Recommended Daily Vitamins and Supplements

Exercise

An Object in Motion Stays In Motion

Get Enough Sleep!!!

That's right, the first recommended vitamin isn't a vitamin. Tricky!

  1. Researchers have observed that during sleep various immune functions are regulated and that a lack of quality sleep is associated with a detrimental effect on immune-cell number, function and cytokine production.
  2. Trouble Sleeping? Consider using some melatonin.
  3. Melatonin is a substance produced by your body and if taken before bedtime can help some people get better sleep. The time-released version is recommended. Melatonin does have some common interactions with medications so please check with your doctor and read more at Mayo Clinic about melatonin.

Eat A Healthy Diet!!

  1. Don't expect a steady diet of Ramen noodles and flaming hot cheetos to make your body happy.  Eat a well-balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, and healthy sources of protein.  A good rule of thumb is that if your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize what you are eating as food – maybe pump the brakes on eating that.  Avoid sugary foods!
  2. Does your doctor give you a speech about your weight?  Being at a healthy weight is a great weight to improve your immune system function and increased levels of BMI have been associated with poor disease outcomes.  It also makes it harder for your body to absorb Vitamin D.  A recent NOVA documentary on body fat concluded that if you want to lose weight you need to change your diet and if you want to live long you need to regularly exercise.
  3. A book that helped me was Eat Rich, Live Long

Exercise and Fresh Air

  1. Getting outside for a walk and breathing fresh air is good for your body and good for your mental health.  Stress has been shown to have a detrimental effect on the immune system.  And exercise has been shown to have a positive effect on stress.

Supplements

As hard as you may try to eat well you likely need to supplement your diet with crucial vitamins and minerals – especially if you live in the northern hemisphere during Winter.

  1. Supplements – There are a lot of terrific sales pitches in the supplements market.  My instinct is that most of these are hot air.  Things like special fruit powder blends or different tree root powders do not have any clinical proof of effectiveness that I have read.  One symbol that is nice to see on a bottle is the USP verified seal that indicates that a 3rd party lab verified that what was claimed to be in the supplement was accurate.
  2. Multivitamin –  Start with a good multivitamin as a base.  This will cover a lot of vitamins and minerals that could be lacking in your diet.  I don't think the brand is really crucial here – I personally use the costco brand multivitamins.
  3. Vitamin D – this is a huge deal with northern climates and low vitamin D levels are very common and very detrimental to your immune system functioning properly.
    1. The NIH sets the upper limit at 4000 IU a day but don't freak out if your doctor advises you to take more based on your levels detected (ask for a vitamin d check at your next preventative appointment).  
    2. If you aren't sure what to start with I would personally recommend 2000IU (4000IU if in the winter in the northern part of the USA - remember, I'm not a doctor) and get your levels tested before increasing the dose.
    3. At the latitude in Northern Indiana your body will not make vitamin D in response to sunlight during the winter months.
  4. Vitamin CThere is debate on whether Vitamin C is useful in supporting your immune system.  However, it is viewed as generally safe to take and may help your immune system fight off infections.
    1. I personally recommend (remember, I'm not a doctor) 1000MG a daily.  If you take too much vitamin C it can upset your stomach so you may want to start with 500MG at first.
  5. Vitamin B – Vitamin B Complex tablets typically contain 8 vitamins that are types of Vitamin B. Some research has shown a positive effect on brain function with Vitmain B supplementation. A known side effect of vitamin b supplementation is that your urine may turn neon in color after taking the supplement.
  6. Fish Oil (Omega 3) – There are various benefits of Omega 3 supplementation that are emerging in research including a reduction in age-related degredation and general cognitive benefits.
  7. Zinc – Zinc has been shown in some circumstances to shorten the length of a cold.
    1. However, too much zinc will upset your stomach.  And most multivitamins have zinc in them.  So if you want to consider a zinc supplement, check how much your base multivitamin has in it and add to it if necessary.  
    2. The NIH upper limit for adults for Zinc is 40MG.
    3. I personally find these lozenges to taste decent