The Best Daily Supplement Routine. What Supplements to Take and When. Ross Franklin Weighs In
Ross Franklin, founder and CEO of Pure Green Franchise, the fastest-growing juice bar franchise gives his take on the best supplements.
The Need for Nutrients — Food Simple isn't Enough
We live in a day and age where our food does not contain enough of the vitamins and minerals that we need for optimal performance. A 2004 study done by the Department of Agriculture comparing 43 garden crops from 1950 to 1999 has shown a significant decline in nutrient levels. Without proper supplementation, most of us are deficient in key nutrients, vitamins and amino acids. These nutritional deficiencies make us prone to disease, affect our energy levels and can even affect our emotional state. For example, there are many studies that show a clear link to vitamin D deficiency and depression. This is only one vitamin... imagine the affect of all the other nutritional deficiencies you may have.
Don't Take Multivitamins — The is No One-Size Fits All
Supplementation is not one-size fits all because multivitamins simple don't work. It is virtually impossible to fit a full spectrum of nutrients into a single pill—if they tried it would be the size of the entire bottle. Most multivitamins on the market contain synthetic ingredients that are not sourced from whole foods and contain fillers and additives that the body won't even use. Spending money on multivitamins is literally throwing your money in the toilet.
Get Your Nutrient Levels Tested To Determine What Supplements to Take
The best way to customize your supplement routine is to get your blood taken by a holistic doctor and have a full ion panel done testing all key nutrients and amino acids. This will give you a baseline of all your nutrient levels showing you your nutritional deficiencies and your heavy metal toxicity. A holistic doctor can help you determine which supplements to take based on your results to get you within the optimal range for each nutrient. If this is too intense for you, keep reading and following program for the basic supplement protocol.
What Supplements Should I Take For Optimal Performance
One main thing to consider is that fat soluble vitamins will be better absorbed by the body if taken with food (the higher in fat the better, i.e. MTC oil, butter, olive oil). Eating food with healthy fat with your fat soluble vitamins will enhance the absorption, and yes butter coffee (coffee with butter and MTC oil) counts. I typically take my AM supplements along with my butter coffee in the morning.
Here are some basic supplements that will help most people achieve a state of better performance:
1. Magnesium and Trace Minerals
Best Supplement ConcenTrace Trace Mineral Drops - 1/2 a tsp gives you 250 mg of Magnesium and 72 other ionic trace minerals. This brand contains sea minerals from the Great Salt Lake in Utah. This is a natural source of magnesium and trace minerals. Warning, it taste terrible but the health benefits are worth it.
Dosage: mix a have dropper full in your water in the AM and PM
Amazon Prime Link to buy ConcenTrace Mineral Drops
2. Vitamin C in the form of Camu Camu
Best Supplement Pure Synergy Pure Radiance C - pop 1 to 3 pills per day giving your body the daily dose of vitamin C you need sourced from organic & wild berries including camu camu, acerola & amla.
Dosage: pop one pill in the AM and one pill in the PM
Amazon Prime Link to buy Pure Synergy Pure Radiance C
3. Vitamin D
Best Supplement - The SUN (15 to 20 min a day) - Next best - Pure Encapsulations Vitamin D - on days where you can't get 15 to 20 minutes of direct sunlight on your skin, take 1000 iu per 25 pounds of body weight.
Dosage: one of the pills below contain 5000 iu of vitamin d. To be more precise you can also get the 1000 iu version to be in line with 1000 iu per 25 pounds of body weight. In the winter, I take 1 to 2 5000 iu pills per day. Take in the AM only.
Amazon Prime Link to buy Pure Encapsulations 5000 iu Vitamin D
4. EPA / DHA - Cod Liver Oil
Best Supplement - Rosita Cod Liver Oil - this is very high quality cod liver oil with high amounts of EPA and DHA. Many fish oils on the market are low quality, contain heavy metals and are rancid. I have also found this with some krill oils. This supplement is rather expense
Dosage: pop 3 pills with food. Also do not refrigerate this product (does not digest well this way).
Link to Buy - can't find this one on Amazon. I get it from drrons.com.
Get started with the above protocol. I will be adding more supplements to this list so make sure to check back.