A confession: I\u2019ve never done well with authority figures. Those who know me, the mildest and gentlest of souls, would never guess that years back I had issues with various medical associations and physician groups about such \u201ccontroversial\u201d notions as having conventional and alternative practitioners working together or actually treating (again, \u201ccontroversial\u201d) diagnoses like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic Lyme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Believe me, I\u2019m no pioneer in this field. Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, Christiane Northrup, and dozens of others were long established in what Dr. Weil eventually named \u201cintegrative medicine\u201d and biochemist Jeffrey Bland, PhD<\/a>, called \u201cfunctional medicine\u201d well before I opened our place in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My anti-authoritarian hackles were raised once again when WholeHealth Chicago and hundreds of other websites around the country received cease-and-desist orders from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) demanding that we stop giving \u201cunproven clinical advice\u201d to help people cope with a terrifying pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recommended vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc based on solid clinical studies, and explained why I\u2019d chosen them. I also suggested readers could add any good mushroom blend (there are several) to their daily roster of supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vitamin D was especially important because levels of D run low in people with darker skin tones and since this group is one of the most affected, adding extra D could only help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So in my hand was the FTC letter that was asking us to cease and desist\u2026doing what we\u2019ve always done for our patients. Threatened by serious financial fines and worse, at a time when our income was in freefall and we had a payroll to meet, we complied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So imagine my irritation back in September when I Googled \u201cDoes Dr Fauci take vitamins?\u201d and came up with this<\/a>. It would have been thoughtful if he\u2019d shared this months and months ago. I\u2019m also guessing he\u2019s received no cease-and-desist order from the FTC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s talk again about immunity If you\u2019re able, schedule an Immune Boost IV<\/a>. For those of you who drive, know that there\u2019s absolutely no traffic on Clybourn and you can park very near our front door. You\u2019ll be escorted to a sanitized, completely private room where you\u2019ll have your IV and within about an hour you\u2019ll be out the door. If you\u2019ve not been taking vitamin D you can assume your blood levels are pathetic, so if you like we\u2019ll add an intramuscular injection of D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recommend the Immune Boost IV twice weekly for three to four weeks before shifting to supplements you\u2019ll take by mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every once in a while, I\u2019m asked by a patient or a Health Tip reader what supplements I take every day. I answered this a couple of years ago and, to be honest, after I wrote it I realized I was taking a lot of pills. Although I do get an employee discount, those little bottles run into some real money. However, you won\u2019t need everything on my list. Talk to us if you need help sorting it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have the same psychological quirk about supplements that many of you have shared with me. Namely, as long as I\u2019m healthy I\u2019m reluctant to abandon any of them, thinking \u201cthis is the supplement that\u2019s keeping me healthy.\u201d Psychologists call this magical thinking and I\u2019ve come to accept my magical thinking along with my other flaws, like issues with authority figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Supplements I take —Multiplex without iron<\/a> (Integrative Therapeutics)<\/u>, twice daily, a high-potency general vitamin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n —Vitamin C 600 mg<\/a> (Thorne Research)<\/u> twice daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n —Vitamin D 5,000 IU<\/a> (Thorne)<\/u> once daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n —Zinc picolinate 50 mg<\/a> (Douglas Labs)<\/u> once daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –Green Tea Extract (Xymogen)<\/u> twice daily. This is a high-potency antioxidant. Drinking two to three cups of green tea daily is associated with a 27% decrease in all-cause mortality<\/a>. I personally can\u2019t stand the taste of green tea so I take the capsules instead. <\/u><\/p>\n\n\n\n —UBQH<\/a> (ubiquinol)<\/a> 50 mg (Integrative Therapeutics)<\/u> twice daily. Ubiquinol is a form of coenzyme Q-10<\/a> and thought to be more readily available to cells than CoQ10 itself. CoQ10 is like a spark plug for the energy centers in your cells (the mitochondria). UBQH helps with overall energy and mental clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n —<\/u><\/a>UltraResveratrol HP<\/a><\/u> (Integrative Therapeutics) <\/u><\/a>twice daily. Resveratrol<\/a> is a potent antioxidant extracted from the skins and seeds of grapes. It has a wide variety of clinical benefits, including brain and heart health, blood pressure control, reduction of diabetes risk, and, in certain animal species, longevity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lipotropic Complex<\/a><\/u> <\/u><\/a>(Integrative Therapeutics) and Detoxication Factors (Integrative Therapeutics)<\/a><\/u>, one of each twice daily. The first is a blend of herbs of proven benefit for liver health (milk thistle, dandelion, etc.) The second is a complex formula of several nutritional products that activate each of the two phases of liver detoxification. I have a benign liver condition called Gilbert\u2019s disease that causes my liver to clear toxins sluggishly. The supplements reverse this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theracumin HP<\/a><\/u> (Integrative Therapeutics)<\/u><\/a> twice daily. This is a high-potency turmeric anti-inflammatory that crosses the blood-brain barrier. Since more and more evidence is showing that dementia (including Alzheimer\u2019s) is caused by a constant low level of brain inflammation, I\u2019m hoping this will prevent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, Alzheimer\u2019s is less common in India<\/a>, where eating turmeric in curry is a way of life, than elsewhere in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concentrated Ultra Prostagen<\/a><\/u> (Metagenics)<\/u><\/a> twice daily. This contains several ingredients for prostate health. Unless you\u2019re a man over 60, no need to take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NeuroTone<\/a> (Douglas Labs) and <\/u>Neurologix<\/u><\/a> (Integrative Therapeutics)<\/u>, two capsules twice daily, alternating products each month. I wrote about these nootropics\/smart drugs last week<\/a> and their use for brain health, focus, concentration, and memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pure Omega Ultra HP<\/a><\/u> (Integrative Therapeutics)<\/u><\/a> twice daily. The omega-3s have been shown repeatedly to work as anti-inflammatories, preventing heart disease, reducing blood pressure, and supporting better brain function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>During this latest surge from hell, you can take steps to strengthen your immunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Be sure there\u2019s some food in your stomach before swallowing. Taken on an empty stomach, this many pills can make you feel queasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n