We have already discussed some important supplements at The Primal Experiment, but as I was taking my daily ration of pills yesterday, I thought it would be good to share my own personal supplement list and describe the personal reasons for why I take them. For instance, I don’t take a multivitamin. I figure that I’m eating health enough for most of those things, and the supplements/vitamins I do take I have very specific reasons for taking them.

Before I get into my list, I thought I would explain how I arrived at some of the choices I’ve made. Many of my choices were because I was experiencing some physical ailment and wanted to find a natural remedy for it. So, a lot of internet research (which I’ll try to find some of my links and add them below). More recently (in the last year), I watched a documentary called “Food Matters” and there was quite a lot of emphasis on vitamins and supplements. I thought that was interesting because I had long ago “learned” that vitamins weren’t really all that beneficial and the better option was to eat right and get the things we need from food. The concept of vitamins in the documentary though deals with very high levels of vitamins for use as a cure to some of life’s ailments. I won’t go into it, but if you’re interested, I would check it out. I am pretty sure I streamed it from Netflix.

Another thing that turned me on to a few of the vitamins I take now is Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Body. That book is quite an interesting read, and in it he developed a supplement package that he took everyday with the focus of increasing weight loss. I tried it for a short time,  but what I realized after getting the supplements is that they all had something really good to offer and I felt they were worth keeping in my daily routine (just at lower levels than recommended in his book).

Okay, so let’s get to the list.

• Antioxidants A, C, and E- I take these solely to assist my body in renewing itself (at a cellular level) and keep things like my skin healthy. I take one of each (or a combo pill) every day, and I also use these same antioxidants on my face to help me slow down the wrinkles. Aside from keeping things like free radicals at bay, the additional benefits to these three include improved immune system function, bone health, and metabolic processes.
• Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)- another powerful antioxidant. I knew of it, but didn’t know about it until the 4-Hour Body. ALA not only provides your body with more free radical fighting power, but it’s like giving your antioxidant vitamin a “boost”. Another cool thing I’ve learned, ALA is able to deactivate both fat and water soluble free radicals and thereby protect both lipoproteins and membranes, something no other antioxidant can  do.
• Sea Kelp- Sea Kelp is an abundant source of iodine, a necessary mineral, and Americans are not getting enough iodine. Salt was iodized here so we wouldn’t get XX, but the amount of iodine they put into the salt was “just enough” to prevent it. Iodine plays an important role in thyroid function, among other things, and a friend of mine (she’s a professional nutritionist/herbalist) was explaining that one of the reasons she believes everyone here is one some kind of thyroid medication is because we aren’t getting the proper levels of iodine. This may be even more true when you think about how often we are all trying to reduce our daily sodium intake. I take one every day, and so far I am one of the few people I know who is NOT on any kind of thyroid medication.
• Omega 3- by now everyone knows they should take an Omega  3 supplement. Benefits include controlling inflammation in the body, better brain function, and improved heart health.
• B complex- this includes eight B vitamins, each with their own specific role or function. Many people choose to single out a few of the most beneficial ones, but I figure I would rather just take them all and be done with it in one pill. They are beneficial for the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, the breakdown of fats and proteins, healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver.
• Garlic- this is one of the  few supplements I take for immune support. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, can help prevent you from getting sick, and may even assist you managing your blood pressure and cholesterol. I happen to be immune-system challenged, as I believe my gluten allergy and my body’s struggle to keep yeast at bay are symptoms of autoimmune problems. I take garlic and some other herbal remedies specifically to help combat my problems. (It works, by the way).
• Green Tea Extract- another great antioxidant (20 times more powerful than vitamin C, or so I’ve read). It will keep you up at night, so take in the morning!
• DIM-This is a less common supplement. Simply put, DIM is a natural breakdown product of cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and cauliflower) formed during digestion in the stomach. It has been shown to provide additional immune system support, among other things.
• Probiotic- for health digestion and also to combat my gluten allergy and any potential damage that may have been caused by my eating wheat.
• Oregano Oil-I don’t take this one everyday. I typically use if I feel like my yeast balance is off, or if I’m sick with something like a sinus infection. It works fantastic for sinus gunk I’ve found. Like garlic, oregano oil is a natural anti-biotic. Several studies have shown that oregano oil can destroy or inhibit the growth of a number of strains of bacteria, fungi, and parasites. A 2000 study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology showed oregano oil to be effective against 25 different bacteria.

So that’s my top 10 list! Here is a great website for checking out vitamins, supplements, finding cures to ailments, and a whole lot of other information as well. I came upon this site after watching Food Matters. I regularly check this site if I’m interested in a particular supplement, as I find the information to be more thorough than any other sites that come up when I search a particular supplement.