Supplements

Who would think that a vitamin could have such a history of praise and denial, confusion and celebration?  Vitamin K2 will hopefully find its right place in history once more people get a chance to read Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life by Kate Rheaume-Bleue, BSc, ND.

Dr. Kate (wouldn’t it be great if all doctors started going by their first name? How would it change things in the exam room?) has become both a great historian and an expert on a topic that’s been brewing (an appropriate term, in this story) in the integrative, nutrient density world for the last few years. While the rest of the world is just catching up to the importance of vitamin D levels, and supplementing wildly in a frantic game of catch-up, Dr. Kate (and others, including Chris Masterjohn) have wisely cautioned, “Wait a minute on the D, there’s a bigger picture to consider!”

Reading on this site, I see, under “Eating for a Healthy Pregnancy”, under the Foods to Avoid list is

• Processed protein. This includes protein powders and special protein bars. It is best to avoid all processed, canned, and boxed foods…. And
• Sugary sweets, white flour, and sweet liquids (even fruit smoothies with protein powder) are absorbed quickly by the body and rapidly raise your blood sugar level, which prompts your body to produce insulin to reduce the elevated blood sugar.

Yet on several pages, primarily related to the Your Fitness series, I am recommending protein powders, yes that’s true. Let’s go over the two sides of the question

The dangers in protein powders are potential dangers:

When folks tell me they're stressed, or that they wake frequently in the wee morning hours, I wonder if they aren't firing up their adrenal glands a little too early for the day's work. While we arrange for testing of that hypothesis, my choice of supplement - tried and true with many patients - is Integrative Therapeutics Cortisol Manager. A gentle combination of ingredients, each of which has helped with sleep disturbances on its own. Phosphatidylserine is a particular cortisol regulator. The herb ashwaganda is what is called an adaptogenic herb: neither up- nor down-regulates specifically, but rather normalizes adrenal output. L-theanine is a great focusing supplement that can help you pay attention when you're working, and can keep your mind from lighting up and wandering when you wake in the night. Specific for reducing excess cortisol are magnolia and epimedium.

I recommend folks start with one tablet at bedtime, but if needed may take 2 at bedtime and 1 if waking occurs before 1 a.m. Any time after that, the cortisol reducing properties may disrupt the next morning's schedule and isn't advised.

Full disclosure: it's not a tiny tablet. If you can't swallow it easily, feel free to grind it up and mix with water.

Glutamine, or L-Glutamine, is the most abundant amino acid circulating on its own in the body. Glutamine is an important component of a functioning immune system, the maintenance of a healthy intestinal lining, as well as certain mental and emotional processes. It can be found in many foods and under “routine” circumstances, the body seems to have adequate supply between what is eaten and what the body makes for itself. However, when the body is stressed (injury, surgery, chemotherapy, or prolonged exercise), supplementation with glutamine has been found to be helpful in recovery or prevention of subsequent illness. It is considered a vital supplement for helping to heal the “leaky gut syndrome” that is so often a part of food allergies.

First Aid Applications. I see Glutamine’s role in the home vitamin/medicine chest in two areas.