Retrospective #398: My Supplements

I have never been asked by a reader about the supplements I take, nor have I written about them. I guess it’s because I consider it personal, not in the sense of private – I am transparent about my health – but in the sense that they are “individualized.” I think it is also because I have read so much about how none of them are necessary or even helpful. However, a few years ago I began full-day fasting, sometimes alternate day and sometimes extended (multiple) day.

So, the further rationale that justifies taking them is that they are an insurance policy, to be sure I get essential vitamins and minerals when I am not getting them from food. Of course, there’s no real way to prove that they have helped me? A well-designed personal experiment is impossible; there are just way too many confounding factors.

 Besides, most of the supplements I take are vestigial, that is, I take them because I have been a Type 2 diabetic since 1986, and I began many of them since before I was initiated in the ways of eating a Very Low Carb diet, and I just continued taking them. That’s my rationale. Besides, I do believe in some. But, which would I eliminate and why?

I am prompted to write about this now by a presentation by podcast meister, the “Fat Emperor,” Ivor Cummins, that I attended at Keto Fest in New London, CT in July 2017. Near the end – maybe his very last sentence – as though it were a hurried, throwaway line, he said: “Don’t forget to take supplemental magnesium.” No time for an explanation. It was just a given, like everyone knew! Fortunately, I do supplement with magnesium (500mg/day).

Here’s a complete list of my current supplements. Bear in mind, I am/have been a Type 2 Diabetic for 34 years and eat a Very Low Carb (VLC) Ketogenic Diet, with frequent (usually 3 x 42, alternate) full-day “fasting.”

With COFFEE with HEAVY CREAM and POWDERED PURE STEVIA, early in the MORNING

●     1g fish oil, containing 300 EPA and 200 DHA, and 5 IU of vitamin E

●     1 tablet high potency men’s multi-vitamin, with vitamin D3, lutein and lycopene (and 100mg magnesium)

●     100mg capsule of CoQ10, the active form (Ubiquinol)

●     200mg magnesium citrate, chelated for absorption

●     200mcg of elemental chromium (chromium picolinate), with 18mg L-leucine + 2mg vitamin B6

●     100mg biologically active R-Lipoic acid (alpha lipoic acid), with 150mcg D-Biotin

In addition, I take 2 prescription meds: 750mg metformin Hcl and 20mg Enalapril Maleate (for hypertension)

With 6oz RED WINE & 8oz SELZER, about 12 hours later, if FASTING, or with FOOD (my supper meal).

●     1g fish oil, containing 300 EPA and 200 DHA, and 5 IU of vitamin E

●     200mg magnesium citrate, chelated for absorption

●     1 capsule homocysteine modulators: 50mg B6, 400mg folic acid (B9), and 500mcg B12

●     250mg vitamin C, to help with protein uptake

In addition, I take 3 meds: 750mg metformin Hcl and 20mg Enalapril Maleate + 120mg Verapamil (BP meds)

Candidates for deletion: 1) chromium picolinate, 2) R-Lipoic acid and 3) the homocysteine modulators.

Possible additions: 1) a calcium supplement, to help with magnesium uptake.

My labs are very good. My last A1c was 5.3%. My Vitamin D and B12 are high and very high respectively. My TC is below 200, my HDL-C is averages about 80, my LDL-C averages about 100 and my TGs still average around 50, even though I don’t eat a can of sardines for lunch any more. When I do eat lunch, I prefer a can of kippered herring in brine. It’s fewer calories and much less fat, and I’m trying to burn endogenous fat, not exogenous fat!

My fasting food intake is about 300kcal/day and my feasting food intake paradigm is still about 1,200 (15g carbs, 60g protein and 100g fat, mostly saturated/monounsaturated). Finally, my inflammation markers are very low, with my hsCRP usually less than 1.0. Now that I have laid it out for everyone to see, what do you think? I invite comments.