Articles - Fat Loss & Nutrition
by Brian Copeland
Don't waste your money on unnecessary supplements, learn which ones you probably need and which ones you can probably do without.
Also, which ones you can buy cheap and which ones you need to get the premium brands.
Everyone is familiar with the government's RDA, but did you realize that the RDA is not the maximum you should get of vitamins and minerals but the minimum you need so that you don't develop diseases.
Too little vitamin C and you get scurvy, too little vitamin D and you get rickets, etc.
But there is a sliding scale between optimal-for-your-best-health and rickets. Just because you have enough vitamin C to not die does not mean you have enough to be healthy...
According to several studies I've seen, to get the full complete RDA of each nutrient you would need to eat at least 6,000 calories of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and healthy meats daily!
That is A LOT of calories! You would not like what happens to your waistline or wallet eating that many calories per day.
Even eating pure organic foods you would still need close to 6,000 calories per day.
That is where supplementation comes in.
Most supplements are a waste of money. There is very little research to back up most of them and the research is almost always funded by the company selling the product which is unscrupulous to say the least.
The weight loss and bodybuilding supplement industries are especially predatory in nature. Not to mention the pharmaceutical industries.
For the supplements that we have a great body of evidence to support their usefulness, such as vitamins, minerals, protein powders, etc. the question becomes how much do you need if any? Are you already getting enough or do you already have too much for that matter?
Ultimately the I am going to recommend some supplements that most progressive Doctors, Nutritionists and Sports Performance Specialists recommend to their clients.
In order to get on this tier 1 list of supplements that you should take, the supplements needed to meet the following criteria:
A) Solid research must support the supplement
B) Studies show that either a significant part of the population is deficient in it or that excess levels give health benefits
C) Getting higher than regular levels is not toxic or dangerous, although anything taken to extreme levels can be bad but my recommendations will follow modern recommended doses from experts in their fields
For the record, this list may not be the only supplements you need. Special conditions may require additional supplements or higher amounts. However, without a qualified Doctor's guidance and some solid blood work you won't really know what exactly you need. This list is based on what almost everyone needs. If you do get a Doctor's prescription for additional supplements I would highly suggest blood work to show your current levels before and after taking the supplement. How do you know if you need more or less or if you are getting too much without a ruler? That is why blood work may be important.
One final note before we get to the actual supplements... supplement quality.
There is a dirty little secret in the supplement world... many of them are complete garbage!
What is on the label is not what is in the bottle. Worse yet, many of them are actually made in China, shipped to the US and bottled in a cheap motel room by an illegal worker making less than minimum wage. They print their company's logo and place it on the bottle and who knows what the heck is actually in the bottle... 
If it was made in China then I'd be afraid there was melamine (or lead or asbestos or whatever) in the pills and probably very little if any of the actual supplement.
Remember all of the cats and dogs that died from Chinese-made dog and cat food? Or how about the baby formula with melamine in it!!! Avoid Chinese-made supplements like the plague!
What to look for...
Look for manufacturers that are GMP certified and/or are produced in an FDA certified facility.
You will not be able to find GMP or FDA certified with all supplements so another thing to look for is price. If you are buying omega3 fish oil in bulk for cheap at Walmart then I'm pretty sure its not really fish oil in the pills or it is super low quality and potentially even contains toxic levels of mercury.
Many of the supplements we need are cheap and that is a good thing... but certain supplements you don't want to skimp on.
What It Will Do For Me:
- Vitamins and minerals are vital to life, without sufficient levels you die, with low levels you are sick, with optimal levels you flourish
- Energy
- Fat loss
- Strength
- Heart health
- Eye sight
- Avoiding diseases
- Healthy hair, nails and skin
- Bone health
- the list goes on...
A multivitamin/mineral/phytonutrient is where we get our RDA minimums and also get higher levels of quality important vitamins such as vitamin C that excessive levels has been shown to improve health greatly.
Don't skimp on quality multis. Your typical grocery store or drug store name brands are nearly all cheap low quality junk.
They almost always consist of synthetically created vitamins as opposed to being from a real food source like a piece of fruit. Our bodies can't usually absorb and use synthetic vitamins.
Do you know what the number 1 source of clogged septic tanks is? Undigested multivitamins!
NO JOKE!!! You can even see the name brands still printed on some of them. YUCK!
 Your multi should be able to completely dissolve in a glass of room temperature water in 20 minutes or less. This does not guarantee that the body can absorb the vitamins but it does mean at least they will dissolve small enough so that if they are from a quality organic source your body will be able to absorb it.
The vitamin should be designed by a company that understands what people are deficient in and what they are not. For instance, men can get too much iron easily so a good multi should have low levels of iron. If someone has a condition like anemia then they can always take an iron pill on the side if their Doctor prescribes it.
High quality multis will also contain other phytonutrients (a.k.a. phytochemicals) that are not common in multivitamins. What are phytonutrients ? Phytonutrients are plant-based chemicals that have significant health benefits to humans. Polyphenols, lycopene, isoflavanoids and more. Many of these phytochemicals help to prevent diseases such as macular degeneration, cancer and more.
Bottom Line:
Multivitamin/mineral/phytonutrients should:
- Be mostly from organic vegetables and fruits
- Be from a facility that follows GMP and/or FDA quality standards
- Be able to dissolve completely in room temperature water in 20 minutes or less
- Contain phytonutrients (or phytochemicals as they are also called)
The one that I take daily is DoubleX from Nutrilite. Learn more here
What It Will Do For Me:
- Decrease inflammation (the real cause of heart disease)
- Decrease joint pain and inflammation
- Decrease build up of arterial plaque
- Improves mental sharpness and cognition
- Improves strength, flexibility and athleticism
- Decreases symptoms of many common mental disorders such as ADD, ADHD and more
- Helps you lose body fat
- Recover from your workouts faster
- Makes skin healthier, helps eliminate dry itchy skin
- Improves strength of hair and nails
- Soooooo much more I can't even list everything...
Omega 3 fatty acids are a classification of fats that most people do not get even close to sufficient levels of.
There are three omega 3 fatty acids:
1) ALA - Alpha-Linolenic acid
2) EPA - Eicosapentaenoic acid
3) DHA - Docosahexaenoic acid
Of the three sources the two that have proven to be beneficial for humans are EPA and DHA.
The problem is that some people think that eating a vegetarian diet is sufficient for getting all of our nutrients, and they even seek out vegetarian or vegan sources of omega 3s. But the only source of omega 3 from vegetable sources is ALA, which is not readily as useful for humans as EPA and DHA.
EPA and DHA can only be acquired from animal sources. The animals eat grasses (sea grasses in the case of ocean fish) that humans can't digest and get the ALA, then their bodies process the ALA into EPA and DHA... then we eat the animals and get the EPA and DHA from their body fat.
That is why fatty fish is a great source of EPA and DHA. Grass-fed beef can also be a good source but not grain-fed beef since the cows did not eat any grass.
ALA can be converted into EPA and DHA in the human body but it is a highly complex process and requires high levels of magnesium, co-enzymes and even then only a small amount is converted... you really can't get enough EPA and DHA from the conversion of ALA so vegetarian sources are out and sea animal sources are in.
So even though you will hear me recommend that you eat some chia and/or flax seeds because they are high in fiber and the omega 3 ALA, just realize that the ALA is not sufficient for your omega 3 needs.
The Problem:
Our oceans have been contaminated by a very dangerous neurotoxin called methylmercury... or just mercury. Yes the stuff in old fashioned thermometers that let you know if you had a fever or not. Remember how you weren't supposed to break the thermometer because the stuff inside was deadly? Yep, that is in our oceans due to pollution, pharmaceuticals, vaccination by-products, etc.
The fish swim in it, the mercury gets in the fish, we eat the fish and thus get the mercury in us and now we have autism, ADD, etc. At least that is the conclusion that modern science has made for what it is worth. The World Health Organization agrees, we should limit our fish intake due to highly toxic levels of mercury.
Now when a high quality control company makes fish oil supplements they remove the mercury... but a low quality company/product... well, you do the math.
You DO NOT want to skimp on quality with omega 3 fish oil supplements!
Bottom Line:
Omega 3 supplements should:
- Be from a fish/seafood source
- Vegetable sources are not bad... they just may not be very beneficial
- Don't skimp; cheap bulk omega 3s are low quality and probably contain toxic mercury and very little if any real EPA or DHA
I use Ocean Essentials Heart Health Omega 3s by Nutrilite. Learn more here
Whatever one you use, make sure it meets the bullets above.
What It Will Do For Me:
- Strengthen bones (especially important for aging women)
- Strengthen your immune system so you get sick less often
- Improve strength and athleticism
- Improve mood/ helps reduce symptoms of depression
- Heart health
- Reduce hypertension
- Reduce muscle pain, weakness and wasting
- Recent research shows that not only does vitamin D3 prevent cancer but it may actually fight cancer!
Vitamin D is the new hot supplement out there and for good reason. Nearly anyone not living between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn is deficient in vitamin D3.
Vitamin D3 is not really a vitamin but more of a steroid hormone, not like the illegal types!
Learn more about vitamin D here from one of the preeminent researchers on the topic.
Vitamin D3 is a cheap supplement that you don't need to spend a lot of money on.
Your body can produce its own vitamin D from the sun... the problem is that everyone is soooo afraid of the sun because of skin cancer (I'm not) that they slather on sunscreen and avoid the sun.
Emerging research shows that people who use sunscreen get skin cancer more than those who do not use it!
It also shows that people who have skin cancer benefit from sunlight!
Who would have thought?
What exactly is in sun screen? Chemicals. Don't forget that the largest organ in your body is your skin... your skin is also the most permeable organ in the body.
To top it off, when you get sunlight your body uses cholesterol to create vitamin D and melatonin which both protect your skin from the sun's rays.
Too much sun and you burn of course which no doubt will lead to premature aging of the skin and possibly skin cancer... so don't burn, but don't be afraid of the sun either.
The general guideline for getting vitamin D from the sun is to sit with as much skin exposed as possible (swim suit) between the hours of 10am to 2pm when the sun is the strongest, during the summer months when the sun in directly over head.
For light skinned people you may only need 10 - 25 minutes, for darker skinned people you will need more time, maybe up to 30 - 45 minutes or so. This will allow you to develop around 10,000 to 20,000iu of vitamin D. Ultimately leave the sun before you turn pink. If you are worried about premature aging of the skin on your face then cover your face in the shade with a hat or a natural non-toxic sunscreen. Dr. Mercola sells some natural sunscreen on his website www.mercola.com.
The problem is that if you live in the northern hemisphere then you only get sunlight sufficient to develop vitamin D in the late Spring through early Fall. So basically about 3 - 5 months out of the year depending on how far north or south you live. This is why you need to supplement vitamin D3. People that live between the tropics (of Capricorn and Cancer) enjoy great sunlight year round and probably will never need to supplement vitamin D3. North Americans on the other hand, need to supplement vitamin D3 at least during the winter months.
Bottom Line:
Vitamin D3 supplements:
- You don't need to spend a lot, this is a very cheap supplement
- Get vitamin D3, NOT D2
- Follow the recommended guidelines from expert sources such as the Vitamin D Council which as of this date are around 35iu per pound of bodyweight. For most people somewhere between 2,000 to 7,000iu per day is what the Doctor ordered. You can get the type of blood test that the Vitamin D Council recommends if you want to know exactly how much you should take. You can learn more from Dr. Mercola's website here
Personally in the late Spring and Summer I get sunshine from going to the park or laying in the sunshine. But in the Fall through mid Spring I take about 6,000iu per day of vitamin D3. I use Carlson's D-Drops. They are 2,000iu per drop so I take 3 drops on my tongue daily. I am not endorsing this brand but I have no reason to believe they are not high quality at this time. You can take pills but I prefer drops since they are cheaper and quicker to take. 1 bottle lasts me a year and costs about $14.00.
You may not think of protein powder as a supplement, many athletes and fitness enthusiasts just think of it like food and include it as a meal in their day. Well I do too but it is noteworthy enough to make the list.
What It Will Do For Me:
What won't it do for you? Protein is the building blocks of the human body and most people do not get enough... at least not quality protein.
- Strengthen for your immune system so you get sick less
- Improve your strength and athleticism
- Strengthen bones
- Supports weight loss (improves satiety so you eat less)
- Whey protein has a very complete amino acid profile to support a lot of healthy functions in the body
- Detoxifies the body (if organic protein powder)
- Recover from workouts faster
- Build muscle faster... or at all
You can read more about why you need more protein in this article by Dr. John Berardi.
Bottom Line:
For protein supplements:
- Get Whey protein
- Avoid soy protein
- Whey protein should be from grass-fed, hormone-free, pesticide-free, organic cows
- Vegetarian or vegan protein sources are ok but don't have the same amino acid profile of whey protein so I will sometimes mix some vegan protein powder (from rice, hemp or pea... never soy!) into my whey protein shake
I use Warrior Whey from Defense Nutrition. It is the best tasting and smoothest mixing protein powder I have ever tried, plus it meets all of the requirements above. Learn more here
What It Will Do For Me:
Magnesium is required for so many important functions in the body I couldn't possibly list them all. But it is critical for relaxing the muscles, processing vitamin D, converting key nutrients so the body can use them and more.
Zinc is another critical mineral required for many processes in the body. It helps regulate both male and female sex hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, etc. So if your testosterone levels are low it could be a zinc deficiency that is the culprit.
Magnesium and zinc levels are very low in most people. In fact, it is common for rising vitamin D levels to exacerbate an underlying magnesium deficiency. If one is having problems supplementing with vitamin D, a magnesium deficiency could be the reason why.
A great way to get magnesium and zinc is to take ZMA, a supplement consisting of magnesium, zinc and sometimes valerian root (helps you get deeper sleep) or B vitamins are added.
Magnesium and zinc both compete for absorption with calcium... and calcium wins. In fact, magnesium is added to calcium supplements because magnesium helps calcium get absorbed, but it is selfless as it does not itself get absorbed. So if you take a calcium supplement for bone loss and think that you get sufficient levels of magnesium, you might not be.
So the best time to take ZMA is before bed on an empty stomach especially make sure you have not eaten anything with calcium in it. If you eat before bed like I often do then you can take ZMA in the morning.
I take SNAC brand ZMA that I get from www.zupplements.com It is cheap and good quality. It uses Magnesium (as Aspartate) and Zinc (as Monomethionine and Aspartate) which are absorbed by the body better than the
What It Will Do For Me:
- Help you produce more energy in your cells
- Improve heart health and decrease risk for heart attacks
- Have more energy and stamina
- A powerful antioxidant that eliminates cancer causing free-radicals
- Regulate blood pressure levels and healthy circulation
- Boosts your immune system
Co enzyme Q10 or CoQ10 has risen in popularity in recent years for all of the reasons listed above and more.
But it is now even becoming an alternative to dangerous statin cholesterol lowering drugs. If you take statin drugs, which are quite dangerous for a number of reasons (learn more here) then you must take CoQ10 as statins destroy CoQ10 in the body. With CoQ10 being such an important enzyme in the body this is bad bad news.
For people that do not take statin drugs CoQ10 will help with endurance and stamina, energy, strength and more.
I take Nutrilite CoEnzyme Q10 Complex, 1 pill per day personally. You can get it here
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that live inside your digestive system and help to digest food for you. Before you go freaking out, realize that roughly 80% of your digestion is done by these helpful little guys living inside of you.
Additionally, 80% of your immune system comes from your ability to digest food and thus probiotics play a HUGE role in your immune system.
The 2 biggest reasons we need probiotics are:
1) Whenever you take an antibiotic it kills bad bacteria... but it also kills good beneficial bacteria. Thus I try to avoid antibiotics at all costs but if you must take them then you need to replenish your gut with probiotics.
2) Very few of us eat enough raw foods, everything is over cooked and heat kills bacteria. This may sound good as heat will kill bad bacteria like salmonella but it also kills many of the beneficial probiotics that we would otherwise get from raw foods. Thus it is important to eat raw foods such as salads, vegetables, fruits and even eggs and milk... I'll save that discussion for another time.
 But even if you eat a lot of raw foods you may not have enough of the good probiotics or enough different strands or species of these little suckers inside of you.
Each one of these probiotics does a different job. Some of them help you digest lactate so you will not be lactose intolerant anymore... others digest the various types of foods you eat and help convert those foods into vitamins, amino acids, etc.
In fact, if it weren't for these probiotics living in your gut you would not be able to digest and absorb certain nutrients at all.
Someone who is chronically sick should absolutely look into probiotics.
The keys to look for are ones with higher strands of bacteria. In other words we know that 1 strand of bacteria will do one job, another does a different job, etc.
The other thing to look for is the number of live bacteria per serving... if these bacteria can't survive sitting on the shelf before you buy them then popping a pill with a bunch of dead probiotics won't really do much good... they aren't zombies so they won't come back to life.
Personally I cycle between several highly recommended brands but most of the time I take Garden of Life's "Primal Defense Ultra." With 13 species of bacteria and 15 billion live cells per serving this is the Cadillac of probiotics.
Any athlete who has been around the block knows about creatine monohydrate. Of all of the hyped bodybuilding and sports performance supplements around, none have as much real legit scientific research and studies as creatine.
Creatine monohydrate is cheap, comes in a finer powder than it used to so it does not cause gas or bloating like the old days and simply works.
Works for who? Well I would only take it if you are a serious strength athlete. If you lift weights, are trying to put on muscle or need an athletic edge in an intense sport then creatine will likely benefit you. If you are a baby boomer who exercises moderately 2 - 3 days per week for fat loss then you can probably skip this one.
I recommend you skip the typical loading ramp up period. You do not need to cycle or load up on creatine. In fact, 3 - 5 grams (about a teaspoon) mixed in your post exercise protein shake is sufficient from day 1. Take this daily or just on workout days.
Also, skip the fancy expensive creatine forms, you don't need them and all of the real research is on good old fashioned creatine monohydrate.
There are several inexpensive high quality brands of Creatine Monohydrate at www.zupplements.com If you are not sure which brand to get call or email them and ask, they are very helpful and friendly.
Brian's personal supplement regimen:
- Nutrilite DoubleX - 1 serving per day (3 pills, one of each, vitamin, mineral and phytonutrient)
- Nutrilite Ocean Essentials Heart Health Omega 3 - 3 gel-caps per day
- Nutrilite CoQ10 - 1 pill per day
- SNAC brand ZMA-5 - 1 serving per day
- Carlson's D-Drops Vitamin D3 - 6,000iu per day during the winter months (none during the summer)
- Warrior Whey Protein Powder - at least 1 shake per day, sometimes 2 - 3 depending on other food intake
- Garden of Life's Primal Defense Ultra Probiotics - 1 pill every other day (I used to take 1 pill per day but now I get a lot of raw foods so I scale back)
- Creatine Monohydrate - 3-5 grams mixed in my post exercise whey protein shake
Well there you have it, a list of the top supplements that healthy people should be taking daily.
Will you notice a change in how you feel overnight? I hope not! These are supplements not drugs! You notice cocaine right away, not omega 3 fish oils. You won't get a multivitamin high.
What you will notice is that you gradually over time start to feel more energetic, get sick less often and recover from exercise faster. Hopefully what you won't ever need to notice is that you don't get diseases...
Special needs may require special supplements beyond this but I am not in a position to recommend those here, seek proper medical expertise.
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