People ask me ALL THE TIME what supplements I take or recommend starting with. I personally like to run the following labs to determine what is best for clients, but I realize not everyone will have access to these. Still, testing and treating is a good way to find out what works for you.
- Food intolerances or allergies. I use Elisaact or Cyrex labs to identify food intolerances.
- I use the Nutrieval by Genova Diagnostics to check for micronutrient deficiencies and mitochondrial health.
- Upgraded Formulas Hair Minerals Testing to check for mineral deficiencies and heavy metal toxicity.
- To check for dysbiosis or leaky gut, I use the GI effects by Genova Diagnostics.
- I use blood labs by Evexia Diagnostics to look at iron status, b12 and folate, and other markers of organ system function.
I start with replacing the most common deficiencies I see and then I work on optimizing different systems.
BASELINE
1) Omega 3’s – https://amzn.to/3ODxqAW (I take 2 – 4 grams a day). Lovasa is a pharmaceutical grade option that I personally would recommend people take if they can get a Rx from their doctor. Use this GoodRx code for a discount and get it prescribed from your doctor.
2) B Complex – I like Jarrow. This is important for mitochondrial function and running normal metabolism. Folate is also super important for preventing birth defects. B12 is important for people who eat plant based. So many people don’t realize they are deficient.
3) Vitamin D, K1, K2 – I like Zhou (5000 IU a day but only if deficient and you lab test regularly, take less if you don’t) as it covers all of these nutrients. I take 1 per day. If you take high dose vitamin D like I do, make sure to get your labs tested.
4) Magnesium – 2 tablets a day (usually around 400 mg). I am also a fan of Bioptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough (use code DRMOLLY).
EXTRA OPTIMIZATION
5) Minerals complex – I like Seeking Health. They also make a copper free version. You can also get your hair minerals tested to determine what is right for you. I like Upgraded Minerals hair mineral testing and their various minerals products to provide a more personalized approach to optimizing this.
6) Iron – This is especially important for women who are menstruating. Make sure to get your labs tested to determine if you need this or not.
- If ferritin <75 mcg I recommend supplementing with iron. I like Thorne.
- If ferritin is >150 mcg you should consider giving blood because you have too much iron. It can also be an inflammatory marker so best to check CRP for inflammation. If CRP >0.5 you may want to add turmeric as an anti-inflammatory.
DIGESTION
7) Betaine HCL is great for people with problems with digestion but follow the HCL protocol to find out of this is right for you.
8) Digestive enzymes are important for people who have gut dysfunction.
9) Ox bile is useful for people who need help digesting fat more effectively.
10) Ionbiome is key for people who have leaky gut and need to heal the gut lining.
11) Probiotics I tailor to someone’s gut health based on their stool study results. I like VSL-3 or the various probiotics made by the company Biooptimizers (use code DRMOLLY).
MITOCHONDRIAL HEALTH
12) Coenzyme Q10 – This one is pretty essential for mitochondrial dysfunction, for anyone takin statins, and for anyone looking for optimizing fertility or sperm count. I like this brand or Mitoq.
13) Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) – This is important for fatty acid metabolism and detoxification. Dose range is typically 500 mg–1,000 mg twice daily.
14) PQQ – is an enzyme cofactor, and the only nutrient known to facilitate the growth of new mitochondria (mitochondrial biogenesis). Typical dose is 20 mg.
DETOXIFICATION
15) R-Lipoic Acid – This is a cofactor in two key enzymatic reactions in the Krebs Cycle involved in ongoing energy production within mitochondria. Typical dose is 200 – 600 mg.
16) N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC) – This is my go-to detox supplement that does a bunch of things like boosting Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels and reducing inflammatory cytokines, and replenishing glutathione levels. It’s probably the most important supplement for people who drink or take recreational drugs. Typical dose is 1000 mg.
17) Spirulina and Chlorella – These are always in my cupboard. I use the company Energy Bits!
HORMONES
18) See How to Heal From Burnout and the HPA Axis Protocol! It has a bunch of supplements for sleep and healing from high stress states or burnout.
19) For other hormones I’ll have to write up a longer blog post since it’s worth its own discussion.
IMMUNE SUPPORT
20) Oregano Oil – Two per day are important at the moment you start getting a sore throat.
21) Priority One – I take this when I start to feel sick
22) AG1 – My friends who are parents swear by this to prevent colds
CONCLUSION
I hope this list helps you determine where to start on your supplementation journey! I know this might be expensive to cover but the first 6 on the list will cover most of your bases. The rest are for areas of improvement that you may need to do 1 at a time to optimize different systems depending on your needs. Focus on the most common deficiencies and then what you want to work on or optimize!
If you want more comprehensive guidance, consider taking my online course, “Your Healthspan Journey” I taught at Stanford for 3 years which is truly the ultimate masterclass in health optimization.
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