This page lists our supplement recommendations with links to products at Amazon. By purchasing via links on this page, you support the blog at no cost to yourself. Thank you for supporting our work!
Supplemental Foods
We recommend eating these “supplemental foods” on a regular schedule:
- 3 egg yolks daily, 5 yolks daily for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant (for choline, folate, vitamin A)
- A bowl of soup made from bone, joint, tendon, foot, or hoof stock, 3 days per week (for calcium, phosphorus, and collagen)
- Fermented vegetables such as kimchi, sauerkraut, or fermented mixed vegetables (for nucleotides, probiotic bacteria, and vitamins K2 and B12), and other vegetables such as tomato, avocado, potato, sweet potato, banana, green leafy vegetables, and seaweeds such as dulse, daily (for potassium)
- ¼ lb beef or lamb liver, weekly (copper, vitamin A, folate, choline). If you like, substitute ¼ lb chicken, duck, or goose liver weekly plus 30 g 85% dark chocolate daily
- fish, shellfish, eggs, and kidneys, weekly (for selenium)
Daily Supplements
These are supplements we recommend be taken daily:
- Sunshine and vitamin D3 as needed to achieve serum 25OHD of 40 ng/ml.
- Vitamin K2 100 mcg or more
- Magnesium 200 mg
- Iodine 225 mcg
- Vitamin C 1 g
- Pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5) 500 mg
Vitamin D3
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Vitamin K2
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Magnesium
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Iodine
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Vitamin C
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Vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid or pantethine)
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Weekly Supplements
These are supplements we recommend be taken once a week:
- B vitamins:
- 50 to 100 mg each of B1, B2, and B6
- 5 mg biotin
- 500 mcg B12
- Zinc 50 to 100 mg
- Boron 3 mg
B1 (thiamin)
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B2 (riboflavin)
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B6
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Biotin
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B12
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Zinc
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Boron
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Prenatal Supplements
The most important prenatal supplements are:
- Extra duck, goose, or pastured chicken liver.
- Extra egg yolks.
The following supplements may also be helpful during pregnancy or in the months leading up to conception. Note: We do not recommend prenatal multivitamins.
Choline
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Inositol plus Choline
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Iron (optional)
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Optional Supplements
These supplements may be helpful for a significant fraction of the population. Experiment to see if they help you:
- Probiotics
- Chromium, 200-400 mcg per week (not necessary if you cook in stainless steel pots) and (optional) vanadium, 25 mcg per week
- Lithium 5 to 10 mg per week
- Silicon 5 mg to 25 mg daily
- FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EAT LIVER: Copper 2 mg per day
- FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EAT LIVER: Vitamin A from cod liver oil, 50,000 IU/week
- FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EAT MAKE BONE STOCK OR DRINK MINERAL WATER: Calcium up to 400 mg/day
- B-50 complex (as a substitute for individual B supplements if you prefer fewer pills
- Molybdenum 150 mcg per week
- Taurine 500 mg to 5000 mg per week (higher doses may be therapeutic for small intestinal or systemic infections)
- Selenium 0 or 200 mcg per week depending on selenium content of food (if food is produced in dry, flat areas = high selenium, no supplements; rainy, well-drained areas = 200 mcg/wk)
Probiotics
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More Probiotics
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More Probiotics
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Chromium
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Lithium
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Silicon
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Copper (Only If Liver Is Not Eaten)
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Vitamin A (Only If Liver Is Not Eaten)
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Calcium (If No Mineral Water or Bone Stock)
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B-50 complex
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Molybdenum
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Taurine
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Vitamin E
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Therapeutic Supplements
These supplements are unnecessary for healthy people but may be helpful in various disease conditions.
N-acetylcysteine
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Glycine
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Creatine
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Melatonin
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Detoxification Aids
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Miscellaneous
These items may be helpful in implementing Perfect Health Diet and Lifestyle advice.
Pill boxes
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Pill cutter
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Hello,
My family has been following your food program for 30 days and we can tell the difference…no more arthritis pain every day, no more low-level chronic headaches, more energy, better digestion..we love it! I have now used almost all of my coconut oil and am trying to decide what type to buy (I bought whatever was on the shelf the first time). Do you recommend refined or unrefined? Virgin? Expeller pressed? All the terminology is confusing. I would love to continue putting mild tasting coconut oil in our coffee and to cook with, and I don’t mind a stronger taste for some dishes. Would I want two types perhaps, one for cooking and one to use straight? Thank you so much!! You have really changed our health for the better in only a month…I’m looking forward to seeing more changes over the next years!!
Hi Rebecca,
You can go with whatever tastes best to you. We use primarily coconut milk, which mixes better with food or coffee; I think the only reason to prefer coconut oil over milk is to cook with it, but we primarily use beef fat or butter for that.
There is about 1 tbsp coconut oil in 3 tbsp coconut milk.
Best, Paul
Hi,
What about calcium? Do we need to supplement?
How much the body needs?
I love your website, so interesting, thank you for all the informations.
Hi Charles,
If you eat green leafy vegetables and make bone stock routinely for cooking water, then you don’t need to supplement calcium. If you do need extra calcium, try drinking a mineral water like Gerolsteiner.
Thank you very much for your response.
I just want to ask you another question, I wanted to buy a multivitamin ( thorne Basic III) but I see a lot of articles on the internet in which doctors are again multis, they say it’s useless and can be dangerous!
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20131216/experts-dont-waste-your-money-on-multivitamins
I would like to know your thoughts on this.
I just purchased your book and am looking forward to starting the PHD. However, I have a question regarding Tryptophan. I’ve been taking 1500 mg of L-Tryptophan as a supplement nightly, which has helped greatly with some occasional depression I’ve experienced since my teenage years. It also seems to help me sleep. In your immunity section, it sounds like this is a bad idea.. do you recommend stopping a tryptophan supplement?
Thank you,
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
Yes, I think stopping tryptophan gives you a better chance of curing the underlying problem, often an infection. The immune response is depriving the brain of tryptophan for a reason.
A good multivitamin will cover a lot of your individual supplements! I hate taking 10 pills every morning!
Hi Jimmy,
What do you think of the articles about the dangers of multis:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20131216/experts-dont-waste-your-money-on-multivitamins
What do you think of the brand thorne research, I’ve heard good things on them but I would like a confirmation.
It looks like they used Centrum Silver as the multivitamin. It would be interesting to see if the effects were different using a whole-food-based multi, such as Garden of Life Kind Organics Multis. I personally did not feel better taking a synthetic multivitamin, but I do feel better (more energy, better mood, faster recovery from exercise) taking the whole-food multi. I also notice that I seem to be absorbing the B vitamins better based on urine color. I purposely chose one that did not have crazy-high levels of anything, and I skip days or use only 1 tablet instead of 2 on certain days. I still need to supplement magnesium, copper/zinc, and a tad of iron separately or via food, but the bottom line is that, as with fat sources, quality sources do seem to matter for vitamins too, at least in my little n=1 sample!
What are your thoughts on seaweed and radiation? Do we need to be concerned about the source of our seaweed? Do we need to take supplements that protect against radiation?
http://www.theholykale.com/2012/05/radiation-today-health-effects-of-fukushima/
Thanks!
Interesting reccomendation about the activated charcoal for those with cronic inflammation who have expelled toxins re-circulating in their body. But does charcoal interfere with healthy gut bacteria as well?
In particular which supplements are recommended for the ketogenic diet?
Have you ever tried diatomaceous earth for improved digestion or for parasite eradication?
Not personally but I believe it is good for parasites.
Hi Paul,
What conditions merit a gradual ramping of iodine to 1mg? I’m trying to figure out if I would benefit or am just impatient.
I have been on PHD since April 2013 with many great results (lost 20 lbs, improved blood lipids, perfect poop—no more constipation or loose stools, better energy levels, and probably a bunch of other things I’ve just forgotten). Down to refinements now, and experimenting with iodine.
I’ve had mild hypothyroid symptoms which have been gradually fading with 225mcg daily (dry skin, boils, dermatitis, cold hands and feet, impaired memory, etc.). Though I’ve been taking 3,000IU of vitamin D daily for over a year, my vit. D levels are still barely above 30—and that’s with as much sun exposure as I can get, usually at least 20 mins/day in San Diego, usually more over 80% skin exposure.
My body’s hunger for vit. D made me think there was some kind of underlying infection, so I tried ramping up the iodine to 450mcg, which is still pretty small. However, my joints swelled, the boils came back with a vengeance, and I’ve had occasional cloudy-headedness and itchy little bumps appearing in various places. My TSH went up from 3.5 year before to 4.45 when tested one month after the increase.
When I first increased iodine, I felt great before I all these symptoms hit. Now they are fading again. I’ve been all over the site, and seen many different recommendations for iodine, and am not sure it is worth it to try to increase to 1 mg., but hesitate to go back to 225mcg since I suffered to make it to 450mcg.
Does my condition warrant the attempt to get to 1 mg?
Thanks,
Joseph
This blog is so extensive, I figured I could find the answer to my question somewhere. And sure enough, it’s in several places. I should just be patient. I’m going back to the 225 mcg iodine dose I’ve been taking for the last year. I tried skipping the iodine on days when I ate seafood, and my hypothyroid symptoms got worse. And now I’ve tried increasing my iodine to 450mcg, and after a brief rush of feeling good, the night sweats came on and now the boil on my leg is killing me. All my skin conditions (seborrheic dermatitis on my chest and head, ringworm, boils) had gone away. I should have stuck with what I was doing and been patient. The Dr. won’t even re-test my blood because everything is in normal ranges. Cholesterol went from “you need statins,” to “your last test was so good we can skip the test this year.”
I think I just need to quit fretting about this and look forward to more continuous improvements on PHD. Still losing a pound/month. I’m going to go enjoy my filet mignon, potatoes, salad, and cherries, take 100 g of magnisium, put on my orange glasses and chill.
I’ve been wondering about Vit K supplementation during pregnancy. Dr Mercola says: “If you are pregnant or nursing, you should avoid vitamin K2 supplementation higher than the RDA (65 mcg) unless specifically recommended and monitored by your physician. If you have experienced stroke, cardiac arrest, or are prone to blood clotting, you should not take vitamin K2 without first consulting your physician.”
I would appreciate your thoughts about his caution.
Thank you
Hi Paul,
Copper rich foods don’t seem to agree with me. I recently tried copper supplements as per your recommendations, and had trouble with them as well. I have Aspergers and a quick google came up with the following study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22174567
Based on that I will stop taking the copper, but should I increase my zinc beyond the weekly recommendation or leave it as is?
Thanks,
Adam.
Hi Paul,
after reading your book, I started with intermittent fasting and eating only 1 meal at night. When should I take my nascent iodine, in the morning on an empty stomach, or just before I break the fast in the evening.
Thank you
Tony
Paul,
Have you stopped recommending MCT oil? I no longer see it listed on your supplements page..
Hi Kevin,
It moved to the “Food” page. However, I really only recommend it for ketogenic diets.
Love the (2) books and the blog Paul.
Curious about Total Mins from Country Life. If memory serves me, they used to be reccomended on the supplement page, now I don’t see them anymore. Are they still a safe alternative to the list of individual mineral supplements?
I like the convenience of them. I get the ones without Iron since I was recently diagnosed as being a carrier of the hemochromatosis genetic defect. (One of the mutated genes, not both) My ferritin was in the 900 range in February. I have it now down in the 200’s due to my monthly blood donations.
Still curious why Total Mins from Country Life is no longer on the supplement list. I did a search on this site and I could not find an explanation. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Patrick
We decided to give up on multivitamins including multiminerals and recommend each nutrient individually. That is the best way to avoid excess or deficiency.
Thanks for the explanation Paul. I appreciate all the work you do.
Hi Paul,
After reading your book, I’ve been following the Perfect Health Diet for some time now, and have never felt better! I also have been following your supplement recommendations as well, and that’s where my question lies… what do you think about the supplement HMB(beta-Hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid)? I do a lot of weight training as well as running 20-30 miles per week and I thought that it could be beneficial for recovery. Here’s a few resources, including one that claims to be “Paleo Friendly”: http://hmb.org/ http://www.blonyx.com/products/blonyx-hmb-sport
Thank you for all that you’ve done for me, as well as my family by writing your book, and for advice on this!
Best Regards,
Matt
Hi Matt,
Great to hear of your results!
I haven’t looked into that myself, but Suppversity is usually pretty good on these things. Try http://suppversity.blogspot.com/2014/05/more-hmb-free-acid-science-now-its-also.html.
Best, Paul
Hi Paul, do you recommend similar doses and types of supplements for kids, or have you otherwise discussed this in another article? I’m curious to begin giving my 10-year-old some supplements, but am not sure how to approach the situation.
Regards,
Sarabeth
Hi Sarabeth,
That’s often a good age to start some supplements. But you have to judge what his diet may be deficient in:
– Does he eat egg yolks and liver? If not, then choline.
– Does he eat seafood and seaweed? If not, then iodine.
– Sweet peppers and citrus fruits? If not, then vitamin C.
– Drink mineral water? If not, then magnesium.
– Eat oysters? If not, then zinc once a week.
You can go down our list of supplements for adults, which are the nutrients he is most likely to be missing, and assess against food intake.
Teenagers have a high food intake relative to body size so if they eat well they still won’t need supplements, but few eat well.
Best, Paul
Hi Paul, I’m not a teenager but this question got me thinking.
I’m currently trying to put on some lean mass, consuming about 3600 calories on workout days and 2500 on rest days. Basically following a LeanGains protocol mixed with PHD principles.
My question is do you think the PHD supplements are still necessary given the high food intake during a bulk?
Thanks,
Steve
Hi Steve, No, if you are eating that much and eating well chosen nutrient dense foods then you shouldn’t need supplements. Vitamin D if you’re not out in the sun, magnesium possibly, vitamin C probably, other than that you should be good.
What are the supplement recommendations for an adult with a low total body weight and low body fat percentage?
I’ve lost about 7 pounds of body fat over the last 5 months, since experimenting with circadian rhythm entrainment (simulated to match the equator), and my total body weight is now near where it was in high school. And I am finding that supplements come with increasingly intolerable side effects, e.g., headaches and brain fog.
Do you have a recommendation for the amount of palm oil to take?
I found this chart that shows red palm oil is around 0.1 percent vitamin E, which would make the daily intake from 2 TBS around 28 mg, adding up to a weekly intake of about 220 mg. That’s only about half of what is in one Life Extension brand vitamin E complex capsule, but it is also above the U.S. RDA.
Oh…I just saw your recommendation at the top for only 1 TBS per week. Why such a low amount compared to the capsule and even RDA? Thanks.
Physical fitness is no more a basic goal of rational animals than excellence in classical music. And it is unclear why fitness is valued at all during peacetime and during a modern-technological age when wars are fought with drones e.g.
Vegetal flourishing (in man), by contrast, is a basic goal in the sense that it is a biological condition of the biological possibility of a human being’s of striving for and achieving other goals in life which have intrinsic or absolute value, such as philosophy or the development and expression of artistic genius.
Psychical well-being, is also a basic good, and thus belongs in the same category with vegetal flourishing. (The psyche and its well-being was the realm that Seth Roberts sought to explore, given that he was a psychologist, not a physiologist.—It is a modern prejudice, grounded in numerous categorial confusions, that the psychical well-being of a human being is conceptually reducible to the vegetal health of brain structures. If this were true there would be no such thing as psychology.)
Supplementation with vitamins and minerals is rational if there is some reason to believe that they are necessary for vegetal flourishing AND if there are grounds for believing that they do not interfere in a negative way with vegetal functions OR cause “side effects” that lead to psychical problems or which interfere with other goals in life (in some manner). For example, I find that I have increased dexterity and am more musically sensitive and expressive in the performance of classical compositions when I have not taken supplements.
Is it rational to take supplements? If so, how should we think of them? As necessary evils? Or as harmless security measures, in which any excess is disposed of through fail-safe mechanisms? (This last idea invokes a kind of Cartesian metaphor in which the body is regarded as a machine, I think; and thus it should raise our suspicions.) Does the practice of taking supplements lead people, in a sociological sense, to care less about the quality and diversity of foods in their diet? If this is so, it would seem that encouraging a culture of supplementation is a way indirectly of encouraging bad (personal and cultural) habits. Are supplements, given 21st century agriculture, necessary as a corrective for mineral depleted soils? Do the following factors matter when determining who should take supplements: age, weight, activity level, quality of diet prior to PHD? My hope is that these questions can be adequately addressed or clarified in a systematic manner.
I also notice that it is more taxing to run long distances in hot weather, when I take supplements. This may partly be due to the fact that supplements increase my need and desire for water.
I’ve been taking Seagreens seaweed capsules for my source of iodine (aswell as other nutrient in it). This is the nutrient profile: http://www.seagreens.co.uk/University/NutritionalProfileFoodCapsulesAndFoodGranules.aspx
What do you think of this product?
It has Iodine 390µg in a dose. Is µg the same as mcg? If it is I wonder if I am getting too much iodine?
They are both abbreviations for microgram (µg and mcg).
If fitness (which is not an intrinsically valuable human good at all, especially during modern peacetime) is not required for vegetal flourishing and, if fitness, when pursued as a goal, will even hinder vegetal flourishing, then what is the rationale for taking large doses of anti-oxidant supplements e.g. (1000 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E), when the most that could be obtained from a good diet is far lower? For, such supplements simply raise the intensity level required for deriving any health benefit from physical exertion. Without the anti-oxidant supplements, intense exercise becomes quite demanding; but apparently there’s little reason (given the goal of optimal vegetal flourishing) to engage in intense exercise with any frequency. Personally, when I take high-doses of anti-oxidants, I feel as though I have to (have little choice but to) exercise in order to feel normal, and the exercise (no matter how intense) doesn’t hurt and there is no recovery period. Whereas, without the supplements, intense exercise is excruciating and the recovery period is also quite uncomfortable (and sleep is also adversely affected). But perhaps that is simply a sign that I shouldn’t be pretending I’m a super-athlete (which I only am on the anti-oxidants).
I’ve been looking into supplementing choline during pregnancy on the days I don’t manage to eat 5 egg yolks. You suggest the choline bitartrate form but according to examine.com they say that the CDP-choline and Alpha-GPC are superior. Is it better to buy those if money is not an issue?
Thank you
Paul, also what dose of choline would you suggest please?
If money is not an issue you could do a mix of CDP-choline, alpha-GPC, and mixed phospholipids including phosphatidylcholine. But simple choline by itself should deliver 95% of the benefits. I think 500 mg daily in addition to food is sufficient.
Could sunflower lecithin like Now offers work if avoiding soy-based choline?
Hi Claire, just wanted to let you know a possible side effect of choline: it made me very, very drowsy, and also kind of hot at night.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/86427-choline-side-effects/
I would recommend trying half the pill, rather than the whole one (i.e. 400 mg vs. 800 mg) and see how you react.
From what I understood, the text “Perfect Health Diet” made the case that supplements would likely help people (in a vegetal sense) eating a SAD diet. But it did not make the case that supplements would help people (in a vegetal sense) eating the PHD—and it did not take into account how body weight might be a variable in determining dosage. In fact, given the PHD axiom that the harm-benefit curve of nutrient intake is dose-dependent, with harms occurring from an overabundance of nutrients as well as from a paucity, it would not be unexpected if the PHD supplement recommendations ended up causing more vegetal harm than good, at least for people eating a robust version of the PHD and who are thin.
I am taking about 7.5 grams a day of B5 (which unfortunately comes with 675 mg Calcium (as Calcium Pantothenate). It is helping my acne a lot but I think I might be experiencing a little hair loss and am concerned about the calcium. I take 5 mg mk4 and most of your other supplements in reasonable amounts (except extra Zinc, 30 mg/day). Should I be worried, and is there an alternative for skin?
With a sinus infection what additional supplements should I take?
After reading PHD, all I can see is that Vit A & D help with immunity and also Vit C. So I was going to take some of all of these for a week before giving in and getting antibiotics.
Any ideas for doses (how much & how many times per day) of Vit’s A, D & C. Also are there other supplements I should take for this condition?
Based on this research:
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/21/8665.long
It advises not to supplement with any antioxidants if strength gains and muscle gains are the goal.
Can you post your views in the perspective on the recommended vitamin C supplementation?
Thanks
Hello, I just wanted to notify someone that the links to amazon for all of the supplements, etc. are broken and do not work.
Thanks,
Sammy
They work for me. Do you ad block type things on?
Interesting. The webpage is not fully compatible with Google Chrome. If I use Internet Explorer to access the page I can see all of the links. The blocks are simply blank in Chrome.
May want to add this to tell those accessing your webpage.
i use google chrome & all the product images display fine. & all the links work.
i concur with Malt, & suspect that you have an Ad Blocker of some sort installed/snapped-into your google chrome browser.
I’ve been reading a lot about probiotics for acne treatment and the people on this page seem to like it a lot: https://probioticaction.com/testimonials/ …does anyone else have any experience with using these as therapeutic supplements?
What are your thoughts with regard to balsamic vinegar? Is this an acceptable source of acid?
Yes.
Paul, what would you consider to be too low iron levels in pregnancy in particular.
My serum ferritin levels were tested to be 82ng/ml. This seems to be mid range according to the scale I was given (13-150) but according to Dr Mercola he says “The healthy range of serum ferritin lies between 20 and 80 ng/ml. Below 20, you are iron deficient, and above 80, you have an iron surplus. ”
Now I’m confused as my doctor prescribed iron supplements due to my haemoglobiin levels being low.
Surely there must be another cause to my low haemoglobin if my ferritin levels are on the high side (according to Dr Mercola).
Perhaps I should stop my iron supplements?
HI Paul
I have just purchased a number of supplements that you suggest in your book. The compounding chemist I purchased my products from gave me Lugols Iodine Solution. Can you tell me how many drops I should use to reach your recommended 225 micrograms on days when seafood is not consumed?
I live in Newcastle, Australia am 43 years of age and am not treating any specific health concerns. I have been beginning adopt your diet recommendations for myself my husband and my 3 children. One of my children has coeliac disease and the other 2 have gluten intolerance.
I love listening to your podcasts as well.
Many thanks
Katie
Hi Katie,
According to this page, http://www.jcrows.com/calculating.html, one drop of Lugol’s 5% solution has 6.25 mg. This is about 30 times what we recommend per day. It also says the container is 1 fluid ounce. If that is accurate, what I would do is get a clean 1-liter glass bottle (1 liter = 33 ounces), put the contents of the Lugol’s container in, fill it with water, and then take 1 drop per day. That should give you the right amount of iodine per day, about 200 mcg.
I would also label the bottle carefully so that no one drinks it or pours the iodine out.
Best, Paul
That’s awesome. Thanks Paul for getting back to me so fast. Probably a silly questions but when you say ‘take a drop’ do you mean just a drop or do you mean a dropper full??
One drop. Starts with a drop 30x too strong, dilutes by 33, same drop makes right dose.
Right?
I mean one drop. If one drop from the 1 ounce bottle is 6.25 mg, then diluting it 33 fold with water (so 1 fluid ounce becomes 1 liter or 1 quart) will reduce the dose in a single drop to 6250/33 mcg = 190 mcg which is the right daily dose.
Hi Paul,
I’m curious about silicon supplementation. You recommend 5-25 mg per day, but the non-liquid supplement you link to on Amazon is 50 mg. Can I assume that a once per week 50 mg dose is as good as your daily recommended dose? I’m just not clear about whether a higher dose taken once per week is just as good as daily dosing.
Hi Paul,
I am following the diet since a year and a half and I am very happy with the results. Since a month I am feeling some pain in both hips joints, or maybe not exactly the joint. The only supplements I take are magnesium and iodine. What supplement would help with this? Vitamin C maybe? I am living in UK since 8 months, so maybe vitamin D is also important (virtually no sun here). I am 43.
Thanks
Why does the B5 (pantothenic acid)from Now foods have a California proposition 65 on its product details?
I noticed the proposition 65 warning on more of the Now food products from Amazon could it be that the containers have some Carcinogen chemicals or the pills?
Epsom salt for magnesium? I thought magnesium sulfate was is not absorbed into the body.
what do you think of the Natural Vitality magnesium products
I am listening to your book on audible which is great but cant look up info easy. I would like to start weight loss version soon what are the parameters and supplements suggested to start? Or where can I find them. ❓
Hi Lisa,
You can start here: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/02/perfect-health-diet-weight-loss-version/ and the weight loss category generally. After the October Perfect Health Retreat I’ll release a free weight loss ebook and next year probably a full-length weight loss book. Those will be updated and improved.
Ala Cyrex array 4, I can’t eat eggs, tapioca, or rice, and sweet potatoes make my stomach feel bloated. Is it still possible to do the PHD with mostly white potatoes (or will I gain an intolerance to that too)? Thank you!
Hello Paul, congratulations on becoming a daddy! On a parenting note, our whole family is on PHD including my teen girls ages 12 and 14. Do you recommend a vitamin supplement for them? I follow your suggestion for adults, and am wondering, without all of enriched grain, could they be deficient? Thank you
Hi Samantha,
should Paul not answer, this is a question he answered a few times already – basically the theory is that kids in general don’t need supplements because they eat relatively more to adults, getting more nutrients relative to body size.
Of course, that only works if they eat nutrient-rich foods – like in PHD 🙂
BTW, enriched grain is enriched because it replaces nutrient-dense foods in the standard american diet.
Hi Paul et al,
Does anyone have any info on foods/fats/oils that are high in Vitamin K2 MK-4.
The best i’ve found so far is Goose Liver Pate/Paste; ~369 mcg per 100g.
I have been trying to find the MK-4 content of the following potential items without success,
– duck liver pate/paste.
– goose livers.
– duck livers.
– goose fat.
– duck fat.
anyone know/have links to this info,
and or know of any other high MK-4 foods/fats/oils sources.
Thx all.
Hi Darrin, see http://honey-guide.com/2014/03/10/menaquinones-k2-and-phylloquinone-k1-content-of-animal-products-and-fermented-foods/.
Hello Paul.
How much glycine as a powder supp’ would you recommend to heal a leaky gut ? Dysbiosis, constipation, fermentation & so on… Îve tried l glutamine and it worsen symptoms with painful effects… So îm trying to find something else that could supply. Îve thought glycine and NAC could replace l glutamine as it´s those who produce glutathion .? Thanks a lot Paul! Best, Maya
Hi Maya,
We don’t recommend glycine as a supplement, rather collagen rich foods like bone, joint, tendon based soups and stews. Oxtail, ox hoof, chicken feet, beef bone stock, and so on are all good sources.
But if you don’t eat those, glycine is a good supplement. Offhand I’m not sure what amount is appropriate. Glycine and NAC is a good combination, much better than glutamine.
Best, Paul
Hello Paul and Everyone Else,
Has anyone noticed that taking 3mg of boron makes their ‘pee’ bright yellow (similar to taking a b vitamin) ? Perhaps a good second question — is this safe and normal ?
thanks
justin
Hi Paul,
First, thank you for the work you do. I have been following your diet for two months now to heal a leaky gut and joint pain and it is going really well. I am making steady progress.
The one PHD food that I seem to have a problem with is bone broth. I feel very anxious after drinking even small amounts, and my tinnitus and mild neuropathy get worse for a day or two. I have been told that histamine and/or free glutamate may be the problem. Any suggestions for getting bone broth benefits without the bone broth?
Thanks!
Not sure what’s going on there. You could try a glycine supplement, or gelatin.
Paul,and Alex,
I’ve experienced the same : drinking bone broth gives me terrible headaches… that’s why I was asking Paul September 24th, 2014, (just above mentionned) about the amount of glycine supplement he could recommend.
Paul, any kind of idea about what’s going on ? and how much for gelatin…?Thanks a lot, Best, Maya
I also experience a severe reaction with bone broth as well as other foods high in free glutamate. Gelatin put me in the ER with anaphylaxis. Gelatin is also high in histamine which can cause similar reactions including migraines. It helps to consume bone STOCK rather than broth – cooked lower and in less time. Also removing the acid might help until it can be tolerated.
I’m planning to try a glycine supplement next. I’ve heard glycine can go either way – hurt or help – for people with a glutamate sensitivity.
Gut issues and inflammation seem to have something to do with this. I’ll try to report back after giving the glycine supp a fair shot.
I tried glycine powder a while back.
I seemed to react to it…
a bit hard to describe really, it was a feeling all over my body, it just did not feel right.
i recall (i did not document), possibly feeling a bit ‘edgy’ & possibly raised heart rate…?
Also, if i just ‘threw’ the glycine powder down my throat, i think it may have made my throat a bit sore (but could have been a coincidence).
I tested a few times with same result.
& with dose size of 1/3 teaspoon ~1.33 grams.
I later finished it off by mixing it very sparsely in to collagen powder. I did not notice any reaction this way…& it would have been a very small dose.
So now i just use collagen powder.
Glycine is the highest amino in collagen powder.
I use two brands of collagen (depending on availability), one list its glycine content at 29% the other lists at 22.3%.
I love my collagen power 🙂
much easier to digest that gelatin.
that should have read,
I love my collagen powder 🙂
(but collagen power also works)
&
much easier to digest than gelatin
Thanks, Darrin. I might try the collagen powder if I can’t handle the straight glycine. Do you know if your glycine powder had any additives that could’ve caused a reaction? Glutamate comes in a myriad of different forms and I noticed that I have similar reactions to supplement fillers. Just a tiny amount can set off reaction.
Here’s an informative current article for anyone interested in the need for glycine to combat inflammation. Without bone broth/collagen, there’s a risk of a massive methionine excess from protein. 8 grams/day of a glycine supplement is recommended for the standard omnivore diet. Lots of good info in the comments section as well.
http://180degreehealth.com/diet-inflammation-part-4/
“Do you know if your glycine powder had any additives…”
I do know, it was 100% glycine powder, i still have the empty container.
It was this stuff;
http://www.musashi.com.au/Products/Amino-acids/glycine
Regarding the histamine reactions to foods, the same thing happened to me. After doing PHD for several years, I suddenly could no longer tolerate high histamine foods. Four months ago, my husband figured out that our family is mercury toxic, not from fish, but amalgam fillings. Eventhough we’ve had them removed, we didn’t realize that mercury has a 1/2 life of 20 years in the brain. It clears the body in 2 years. We’ve been chelating now for several months, and the past couple of weeks, I have been able to handle broths, gelatin, and aged meats. Andrew Cutler has done an impressive outlining the effects of mercury, and they are numerous. He seems to have the safest, most tried and true protocol for chelating mercury at this time. I know that this has been the missing link for us.
That might be a clue to the puzzle. I was diagnosed with a heavy metal toxicity although I can’t figure out where it’s coming from since I don’t have mercury fillings…. It could be from the release of bacterial biofilms. All I know is that it really helps to keep glutamate and histamine foods out of my diet as much as possible at this point.
I have started the PHD and since it goes right along with what I had already been doing, I don’t see a whole lot of difference, except I am now cutting out wheat and the veg oils. My blood work has been the poster child results for several years now. With my history of Rheumatic Fever, Strep, Ehrlichiosis tickborne crisis, ARDs and nearly dying, that is impressive. I wholeheartedly embrace a healthy diet! My question is about my dry, itchy eyes and sinus drip. It is year round. More Vitamin D3? I use coconut oil a lot. Thank you for your reply.
Another Iodine Question:
I took 1/2 of an Iodoral tablet (6.25 mg) daily for 3 years. A couple months ago I stopped that & started taking only 225 mcg/day.
Since then I’ve lost about 10 pounds which is quite unusual for me. Could the weight loss have something to do with the iodine supplement?
(It makes me kind of nervous that I was taking 6.25mg & now the recommendation is only 225 mcg……….scared I did some kind of damage).