Nutritional and Natural Supplements
by Elson Haas, MD and Judy Lane, NP
When I first started practicing medicine in 1973 and began to study nutrition (no help with that topic in 4 years of medical school), there were very few supplements in the marketplace. We could buy bulk herbs/plants from around the world but the health food stores only had their mix of brewer’s yeast, bee products, wheat germ oil, and liver pills, etc.
Most of those items have been replaced with literally thousands of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, oils, herbal combinations and so on. Now, Nutrition and Nutriceuticals are part of Healthy Medicine. It has become a vast and very complex field to navigate, so here’s some basic guidance. Many patients ask us, “What’s best for me?” Of course, there are many opinions on this important topic. This is based in part on “biochemical individuality.” What’s right for you?
If you want to dive into dive into this question deeply you will probably need the guidance of an expert.
At my clinic, Preventive Medical Center of Marin (PMCM), we have several hundred different products in our formulary that we use for our patients. Most people take only a few, or 5-10, while many of my elder patients (often in their 80s) believe that taking many “vitamins” or nutrients is what keeps them feeling good and not getting sick. I like to mention that when people are on several prescription medicines, I like to see them have as many different nutritional medicines as well.
Most of our products are from companies that cater to and sell primarily to practitioners and for most of these manufacturers, they use clean and higher-quality ingredients and more conscious practices for their products than the pharmaceutical companies that use more chemicals and dyes and more mass production for their less expensive products.
There are two basic functional approaches to nutritional supplement programs. First and foremost is to replace or add more of things that measure low, which can be nutrients like vitamin D, iron, calcium and other minerals. Adding extra vitamin C and B vitamins adds some extra nutrients for enhanced functioning.
Another important aspect of nutritional medicine involves balancing functionality with issues that are too low or two high. This might be adding thyroid or adrenal hormones when they are low in testing or with symptoms like fatigue and low endurance, or coldness in the body. There are also ways to lower histamine levels and allergy symptoms with higher vitamin C intake or using the bioflavonoid called Quercetin.
I am not providing treatment dosages of anything in this article as the use of natural and nutritional supplement programs is very individualized. What are the right nutrients for you based on your story, health issues, gender and age? What’s the best program for you? See your natural medicine practitioner for this guidance. Also, my 1200+ page Staying Healthy with Nutrition book can provide you with the info about most all of the nutrients available. These nutritional supplements include Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids, Oils, and Phytonutrients, as well as the hundreds or herbs and plants.
What are our top picks, the most popular, supplements that we use in our practice?
Multis – age and gender-specific products to make sure we are getting all the required (essential) nutrients the body and cells needed for optimal function. We have a variety of quality ones, some one a day and more like twice daily to provide our digestive tract a couple opportunities to absorb them.
I recommend Trace Minerals and Power Paks from a company called ConcenTrace for those of us who are aging and looking to lower our aging quotient. The minerals are ionic from the Great Salt Lake and help our electrolytes enliven our cells. I have a glass of water, one Power Pak and about 20-30 drops of the liquid minerals. I often add a splash of orange juice or lemon squeeze for flavor, or the Paks have natural flavors as well with either a bit of fructose or stevia sweetener. It’s my morning energizer and I also drink it around my exercise workouts.
Vitamin D (often measured low in most patients) Many people are combining vitamin K with D, noted at K2/D3 (adds some cardiovascular and coagulation support). See my blog on Vit D at
Magnesium and Cal/Mag for sleep and constipation and part of bone support along with bone building formulas with hydroxyapatite. Metagenics has some good ones. A highly available formula called Bone Up (from Jarrow) is good for that too and the suggested intake is multiple caps a day.
Carditone for Blood Pressure. This Ayurvedic herbal works well for mild to moderate high blood pressure. There’s also BP Stability from a great herb company called Life Seasons (you know I like them as with my love of the seasons).
Sleep products are high on the list as sleep issues are so common. I often start with 5-HTP (5-hydroxy tryptophan as a serotonin supporter for sleep (and helps with depression while increasing the calming brain chemical serotonin). There are also Melatonin products that help some people regulate their sleep cycles.
Herbal sleep helpers like valerian root, passion flower and linden flowers work for some insomniacs. One of my favorite products that I use often is Zen caps and Liposomal Zen (liquid spray bottle) for sleep interruption — Zen contains GABA and L-Theanine, both brain relaxers. I use this when I wake up during the wee hours of the morning, and then I read a bit and go back to sleep.
How about Red and Green powders with high nutrients and antioxidants? I use Dr. Tony’s Radiant Greens and Pomegranate Plus in my smoothies along with a good protein powder, such as scoops of Orgain (pea and rice protein) along with blueberries and maybe banana and other fruits in season. This could be apples or pears, especially this harvest time of the year. You may prefer veggies over fruits and add greens like kale or spinach to smoothies.
Vit B12 or B-complex is beneficial for many people extra as it helps many metabolic functions. The Power Paks mentioned above have extra B vits with C and trace minerals. We also like liquid sublingual B-Total drops, high in B12 and most of the other Bs.
What about for pain and inflammation issues? We have several anti-inflammatory nutrients like Curcumin from turmeric as well as Omega-3 oils, where higher amounts help with pain and inflammation. The oils, including Flaxseed oil also helps lubricate the tissues and skin, important as we age.
Immune support to protect us a bit from getting sick from others and keeping our resistance strong. Immune support products often have some vitamins C and Z, zinc and semenium, alpha-lipoic acid, and more. Designs for Health has Immunotone and Immunotone Plus and HerbPharm has many liquid products like Rapid Immune Boost.
For Natural Hormone support we have many products as creams and hormone ovules to insert vaginally from a company in Oregon called Bezwecken.
For Cholesterol issues, think Red Yeast Rice along with commonly used Co-Enzyme Q-10 which helps support the cellular mitochondria. Red yeast rice has natural statins and can help lower cholesterol.
Of course, we could go on and on with more conditions and more products; however, this is a general overview. Some of the companies we use I mention above, but here are the main ones at this time.
- ARG—Allergy Research Group, one of the originals that I have used for 40 years
- Metagenics
- Xymogen
- Designs for Health
- Bezwecken
- Dr. Tony’s Organic’s
- Integrative Therapeutics
- Life Extension
Natural Remedies and the knowledge and experience of how and why they are used is an important part of health care, at least in my world of medicine. The past 50 years has seen great breakthroughs in the area of nutritional and herbal therapies. Herbs were the primary medicines for centuries and now they are manufactured by many companies into new formulations and I believe with improved efficacy. Look at and embrace how you can care for yourself in the most natural ways.
Stay Healthy,
Dr. Elson