Supplements for
when our bodies
need a little help
By Dr. Mehmet C. Oz
IN AN IDEAL SCENARIO, most of your meals would be peppered with such
nutritional medicine as fruits and vegetables, lean sources of protein, 100 percent whole grains and all of the foods most fit to feed humans. Instead, the
reality is that many of today’s diets consist of the four modern foods groups:
fast food, frozen pizzas, icing-laced anything and coffee drinks that contain
more calories than a cafeteria refrigerator. As a result, now more than ever,
our bodies need a little help (some, of course, more than others).
Even if your diet isn’t quite that bad, the fact is that 99 percent of us
don’t get all the nutrient support we need in foods alone. So it only makes
sense to supplement with supplements. That is, you can fortify all of your
inner biological systems and help keep your body young and strong by simply
popping a few pills (and you can do so at reasonable prices).
Trouble is, the supplement/vitamin/pill world can often be more confusing than trying to read Chinese road signs (unless you can read Chinese). The
pill aisles at today’s stores are packed with promises; I want to cut through
the hype, as well as the mystery, to help you make sense—and make changes
that can help you.
Below is a list of some of the important supplements that I believe you
should take in order to slow down the aging process, followed by a comprehensive list of the ultimate supplement plan. (By the way, I recommend that
you take these in a divided dose—half in the morning and half at night, so you
can keep a constant vitamin level in your blood the entire day.)
Of all the changes you can make to improve your health and live younger,
this is one of the easiest. Just open your mouth and fire down the hole. Here’s
a look at the essentials.
Omega- 3 fatty acids/DHA
These have been shown to have anti-aging benefits to the heart, brain
and immune system. One of the big reasons why: These fats help
relax your arteries to improve blood flow (nasty fats like trans
fats make your arteries spasm, and thus promote dangerous
inflammation). You can get the good fats through fish
and walnuts, as well as through fish oil supplements or the pure DHA form from algae. If
you’re going the supplement route, aim for 2
grams of general omega- 3 fats or 600 mg of the
pure DHA variety daily.
