We are preparing our body for the detox of all detoxes. The cleanse of all cleanses. Trust me, we are embarking on an almost religious experience together through this gut health journey. You might not believe in god or goddesses today, but maybe you will once we get through this together.
In holistic medicine it is believed that you must heal the root in the ground so that the tree is stable first. Meaning, if you are trying to get healthy it is best to get the body right first before trying to get anything else done.
If you don’t do much exercise to begin with, do not try to start exercising now. Try exercising if you can, but if you’re really unhealthy and are not used to exercising everyday just remember that this journey is a marathon and not a sprint. It is much more fruitful for you on this gut health journey to be getting your body’s foundation correct first, before placing it through the stress of a detox or cleanse or new exercise regimen.
Why take supplements?
The biggest reason why I use nutritional supplementation is because I’m convinced that the food we are buying here in America has become completely unrecognizable to my human microbiome. Due to the rise of genetic engineering and modified foods (GMOs), I believe that our bodies no longer recognizes the crops we are eating.
When your doctor, parent, or whatever, is telling you that you should be able to get all your nutrients, vitamins and minerals from food sources alone, this is partially true historically. And somewhat geographically varied in this day and age. Yes, in an ideal world we should be able to obtain all our nutrients from food alone, and yes there was a time when this was happening, but it just isn’t happening anymore. And the sooner we admit that something is wrong with our food, the happier and better we’ll be.
During the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, even up until the 90’s I would argue that almost all food was still organic because this was prior to the advent of GMO’s in the 2000s. There was no other alternative. Organic was the mainstream and there were no other options. Processed foods weren’t really a thing back then either, this came later.
Somewhere during the mid-2000s, there was a switch: organic foods became a rarity and now GMOs have become the norm. Not for all countries but definitely a lot of them in the west. This is why I’m saying it is partially true AND geographically varied because some countries outright banned GMOs when they first started coming out. And at the introduction of GMOs in the 2000’s, coincidentally, auto-immune diseases have since sky-rocketed yet nobody talks about it.
Why did we make the switch to GMOs? The west and America places a greater importance on profits over the quality of what’s being produced. The bottom-line profits are more important every time. This is capitalism. Genetic manipulation of crops allows agriculturalists to obtain much higher yields per crop but this exchange is costing us our health.
I think “their” long game is that we’ll just adapt to these new crops over time. But when I look around and see how many people are walking around nutrient deficient, it surely is the food and I don’t expect our bodies to suddenly start absorbing these foreign entities.
Because most food in America is nutrient deficient, it is smart to take supplements to make up whatever nutrient deficiencies we might need addressing from our food. Just my two cents.
Make no mistake: no nutrient, vitamin, nor mineral is ever going to compete with the bioavailability of food. The best way to get your vitamins and minerals is still from food but it must be organic. Organic food is — and always will be — the best way for humans to obtain their nutrients. Through food. But if food isn’t recognizable to our bodies then our bodies are going to reject it.
Multivitamins
This multivitamin has zinc in it, which might interfere with the absorption of certain medications so please do your own research. Zinc absorption also affects copper absorption so please pay attention carefully.
Copper and zinc go hand in hand in many ways but they also repel in many ways – if you get too much copper it can deplete your zinc, if you get too much zinc it can deplete your copper. Not only this but copper and zinc compete for absorption in the stomach, which explains why they’re needing to be taken 2 hours apart.
Striking the correct ratio between zinc and copper can be difficult but when you get it right, your body will thank you for it. Watch out for my Patreon launch with my morning Collagen + Copper + Coffee recipe! There’s a couple hidden secrets in there too, so it’s well worth the subscription.
I take copper first with my collagen supplement in my morning coffee and then I wait 2 hours before eating breakfast with my multivitamin.
Don’t forget it takes at least 6 weeks for our bodies to absorb nutrients from these new things so stay patient, consistent, and persevere.
B – Vitamins Complex
If you’re waking up groggy and tired every morning, you should try re-upping on those b-vitamins. This is the one I take.
It is my inherent belief that we are all walking chemical blood bags and when these chemicals are out of whack so are our hormones and therefore our moods and everything else. I’m all about balancing out the endocrine system. B-vitamins are so important when it comes to balancing out one’s thyroid, which is literally the epicenter of our endocrine system alongside the hypothalamus part of our brain. The neck is basically the part of our body that houses all of our hormonal regulatory properties.
Make careful note of the beverages you’re consuming. If you consume a lot of liquids with tannins in them (coffee, tea, wine, caffeine & alcohol in general) then a b-vitamin complex is crucial. A tannin is what interferes with our body’s ability to absorb the very important vitamin-b1 (thiamine), vitamin-a, and a bunch of other crucial b-vitamins.
How Often: Twice per day.
Timing: For maximum effect take after consuming high tannin drinks. Fair warning, your caffeine buzz will subside after you take the b-vitamin. So, maybe give it 2 or 3 hours of enjoying your caffeine buzz before you take the b-vitamin if you can time it this way.
What I do:
I try to not stress too much about it because if I stress about it then I won’t do it. If I can time 2 – 3 hours after my morning coffee. Great. Some days it isn’t feasible. Taking it is always better than not taking it, but I do notice a difference when I time it correctly.
Most days I get busy and can’t time it correctly so I just take it with all the rest of my vitamins at breakfast. It is more important to take it with regularity than it is to time it, but yes timing does make a huge difference. I try and take my last one after my night-time tea, which obviously has a lot of tannins. And when I do take my b-vitamin complex after my nighttime tea, I do notice a difference upon waking up.
How long to feel effects: You’ll begin feeling less groggy upon waking up almost immediately. B-vitamins are water soluble so you will absorb more with the more water you drink. I do notice my urine turns very yellow, so I try to remember to stay hydrated within reason. Hydration is its own blog post.
Take note of how your body feels on the days you don’t take it, how groggy you feel getting up the next day. Remember this and keep it in your brain as motivation to keep it up because waking up feeling refreshed and rested should be important to you. For full and maximum effects like everything it’ll take 6 weeks.
Cod Liver Oil
Carlson - Cod Liver Oil Gems, 460 mg Omega-3s, Plus Vitamins A and D3, Wild Caught Norwegian Arctic Cod Liver Oil, Sustainably Sourced Nordic Fish Oil Capsules
I’m all about the anti-inflammatory diet. One of the biggest things that is good for our bodily inflammation is taking an omega supplement. I’ve taken plenty of different fish oils over the years, and I would say with full certainty that cod liver oil is in fact the most effective.
We are about to put our body through a lot of inflammation when we begin to cleanse and detox, which I will be posting about soon. My goal is to prepare your body for the journey that it is about to undertake. The easiest way to do this is by firstly building up your own vitamin stores, and beginning to build up your anti-inflammatory markers.
Cod liver oil is also very protective of our brains. I do notice when I run out and there is a lapse between days, my memory isn’t quite as strong. I know that sounds crazy, but I do feel more “brainpower” when I’m taking cod liver oil with every meal.
Timing: They say that omegas can make one feel sleepy, so be weary and experiment with taking it at different times of the day. If you find yourself getting sleepy when you take your omegas after breakfast, maybe move it to an afternoon or evening supplement?
How often? Honestly though, as often as possible. I take 2 grams of cod-liver oil with every meal. Yes, that’s a bit excessive but it doesn’t make me tired or groggy, nor does it make me want to fall asleep! And if I do get tired, I have the luxury of time so this boy likes to siesta, ya know?
How long to feel effects: After 2 weeks you should feel less inflammation, but like most things it takes 6 weeks to catch its full effect.
In Conclusion
Stay patient, be consistent, and persevere. I’m here with you every step of the way.
X
Extra Credit: Only Eating Organic
The case made for organic is that it tastes better and to me that is reason enough to buy it! Why does it taste better? I’m not sure but my guess is that it is more nutrient dense. Go ahead and try it for yourself. Go and buy some grass-fed organic ribeye steak from Whole Foods, and then get a regular ribeye that’s fed corn stock and tell me if you can taste a difference.
If you can’t afford steak, which is honestly so understandable in this economy. Go and buy two green granny smith apples; one organic and one inorganic, and let me know if you can taste the difference.
PRO TIP: If you are trying to minimize fermentation in your gut because you are healing it, peel the skins off the apples. Apple is a high FODMAP food and I always take the skins off before eating mine. Plus don’t run the risk of ingesting all those gross sprays that you know have penetrated that apple’s skin.