HEARThrive - Module 5 - Best Vitamins & Supplements to Take

Dr. Matthias Rath, who has worked closely with Linus Pauling, has very strong opinions about how important vitamin C is when it comes to your arterial health.

This is NOT "medical advice" but you may get a little chuckle with the humor here.

Some "experts" advocate that you must avoid taking pills that contain magnesium stearate. Medications often use this substance to help prevent the pill from breaking down too quickly. You certainly don't want the capsule to open while it's still in your mouth and you haven't even swallowed it yet. Magnesium stearate helps deliver the contents of the pill more gradually. Lots of readily available vitamins and supplements use magnesium stearate in the product. You can check the label to see if it's present. But is it really as big a deal as some people caution you about? In this video, Malcolm shows one way to avoid the magnesium stearate problem, but the result is messy, to say the least.

Here's an informative, candid conversation with Malcolm and a friend who both go to a functional medical clinic to get testing done. Unfortunately, not every doctor will test your vitamin D level, and yet it's a easy, inexpensive blood test. How much vitamin D supplementation should you take? You won't really know unless you first get tested to see whether you are deficient or not. It's difficult for most people to obtain adequate amounts of vitamin D from their diet. That's why taking a supplement is an easy solution once you know how much to take, as explained in this video.

Most often you will find vitamin C supplements in the form of ascorbic acid. I believe a whole-food source such as the one shown in this video is more natural and perhaps healthier.

Check out how many ways you can benefit from magnesium. You're probably deficient in magnesium if you are not supplementing with it. See if you recognize a health problem that you might have that could be corrected or improved with magnesium.

Taking a high-dose Niacin supplement can certainly change your cholesterol values and improve other heart-related numbers. Malcolm documents his results very clearly in this video.

Niacin in large therapeutic doses is thought to provide certain cardiovascular benefits. But it moves other diagnostic markers the wrong way, which may be counter-productive. And what about that nasty niacin flush?

This is an expensive and sophisticated way to assess your levels of various vitamins in your body. Be aware that conventional blood testing that your doctor typically does will not necessarily give you reliable information. There can be a big difference between what is measured in your blood versus what is being delivered and utilized in your cells.

Learn about the key "core" supplements that are likely to  be the most useful ones to take.  And meet "Robert," who takes 34 different supplements each day.

Robert has done his homework and understands the specific potential benefit of the vitamins and supplements he is taking. Learn what purpose each supplement serves and why he takes them.

Here are some more supplements Robert takes, bringing his total to 34. Wow! Maybe he is overdoing it. One thing for sure, his monthly cost for all the products he takes would be exceptionally high.

Learn how much you are spending per day on vitamins and supplements. It's easy. Check it out.

It's important to consider your own personal responses to supplements. Although fish oil is believed to support cardiovascular health, Malcolm demonstrates that its blood-thinning effect lead to a complication for himself, which was 'easy" bruising. Iodine, taken in the right amount, is usually safe and helps support thyroid function. But you will hear about a woman who listened to a thyroid "expert" online and took too much iodine.   

Malcolm explains that he experienced skipped beats in his heart. If this happens to you, consult with your doctor first to make sure your problem is not serious. Consider taking a magnesium supplement because that may be a simple way to solve your skipped beats..

After Malcolm's twin brother had bypass surgery in 2008, Malcolm learned about the importance of supplementing with vitamin D to support heart health. He asked his family doctor to request a test for vitamin D3, but the doctor refused. Malcolm insisted and the test was done in November 2008. It turned out his vitamin D level was deficient. Malcolm began taking more supplemental D3 and has discovered the proper amounts to take to support a healthy vitamin D3 level. In this lesson you will learn how to follow his strategy for optimizing your vitamin D and reaping the benefits.