Supplements
Notes on various supplements. Also see the nutrition page.
Traditional supplements
These are "supplements" that have been around for a long time and so can be
deemed safe. Note that, traditionally, there has been no real distinction
between supplements and food as medicine. A good diet should already provide
most necessary minerals, vitamins, amino acids and so on.
- Organ meats β nature's multivitamin
- Black seed oil β anti-inflammatory; research
- Olive oil β antioxidant, anti-inflammatory
- Cod liver (oil) β vitamin D, anti-inflammatory
- Magnesium/potassium/sodium chloride β electrolytes
- Pine pollen β testosterone, multivitamin
- Pine needles β vitamin A and vitamin C
- Bull testicles β testosterone
- Royal jelly β B vitamins, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory
Synthetic supplements
Lab-made supplements. The ones listed are probably safe, but proceed with
caution.
- Magnesium glycinate
- L-theanine β taken with magnesium glycinate in equal amounts
- Boron β 3 to 5 mg daily, or 10 mg 3 days a week
- Taurine
- Inositol
- Creatine
- Glutamine - good if you suffer from IBS
Magnesium
One of the most important minerals to supplement.
- Aim for 11 mg elemental magnesium per kg of bodyweight
- Magnesium glycinate pills
- Magnesium chloride (hexahydrate), sometimes called bittern or nigari salt
- Contains 12% elemental magnesium by weight.
- Orally: 5-10 g dissolved in water per day (spread out).
- Topically: dissolve 100-200 g in 0.5L spray bottle, apply on skin.
- May have a laxative effect; build up the dosage slowly
Vitamin C
Avoid β see here.
Instead, get vitamin C from fruit and liver, not as ascorbic acid or citric
acid.
Vitamin D
Avoid β supplementation increases calcium, depletes magnesium, potassium and
retinol. Instead, get vitamin D from sunlight and seafood, eggs and cod liver
(oil).
Omega-3
Avoid - capsules / fish oil easily turns rancid. Instead, get omega-3 (DHA/EPA)
from seafood and bivalves, preferably wild caught.
Zinc
Avoid β can create copper/iron imbalance. Instead, get zinc from red meat and
bivalves.
Iron
Avoid - all supplements and plant sources of
iron
have low bioavailability, and thus accumulates in your blood to a greater extent
than heme iron. Get your iron from meat instead. Also see the section about iron
in the modern dangers page.