Our Top Ten Favorite Supplements and the Science Behind Them

In this episode of Wellness Connection MD, Dr. Jim McMinn and health coach Lindsay Mathews dive deep into the world of nutritional supplements. They count down their top 10 favorite supplements, explaining the science and research behind each one.

Some of the supplements covered include a quality multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, probiotics, curcumin, bioflavonoids, magnesium and more. For each supplement, they review studies showing the potential benefits for conditions like heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, arthritis, and more.

As an added bonus, they also discuss the main causes of death and disease, and then list the supplements that have been shown to help with these conditions.

They also discuss the importance of getting supplements from reputable brands, looking out for drug interactions, and working with your doctor. Throughout the episode, Dr. McMinn and Coach Lindsay emphasize taking an evidence-based approach to using supplements safely and effectively.

Whether you're new to supplements or already taking some, this information-packed episode will equip you with the knowledge you need to optimize your supplement regimen for better health and wellness.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MD podcast. I'm Dr McMinn. Ever wonder if the supplements you're taking are really doing any good for you, or what supplements should you take in order to improve your overall health? Well, we have just the show for you today. In today's podcast, we'll review for you our top 10 evidence-based lists of supplements. So kick back and enjoy the show.

Speaker 2: 0:32

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MD podcast with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsay, where we bring you the latest up-to-date, evidence-based information on a wide variety of health and wellness topics, along with practical take-home solutions. Dr McMinn is an integrated and functional MD and Lindsay Matthews is a registered nurse and IIN certified health coach. Together, our goal is to help you optimize your health and wellness in mind, body and spirit. To see a list of all of our podcasts, visit McMinnMDcom and to stay up to date on the latest topics, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast player so that you'll be notified when future episodes come out. The discussions contained in these podcasts are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. Please do not apply any of this information without approval from your personal doctor. And now on to the show with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsey.

Speaker 1: 1:23

Hello and welcome to Wellness Connection MD, the evidence-based podcast on all things wellness. We thank you so much for joining us today. I'm Dr Jim McMinn. I'm here with our co-host, nurse, certified health coach, Ms Lindsay Matthews. Good morning, coach.

Speaker 3: 1:37

Good morning, dr Mack. Good to be back with you. Listeners, so listeners, as always, we come to you today to bring to you honest, commercial-free, unbiased, up-to-date, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented information, along with practical solutions in order to empower you to overcome your healthcare challenges and to optimize your wellness in mind, body and spirit, and to become the great captain of your ship which you are when it comes to your health and wellness.

Speaker 1: 2:08

And so today we're going to take a dive into the fascinating world of nutritional supplements. We do recommend supplements in our practice over the years, and often with excellent results and rarely with any downside effects. After many years and thousands of patients using supplements, we found that most supplements fall into the category of might help and probably won't hurt. So today we're going to give you our top 10 countdown of our favorite supplements and, since we're always evidence-based along the way, we're going to do our best to support the use of these supplements with some solid science. But first we have just a couple of brief housekeeping duties to take care of. Our podcast remains commercial free, so that we can stay unbiased, and we're not here to sell you anything and we're not going to waste your time with any annoying commercials.

Speaker 3: 2:50

But it does cost money to produce these podcasts. So think of us like public radio and consider making a contribution to help us keep it coming to you. So there's a couple ways that you can contribute. First, if you buy nutritional supplements, then consider purchasing physician-grade supplements from Fullscript Dispensary at a 10% discount. You can see the link to Fullscript below in the show notes, or go to mcmindmdcom and the link is also there at the bottom of the homepage under helpful links. It's quite simple Just click on the link and they'll guide you through the process. It's a win-win you get those high quality supplements at a discount and we get your support for the show and we are forever grateful for that. Thank you.

Speaker 1: 3:35

You can also safely make a contribution to the show directly via credit card or by PayPal at the support, the show link which is in the show notes. And please don't forget to subscribe to the show and tell your friends and family about us so we can keep this valuable information coming to you. And again, thank you so much.

Speaker 3: 3:50

And now Dr Mack, on to the show.

Speaker 1: 3:53

Well, all right, Coach, as you know, we often begin the podcast with a true story about a real patient, and when it comes to supplements, we have so many patients that we could talk about. However, there's one guy that comes to mind. He's really a super nice guy who came in with many complaints, one of which was arthritis. He was a real active guy, an active farmer. He had aches and pains all over, mainly in most of his joints knees, hips, hands, especially. So I came up with a treatment plan for him, and one of the things I got him on was a fairly high dose of curcumin, which is a readily available, inexpensive and safe herbal therapy. He and I could hardly believe the relief he got from this curcumin. As expected, he never had any negative downside effects from the curcumin and he had lasting relief. This was about 10 years ago and, to my knowledge, he's still taking it Now. I'm not saying that curcumin would have such a dramatic effect for all people, but it sure worked for my farmer friend.

Speaker 3: 4:41

I love that story. So why the choice of curcumin? We always strive to be evidence-based and there's many studies which support the use of curcumin for arthritis. So, for example, there was a study published in the journal Biomed Central comparing curcumin to a commonly prescribed powerful NSAID drug called Voltaren. And before we get into the results, let me just set the stage. Some of the side effects of Voltaren, especially for long-term use like this, include ulcers, heart failure, kidney failure, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, just as a few. While with curcumin it's possible to have side effects, they're really rare and mild. So in fact, we've used it on hundreds of patients and we really don't recall any complaining of side effects from taking curcumin.

Speaker 1: 5:28

And here's what the study found, coach, the curcumin was just as good as the fancy high-risk drug for pain relief. In the study, people also reported fewer side effects with the curcumin. For example, none of the study subjects taking curcumin needed any treatment for stomach trouble, but 28% of those people taking the Volterra needed treatment. And oh, by the way, those taking curcumin lost, on the average, about 2% of their body weight after just about four weeks, whereas the Volterra group did not have any of these benefits.

Speaker 3: 5:55

Unfortunately, you know, dr Mack, when we're in nursing school and then, I'm sure, for you, in medical school, we mainly learn about drugs and surgery and we never learn about the other valuable supplements, valuable tools like supplements Again, ball of the money, just saying doc. However, an integrative medicine approach gives us that expanded toolbox. It provides a wide array of supplements as part of the toolbox and these can be a game changer for some patients and also side bonus. They're usually safe and cost effective.

Speaker 1: 6:27

The bottom line, coach, is that learning about supplements and adding supplements to the therapeutic toolbox allowed me to become a better doctor and to help more patients, some of whom are not responding to traditional medical therapies or were having unwanted side effects to traditional medical therapies, or who just didn't want to take more and more drugs.

Speaker 3: 6:43

Right. So we do want to be clear listeners from the get-go that supplements do not take the place of a proper diet and also supplements are not for everyone and not all people will respond well to supplements. Some people do need to go or stay on their medications and supplements should be taken with the knowledge and blessing of your medical provider as part of your overall treatment plan.

Speaker 1: 7:09

It's also worth noting, coach, that supplements are not FDA regulated, which I see as good news and bad news. On the one hand, it means that supplements are not officially approved to treat really anything, so people can use them for whatever they want. Also, because they're not FDA approved as a drug, people don't need a prescription for them, which makes them more accessible and sometimes more cost effective.

Speaker 3: 7:30

The lack of FDA regulation also means that they're not regulated for quality, though, so when you buy a capsule of some supplement at your neighborhood drugstore online, you don't really know what's in it.

Speaker 1: 7:36

Years ago. There's an interesting article If I recall, it was the New York Times which described an investigation about common supplements. They took a bunch of bottles from the shelf at about four major supplement retailers. They analyzed the contents and found that many of the over-the-counter supplements did not contain the ingredients that were claimed on the label. In some cases, there were actually other potentially harmful substances, and that's why we always encourage you to get your supplements from a reputable manufacturer.

Speaker 3: 8:02

And before we get to the specific supplements, let's briefly touch on the topic of scientific evidence. The reason for this is that doctors often bash supplements, saying that there's no scientific evidence that they work.

Speaker 1: 8:17

But you know, coach, there's really an undeniable bias in the medical literature against natural therapies like supplements. Medical journals tend to be biased towards drugs and surgery. As always, they follow the money and look who funds the studies. Also, look who pays for the ads in the journals. It's mainly the drug companies. In the New England Journal of Medicine it's been around for over 200 years and yet you'll hardly ever see a study about the health benefits of spinach, for instance, and we all know that eating more spinach is good for you. But there is little money to be made in journals or drug companies in performing and publishing studies about spinach or even cheap supplements.

Speaker 3: 8:50

So here's another consideration that we think is important Listen to the ubiquitous Ask your Doctor ads on TV these days. They're quite quick to tell you how great they make you feel. You see those happy, smiling faces on the TV, but then the quite low, fast voice comes on to describe the terrible side effects, which include blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and death. So these drugs are also often outrageously expensive. For instance, just one treatment of the cancer drug Chimera by Novartis costs about $475,000. Yeah, novartis costs about $475,000.

Speaker 1: 9:25

Yeah, wow, coach, that's pretty amazing $475,000 for one treatment.

Speaker 1: 9:29

Right, that's incredible and you look at what that's doing to the cost of healthcare, it's just unbelievable. Yeah, and a lot of these ads that they talk about on TV with the Ask your Doctor ads, they have this level of evidence called Mikey Likes it. In other words, uncle Billy took so-and-so and he feels better, right, and that's like some of the worst science you can ever and that's just non-science, quite frankly. And so. But yet you know, over and over, that's what you hear on those ads. You know I took so-and-so, I feel better. Well, of course you're getting paid to say that, right.

Speaker 3: 9:59

Right.

Speaker 1: 9:59

Right. So you have to really watch out for that. It's just once again non-science. So if you have a drug that costs a fortune and has a long list of potentially terrible side effects, then by right there should be a very high bar of evidence to justify the cost and risks.

Speaker 3: 10:14

However, if you have a supplement, for instance a daily multivitamin, that is super cheap and hardly ever has side effects, then you know, in my opinion, the bar of evidence might be lower.

Speaker 1: 10:25

Since there was relatively less evidence for many supplements, I actually felt that I needed to build my own body of evidence. For instance, if I commonly recommended a super green powder for a bunch of patients and most of them came back and said they felt better and had no side effects, then to me that begins to look like evidence that I can take into consideration for my future patients.

Speaker 3: 10:44

So the bottom line is that the evidence bar for a cheap supplement that is unlikely to hurt you is different from an expensive drug that has frequent and sometimes severe side effects. However, we always must have our radar screen up for quackery. There are a lot of folks and companies out there just trying to make a buck, just trying to sell something. You know, we've been going through cabinets at our house and where we moved in with my in-laws and I love them so much, but sometimes they buy into those TV ads and I found several bottles of like a keto supplement you know it's like.

Speaker 3: 11:18

You know it had that branding on the front metabolism burner and I flip it over and the first ingredient is corn syrup. Yeah right, you know, so not helpful.

Speaker 1: 11:31

Yeah, it's interesting too, coach. I think that sometimes, when you look at a supplement like, for instance, a metabolism burner, they also put on these words like super duper or metabolism burner plus or whatever. They add these words that make you think this is some great product, when in fact it's a bunch of garbage. You always have to have your radar screen up, and that's difficult to do. That's why we're bringing this to you and we're doing our best to make this evidence-based and as we move forward, you might get tired of some of the studies we're quoting to you, but we want to let you know we've done our homework on this Exactly. But anyway, let's now move on to discussing some of the different kinds of supplements. I've broken them down into the following vitamins, minerals, herbs, hormones, amino acids, peptide therapy, biologics and food substances.

Speaker 3: 12:11

The herbs can be broken down further into the following Western. So an example of that would be chamomile tea, which is often used for sleep. Then we have the category of Ayurvedic herbs. An example of this would be ashwagandha, which has many potentially wonderful beneficial properties. It's often used for stress, energy and just overall well-being. And then the third category we've got is Chinese herbs, and an example of that would be ginseng, which is sometimes recommended for cognitive function, vitality as well as many other potential benefits. But that whole world of Chinese medicine herbs are a whole different ballgame. It is, and we would really need to have a specialist on the show to really do that justice. Maybe one day we will.

Speaker 1: 12:55

Yeah, I would love to yeah for sure. And the next category is called hormones. An example of this is DHEA, which is readily available over the counter as a supplement. Most hormones, quite frankly, are not sold as supplements. For instance, you can't go out and buy estrogen pills or testosterone pills over the counter, but the DHEA you can.

Speaker 3: 13:13

An example. Next category, an example of amino acids that could be creatine, which people sometimes take with the intent for improving strength, power and muscle growth, and also it can be great for enhanced recovery.

Speaker 1: 13:27

And peptides are the next one. They are short chains of amino acids linked together. An example of peptide therapy is Sormorelin, that's S-O-R-M-O-R-E-L-L-I-N, which is a synthetic version of naturally occurring growth hormone releasing hormone. Claims include anti-aging benefits, athletic performance, weight loss and many others. However, I have found that these peptide therapies can be quite expensive and, in my mind, when it comes to the science, the jury's really still out on these. A lot of claims have been made, A lot of people are making a lot of money off of these, but the supporting science to me has been weak at best. I'm just not convinced when it comes to these. I find, Coach, a lot of the high-end anti-aging clinics do these and a lot of guys who have a lot of money are paying big money for them. But show me the evidence. I just never have found them to be that effective. So anyway, I'm not high on the peptide therapy at this point, although I keep an open mind.

Speaker 3: 14:19

Yes, right, Biologics would be our next category. An example of that would be probiotics. Some examples of food substances being used as supplements would be super green powders, prebiotics, protein powders and fish oil.

Speaker 1: 14:34

There are two ways to look at supplements. Number one would be those that would probably help most people for general, all-purpose health and wellness, and then number two would be those I might recommend for specific diseases. So let's move on to our top 10 list of supplements. Coach for general, all-purpose use.

Speaker 3: 14:49

And, along the way, we'll make some specific brand recommendations when appropriate in order to give you some clarity as to exactly what to get. As we stated above, you never quite know what you're getting with some of these brands, so you got to be careful, buyer beware.

Speaker 1: 15:04

And let me be abundantly clear, we have absolutely no financial interest in any particular brand. So we're just going to shoot straight with you, based on our many years of observation and thousands of patients.

Speaker 3: 15:13

And I would say the good majority of these are on our own personal counters as well.

Speaker 1: 15:17

You got it.

Speaker 3: 15:19

Our first recommendation is to start with the good multivitamin. There are a few companies that we can vouch for when it comes to this good multivitamin. Douglas Labs and Integrative Therapeutics have great products. Our favorite multivitamin is One by Pure Encapsulations O-N-E, and here's why I find that most people can only take so many pills in a day, and although the other brands I mentioned are good, you got to take four to six to get the recommended daily dose, but with one multivitamin it is so simple it's one pill a day. Chug down one pill and you're done, and it is chocked full of good stuff. Pure Encapsulations makes high quality product that you can trust, and they tend to be one more cost effective than some other high quality brands. So bottom line, it's one is our number one choice for a good multivitamin. One other thing I would add that I like about this supplement is that it's methylated.

Speaker 1: 16:18

Yeah, there we go, the.

Speaker 3: 16:18

B vitamins in the one are methylated.

Speaker 1: 16:21

So, yeah, it's a great product. It has vitamins, minerals, herbs. It's just really, as I said, chock full of good stuff. So we highly recommend it. I can just imagine some of my other doctor colleagues rolling their eyes. Lindsay, I've heard it a thousand times. They tell their patients vitamins only make for expensive pee. In other words, they're saying that the vitamins pass right through you. You just pee it out. It doesn't do you any good. Well, let's take a look at what the science says, because, as you know, this podcast is evidence-based. So anyway, according to the findings from a large nationwide clinical trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, taking a multivitamin showed an estimated 3.1 fewer years of memory loss compared to the control group who took a placebo. In other words, the multivitamin group was an estimated 3.1 years younger in terms of their memory function than the placebo group.

Speaker 3: 17:07

Compared to placebo, folks in the multivitamin group had significantly better immediate recall at one year as well as across the three years follow-up. So I think that's pretty fantastic.

Speaker 1: 17:19

It is yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 17:20

And isn't that one of all of our greatest fears? Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 17:23

Absolutely.

Speaker 3: 17:24

Is to not remember. So also, since vitamin supplementation is safe, accessible and relatively inexpensive, the researchers suggested that it could be useful for a whole population, health intervention as well.

Speaker 1: 17:37

Yeah, I would agree. And another way that multivitamins can help you is eye health, specifically macular degeneration, which is quite common and can cause significant vision loss. Large clinical trials conducted by the National Eye Institute found that a specific combination of high-dose antioxidants and zinc could help slow the progression of macular degeneration.

Speaker 3: 17:57

They have come up with specific recommendations for this, which is known as the AREDS2 formula. The ingredients needed to reduce macular degeneration include, with that, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, copper, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Speaker 1: 18:15

Wonderful, yeah, and it's really in specific doses of each of those. But unfortunately the 1-MVI or the 1-multivitamin doesn't have quite all these ingredients. They're not exactly in the same quantity that is recommended for this purpose. So I actually supplement my one multivitamin with an eye formula called Preservision, which was recommended by my eye doctor Many years ago. I heard a wise doctor say there were three things that are most important to folks as they get older. Now, people as we get older, we want to be able to think, we want to be able to see, and we want to be able to think. We want to be able to see and we want to be able to move. So we have solid evidence that our simple multivitamin regimen helps with two out of three of those things. Not too bad coach for something that's cheap, readily available and harmless.

Speaker 1: 18:54

Yes, agreed so those doctors who say it only helps you have expensive pee, I'm not buying it.

Speaker 3: 18:59

Right, no. So the next supplement we will recommend and, by the way, these are not in any particular order so that's fish oil. Let's take a look at the science behind it. So, for heart health, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed that fish oil supplementation can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke in individuals with a cardiovascular history or ones that have elevated risk factors.

Speaker 1: 19:29

Another article from Harvard Medical School looked at the benefits of fish oil and they found a significant benefit of fish oil over placebo. The fish oil reduced the number of heart attacks and strokes and reduced the need for heart stent procedures and also reduced mortality.

Speaker 3: 19:43

Subsequent meta-analysis, which included data from over 10 studies, found fish oil omega-3 supplements lowered risk for heart attack and death from coronary heart disease.

Speaker 1: 19:55

And now, Coach, let's take a look at how fish oils affect brain health and cognitive function. A study published in the journal Nutrition found that higher intake of fish oil was associated with better performance on cognitive tests in older adults.

Speaker 3: 20:06

And then moving on into the inflammation and autoimmune disorders, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed that fish oil supplementation can reduce inflammatory markers in individuals with various health conditions, and there's also a review article from 2020 that was published in Auto Immunity Reviews Journal that suggested that fish oil has beneficial effects in the management of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, because of those anti-inflammatory properties.

Speaker 1: 20:41

And now let's turn to the effects of fish oil on mental health. A meta-analysis of clinical trials found that fish oil supplementation has beneficial effects on the treatment of depressive disorders, and a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that fish oil supplementation can reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD, in children.

Speaker 3: 21:01

I love these studies. This is exciting.

Speaker 1: 21:04

Yeah, it really is, isn't it Coach?

Speaker 3: 21:05

Yes, high-quality scientific studies also support the use of fish oil supplements for menstrual pain, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, osteoarthritis and no, I'm not doing a pharma commercial right now. So we also see that fish oil helps with improved immune function, gut health, especially in situations like irritable bowel disease. It improves gut motility and can improve the gut microbiome.

Speaker 1: 21:35

How about you?

Speaker 3: 21:36

there.

Speaker 1: 21:36

Look at them, apples, let's put it in the water supply, agreed. So studies also show that regular supplementation with fish oil tends to reduce the frequency and severity of migraine headaches, and several studies have suggested that fish oil supplementation can reduce the risk of breast cancer. For instance, a meta-analysis of 26 studies published by the British Medical Journal in 2013 found that higher intake of fish oil was associated with a 14% lower risk of breast cancer. That's significant, coach.

Speaker 3: 22:02

Yes, it's really a jack-of-all-trades fish oil. Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial found that supplementation with a high dose of fish oil for three months led to significant improvements in fatigue, sleep quality and mood in people with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Speaker 1: 22:22

Another study reported that the chronic fatigue syndrome patients who receive fish oil supplementation experience a reduction in physical and mental fatigue, as well as improvements in overall health status and quality of life.

Speaker 3: 22:32

And then let's talk about its effect on anxiety. Systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that fish oil supplementation has significant anti-anxiety reducing effects, particularly in those with clinical anxiety disorders or elevated anxiety levels. Many other studies have also shown similar results in the reduction of anxiety and stress with fish oils.

Speaker 1: 22:57

You know, coach, it seems like anxiety is an epidemic and of course there's a lot of stuff going on in this world these days, but I'm just saying I think that there's something to this fish oil business. When it comes to that, the mechanism of action seems to be inflammation. Neuroinflammation is huge and can be, I think, the root cause of lots of things, whether it be anxiety, depression, as well as a lot of our neurodegenerative diseases, and so I think that getting that powerful anti-inflammatory effect from fish oils can be helpful with all those things. Now we do have a recommendation for a particular brand when it comes to fish oil. With some supplements we're not that picky. For the most part, vitamin C is vitamin C, so you get the cheap brand, but when it comes to fish oil, it really does matter.

Speaker 1: 23:40

Many fish oils are rancid. The patient tastes fish or burps fish. Sometimes they have heartburn we see it all the time and there's also a significant concern about contamination with mercury when it comes to fish. So we strongly recommend something called Pure Omega Ultra HP Soft Gels by Integrator Therapeutics or the Pure Omega Liquid Fish Oil by Integrator Therapeutics. We've had thousands of patients on this supplement and we never heard any complaints about tasting fish or burping fish or heartburn and that kind of stuff, and also Integrative Therapeutics does a great job of testing and documenting the purity of their products, including being mercury-free, so I think you can trust them.

Speaker 1: 24:16

And before we leave the issue of fish oil, I have a caveat I would like to make on this issue, and there was just an article that came out a couple of weeks ago from the British Medical Journal. So the data seems to be evolving and they look into what we call subgroup analysis and what they found was some groups do better with officials than other groups. For instance, if you have a pre-existing heart condition, pre-existing AFib, versus somebody who's not, you're going to have different outcomes, but I think that's true probably for all supplements. They go on in the article to admit that the evidence remains mixed and they suggest need for further research before conclusions are reached about this issue. So I won't go into any further details about this, but stay tuned. As I said, I think the evidence is evolving and we'll let you know if we hear anything further.

Speaker 3: 25:05

You know, in our house we started our kiddos on fish oil just anecdotally, as babies Like I think we started both of them when they were less than six months old, just squirting out a capsule on a spoon. And now they, they love it. Oh, wow, yeah.

Speaker 1: 25:15

They just take a taste of it.

Speaker 3: 25:16

Just you know. Just they love it. Yum, just the middle of eating a bowl of ice cream, I can give them a scoop, literally. I can give my children a scoop of fish oil while they're eating something sweet, and it does not faze them. They like it.

Speaker 1: 25:28

I remember years ago I was kind of experimenting and there was this not the Whole Foods, I think it was. There was this really wonderful pina colada flavor fish oil. Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. Oh my gosh, it's like dessert. Yes, you know, the liquid fish oils are not bad. You can get them that have kind of a lemon flavor or orange flavor and they're really not bad at all. One nice thing about the liquids is you get a whole bunch at one time. I think to really get the benefit from fish oils you need about three grams a day of the combined EPA and DHA. You could take anywhere from three up to 12 grams. You really can hardly overdose with fish oils. So the nice thing about the liquid is, if you get one tablespoon of the liquid, boom, you've got five grams right there.

Speaker 3: 26:07

So it's kind of nice and so.

Speaker 1: 26:09

I think it's a really easy way to just get in your adequate amounts. Yes, agreed but try some of that pina colada fish oil yes. It's really good Okay.

Speaker 3: 26:21

But try some of that pina colada. It's really good. Okay, that's very good, so let's move on.

Speaker 1: 26:23

Then let's talk about vitamin D.

Speaker 3: 26:24

That's our next one on the docket.

Speaker 1: 26:26

Coach, before we get going with that, I have another brief true story to tell you, and I always shoot straight with it. These are real patients. But I saw a nice lady in her mid thirties came into the clinic one day. Her main complaint, and really her only complaint, was severe depression, to the point of considering suicide. She felt that really there was no hope. She had been depressed since she was a kid. In fact she could never remember not being depressed in her entire life. She had been through all sorts of therapy talk therapy, psychoanalysis, you name it. She had been on every antidepressant drug in the book and she let me know that I was her last stop.

Speaker 1: 27:00

The buck stopped here. It was really kind of quite a responsibility for me, coach. I hate to say it, but I really was quite concerned about her. People often came to me because what their traditional doctors were doing was just not working. They were hoping that I could think outside the box and magically find some miracle cure for them, and this was always challenging for me. It was quite a predicament, but I always did my best to rise to the occasion and, quite frankly, coach, sometimes I really surprised myself at how well some of this functional stuff did. I mean I didn't bat 100%, but a lot of them I was able to help, even though they had failed other therapies. But in this case it didn't make sense for me to repeat the things that had already been done. So I put on my functional medicine thinking cap and asked the big question why does she have depression?

Speaker 1: 27:41

In regular medicine we tend to focus on two things diagnosis and treatment. And as regular medicine doctors we tend to look at the treatment paradigm through drug glasses. That's the way we were brainwashed in medical school and residency into thinking. In this case it was pretty simple the diagnosis of depression and it's pretty clear that the appropriate treatment would be Prozac or one of his first cousins right. But in the functional medicine space we tend to think deeper and we dig and dig and dig and try to find out why does she have the problem? And I have a whole list of potential causes of depression. I'll have to do a separate podcast on that someday. It's pretty interesting really.

Speaker 1: 28:16

So as I did my workup on her and tried to find out her why, I found that her vitamin D level was super low. I mean it was like the lowest I'd ever seen. Coach, literally it should be anywhere from 50 to 100. I think Harvard Medical School says something like 40 to 80. But hers was 5. I've never seen one so low, so I supplemented her with a vitamin D3. And next time I saw her coach, she looked like an entirely new person. It was amazing. The light bulb, which had been dark for years, was now glowing brightly. Her depression was completely gone. She was cheerful, had a big smile on her face. She was very grateful as well, and for the first time in her conscious life she was living on the sunny side of life. It was absolutely amazing, coach, and I was mighty happy for her.

Speaker 3: 28:59

I love that story and now listeners, I know you guys are asking why, right? So there are numerous explanations for this amazing recovery. Vitamin D is believed to play a role in regulating various neurobiological processes that may contribute to the development of depression, so vitamin D receptors are present in brain regions involved in mood regulation, suggesting a direct influence on neural pathways related to depression. Vitamin D also has neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties, which may help mitigate the neuro inflammation and oxidative stress that are often implicated in depression. Or that vitamin D is involved in the synthesis and regulation of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are crucial for mood regulation and impact depression.

Speaker 1: 29:51

In Cirrus, Coach, a study showed that at least half of Americans are deficient in vitamin D. One study suggested that the vast majority of African Americans and Hispanics have suboptimal vitamin D. One study suggested that the vast majority of African-Americans and Hispanics have suboptimal vitamin D levels. Several studies have found associations between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of cognitive decline, dementia, neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and stroke. On the other hand, a higher vitamin D level this is kind of interesting, Coach. If you look at those things I just mentioned, there's definitely associations between lower vitamin D levels and all those things I just talked about. On the other hand, higher vitamin D levels are associated with better cognitive performance, larger brain volumes and lower risk of dementia and stroke.

Speaker 1: 30:27

As you know, Coach, for most of our patients, their doctors had never checked their vitamin D levels, and this includes all patients, not just depressed patients. For instance, with the depressed woman, she had been to doctors all her life for depression and nobody had ever checked her levels, even though there is a clear connection. Let's take a look at some of the studies on this, Coach. A meta-analysis showed that those with the lowest vitamin D levels had the greatest risk of depression. Another study showed that 40% of depressed subjects had severe vitamin D deficiencies. So one could ask why isn't every depressed patient screened for vitamin D levels? I don't get it, coach. Doctors and mental health professionals just turn to their knee-jerk response, which is, very simply, get out the prescription pad and write for Prozac and do a little counseling. I'm just saying, coach, we're really missing the ball here and, quite frankly, this patient suffered all her life because nobody ever bothered to check her vitamin D.

Speaker 3: 31:24

That's profound. So we also got to mention, though, that you can take too much vitamin D and it can become toxic, and for that reason we always monitor levels. Our target range for the labs was 50 to 100. There is a bit of a safety margin, since you typically don't get toxic until you're over 150. Most folks did well with 5,000 IU vitamin D3 per day, but it depends on the starting level, so I don't recall anyone coming back with a toxic level on a dose of just 5,000.

Speaker 1: 31:57

So work with your doctor and get your levels tested and get into the optimal range. And now let's move on to the next supplement on our top 10 list, and that is probiotics. Probiotics are living microorganisms, in this case bacteria, which are introduced into the body, which are intended to maintain or improve the good bacteria in the body. The discussion about probiotics usually pertains to the gut, although there are instances where probiotics can also be beneficial for vaginal or sinus health. There seems to be a gut-everything connection gut-brain, gut-bone, gut-skin, gut-sinus, etc. And one of the most important things that regulates gut health is the status of the gut microbiome. So as we improve the microbiome of the gut, this can have far-reaching benefits for the entire rest of the body.

Speaker 3: 32:40

So let's take a look at the evidence for taking probiotics. Probiotics improve digestive health. They help to treat digestive issues like diarrhea, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis or irritable bowel syndrome. They help to reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea by restoring gut flora balance. They boost immune function and certain probiotic strains can stimulate the immune system and may help reduce the risk and duration of respiratory infections and UTIs. Urinary tract infections. Some probiotics may promote weight loss by preventing dietary fat absorption, increasing feelings of fullness, improving gut bacteria associated with maintaining a healthy weight.

Speaker 1: 33:25

Yeah, they also help lower LDL, the bad cholesterol, which may benefit heart health. They may alleviate some allergies. Probiotics taken during pregnancy or infancy may help prevent or reduce the severity of certain allergies, like eczema, in children. Probiotics may improve mental health, including reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression due to the gut-brain connection. And finally, probiotics may help with lactose intolerance, oral health, vaginal health and sinus health. There are some studies suggesting that probiotics can also reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

Speaker 3: 33:55

Well, let's be clear that you can get all the probiotics through the food that you eat too. That would include things like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi, but most of us don't get enough of that in our diet or any of that, so supplementation with a good probiotic can help. We do have some favorite brands to recommend Orthobiotics by Orthomolecular or Therabiotic Complete by Clare Labs, megaspore Biotic is also a favorite too, so there's some to check out.

Speaker 1: 34:25

Also, I'll mention, if you're interested or concerned about the vaginal microbiome products like Proflora. Women's Probiotic by Integrative Therapies has a couple of bacterial strains that are particularly helpful for maintaining healthy vaginal flora. Also, one more thing before we leave this issue of probiotics. I've heard the criticism that probiotics only temporarily colonize the gut, for a few weeks. Therefore they don't do any good in the long term. But since we're an evidence-based podcast, let's take a look at some of the science. See what that has to say. While probiotics may not permanently colonize the gut, their temporary presence can trigger long-term changes in the gut microbiome composition and activity. Probiotics can help restore the balance of beneficial and harmful bacteria in the gut, and this improved balance can persist even after their probiotic supplementation stops. Probiotics can modulate the immune system and reduce inflammation in the gut. These anti-inflammatory effects can have lasting effects on the gut, health and overall health. Some studies have found that benefits of probiotics, such as improved symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and reduce risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, can persist for months after discontinuing the probiotic use. Since probiotics influence the gut-brain axis, they can have lasting effects on brain function and behavior, even with temporary gut colonization. So, in summary, while probiotics themselves may be only transient. They can trigger changes in the gut microbiome immune function, gut-brain axis and provide many health benefits even long after stopping the supplementation.

Speaker 1: 35:50

Now that we've cleared up that issue, let's take a look at prebiotics. They are related to probiotics, but they're not quite the same. Prebiotics are defined as substances, typically high-fiber foods, that are introduced into the body that act as food for the microbiome. Again, you can get this through the food you eat, and examples of that would be things like fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, garlic, onions and artichokes. It's certainly worth trying to get the prebiotics you want through the food you eat. However, I take fiber supplements like ground flax, psyllium and a prebiotic supplement from Douglas Labs called microbiome fiber. By the way, a good Ayurvedic probiotic is called Trifala. You might want to check that out as well.

Speaker 3: 36:27

Our next member of the top 10 family is bioflavonoids, aka just flavonoids. These are a class of biological pigments found extensively in plants, such as various fruits, vegetables, berries, onions, coffee, chocolate, citrus tea, red wine, flowers and seeds. Over 10,000 distinct bioflavonoid compounds have been isolated and identified. The ones that are most commonly used for health purposes include quercetin, rutin, luteolin and fisetin.

Speaker 1: 37:01

Yeah, the bioflavonoids have gained attention to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Studies suggest that they might be helpful for cardiovascular health and eye health. They may also act as an antimicrobial. For example, some flavonoids have the antiviral properties against influenza.

Speaker 3: 37:16

They have neuroprotective benefits by reducing oxidation and inflammation, which are important in brain and nervous system. Health Studies have shown benefits to cognitive function and Alzheimer's prevention with bioflavonoids.

Speaker 1: 37:31

Some flavonoids appear to have anti-cancer benefit. For instance, hesperidin from citrus may help prevent gastric cancer. Quercetin may be effective against colorectal cancer and some other studies suggest that luteolin can actually be helpful for breast cancer.

Speaker 3: 37:45

Certain bioflavonoids have been shown to be a prebiotic food source to our beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome. So start with a diverse diet abundant in color, which is what we call the rainbow diet, and then, if needed, focus on any individual flavonoid supplements, depending on your unique health goals. There are many products available online which have a combination of some of the most helpful bioflavonoids. If you get a combo product, then make sure that it has quercetin in it. One good one that we like to recommend is Bioflavonoid Complex by Douglas Labs.

Speaker 1: 38:23

So next up on our top 10 list is curcumin, which is one of the active ingredients found in the spice turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial and antiviral effects. It is said to have beneficial effects for the heart, cancer prevention and blood sugar regulation. We see that both bioflavonoids and curcumin act as anti-inflammatories. So let's take a moment just to talk a bit about the chronic inflammation, since inflammation reduction is one of the curcumin's claims to fame. By the way, we did a whole podcast on inflammation. It's number 33 if you want to check that out. But here's the definition of inflammation Chronic inflammation is a persistent immune response that occurs when the body's defense system remains active, even when there's no immediate threat from infections or injuries.

Speaker 3: 39:06

All of the top four causes of disease that kill us heart disease, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases. These are all caused by inflammation. Beyond that is a list of diseases associated with inflammation that goes on and on, including things like arthritis. So the fact that curcumin is such a powerful anti-inflammatory explains why it might be effective against so many of our health problems.

Speaker 1: 39:33

Let's take a look at curcumin. An 18-month double-blind placebo-controlled trial out of UCLA found that curcumin led to improvements in memory and attention in adults. Even more impressively, brain scans performed pre and post-treatment showed objective decreases in plaque and tangle accumulation in the brain regions modulating mood and memory. These findings collectively suggest that curcumin has anti-amyloid, anti-inflammatory effects and may protect the brain from neurodegeneration, which is the main issue causing Alzheimer's, parkinson's and ALS.

Speaker 3: 40:03

Curcumin has also been found to have a positive effect on depression and anxiety. A meta-analysis of eight randomized controlled trials concluded that curcumin supplementation was more effective than placebo in reducing depressive symptoms, particularly in individuals with major depressive disorder. Similar studies have also found curcumin to be effective for anxiety.

Speaker 1: 40:27

Some studies also suggest curcumin may be effective for MS, with better energy, mood and fewer lesions.

Speaker 3: 40:34

When it comes to the heart. Several studies have indicated that curcumin may improve various risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as reducing inflammation, improving endothelial function, regulating lipid levels. Curcumin lowers the LDL, the bad cholesterol, and triglycerides, and it increases HDL, the good cholesterol.

Speaker 1: 40:54

Some research has suggested that curcumin may have beneficial effects on metabolic disorders such as improving insulin sensitivity, reducing inflammation associated with obesity and regulating blood sugar levels.

Speaker 3: 41:05

Curcumin surprise surprise may also be helpful for gut health. It has been found to reduce inflammation and to reduce histological damage in the colon associated with inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Another clinical trial showed that curcumin supplementation improved irritable bowel syndrome symptoms like abdominal pain and bloating, and bowel habit abnormalities.

Speaker 1: 41:30

Some research suggests that curcumin may help maintain gut barrier integrity and prevent the increased leaky gut which is associated with various gastrointestinal and other inflammatory conditions. Curcumin has also been found to modulate the gut microbiome, potentially promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria.

Speaker 3: 41:47

A study titled Effect of Curcumin on Rheumatoid Arthritis. A systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that inflammation levels and clinical symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can be improved simply by curcumin supplementation.

Speaker 1: 42:03

And we don't routinely recommend curcumin as a weight loss drug. But interestingly, a study entitled the Effects of Curcumin on Weight Loss Among Patients with Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders and related disorders a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that curcumin intake among patients with metabolic syndrome and related disorders was correlated with a significant reduction in body mass index and weight.

Speaker 3: 42:25

Next up on the curcumin hit list is liver health. Several clinical trials in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease have found that curcumin supplements can reduce liver fat content, lower liver enzyme levels and decrease markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Compared to the placebo.

Speaker 1: 42:45

Turning now to the effects of curcumin on female reproductive disorders like PCOS, studies have found that curcumin supplementation can reduce insulin resistance, lower body mass index, reduce inflammation, decrease levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in women with PCOS. It also tends to beneficially regulate hormone levels, improve ovarian function and improve menstrual regularity.

Speaker 3: 43:07

And another common female reproductive concern is endometriosis, and curcumin has been shown to reduce inflammation, reduce the size and number of lesions and provide a degree of pain relief and improve quality of life for patients with endometriosis.

Speaker 1: 43:25

That's great, you know. I tell you, I've seen some patients with that, Lindsay.

Speaker 3: 43:28

Yes, it's terrible.

Speaker 1: 43:30

Terrible, terrible, terrible, and so anything we do to help with that. And, by the way, there's a wonderful book I'll mention right now called the Period Repair Manual. I forget the author's name but oh my gosh, it's so good. And anybody who has anything like PCOS or endometriosis or any kind of period issue, menstrual issue. I highly recommend it for folks. It should really be required reading for patients and doctors. But anyway, studies have also shown benefits of curcumin with autoimmune disease, chronic kidney disease, cancer and lung disease. It may be also helpful in COVID-19. Studies have suggested that people who take curcumin along with COVID-19 infection have milder symptoms and shorter hospital stays.

Speaker 1: 44:07

One problem with curcumin is it is poorly absorbed and rapidly metabolized and rapidly eliminated. One way to improve absorption is to take it along with some black pepper. And there's also a product called Theracumin. By Integrative Therapeutics they managed to make nanoparticles out of curcumin. I looked up some of the studies on this and it seems to be legit. One study from the Biological Pharmacological Bulletin entitled Innovation Preparations of Curcumin for Improved Oral Bioavailability found that healthy human volunteers administered orally 30 milligrams of Theracumin or curcumin. For improved oral bioavailability found that healthy human volunteers administered orally 30 milligrams of theracumin or curcumin powder. There was a 27-fold higher absorption with the theracumin than that of the curcumin powder.

Speaker 1: 44:45

And moving on now, the next supplement I would like to recommend is an herbal cocktail. You can find these online or you can make an effort to get herbs in your diet. However, one thing I do is to make a combo herbal tea. I got this idea from a wonderful book called the Prime about Ayurvedic medicine. In the book, the author promoted something called CFC tea, which stands for cumin, fennel and coriander. I've added some ginger powder, ashwagandha powder and some herbs de Provence. What I do? I have a dedicated coffee grinder and in the grinder I put about half a teaspoon of each herb along with just a bit of each powder. I grind it up and then make a tea out of it, and I put a little bit of honey in it, and I do this just about every day. It's a great, inexpensive and easy way to get a lot of helpful herbs without swallowing a bunch of pills.

Speaker 3: 45:28

And we are listeners, if you could see, right now we're in the kitchen of Dr Mack's beautiful home. Now we're in the kitchen of Dr Mack's beautiful home and we are drinking our tea, and it is lovely.

Speaker 1: 45:38

Every time Lindsay comes over we have some CFC tea together. It's nice.

Speaker 3: 45:43

It's great, so good. So let's move on and take a look at magnesium. It's an essential mineral that plays a vital role in many bodily functions, and adequate intake is associated with several health benefits. So dietary sources of magnesium include things like whole grains, nuts, seeds, leafy greens and legumes. There are several different types of magnesium supplements you'll see on the shelf, so those names are mag oxide, mag citrate and mag threonate. We tend to recommend the magnesium oxide. It's the most bioavailable and a dosage there could be anywhere between 100 to 400 milligrams per day.

Speaker 1: 46:23

And sometimes you can even go up higher than that. I remember in the ER we used to give intravenous mag a couple grams, and so it's really pretty benign. Magcitrate's also good. There's a popular product out there called Calm C-A-L-M magnesium which you can get over the counter. It's meant to help people relax and go to sleep. I've had some patients who've done quite well with this. However, for many folks the Magcitrate does tend to cause diarrhea or at least some loose stools, but for those who tend to be on the constipated side, this could actually be a great choice. Mag-3 and 8 seems to be the best when it comes to to brain function.

Speaker 3: 46:53

Now let's take a look at some of the studies concerning the health benefits of magnesium. Several studies have found that magnesium supplementation can improve insulin sensitivity and help regulate your blood sugar levels for people with diabetes or insulin resistance.

Speaker 1: 47:09

Some studies suggest that oral magnesium supplementation can reduce the frequency of atrial fibrillation in certain groups, such as heart failure patients, those with kidney disease and obese patients. Clinical trials have also demonstrated significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, especially in individuals with hypertension or those with a high risk of developing hypertension.

Speaker 3: 47:27

And let's also look at some of the benefits of magnesium for brain health. Studies have shown benefits for cognitive function, particularly in older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's Symptoms of depression and anxiety. Magnesium has also been shown to improve sleep quality and it helps prevent migraine headaches and reduce the frequency and severity of those headaches.

Speaker 1: 47:52

Some studies have found that magnesium supplementation may improve bone mineral density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, especially in older adults and postmenopausal women. Several clinical trials have also reported magnesium supplementation can help alleviate various symptoms associated with PMS, such as mood changes, anxiety, fluid retention and cramping suggests that magnesium supplementation may enhance exercise performance, potentially by improving your energy metabolism, reducing lactate accumulation and supporting muscle functions.

Speaker 1: 48:23

And now on to our last supplement in our top 10 parade, and this is just taking a good brain health support formula. Let me take just a moment to set the stage here. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death. However, worldwide, disorders affecting the nervous system are the leading cause of illness and disability, affecting up to 43.1% of the world's population, according to a recent article in the prestigious Journal of Lancet Neurology.

Speaker 3: 48:50

So it makes sense to put a high priority on prevention of these nervous system disorders, starting with diet and lifestyle modalities and also adding some targeted supplementation. Some of the ingredients which have some scientific backing which you might include or consider in a formula for brain health would be curcumin, quercetin, ginkgo biloba, gachicola, then Pocitine, bacoba, monterrey, alpha, gpc, adazanthin, huperzine A, resveratrol and Acetyl L-Carnitine.

Speaker 1: 49:25

There are many such brain support formulas on the market, but you're never going to find a product that contains all the above ingredients. The one that I take is called CogniAid by Designs for Health. I've tried a bunch of them and this seems to work well for me. I've had a lot of patients who testified they could tell the difference. So that about does it for our top 10 list. There are many others that could be considered as kind of an honorable mention list, but for the sake of time we won't go into those today. Okay, now we're closing out now with a few pearls of wisdom. Before you start taking a supplement, look for potential drug supplement interactions. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist, or you can find this information on websites such as WebMD Interaction Checker or Drugscom Interaction Checker.

Speaker 3: 50:04

In an attempt to be thorough, we have covered a lot of ground. However, if you're like me, you can only take so many pills, so you want to choose wisely, based on your particular need, and for most of us, there are kind of four basics a good multivitamin a probiotic, vitamin D and fish oil.

Speaker 1: 50:26

Always work with your healthcare provider to make sure that the supplements and dosing are appropriate for you. Coach, I think that'll about do it for this episode of the Wellness Connection MD. Thank you so much for joining us today. We hope we're able to share something with you that was helpful for you. After all this, why don't we do the podcast?

Speaker 3: 50:37

Don't forget to check us out at mcminnmdcom, where you can find lots of great resources and check out the Wellness MD blog Also. Please help us grow this podcast by telling your friends and family about us. Share on your social media, please.

Speaker 1: 50:54

And take a moment to rate us on iTunes. These reviews really do help us out. We've had some feedback from some folks that this could be a little bit difficult to do, so we have a dedicated page on the website to explain exactly how to do this for you, step-by-step, and you can find this at mcmindycom forward slash reviews. If you want to reach out to me by email, you can do so at drmcminn, at yahoocom. You can also find me at facebookcom, slash mcminnmd or instagramcom, slash mcminnmd. I'll have all our links at the bottom of the page for you at our homepage at mcminnmdcom. And now leave us with a Coach. Lindsay Pearl of Wisdom.

Speaker 3: 51:31

Well, thanks, dr Mack. You know we said this at the beginning, but I think it's worth a revisit. That, and I'll just say it and it may be in a different way there is no magic pill and, at the end of the day, no supplement will replace diet and exercise, and so that's just always so important to be consistent with that. And we've talked about that 80-20-90-10 rule where you know majority of the time you're doing all those right things, but gosh, I hope you listeners enjoyed this podcast, though it's so highly practical. I hope you enjoyed getting to see. You know, these are some of our brands.

Speaker 3: 52:04

Welcome to the kitchen here, you know we're telling you these are what's on our shelves and what we see is important. We're literally drinking the tea right now that we described to you in this podcast and these are important things and we appreciate you listening.

Speaker 1: 52:18

Well, thank you, coach, for your pearl wisdom, and that should wrap it up. Thanks again so much for listening. We really appreciate it. This is Dr McMinn.

Speaker 3: 52:25

And this is Coach Lindsey.

Speaker 1: 52:26

Take care and be well, thank you.