Nutritional Supplements That Everyone Should be Taking
Nutritional Supplements That Everyone Should Be Taking
Dr. C.M. Curtis
01/09/2024
I am often asked by health-conscious people what supplements everyone needs to take; the basic package, so to speak.
Answering this question is a little tricky because everyone is different. Everyone has different needs. One person might need to take vitamin D3, whereas the next person may spend a lot of time outside and get plenty of sun exposure. One person may get adequate vitamin K from their diet, whereas the next person needs to supplement that all-important vitamin.
Do you see the problem? I can, however, give some guidance in this area based on the average person in our modern society, and you can take the information and modify it to your unique circumstances.
There are certain nutrients in which most people are deficient
To begin with, according to research, there are certain nutrients in which a high percentage of people in today’s world are deficient. Magnesium is one of them. Magnesium, that all-important master mineral, has been shown to be an essential factor in more than 600 different processes in the body. Therefore, most people need to either eat more natural foods containing magnesium or take the right magnesium supplement. I want to emphasize that last statement: THE RIGHT MAGNESIUM SUPPLEMENT.
This is an area in which most people need some guidance because there are many forms of magnesium; some useful and some worthless. And what is the right form for one person’s needs may not be the right one for the next person. For, example, if you are looking to benefit your cardiovascular system, magnesium taurate would be the best form, but if you have fibromyalgia, you would do better with magnesium malate. (for more information on magnesium and its different forms and their uses, see my article on magnesium).
Protection from degenerative diseases
Just taking the right magnesium regularly can drastically lower a person’s risk of all forms of degenerative diseases and increase their chances of living a long and healthy life.
Vitamin K2 is another vitamin in which most people are deficient. Notice I said K2. Vitamin K1 is also essential, but for different purposes (vitamin K3 is the synthetic form of this vitamin). However, most people derive sufficient K1 from their diets. K2 (also known as K2,7, MK7, and Menaquinone) is a common deficiency in the modern diet. And, as with magnesium, getting adequate K2 into the body is extremely protective against degenerative diseases. Moreover, vitamin K2 can do for the bones what most people, and sadly, most health care providers think calcium will do (see my article on calcium and osteoporosis).
Another benefit of K2 is to protect the body from harm caused by vitamin D3.
Having said that, let’s take a look at vitamin D3. Remember, it must be D3. That is the natural form of the vitamin. It is recommended to get blood tests to determine if you are deficient in this important vitamin and then, if you are, getting enough sun exposure to correct the deficiency. If you live in a cold climate and can’t do this, or if your lifestyle doesn’t permit it, there are good D3 supplements available.
You may have noticed above, that I made mention of harm that can be caused by vitamin D3*. Here’s how it works: One of the many actions of D3 is to mobilize