By Emmanuel Arroyo, LAc

5 April 2011

Nowadays people are looking for ways to stay healthy but save money at the same time. Today I will explain how you can buy supplements without spending so much money.

First we need to understand one fact: studies conducted in the 70’s showed that a slice of bread contained 9g of protein during early 1900’s tnowadays a slice of bread has 3 to 4 g of protein. Studies have found that our  soil is more than 80% depleted of minerals… another fact is that our body produces only 2 anti-oxidants which are very powerful indeed. The antioxidants are glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase (SOD).

The latter one needs zinc, manganese, iron, and copper while glutathione peroxidase requires L-Cysteine and selenium. Hence my recommendation is to buy a multi vitamin-mineral and a multi mineral as well to boost levels of minerals; then you can buy selenium, zinc and L-cysteine (the latter one should be taken on empty stomach). Here you have the recipe to boost your SOD and Glutathione peroxidase without spending too much. Pick the brand or company of your choice, I like Vitamin World brand considering that it has passed independent laboratory tests for quality and potency. (You can check your brand or company at consumerlab.com)

Another supplement you can add to your list is Quercetin, bromelaine and vitamin c. Why? Quercetin, bromelaine and vitamin c work synergistically and enhance each other. Second, quercetin inhibits the release of histamine, protects beta cells of the pancreas, and inhibits the enzyme that converts glucose to sorbitol (hence good for diabetics) and it also inhibits the enzyme that produces uric acid. Quercetin is anti-inflammatory (good for arthritis, cystitis, prostatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies and asthma –it acts as bronchodilator; ), anti viral (it inhibits replication of virus inside the cell) and quercetin has been linked with anti-carcinogenic properties. Quercetin is found in red wine therefore is good for cardiovascular health which is not surprise to see that it inhibits oxidation of cholesterol and slows platelet aggregation; oxicholesterol is the one to blame of many cardiovascular accidents. The dose for Quercetin is 1,200 mg daily (minimum), my favorite brand is Dr Best Quercetin and Bromelaine from Vitamin Shoppe.  Vitamin C is recommended by many experts to be taken to bowel tolerance which means to take vitamin c until you get diarrhea and then cut back until you do not have it. I used to take 10 000 mg and now I only take 3 to 4K mg daily, my body has enough vitamin c that is why it doesn’t need such high amount. The vitamin c I buy is from Vitamin World and it has bio-flavonoids; I buy the one with 1 000 mg. Before I forget, querecetin must be taken with an empty stomach and with food so divide your daily dose accordingly (one with empty stomach, and 3 other doses with food).

To finish you can buy a super food in tablets or powder. This super food contains powdered fruits, vegetables, legumes and roots (depending on the company some only have fruits and vegetables hence pick the one that satisfy your needs or philosophy).

At the beginning it might be a lot but certainly you will spend like $30 monthly (average) or more depending on which brand and company you buy from. My advice is to take advantage of companies that offer discount for members and don’t forget to buy veggie caps supplements, many capsules are made with petroleum. There are companies that use artificial sugar, sorbitol and other alcohol sugars in their supplements. Please read the label!

In summary, what I am proposing is to prop up your body’s natural antioxidants by increasing the amount of selenium, zinc, manganese, and l-cysteine. This way you don’t have to worry so much and you can be sure you will not need to buy so many supplements.

Using supplements does not give you license to eat and drink unhealthy...eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, roots to a point that your average diet is 10 to 30% animal protein and from which at least 40 to 50% should be from seafood. Reduce or eliminate corn syrup or corn sugar from your diet (this includes fructose corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup) if you are interested in what to do for a healthy diet you can check my video.

About the Author

Emmanuel Arroyo is a New York State Licenced and NCCAOM board certified acupuncturist and Chinese medicine herbalist with special interest on depression and men’s health issues and how to use essential oils to help emotionally the patient, and unblock chakras. At the moment Emmanuel Arroyo practices in Queens, New York at his home based office and do community work at Vision Urbana division of Institute of Puerto Rican Hispanic Elderly in Manhattan.

Emmanuel Arroyo can be contact via phone at 917-324-1140 or by mail dr.agujas@gmail.com

Disclaimer

The information presented is for educational purposes and it is based on information read in journals or other sources and is not meant to replace medical advice.

© Copyright 2011