Supporting Healthy Body Chemistry: Understanding the importance of vitamins, Making a case for minerals, Getting a feel for essential fatty acids, Taking a quick look at essential amino acids and Advocating antioxidants.

Supporting Healthy Body Chemistry

In This Chapter

▶ Understanding the importance of vitamins

▶ Making a case for minerals

▶ Getting a feel for essential fatty acids

▶ Taking a quick look at essential amino acids

▶ Advocating antioxidants

Chemical reactions are the basis for all your body’s myriad functions and processes. Everything the human body does — from passing gas to thinking up a complex theory of quantum physics — is based on chemical reactions. Science doesn’t even know how many chemical reactions are occurring constantly in your body. To give you an idea of how big a picture I’m talking about here, consider that vitamin C is involved in at least 1,700 reactions that take place in the body. That’s just one vitamin! The knowledge that we have of basic body chemistry is in its infancy, at best.

Here’s what we do know: Your body absolutely has to have a number of sub- stances in order to conduct all the necessary chemical reactions to keep you healthy and functioning normally. These substances — vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids — are the focus of this chapter, along with another class of substances called antioxidants that can do wonders to improve your overall health.

With toxic influences assaulting your body all the time, it’s critically important that you get enough of these vital substances so your body can function properly and carry out its natural detoxification processes successfully.

Whenever you experience increased stress on your body, such as with illness, chronic disease, or pregnancy, you must pay special attention to make sure you get all the essential nutrients.

Valuing Vitamins

In total, your body has to have 13 vitamins. Four of those vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are fat-soluble, which means they can be stored in your body. It’s pos- sible (although unlikely) to get too much of the fat-soluble vitamins, to the point where they become toxic. The other vitamins (B vitamins and C) are water-soluble, meaning that any excess amounts are removed easily through the urine.

Although the fat-soluble vitamins can be toxic if you consume vast amounts of them, it’s virtually impossible to reach that level of toxicity through diet and difficult even with supplements.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets recommended daily allow- ances (RDAs) for vitamins, but RDAs are only the amounts you must get each day to avoid diseases associated with vitamin deficiencies. You should get much higher levels of the essential vitamins if you want to enjoy maximum health.

Vitamin A

Your body gets vitamin A from substances called carotenoids, which are commonly found in foods like carrots, squash, spinach, kale, and sweet potatoes. You can also get vitamin A from dairy foods, eggs, liver, and fish liver oil. Researchers estimate that as many as one-third of all Americans don’t get enough vitamin A, and deficiencies can cause some rough stuff. Not getting enough vitamin A can lead to night blindness, skin dryness, decreased mucus membrane secretions, and increased susceptibility to bacterial infections. The FDA recommends that you get 900 micrograms of vitamin A per day, but I suggest getting 7,500 micrograms.

The B vitamins

The B vitamins are a whole group of vitamins that have similar chemical structures but play different roles in your body’s many chemical reactions. You may hear these vitamins referred to as B-complex vitamins. Call them whatever you want — just make sure you’re giving your body plenty of them for optimum health!

Vitamin B1

Sometimes called thiamine, vitamin B1 is required for carbohydrate metabolism and for the production of substances in your body that regulate your nerves. Foods that are richest in B1 include organ meats (liver, heart, and kidney), lean meats, eggs, leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts, and legumes.

If you don’t get enough vitamin B1, you can suffer from beriberi, which is characterized by muscular weakness, swelling of the heart, and leg cramps. Severe cases can result in heart failure and death. The RDA for vitamin B1 is 1.2 milligrams per day, but I recommend getting about 20 milligrams daily.

Vitamin B2

Ever heard of riboflavin? That’s another name for vitamin B2. Like vitamin B1, B2 is necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates, but it also helps your body to metabolize fats and proteins used in the respiratory tract. You can get vitamin B2 in your diet by eating liver, dairy products, meat, dark green vegetables, and mushrooms. If your body runs low on B2, you can end up with skin lesions and sensitivity to light, among other problems. The FDA says you should get 1.3 milligrams per day, but I think you should get 20 milligrams.

Vitamin B3

Vitamin B3 goes by a few other names that you may have heard of: niacin, nicotinic acid, and niacinamide. Your body needs it to produce energy, and it’s also handy for decreasing cholesterol. Your body can make B3 from the amino acid tryptophan, but you can also get it in the food you eat. If you want to up the amount of vitamin B3 you’re getting, try to eat more dried beans, peas, nuts, liver, poultry, and meats. Vitamin B3 deficiencies cause pellagra, which is a condition marked by a variety of skin-related symptoms as well as mental confusion, depression, swollen tongue, and diarrhea. I think adults should get 65 milligrams per day, but the FDA’s RDA for vitamin B3 is a paltry 16 milligrams each day.

Vitamin B5

Also known as pantothenic acid, vitamin B5 helps you convert food to energy, and it’s important for the creation of adrenal gland steroids, antibodies, bile, red blood cells, and neurotransmitters. You can find B5 in a really wide variety of foods, from fish to sweet potatoes. A lack of vitamin B5 can result in numbness, as well as reduced amounts of the important substances that vita- min B5 helps your body to make. The RDA is 5 milligrams per day; I think you should get more like 200 milligrams each and every day.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 wears many hats when it comes to your health. You need it to absorb and use amino acids, and it’s also critical for the formation of red blood cells. How can you tell if you’re not getting enough vitamin B6? Some of the symptoms include cracks at the corners of the mouth (ouch!), smooth tongue, convulsions, dizziness, nausea, anemia, and kidney stones. Some delicious food sources of vitamin B6 include avocados, spinach, green beans, bananas, and whole grains. The daily dose recommended by the FDA is 1.5 milligrams per day, but I advise you to set your sights on about 20 milligrams.

Vitamin B7

A couple aliases for vitamin B7 are biotin and vitamin H. Generally speaking, vitamin B7 helps convert food to energy, and it’s required for making pro- teins and fatty acids. On a more tangible level, you need it for healthy hair, skin, fingernails, and toenails. If you’re looking for a good dietary source, turn to broccoli, sweet potatoes, cheese, kidney beans, sunflower seeds, nuts, and salmon.

Long-term use of antibiotics can cause vitamin B7 deficiency. If you’ve recently taken a round of antibiotics, focus on getting plenty of B7 through your diet and supplements.

The RDA for vitamin B7 is 30 micrograms; I suggest getting about 1,000 micro- grams instead.

Vitamin B9

This vitamin is very important. Vitamin B9 (also known as folic acid) is unusual because it is stored in the liver. You absolutely have to have it for the formation of many proteins, including hemoglobin, which is the substance that shuttles oxygen around your body in your blood. You can get vitamin B9 in organ meats (liver, kidney, heart), leafy green vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. In adults, deficiencies can cause anemia.

Vitamin B9 (folic acid) is essential for developing fetuses, particularly for the development of brain tissue. If you’re pregnant or you know someone who’s pregnant, make sure there’s plenty of vitamin B9 to go around!

If you ask the FDA, you should get 400 micrograms of vitamin B9 per day. But if you ask me, upwards of 800 micrograms is a better daily dose.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is a must-have for the formation of red blood cells and proteins, and also for the functioning of the nervous system. You definitely don’t want to run short on this vitamin, so be sure to get it in your diet (liver, fish, meat, eggs, and milk are a few good sources) or through the use of supplements. Not getting enough vitamin B12 can result in anemia, nerve problems, and intestinal conditions. The FDA and I differ greatly in the amount of vitamin B12 you should get on a daily basis. They say 2.4 micrograms; I say 500 micrograms.

Vitamin C

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of vitamin C (also called ascorbic acid) for your health. As I mention earlier in this chapter, at least 1,700 chemical reactions in your body require vitamin C, and it’s probably involved in many more reactions that haven’t yet been identified. Vitamin C is also an essential ingredient in the formation of collagen, which is the material that holds all your body’s tissues together. Vitamin C is critical for healing; your body simply can’t heal itself without plenty of vitamin C.

A vitamin C deficiency can cause a condition called scurvy, which leads to hemorrhages, loosening of teeth, and problems with long bone development in children. Interestingly, all mammals make vitamin C except humans and gorillas. Dogs, for instance, make about 35,000 milligrams per day. Because humans aren’t able to make vitamin C, you have to make sure you get plenty in your diet and through supplements. The FDA recommends 90 milligrams per day, but that’s laughable. I get as much vitamin C in my diet as I can, and I also take 2,000 milligrams per day in supplements. If I’m not feeling well, I up that number to 6,000 milligrams per day.

If you’re in need of a good natural laxative, try taking 8,000–10,000 milligrams of vitamin C in a day.

You don’t have to walk very far down the produce aisle to find good sources of vitamin C. Some of the best are citrus fruits, strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, spinach, kale, green pep- pers, cabbage, and turnips.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D plays several important roles in your body. It’s essential for healthy bones, and it also helps to keep your immune system at its best. You can get vitamin D through food sources, but it’s almost impossible to get as much as you need through diet. If you drank ten tall glasses of vitamin D– fortified milk every day, you would have only minimal vitamin D levels.

So how do you get vitamin D? It’s simple: Get some sun. It may sound hard to believe, but your skin actually produces vitamin D when it is exposed to the ultraviolet rays in sunlight. There are some catches, though. Glass blocks the rays in sunlight that make vitamin D, so you can’t get sunlight through a glass window and expect your skin to produce vitamin D. People with darker skin produce less vitamin D than people with paler skin given the same amount of sunlight, so if you have a dark skin tone you may need to get a bit more sun- light for the desired effect.

Thirty minutes of sunlight a day will provide enough vitamin D for some people, but getting that amount can be hard to accomplish year round, particularly for people living in the high latitudes. If you can’t get that amount, be sure to supplement accordingly. Also keep in mind that sunscreen pretty much eliminates the vitamin D production process in your skin tissue. It’s good to get some sun; just don’t allow yourself to burn.

Vitamin D deficiencies are serious business. A lack of vitamin D can cause a variety of health conditions, from osteoporosis to rickets to an increased risk of diabetes and infections. Deficiencies are easily treated, but treatment for severe deficiencies can take several months.

Most medical labs can test for vitamin D levels, so if you think you may not be getting enough, I’d recommend going in for a test.

The RDA for vitamin D is 5–10 international units per day. I think you should be getting 2,000–5,000 international units for top-notch health.

Vitamin E

When some of your body’s cells — particularly muscle and red blood cells — are developing, vitamin E is an important part of the action. This vitamin is also a potent antioxidant, and you’d be hard pressed to get too many antioxidants. (More on those substances later in this chapter.) Leafy green vegetables are a great place to find vitamin E, and you can also get it from vegetable oils, wheat germ, and liver.

If you supplement this vitamin, keep in mind that four natural forms of chemical compounds called tocopherols are used to make vitamin E supplements. Find a product that has all four types, and make sure the supplement is all natural (rather than synthetic).

Vitamin E is one of the fat-soluble vitamins, so your body does store excess amounts instead of flushing them out with your urine, but it’s pretty tough to get so much vitamin E that it has a toxic effect. The RDA is 15 milligrams, and I suggest getting between 200 and 400 milligrams each day. (A big difference, I know, but it’s an important vitamin!)

Even though the RDA is relatively low, a recent study showed that 90 percent of Americans get less than 15 milligrams per day. That’s a disturbing statistic, especially given the important role that vitamin E plays in good health.

Vitamin K

The last essential vitamin I cover in this chapter is vitamin K. This one is necessary for blood clotting, which means that deficiencies can cause bleeding problems. Good dietary sources of vitamin K include alfalfa, fish liver oils (cod liver oil is a classic example), leafy green vegetables, egg yolks, soybean oil, and liver. As with all the other vitamins, I think the FDA’s recommended daily allowance is pitifully low. They suggest getting 120 micrograms, but I think you should have about 1,000 micrograms every day.

Because of its role in the blood clotting process, vitamin K is used medically to reverse excessive doses of warfarin, a drug that’s administered to make blood less likely to clot. Some physicians will tell patients taking warfarin that they shouldn’t eat any leafy green vegetables because of the effect that the vitamin K can have on their warfarin regimen. (It’s hard to believe that a doctor would suggest that her patients not eat leafy green vegetables, but it really happens.) I think a better route is to stick to a regular, healthy, detox diet with lots of leafy green vegetables and then adjust the warfarin doses to the amount of vitamin K that you’re getting from your diet. That’s definitely not something you want to try to accomplish on your own, though, so if you’re taking warfarin make sure you have a good talk with your doctor about the situation before making any changes.

Making Room for Minerals

Like vitamins, minerals have a variety of functions in the body. Probably most significant is the role that minerals play in the formation of enzymes that make possible a lot of different (and crucial) chemical reactions. You can’t enjoy normal body function without the presence of several essential minerals in adequate amounts, and in this section I give you an idea of what you need and how much of it you should try to get every day.

If you’ve read any of the previous sections on vitamins, you already know that many of the FDA’s recommended daily allowances are, in my opinion, way too low. The same goes for some minerals, although the FDA and I do agree for a few of them.

It’s pretty tough to take in minerals to the point where they’re toxic unless you have kidney problems. If your kidneys are functioning normally, you’d have to really make a concerted effort to get toxic amounts of minerals through your diet, and doing so would even be hard to accomplish with supplements. It’s much more likely that you’re not getting enough minerals; mineral deficiency has become more and more common due to the depletion of the soil used to grow vegetables (an important source of minerals) and also the heavy processing of food, which has a nasty way of ruining minerals.

Calcium

As far as minerals go, calcium has always seemed to maintain a pretty high profile. You can ask schoolchildren why they need calcium, and many of them will be able to tell you that you’ve got to have it for strong bones and teeth. That’s exactly right, but calcium also does quite a few other things for you. It helps control your blood pressure, for example, and ensures normal nerve function.

It probably comes as no surprise that milk and dairy products are among the most common dietary sources of calcium, but many people are shocked to find out that you can get just as much (or more, in some cases) calcium from leafy green vegetables like kale, as well as broccoli, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds, whole grains, and seafood.

If you don’t get enough calcium, your risk for osteoporosis and other bone conditions goes way up, as does the chance that you’ll suffer from problems with your nerves.

How much calcium do you need to get every day? The FDA recommends 1,000 milligrams, but I say double it. You can get quite a lot of calcium from vegetables, especially if they’re 100 percent organic. But most people can’t get enough calcium in their diets, so supplementing is important.

When choosing a calcium supplement, try to get calcium hydroxylapatite. This form is far superior to calcium citrate, and especially to calcium carbonate, which blocks other minerals from being absorbed and is often contaminated with lead.

You can’t absorb calcium without vitamin D, so if you try to boost your intake of calcium without ensuring that you’re getting enough vitamin D, you’re really just spinning your wheels. I recommend getting at least 2,000 to 5,000 international units of vitamin D each day.

Iron

We should all aspire to be iron men or iron women. Iron does some really critical things in your body, including metabolizing other nutrients and helping to regulate your immune system. But iron’s most well known contribution to your health is its presence in hemoglobin, which is the amazing protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body.

Given that you can’t survive without iron, you may be shocked to learn that almost 60 percent of Americans are iron deficient. Low levels of iron can result in anemia. Iron deficiencies are common among vegetarians and also among pregnant or menstruating women. To make sure you’re getting enough iron, focus on eating meats, leafy green vegetables, apricots, nuts, seeds, kelp, and cherries.

Iron absorption is increased when you’re getting plenty of vitamin C, so if you’re worried about an iron deficiency, make sure your diet and supplement regimen includes lots of vitamin C. (That’s a good rule anyway because vita- min C is such an important nutrient.)

Iron is one of the few nutrients for which the FDA’s daily recommended allowance is on par with what I think people should be getting. The RDA is

8 milligrams per day, and if you’re getting that much you should be in good shape, especially if you’re also getting all the other essential nutrients in sufficient amounts.

Iron is also more likely to cause toxicity if you’re getting too much of it, and it’s possible that extremely high levels of iron can help to cause cardiovascular disease, so do your best to stick to that 8 milligrams per day level.

Zinc

This one may bring up the rear on any alphabetical list of important minerals, but zinc deserves some attention. Zinc is involved in wound healing, and it supports normal immune function. You also need it for proper food digestion. If you don’t get enough zinc, your immune system will suffer, and you can also end up with chronic fatigue symptoms. Boost your zinc intake by eating seafood, vegetables, pumpkin seeds, mushrooms, and brightly colored fruits.

The FDA and I are on the same page when it comes to the amount of zinc you should get each day; shoot for about 11 milligrams and you should be fine. That’s more than most Americans can say; as many as two-thirds are zinc deficient. Losing your sense of taste is one sign of zinc deficiency; if you have that problem, try some zinc.

Sodium

Sodium is very important in controlling fluid levels in the body. It’s also involved in blood pressure control, heart function, and the basic functions of your nerves and muscles. Sodium is added to a lot of the foods we eat, so getting enough of it isn’t usually a problem. Good natural sources of sodium are kelp, coconuts, carrots, and dried fruits. If your kidneys are working well, sodium toxicity shouldn’t be an issue, and the FDA and I agree that you should aim to get about 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.

Potassium

If you want healthy blood pressure, normal heart function, and sharp senses (and who doesn’t?), you need to make sure you’re getting enough potassium. Some of the best food sources are apricots, tomato puree, raisins, and figs; each of these has two to three times as much potassium as bananas. Potassium can also be found in green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, avocados, legumes, and sunflower seeds.

Potassium deficiencies are common when people take diuretics or consume too much alcohol, caffeine, or sugar. The RDA for potassium is 4,700 milligrams per day, and I agree that should do the trick.

Magnesium

Magnesium is an extremely important mineral, and I think it’s often over- looked in medicine today. What does it do for you? Well, it’s critical for normal nerve and muscle function, immune function, temperature regulation, and digestion, for starters. If you don’t get enough magnesium through diet or supplementing, you’ll probably suffer from muscle cramps and an irregular heartbeat, which in some cases can be fatal. And low magnesium levels can help to cause low potassium levels. A whopping 70 percent of Americans don’t get enough magnesium.

As important as magnesium is, many labs don’t test for it because it’s rarely found to be low in the blood. The problem is that magnesium can be dangerously low in the body’s tissues, and a blood test won’t reveal that fact.

A wholesome, healthy diet will include many of the major sources of magnesium, including nuts, green veggies, seafood, beans, organic whole grains, and fruit. The RDA is 420 milligrams per day, but 1,000 milligrams is a healthier dose in my opinion.

Phosphorus

When it comes to normal sensory function and a healthy brain, phosphorus is key. This versatile mineral also works with calcium to maintain strong bones and teeth. Get phosphorous in organic whole grains, molasses, kelp, seeds, lentils, and dairy products. The FDA and I agree that 700 milligrams is a healthy amount, and low phosphorus levels aren’t very common at all.

Manganese

Manganese doesn’t get a lot of attention, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important mineral. You need it for maximum immune function, and it also works as an antioxidant. Foods like eggs, green tea, kelp, blueberries, and avocados contain quite a bit of manganese. The RDA for manganese is a paltry 2.3 milligrams per day, but I strive to get about 500 milligrams per day instead.

It’s very difficult to take on toxic levels of manganese through diet and supplementing, but a small portion of the population ends up with manganese toxicity in another way: through welding. Many of the materials used in welding contain very high amounts of manganese, and as a result welders are exposed to a huge amount of it. If you weld, or if you know a welder, it’s a good idea to get tested for manganese toxicity. Left unchecked, very high amounts of manganese in the body can have negative effects on the brain.

Copper

Another dynamic mineral, copper plays a part in making hemoglobin, sup- ports immune function, helps in the production of neurotransmitters, and is required for the development of connective tissue and nerve linings. You can get copper in beef, but if you’re not a meat eater, seek out copper sources like seafood, nuts, seeds, lentils, and mushrooms. A daily intake of 900 micro- grams is recommended by the FDA, but you’ll be healthier if you double that amount.

Iodine

Iodine is essential for thyroid function, and your thyroid helps to control your energy levels. (Flip back to Chapter 11 for a lot of useful information on how toxicity can affect your energy.) If you don’t have enough iodine, your thyroid can’t operate, and you can end up with out-of-whack energy levels, weight gain, dry skin, constipation, profound fatigue, and much more. You can get iodine in fresh vegetables and in seafood, as well as in kelp and dulse (a sea vegetable). The RDA is 150 micrograms per day, but you’ll be better off if you bring in about 1,100 micrograms instead.

Selenium

Without selenium, your immune system couldn’t work properly. Your cell membranes would go haywire. It’s also been shown to have antioxidant effects, and it can help protect against certain kinds of cancer. About 60 per- cent of Americans don’t get enough selenium, and you can avoid joining their ranks by eating whole grains, onions, garlic, broccoli, sesame seeds, and Brazil nuts. I think you should get 100 micrograms every day, which is about double what the FDA recommends.

Chromium

Chromium is necessary for your body to manage insulin successfully, and if you’re not getting enough chromium you could very well be putting yourself at a greater risk for diabetes. Organic vegetables are an excellent source, but you should probably look to supplement for chromium as well, because in my opinion you should take in about 500 micrograms per day. (The RDA is only 30 micrograms.)

Molybdenum

You’re better off not trying to pronounce this one — just make sure you’re getting enough of it in your diet. Molybdenum is needed for an enzyme that controls uric acid, which is a waste product that can affect your kidney health. The best food sources are navy beans, lentils, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, and some tree nuts. I concur with the FDA’s recommendation that you need to get 45 micrograms of molybdenum each day.

Embracing Essential Fatty Acids

Your body uses many different types of fatty acids in its huge range of chemical reactions, and you’re able to manufacture the vast majority of those fatty acids. But a couple of essential fatty acids cannot be made by your body, so you have to get them through your diet and through supplementing. Those two essential fatty acids are omega-3 and omega-6, and they’re absolutely necessary for good health.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Seven different kinds of omega-3 fatty acids exist, but the ones to keep an eye on are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA can be broken down into the other two, but that’s not an incredibly efficient process so you’re better off making sure that you get plenty of all three types. The best food sources for EPA and DHA are in the seafood category: fish, oysters, and crab. You can get ALA from a wider range of foods, including the following:

✓ Canola oil

✓ Flaxseeds or flaxseed oil

✓ Soybean oil

✓ Tofu

✓ Walnuts

Omega-3s are commonly called fish oils, and fish is an excellent source, but you can also get the oils from beef. The only catch is that the beef has to be completely grass fed. Cattle raised on feed lots and fed grains and other unnatural things don’t contain omega-3s.

The majority of Americans don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids. Some estimates state that up to 85 percent of the population has an omega-3 deficiency, and that’s a big time problem when you consider all the conditions that are related to low omega-3 levels, including the following:

✓ Increased memory loss

✓ Increased risk of Alzheimer’s

✓ Depression, bipolar disease, and schizophrenia

✓ Insufficient amount of neurotransmitters

✓ Increased blood pressure

✓ Increased risk of heart disease, including atherosclerosis, angina, heart attack, and stroke

✓ Arthritis

✓ Ulcerative colitis

To avoid health problems associated with a lack of omega-3 fatty acids, you should aim to get about 2–3 grams per day through diet and supplementing. If you’re already suffering from some of those problems, up the dose to 4–5 grams every day. Omega-3 supplements usually contain fish oils, and as with all fish products there’s a chance for mercury contamination, so make sure your fish oil supplements have been independently tested for mercury.

It’s extremely important that pregnant women and babies get enough omega-3 fatty acids, which are critical for growth and development.

Omega-6 fatty acids

Omega-6 fatty acids are important for intercellular signaling, which is to say that your cells need omega-6s to create the chemicals they use to communicate. (Sounds bizarre, I know, but it’s true.)

While people are very commonly omega-3 deficient, it’s actually pretty rare that someone doesn’t get enough omega-6s. That’s because omega-6s are present in beef, corn oil, and soy oil, which are abundant in the diets of most Americans. When a person’s omega-6 levels are too high compared to omega- 3s, inflammation can result.

Assisting with Amino Acids

Amino acids are the building blocks for protein, and proteins are required for life. There are eight essential amino acids; your body can’t produce them on its own, which means you have to get them through your diet. Twelve other amino acids are called conditionally essential because if you don’t get enough of the essential amino acids, you have to get some of the other 12 in your diet.

I won’t devote too much space here to a discussion of the essential amino acids, because people rarely end up with essential amino acid deficiencies. That’s because you get plenty of amino acids if you eat meat, eggs, poultry, or fish. Most people eat at least one of those things, and many people eat all of them, so for them amino acids aren’t terribly hard to come by.

Vegetarians and vegans sometimes find it harder to secure all the essential amino acids, and in those cases I recommend bringing plenty of quinoa, buck- wheat, hempseed, and amaranth into the diet. All are good sources of essential amino acids, and they’re very easy to include in your diet because they’re versatile, delicious foods. (If you’ve never had them, I definitely encourage you to branch out and give them a try, even if you eat meat.)

I go into some additional detail about amino acids in Chapter 7, so please flip back there if you’d like to read more.

Adding in Antioxidants

Antioxidants are beneficial chemicals that help to neutralize toxins in your body. Considering that the toxic load most people are exposed to continues to rise with each passing year, antioxidants are becoming more and more important for overall health. Some antioxidants have specific actions on different parts of the body, and some have a more general effect, but all of them are helpful.

People can produce antioxidants in their bodies, and the level at which they’re able to do so is a genetic factor. You can’t do much about your genes, but you can make sure you’re getting plenty of antioxidants through diet and supplementing.

Here are some of the antioxidants that you should try to include in your diet and supplement regimen, and the doses that I think are the most beneficial:

✓ Glutathione: This is the most important antioxidant our body produces.

It can be supplemented at 3,000 milligrams per day.

✓ Alpha-lipoic acid: ALA is extremely effective for detoxing the liver. Take 800–1,600 milligrams per day.

✓ Silymarin: Often called milk thistle, this one increases glutathione and can really boost your liver health. Take 100 milligrams per day.

✓ N-acetylcysteine: It offers liver protection and helps boost pancreas function in diabetes. Take about 600 milligrams per day.

✓ Selenium: I discuss this mineral earlier in the chapter. It improves thyroid function, increases glutathione, decreases the effects of mercury, and is shown to decrease cancer in rats. Try to get about 100 micro- grams each day.

✓ Melatonin: This one stabilizes sleep and reconstitutes glutathione. Aim to get 3–12 milligrams per day.

✓ Sulforaphane: Also called broccoli seed extract, this potent multipurpose antioxidant increases glutathione and has anticancer properties. Use 500 milligrams daily.

✓ Resveratrol: This exciting new antioxidant has anticancer properties and offers improvement in blood sugar control for diabetics. Thirty milligrams per day will do the job.

✓ Coenzyme Q10: This is a required enzyme for the production of energy inside every cell in your body. It also has antioxidant properties. You can supplement with 100–200 milligrams per day.

✓ Vitamin A: This vitamin has strong antioxidant properties. Take 7,500 micrograms per day.

✓ Vitamin C: Another vitamin that offers excellent antioxidant effects, Vitamin C also suppresses cancer growth in high doses. Take 2,000 milligrams per day, and up that number to between 4,000 and 8,000 milligrams if you’re sick.

✓ Lycopene: It decreases the risk for prostate cancer in men.

✓ Beta-carotene: This precursor to vitamin A packs a healthy antioxidant punch. Shoot for about 25,000 micrograms per day.

✓ Vitamin D: I talk about vitamin D in my section on vitamins earlier in this chapter, but it’s also worth noting that it works wonders as an antioxidant. Take 2,000 to 5,000 international units each day. Have your doctor check your level.