that dont consume much dairy food.
Calcium is crucial for bone health. I prefer if patients
focus on getting their calcium from non-dairy sources if
possible. Foods like Bok Choy, spinach, collard greens,
almonds, salmon and canned sardines are high in
calcium. If however, you do not think you can eat these
very often then perhaps take a calcium supplement.
Magnesium
Magnesium has a role in the body in helping with the
proper function of many of our enzymes. It also works
as a muscle relaxant. In fact, magnesium deciency
is often associated with muscle pain and spasm,
especially back pain.
Magnesium is hard to obtain in our diets, because
it is mainly removed with processing - so only whole
unprocessed foods contain it. Good magnesium
sources are nuts, tofu, soybeans, gs, and unrened
whole wheat or rye bread. If your diet is lacking in
magnesium, denitely consider supplementation.
It also works wonders in helping people suffering
from constipation to get relief. As well, magnesium is
depleted by stress and coffee. Magnesium deciency
has been found in people suffering from Fibromyalgia
and they will benet from it in its magnesium malate
form or a mixture of citrate and malate. I prefer
Magnesium Citrate as the supplement form of choice
for most people.
It is important to note that people can often get
Magnesium, Calcium and Vitamin D in one supplement.
In my opinion this may be a better supplement to take
than a multivitamin since it is these vitamins in which
we are most likely decient.
Iron
One of the most common mineral deciencies in the
world is iron. A direct consequence of iron deciency is
iron deciency anaemia. Iron is a part of the molecule
haemoglobin and therefore is crucial to proper red
blood cell function.
People suffering from iron deciency mostly tend
to be women. It is usually low in vegans and some
vegetarians as well. Symptoms of iron deciency are
tiredness, moodiness, restless leg syndrome, muscle
weakness, hair loss and impaired concentration.
Some good food sources are meat, poultry, sh,
leafy green vegetables, beans, whole grains, and
blackstrap molasses. Iron supplementation is
usually handled by medical doctors, as overdosing
can be toxic. Ask your doctor to test your iron and
if low make sure to take a supplement.
Zinc
Zinc is involved with over 200 enzymatic
reactions in the body and is critical for proper
genetic expression and cellular division. Zinc
deciency is not rare because zinc is hard for
many people to absorb. It is critical for immune
function in general. Symptoms of zinc deciency
are often loss of taste and smell. Excellent
sources of zinc are meat, eggs (mostly in the
yolk), wheat bran, buckwheat, millet, rice bran,
whole wheat our, oatmeal, brown rice and corn
meal. It can also be found in black-eyed peas, green
peas, garbonzos, lentils, limas, pumpkin and peanut
seeds, spinach, sweet corn and onions. The best form
of zinc is the highly absorbable zinc Picolinate. zinc
and copper compete in the stomach for absorption so
any supplement you take of zinc long term should also
include a small amount of copper.
In the next part of my Vitamin and Supplements
Guide, I will be discussing some other important
supplements to consider taking for general health and
will be identifying some supplements that are a fad
and do not work. I will also be giving information on
targeted supplementation for specic disorders.
Wishing you all good health.
A Guide to
Vitamin and Supplements
Dr Anders Nerman ND
PART 1
The author is a
Naturopathic Doctor with
an Integrative Family
Medical practice in
Wolfson Medical Centre
in Jerusalem. For more,
call 00972-54-427-
8667.
I n f o r m a t i o n
is provided for
informational purposes only
and is not intended as a substitute
for the advice provided by your
physician or other healthcare
professional. Always
speak with your physician
or other healthcare
professional before
taking any medication
or nutritional, herbal
or homeopathic
supplement, or
adopting any
treatment
for a
h e a l t h
problem.
30 HEALTH JT 1 May 2014