Do You Really Need Supplements?

So the next question is from Chad and Chad asks a question about vitamins and supplements. So let's listen to what Chad has to say. So great question Chad. I think most of us are wondering what should I take? There's so much contradictory information out there on the web. Vitamins are good for you, vitamins are bad. They're going to heal you, they're going to kill you. It's just enough to make you crazy and give up. And your doctor's like, I don't know, or they're bad for you, or it's expensive urine. Well, let me tell you something about vitamins. Vitamins and minerals, are called essential nutrients. That means if you don't have them, you die. Vita min, vital for life. So it's really critical that you understand the importance of what they do. They basically catalyze enzymes to turn one chemical to another chemical. So they're like helpers that help your biochemistry work. It helps you burn calories. It helps you run every system in your body, your hormones, your brain chemistry, all of them are are dependent on nutrients. Now, the problem with our modern diet is that 90% of Americans, according to the government in large national studies, are deficient in one or more nutrients at the RDA level. That's the minimum amount you need not to get scurvy of vitamin C or the minimum amount not to get rickets. It's not the optimal amount of vitamin D so you don't get the flu and so your muscles are strong and so your mood is good. So it's really important to take the right nutrients for you and everybody's different too. I mean, one third of our DNA codes for enzymes and all those enzymes require helpers. and different enzymes require more or less. So you need folic acid. Some people need a lot more. I need a lot more because of my genetics. So you have to figure out a little bit what's going on there. But in general, I recommend that people have a basic foundational set of nutrients, whether you're 25 or 55, and it changes as you get older. But everybody needs a good quality multivitamin with the right nutrients, the right forms of the nutrients that are bioavailable, that are actually clean vitamins or they're tested for purity and potency so you know what you're getting. And not every company does that, by the way. You need fish oil, omega-3 fats. 99% of Americans are deficient omega-3 fats and they're essential for long-term health and vitality. Vitamin D, critical for your immune system, for your bone health, for muscle health, for depression, for so many things. Those three are like foundational fish oil, multivitamin, vitamin D. And then I do some add-ons for different people. Some people need magnesium, very common deficiency. They need probiotics for their gut. There are a lot of other specific that people can take, but as people age, I also recommend more support for their mitochondria. That's the little factories that make energy in your body, and those are really critical as you age to prevent aging. So things like CoQ10, lipoic acid, and acetyl cysteine, this new one that's been developed at MIT called nicotinamide riboside, these are very, very powerful mitochondrial supports. And then of course, there's lots of customization depending on your health issues and what's going on, but I recommend at least a multi-fish oil, vitamin D, some great companies out there. Pure Encapsulations, Designs for Health, Metagenics, and Xymogen. These are all great companies that help to actually produce quality products that are medical grade and therapeutic vitamins. So that's pretty much what I'd say for you, Chad, is just focus on the basics and then, you know, depending on what's going on with you, we can customize it. All right, well that's all the time we have for today. If you like this video, be sure to share with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. And if you have any questions, you can tweet them to me or Send your video submissions to DrHyman.com and maybe next week I'll make a house call to you. So thanks for watching.