Supplements

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 Seek total dose from sun, food, and supplements of 4,000 IU/day Adjust to 25OHD level of 40 ng/ml (whites/Asians), 30 ng/ml (blacks)	<br />	<br />	<br />
Vitamin K2 Recommended dose: 100 mcg MK-7 Pharmacological, possibly therapeutic doses: 1000 mcg to 5 mg MK-4	<br />	<br />	<br />
Magnesium Use chelate (e.g. glycinate) or citrate Daily dose 200 mg	<br />	<br />	<br />
Iodine Recommended dose 225 mcg/day (one tablet) Nori sheets have about 50 mcg each; 2-4 per day replaces supplements Supplementation is to prevent lengthy iodine droughts	<br />
Vitamin C Low dose: 500 mg – 1 g per day Under stress or viral infections, more may be needed Powder is least expensive way to get large doses	<br />	<br />	<br />
Vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid or pantethine) 500 mg per day; we suggest daily due to its extreme safety Acne/skin blemishes or low energy/endurance are symptoms of deficiency	<br />	<br />	<br />

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) 50-100 mg weekly	<br />	<br />	<br />
B2 (riboflavin) 100 mg per week	<br />	<br />	<br />
B6 For those who don’t take a B-50 complex We recommend 50 mg to 100 mg per week	<br />	<br />	<br />
Biotin We recommend 5 mg once per week	<br />	<br />	<br />
B12 We recommend 500 mcg to 1 mg once per week Sublingual methylcobalamin is preferred	<br />	<br />	<br />
Zinc We recommend about 50 mg per week Be sure to follow our copper recommendations as copper-zinc balance is crucial	<br />	<br />	<br />
Boron The 3 mg dose can be taken one to three times per week	<br />	<br />	<br />

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

Not necessary if you eat enough egg yolks and liver
But extremely important during pregnancy, and safe

Inositol plus Choline

Not necessary if you eat enough egg yolks and liver
If supplementing choline, good to mix in some inositol

Iron (optional)

About 30% of pregnant women develop iron deficiency anemia
Don’t guess, test; blood tests will indicate if you need iron supplements

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 Bifidobacterium spp can help with leanness and weight loss. Lactobacillus spp can help with acid reflux, bloating, SIBO, prediabetes, high triglycerides	<br />	<br />	<br />
More Probiotics Bifidobacterium spp can help with leanness and weight loss. Lactobacillus spp can help with small intestinal issues	<br />	<br />	<br />
More Probiotics VSL#3 is a good mix for inflammatory bowel diseases. Prescript Assist includes soil-based organisms that are a little riskier and should be taken only occasionally, not continuously, for therapeutic reasons.	<br />	<br />
Chromium If you don’t cook in stainless steel, we recommend 200 mcg chromium one to three times per week Stainless steel pots may release 88 mcg chromium per day of use Optional: vanadium 25 mcg one to two times per week	<br />	<br />	<br />
Lithium Best is to take 1 mg per day; 5 mg once or twice per week is next best Caution: too much lithium can exacerbate hypothyroidism and increase potassium excretion		<br />	<br />
Silicon Up to 25 mg per day Most people would benefit from more silicon Seaweed is a good food source	<br />	<br />	<br />
Copper (Only If Liver Is Not Eaten) Target of 2-3 mg/day can be met by eating 1/4 lb beef or lamb liver per week Do not supplement copper if you eat liver	<br />	<br />
Vitamin A (Only If Liver Is Not Eaten) Target of 50,000 IU/week with remaining A needs met from carotenoids (green leafy vegetables and orange plants like carrots) Do not supplement vitamin A if you eat liver, unless for therapeutic reasons	<br />	<br />
Calcium (If No Mineral Water or Bone Stock) PHD foods may fall short of calcium target by up to 400 mg/day Standard PHD prescription is to make up the difference with bone stock and/or mineral water These supplements also replace magnesium supplement; aim for 300-500 mg calcium and 150-250 mg magnesium per day	<br />	<br />
B-50 complex An alternative to the other B vitamins for those who prefer to take fewer pills Not recommended more than once per week due to folic acid and niacin content	<br />	<br />	<br />
Molybdenum We recommend 150 mcg to 1 mg per week	<br />	<br />	<br />
Taurine We recommend 500 to 1000 mg weekly for healthy persons Supports production of bile salts	<br />	<br />	<br />
Vitamin E Red palm oil is a good food source If supplementing, take mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols	<br />	<br />	<br />

Therapeutic Supplements

These supplements are unnecessary for healthy people but may be helpful in various disease conditions.

N-acetylcysteine Precursor to glutathione Recommended dose is 500 mg Can take more in cases of severe chronic infection	<br />	<br />	<br />
Glycine Supports collagen production, bile conjugation, and glutathione production Desirable if you don’t eat daily extracellular matrix (bones, joints, tendons, skin, hooves) Up to 2 teaspoons (10 g) per day	<br />	<br />	<br />
Creatine Supports muscle growth and preservation; especially valuable for the elderly Up to 1 teaspoon (5 g) per day	<br />	<br />	<br />
Melatonin An important sleep hormone, deficient in many brain diseases, has antimicrobial activity Take 1 mg sublingually just before bedtime For larger doses, combine 5 mg time-release with 1 mg sublingual	<br />	<br />	<br />
Detoxification Aids These can help bind toxins and excrete them in feces, preventing them from being re-absorbed in the colon Likely to be helpful for most people suffering from chronic infection or environmental mold.	<br />	<br />	<br />

Miscellaneous

These items may be helpful in implementing Perfect Health Diet and Lifestyle advice.

Pill boxes

Set out pills once per week, aids remembering to take them

Pill cutter

For cutting tablets to reduce the dose

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4,434 Comments.

Cathryn September 6, 2011 at 8:59 am

Hi again,

It also looks like if I take one of these a day, in addition to the recommended supplements for selenium and zinc, I will be too high with them. I understand your problem with finding a multi that doesn’t have too much or too little of something. Perhaps taking one very other day? Or is the extra selenium and zinc acceptable?

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 6, 2011 at 9:41 am

Hi Cathryn,

A single tablet of the Total Mins has 7.5 mg zinc and 25 mcg selenium.

Anything up to 40 mg/day zinc is fine (more if you supplement copper), diet usually has 15 mg, so in addition to the Total Mins you could supplement 20 mg zinc daily and still be OK.

Anything up to 400 mcg/day selenium is OK, diet typically has 100 mcg, so a 200 mcg supplement (recommended) plus 25 mcg from the Total Mins is still fine.

I think it’s OK. Calcium is really the only concern.

Reply
Valtsu September 6, 2011 at 11:29 am

Hello Paul 😛

Some people seem to think that the most common vitamin B forms aren’t optimal. I have heard from some people that possibly
1) B12 form methylcobalamin is superior to cyanocobalamin
2) Folic acid isn’t the optimal folate form
3) P5P might be better than pyridoxine HCl

Do you have any opinions on this issue?

I also noticed that Thorne Research uses these more “exotic” forms in most of their B supplements, including Basic B Complex http://www.iherb.com/Thorne-Research-Basic-B-Complex-60-Veggie-Caps/18791?at=0

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 6, 2011 at 12:35 pm

Hi Valtsu,

All those are true, the main question is are the worth the cost.

If the B12 dose is low a little cyanide won’t do any harm.

Natural folate is much better than folic acid, but it’s most easily obtained from food.

Re B6, it may be best to get a variety of forms, rather than all P5P or pyridoxine.

I think you can get into over-optimization fairly easily with these supplements, where the gain is trivial and the time, effort, and money required to achieve it is significant.

Reply
Peter September 6, 2011 at 12:54 pm

I was told by my doctor that B12 can only be absorbed sublingually. Is this not true?

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 6, 2011 at 1:05 pm

Hi Peter,

Wikipedia says otherwise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12):

The sublingual route, in which B12 is presumably or supposedly absorbed more directly under the tongue, has not proven to be necessary or helpful, though there are a number of lozenges, pills, and even a lollipop designed for sublingual absorption. A 2003 study found no significant difference in absorption for serum levels from oral vs. sublingual delivery of 0.5 mg of cobalamin.[57] Sublingual methods of replacement are effective only because of the typically high doses (0.5 mg), which are swallowed, not because of placement of the tablet.

Reply
Paul September 7, 2011 at 1:12 am

Hi Paul,

i think you overread my question. My mother is taking some Ca tablets because she has a minor osteoporosis at the level of the hip. The doctor told her to supplement with Ca? But woudlnt it be better do supplement vitamin D instead of Ca? And which dose of vitamin D do you recomend?
Thanks ,
Bye

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 7, 2011 at 6:58 am

Hi Paul,

I think 600 mg calcium/day is enough if vitamin D, K2, magnesium levels are good. Vitamin D should bring serum 25OHD to 40-50 ng/ml (100-125 nmol/l). Typically that requires around 4,000 IU/day from both sun and supplements, usually not more than 2,500 IU/day supplements, can be more in the winter.

Reply
Darrin September 14, 2011 at 12:09 am

Hi Paul,
My last two 25OHD tests were;

tested 12Apr2011: 79ng/ml (198nmol/L), on 6,000 to 7,000IU per day (before i read PHD guidelines).

28May2011: Dropped D3 to 4,000IU per day (should have dropped to 2,000IU, i misread your D3 guidelines).

tested 22Aug2011: 80ng/ml (199nmol/L).

For now, I have stopped D3 supps completely. Any ideas how long it will take for my levels to get down somewhere between 40-50ng/ml, you can make the assumption that i’m getting little to no sun.

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 14, 2011 at 7:24 am

Hi Darrin,

Usually a month is enough. I might restart at 2000 IU/day now, since it’s been 3 weeks.

Reply
Darrin September 14, 2011 at 8:58 pm

Paul,
actually i have only stopped D3 for 10 days so far.
(22Aug was the test date, i was slack & it was 2 weeks before i got around to picking up the results).

Given that, what do you reckon now; shall i wait some more time, or maybe start back now on a lower supp of 1000iu per day?

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 16, 2011 at 8:42 am

Hi Darrin,

1000 IU is probably a good dose now. I think it’s good to alter D doses gradually.

Reply
Hypercalciuria and Kidney stones: A paleo compatible solution | Julianne's Paleo & Zone Nutrition Blog - pingback on September 18, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Danny September 21, 2011 at 7:25 am

Hi Paul,
I was wondering what your thoughts are on Bovine Colostrum and zinc-carnosine for treating constipation,

I’m still unsure whether my health problems which probably caused by indigestion are related to thyroid disease or leaky guy/candida,
In both cases the symptoms are almost identical.

Reply
john michael September 23, 2011 at 3:41 pm

Hi Paul,

I’ve worked up to a dosage of roughly 6mg of Iodoral per day (half a 12.5 tablet). I’m almost out. Is there going to be anything to worry about if I stop taking that much Iodine on a daily basis? Should I buy more and double the dose? I’ve been doing a half tab for more than 3 mos now. Just doing half to use less. I’m just taking it for general health and detoxing bromides.

Thanks

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 23, 2011 at 4:07 pm

Hi Danny,

I have no problems with bovine colostrum or zinc-carnosine. My general thoughts on constipation are here: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?cat=121. Anything that improves gut flora should help.

Hi john,

I think 6 mg is an excellent daily dose. I would be consistent. You can drop to 3 mg/day if you want to save money, or increase to 12.5 if you think it is helping you. But I wouldn’t just eliminate it.

Reply
Ezer September 26, 2011 at 9:56 pm

Hi Paul,

I’m interested in supplement with minerals, but here in Brazil, where I live, multivitamin are easier to find. I wish to avoid a multivitamin, because I really consume a lot of vitamin A.

Do you think is possible “to supplement” minerals with natural foods? Actually, I take the following “supplements”:
– Magnesium glycinate: 260g mag/d
– 1 Brazil nut for selenium
– 1 cup of fresh orange and acerola juice (no sugar) for vitamin C
– about 1 pound of beef liver a week for copper and a lot of other nice things 🙂
– I eat soaked beans for folate too (and for taste!)
– 15 min of sunlight at midday, no shirt, for vit D, each other day (here sun is plentiful :))

I eat virtually just whole foods: vegetables and greens (collard, broccoli etc), meat, kefir milk, lots of butter, sweet potatoes… no alcohol, no sugar and very little vegetable oil (though I eat some nuts – cashews, almonds etc)

So, do you think I’m missing any minerals or vitamins? Like iodine, chromium etc?

A bit off-topic, but I’ve taken a blood lipid test, and my results were: total cholesterol: 251 mg/dL; triglyceride: 58 mg/dL; HDL: 80 mg/dL; VLDL: 12 mg/dL; LDL: 159 mg/dL. Do you think my blood lipids profile is problematic? My LDL and my HDL has gone up and my trig and VLDL has gone down on my new paleo-like diet.

Thanks

Reply
Ezer September 26, 2011 at 10:59 pm

Hi Paul,

I’m interested in supplement with minerals, but here in Brazil, where I live, multivitamin are easier to find. I wish to avoid a multivitamin, because I really consume a lot of vitamin A.

Do you think is possible “to supplement” minerals with natural foods? Actually, I take the following “supplements”:
– Magnesium glycinate: 260g mag/d
– 1 Brazil nut a day for selenium
– 1 cup of fresh orange + acerola juice a day (no sugar) for vitamin C
– about 150g of beef liver a week for copper and a lot of other nice things 🙂
– I eat soaked beans daily for folate too (and for taste!)
– 15 min of sunlight at midday, no shirt, for vit D, each other day (here sun is plentiful 🙂 )

I eat virtually just whole foods: vegetables and greens (collard, broccoli etc), meat, kefir milk, lots of butter, sweet potatoes… no alcohol, no sugar and very little vegetable oil (though I eat some nuts – cashews, almonds etc)

So, do you think I’m missing any minerals or vitamins? Like iodine, chromium etc?

A bit off-topic, but I’ve taken a blood lipid test, and my results were: total cholesterol: 251 mg/dL; triglyceride: 58 mg/dL; HDL: 80 mg/dL; VLDL: 12 mg/dL; LDL: 159 mg/dL. Do you think my blood lipids profile is problematic? My LDL and my HDL have gone up and my trig and VLDL have gone down on my new paleo-like diet.

Thanks

P.S.: This comment is correct, the last one was wrong (1 pound of beef liver a week would be too much!)

P.S.2.: Your blog is fabulous, I’m going to buy the book in my next order from amazon.

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 27, 2011 at 10:07 pm

Hi Ezer,

It is possible to get enough minerals from food, especially if you eat seafood/seaweed, vegetables, and drink mineral water.

Your diet sounds good. It is hard to know if you are deficient in specific things because the quantities are highly variable in foods. However, the lack of seafoods in your diet does suggest that there is little iodine.

Your blood lipids are fine. It could be that LDL is a bit high, but both LDL and TC are in the normal range, albeit at the high end.

Best, Paul

Reply
Todd Hargrove September 29, 2011 at 8:59 pm

Paul,

I recently read on Colpo’s site that he is very impressed with the idea that high iron levels may be the cause of many diseases, and that he taken steps to reduce his own iron levels. Don Matesz’s most recent post expresses some similar ideas. I was wondering whether you have considered the idea that high iron levels may be the cause of disease and if so what do you think of it?

Reply
Paul Jaminet September 30, 2011 at 7:50 am

Hi Todd,

I think it’s very plausible and I donate blood regularly for that reason. I don’t adjust my diet for iron however – I eat iron-rich foods like red meat and shellfish, but not overall a lot of meat (0.5 lb a day).

Reply
Mojo Yugen September 30, 2011 at 9:07 am

FYI, the 3 rightmost columns in your grid don’t display in Chrome in Windows 7 (no picture, no links, nothing). Not very good if you are hoping to make anything from your affiliate programs.

Reply
Paleo Diet: Essential Supplements? » Paleo Diet News - pingback on October 1, 2011 at 6:03 am
steve October 1, 2011 at 11:57 am

I see you recommend Centrum multi. It contains Polyethylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol; aren’t these ingredients a concern?

Reply
Justin October 1, 2011 at 1:17 pm

Hey Paul,

I was hoping I could get your opinion on this. I won’t be able to eat any liver for the next year or so due to temporarily living in a place with no source of liver that isn’t from CAFO animals (of which I can’t bring myself to eat). Do you think it would be wise to supplement with a small dose of cod liver oil? Daily, I eat 2-3 egg yolks, a bit of butter, sardines or mollusks, plus tons of veggies and sweet potatoes. NutritionData.com tells me I get about 18000IU/day of vitamin A: 1000mcg Retinol Activity Equivalents from 123mcg retinol and ~11000mcg carotenes. I was thinking of taking a small dose of cod liver oil to provide 2000IU retinol a day, which would be about the equivalent of 4oz of liver a week. Do you see any problem with this? Perhaps is it unnecessary considering the amount of carotenes I consume?

Thanks!

Reply
Mario October 3, 2011 at 9:18 pm

Hi Paul, I’m finding myself more and more persuaded that a multiviamin is necessary for optimum health potential, but I was wondering what you thought about the corn and soy derivitives that are a common feature of these types of products. Should we take note of this fact? Sincerely, Mario

p.s. thank you very much for all your hard work and generosity

Reply
zanchin mama October 4, 2011 at 10:08 am

Hi-
I am wondering if you have supplementation recommendations for children. I have a 3 and a 5 year old.
Thanks!
Tania

Reply
Paul Jaminet October 4, 2011 at 12:18 pm

Hi Mojo,

That’s usually due to the use of adblockers. Amazon’s HTML looks like an ad to them. If you turn off ad blocking you’ll probably see it.

Hi steve,

Yes, we have to look for a higher quality multi. My original multi search was quite frustrating as every brand seemed to have flaws, so I decided to go with a popular brand that presumably would have good manufacturing controls.

Hi Justin,

I think a bit of cod liver oil is worthwhile if you’re not eating liver and salmon/sardines. However, remember liver has a lot of other nutrients besides vitamin A, including most of the minerals needed for human enzymes. So you have a lot of things to replace.

In general, I’d be cautious about getting too much pre-formed vitamin A. Your current intake is OK (3,300 IU plus 2,000 IU cod liver oil – do you take a multivitamin too?). Be sure to optimize vitamin D and supplement K2 to help reduce A toxicity.

The other issue is getting the right amount of omega-3. If you eat cold water fish, like salmon, then I would avoid the cod liver oil. But cod liver oil can substitute.

Hi Mario,

I think the doses are low, but see my response to Steve. I wouldn’t be too concerned, but if you are, there are higher quality multis that lack those.

Hi zanchin mama,

I haven’t closely studied children’s micronutrient needs. It is something we have to do before the next revision of the book, and we’ll blog about it when we do the research.

In general, the multi manufacturers stay up on the science and adjust formulas to optimize. When they vary from optimal, it is to give too little — either because the amount needed would make the pill too big, or to save on costs, or because there is some controversy and they don’t want to do any risk of harm they could get sued for. For instance, magnesium, which is very bulky, tends to be too low.

I think if you scale our adult recommendations for body weight, you’ll usually come pretty close to what is optimal for the child.

Best, Paul

Reply
BJ October 4, 2011 at 2:57 pm

Hi Paul,

I find myself coming to the Perfect Health Diet after being on an anti-candida diet for 5 months and then a zero/very low carb diet for the last year and I have some questions.

For the last few weeks I’ve been gradually upping my starch intake. I began with a bit of fruit (blueberries, peaches, grapes) in very small amounts. 5-6 grapes, 1/4 peach, etc per day. I also started to eat about a cup of starchy veggies every day like winter squash. I haven’t yet started white rice because, although I do feel like I have more energy, I’m afraid my candida may be returning.

My concern is that about a week after I started adding these to my diet it seemed like I was getting my candida symptoms back: ravenous hunger, low blood sugar/hypoglycemia, anal itching, inner ear itching, dizziness, feeling like I have motion sickness constantly. Any ideas why this is happening?

I also have major oxalate issues, so I’m also thinking it’s possible all these symptoms are the result of an oxalate “dump,” but I’m curious why that would coincide with increasing carbs. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Reply
Peter October 4, 2011 at 9:59 pm

Hi Paul

My doctor, an integrative physician, always “prescribes” Integrative Therapeutics Spectrum 2C w/o Iron for his patients. It’s what I always buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Integrative-Therapeutics-Spectrum-Without-Capsules/dp/B0031WVZ94/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317783470&sr=8-1

Best
Peter

Reply
ramon October 8, 2011 at 9:42 pm

Hello paul, I have a small question. What do you think of iosol as an iodine supplement?

Reply
ramon October 9, 2011 at 7:56 pm

Actually paul I have one more small question, sorry for the trouble. If I dont take a Multi but eat lots of red meat can I afford 30 Mg of zinc a day If I also eat 4 oz of young beef liver a week which is higher in copper than regular liver?

Reply
Paul Jaminet October 9, 2011 at 8:10 pm

Hi BJ,

None of the foods you’ve been adding are starchy; they are all sugary, thus half the calories are fructose which feeds candida.

Try dropping the fruit and squash and adding rice or rice syrup instead.

It can take a while to fix these gut infection issues. The first step is experiment to find the carbs that work for you. I think you’ve already found that fructose doesn’t work. See if starches do.

Hi Peter, thanks for the suggestion.

Hi Ramon,

Iosol is fine, but sometimes with the liquids it can be hard to control dose, especially when the dose is low. A reasonable place to start is with 3 mg iodine tablets and cutting them into quarters, for 750 mcg. To start at a lower dose, kelp tablets can be used in 500 mcg or less.

Re zinc, yes, 30 mg zinc is fine if you are getting the 2 mg copper we recommend from 4 oz beef liver a week.

Reply
ramon October 9, 2011 at 9:13 pm

Thanks for the response! I have been taking it for a while, I am already at three drops a day. just wondering if there was a better form of iodine or if the type of iodine in iosol wasnt as effective as lugols pursay?

Reply
Paul Jaminet October 9, 2011 at 9:23 pm

Hi ramon,

It should be the same.

Reply
Giuseppe October 10, 2011 at 2:13 pm

I’ve noticed that the low-dose iodine supplement I’m taking (http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Potassium-Plus-Iodine-180-Tablets/767) also contains 100mg sodium alginate. Is it a safe substance to ingest? I haven’t found much information about it on the web. Thanks.

Reply
Bill October 11, 2011 at 3:04 pm

Paul,

Currently taking a zinc picolate (50mg) symptoms and it improves alot in the way of libdo, sleep, and appetite. I currently eat beef liver (quarter pound portion each) twice a week. Should I worry about messing with my copper zinc balance with such a high intake? Or is the liver protective?

I used to take zinc (15mg) with a (1mg copper) but I seemed to do better with the higher zinc intake. Perhaps there is some deficiency I am correcting that probably had a bit to do with my low T!

Reply
ramon October 11, 2011 at 7:12 pm

The reason ask Paul is because Iosol doesnt do for me what Iodorol did. It energized me, cleared my sinus (the only thing that has) just made me feel better but with one weird side effect – hemorrhoids- never had them before. I think its maybe because I started at a high dose, a full tablet. So I want to try iodorol again just at a lower dose and build up.

Reply
André October 11, 2011 at 8:13 pm

A study of the correlation between various supplements and mortality in the Iowa Women’s Health Study subjects was published yesterday:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/171/18/1625

Some surprises there, particularly the positive association between mortality and use of magnesium and copper supplements, even after removing subjects with CVD or diabetes at baseline.

Reply
Maija October 15, 2011 at 10:06 am

Please help. Supplement recommendation pictures and links do not show up on the website.
Thanks

Reply
André October 15, 2011 at 10:27 am

Do you have an Adblock plugin in your browser? If so, try disabling it and reloading the page. My Adblock with the Easylist subscription removes the pictures and links from the table.

Reply
Maija October 15, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Thanks Andre. I did what you suggested, and it fixed the problem.

Reply
Christian October 15, 2011 at 5:05 pm

Hello Paul, congratulations for your work on the diet and well advice. I´m from Buenos Aires , Argentina. Here the Centrum Silver sold has a slightly different formula. It has 5000 IU Vitamin A(1000 IU as acetate and the rest as betacarotene) and 3.5 mg of Iron.Also the prospect awares no to consume the pills furthermore than two months. I presume this should disuade me to consume it , but I thought maybe the Iron and vit A amounts could not be so much. What do you think?

Reply
elise October 16, 2011 at 7:56 pm

Paul,

My doctor has just informed me that my blood levels of iodine are low at 25. 5, range is 40 – 92, which is coinciding with TSH of 4.1 and low T3. She would like me to supplement iodine and needed thyroid nutrients before trying meds for hypothyroidism. Im overhelmed by all of the iodine supplements available. What would you recommend as I am not currently taking iodine, and have difficulty tolerating some supplements (like a multi). Liquid, pills? Im assuming start slowly with the idoine although I really want to drive the blood levels up, Im not feeling good (foggy, low mood, irritable–not like me). What else would you suggest besides Selenium (ive got 200 mcg pills ready to go with the iodine.)

Thanks for your help!!!

Elise

Reply
Paul Jaminet October 16, 2011 at 8:16 pm

Hi Christian,

I think those are OK. It’s the preformed A as acetate that is the concern, and 1000 IU isn’t much. 3.5 mg iron is more than I would recommend but small compared to food intake; if you give blood that should make up for it.

Hi Elise,

The 200 mcg selenium is good. You have to make sure you’re not deficient in other thyroid-related minerals too, like magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper.

With iodine, I would start somewhere around 500 mcg and try that for the first month before increasing. Personally I like tablets because it’s easier to control the dose I think, but many people like the liquid.

You might try buying both kelp tablets with <500 mcg iodine (225 mcg is OK) and some of the Prolamine iodine 3 mg tablets (http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Process-Prolamine-Iodine-Tablets/dp/B00158J0AW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1318813655&sr=8-5) which you can cut with a razor blade into quarters or sixths to get 500 to 750 mcg. Try the kelp first at 200-300 mcg, see if you have a reaction to it, later raise it to 500 mcg eg 2 kelp tablets, then later switch to 1/6 or 1/4 prolamine iodine tablets. It’s very possible that even low doses of iodine may be challenging for you for a while. When you increase dose, it shouldn’t be worse than mild hyperthyroid symptoms for 3-5 days and then normalization. Avoid doses that create really strong symptoms, or hyperthyroid followed by hypothyroid symptoms. Be willing to take extra time to get used to a dose. You can also make a jump in dose easier to tolerate by alternating days between the lower and higher doses.

Double the dose once a month and that should bring you up to the 3 mg tablets in about 4-5 months. Then a few more months of doubling would bring you to the 12.5 mg Iodoral tablet dose. (You can also cut the Iodoral tablets into quarters or halves with a razor blade to get 3.125 or 6.25 mg doses.) That’s what I take.

As far as hypothyroidism, if it’s solely due to iodine deficiency then 500 mcg will be sufficient to fix it. So don’t rush the iodine in the hope that it will help hypothyroidism. Iodine is more for general health and immune function than for hypothyroidism, beyond a certain point.

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Bill October 17, 2011 at 7:42 am

Paul wrote: “As far as hypothyroidism, if it’s solely due to iodine deficiency then 500 mcg will be sufficient to fix it.”

I don’t think this is necessarily true if there’s toxicity from halogens that compete effectively with iodine, particularly bromine. As more people get tested for this, and for iodine sufficiency, with Dr. Abraham’s 24-hour urinary iodine loading test, it’s becoming clear that bromine toxicity is extremely common, perhaps nearly universal. This is one of the main reasons that the docs with the most experience using iodine routinely start people off at 50 mg per day (or more in cases of severe disease such as cancer). Even at that dose, it can take months or years to clear the halogen toxicity.

It is true that the thyroid preferentially grabs the iodine it needs, so lower doses may help normalize thyroid function to some degree, but at the cost of continuing to starve other tissues. People started at 50 mg seem to do very well, if one ignores TSH spikes and other benign markers of thyroid adjustment, and if any thyroid medications are adjusted as needed. But as always experiences do seem to vary and it is early days of learning how to safely and effectively supplement iodine at one or two orders of magnitude beyond the current RDA.

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Paul Jaminet October 17, 2011 at 8:23 am

Thanks, Bill.

Yes, there are several ways higher iodine can help fix hypothyroidism – by excreting halogens, or by helping with infections. But these are slow cures, not immediate ones. So they’re not reasons to rush to increase the iodine, at least in my view.

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ramon October 17, 2011 at 3:52 pm

Paul if you are interested in a good multi, This is the best i have ever seen although a little pricey.
http://www.amazon.com/Ortho-Capsules-Brand-R/dp/B0018KKOQG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318884623&sr=8-1

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Christian October 19, 2011 at 6:16 pm

Thank you for your response Paul. I don´t want to bother you with basic question but after reading this section and the comments it´s no clear for me if you recommend take the essential supplements alltogether individually plus multi or taking the multivitamin is enough.

Best,
Christian

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Shameer M. October 20, 2011 at 1:48 am

Hi Paul,

I’ve been taking a liquid multi-vitamin / mineral supplement known as Intramax 415. Here’s the link;

http://store.druckerlabs.com/intraMAXinfo_s/117.htm

I was curious if you’ve heard of it. If so, what is your opinion of this product?

Thanks.

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