Copyright © 2005, Patrick Deegan. All Rights Reserved

This document presents my current personalized supplementation schedule (version 2.0), along with the rational behind it in the hopes it will be useful to others researching or fine tuning their own.

• Introduction
• Supplementation schedule
• Supplement information
• Organizing everything

Introduction

Having been doing a lot of research on health and nutrition lately, I’ve refined a personalised supplementation schedule based on my requirements and health goals. Though this program is based only my own analysis (and I am in no way a health care professional) and specifically targeted to my own needs, I believe sharing it might be useful, if only to encourage others to begin their own exploration.

The first thing you may notice is that just about all the supplements listed here go over the FDA Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) for vitamins and some other elements. The reason is simply that the RDA is calculated for healthy people in the United States such that the vast majority (~ 98%) avoid deficiencies–so the RDA isn’t an optimal amount, only the minimum requirement (to avoid things like scurvy) and, according to numerous studies, the optimal quantities of various vitamins and elements greatly exceed the RDA.

One must be careful, however. Certain supplements, such as water soluble vitamins like vitamin B or C, aren’t harmful as overconsumption mainly leads to expensive urine (the excess is eliminated). In these cases, it is a simple matter to ensure your body has more than enough at all times. For fat soluble vitamins and numerous minerals, the situation is more delicate. For instance, excess vitamin E can lead to dangerous blood thinning while over consumption of iron can lead to death. Thus, many people should be able to follow these guidelines as-is but careful research should be made before increasing dosage and consulting a doctor or nutritionist would be prudent in any case. Remember that the goal is to get and stay healthy–not to make things worse!

Daily Supplementation Schedule

Daily Supplementation Schedule

Omega 3 Arganine Selenium

Breakfast

Vitamin B+C Ginko GSPE

Folic Acid Vitamin E Garlic

Lunch

Omega 3 Vitamin C Vitamin D

Calcium/Magnesium CoQ10 B50 Complex

Supper

Multivitamin Omega 3

Vitamin C Vitamin E Selenium

Bed

Yes, this is a lot of little pills for one day. But I have found a way to make things much easier, which is described in the Organizing section. Below are a few details concerning the dose and use of each of these supplements.

Supplement Information

Supplement Information
Supplement	Dose	Notes	Related Reading
Vitamin B+C	B1/15mg,B2/10,B6/5, B12/10mcg,C 500mg	Nervous system, homocysteine (cardiovascular disease risk) reduction, metabolizing carbohydrates/energy production, skin health	B6 fact sheet (NIH), B12 fact sheet (NIH)
Vitamin B50 Complex	B1/50mg,B2/50,B3/50, B6/50,B12/50mcg, Folic 0.4mg	Nervous system, homocysteine (cardiovascular disease risk) reduction, metabolizing carbohydrates/energy production, skin health	B6 fact sheet (NIH),B12 fact sheet (NIH)
Vitamin C	500mg	Super antioxydant. Proven to increase the human lifespan when taken in doses that exceed dietary levels. Prevention of cataracts, cancer, cardiovascular disease, aneurysms, gall stones, stroke, brain disease and more. A study published by the NIH in the year 2000 showed that adults whose blood plasma concentrations exceeded the 73.8 micromole level experienced a 57 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause and a 62 percent reduced relative risk of dying of cancer when compared to adults who consumed low amounts of vitamin C (28 micromole). [Am J Clinical Nutrition 72: 139-45, 2000]	Vitamin C Foundation, The Vitamin C Fanatics Were Right All Along, Vegetable Soup Fights Cell Damage
Vitamin D	1000 IU	Skeletal strength, cancer prevention, arthritis prevention	Vitamin D fact sheet (NIH), Fighting arthritis with vitamin D
Vitamin E	400 IU	Antioxydant. Heart disease and cancer prevention, cataract prevention,	Vitamin E fact sheet (NIH)
Arganine	L-Arganine 500mg	Amino acid. Nitrogen donor, Thymus gland stimulation, artery/vein flexibility, muscle growth, reduces platelet aggregation (risk of heart attack)
Calcium/ Magnesium	333mg/167mg	Calcium is related to skeletal health, body fat regulation, muscle contraction. Magnesium is involved in the absorption of calcium and other mineral, regulating blood pressure, heart disease prevention, carbohydrate metabolism, energy production, muscle relaxation.	Calcium and Magnesium fact sheets (NIH)
CoQ10	CoEnzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) 30mg	Fat-soluble vitamin-like substance, antioxydant, important in treatment and prevention of heart disease, possibly responsible for cancer regression	Intro to CoQ10, Cancer Facts: Coenzyme Q10 Q & A (NIH)
Folic Acid	1000 mcg (i.e. 1mg)	Reduced atherosclerosis/stroke/Alzheimer’s through homocysteine reduction, utilization of sugar and amino acids, healthy skin, prevention of neural birth defects (e.g. spina bifida), cancer prevention (colon/breast/pancreatic), improve depression	Benefits of Folic Acid, Folic acid ‘cuts blood pressure’ (BBC News), Folic Acid Fortification: Fact and Folly (FDA)
Garlic	1250mcg allicin	Heart disease prevention, cancer inhibitor (particularly prostate, stomach and colon), cholesterol reduction, blood thinner, reduce blood pressure	Does Garlic Prevent Cancer?
Ginko Biloba	40mg 1-50 extract (9.6mg flavoneglycosides)	Improve microcirculation in the brain, slow progression of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease, reduce claudication (peripheral vascular disease),antioxidant, platelet aggregation inhibitor, possibly enhance memory and brain function	Ginkgo Biloba for Memory Enhancement
GSPE	Grapeseed proanthocyanidin extract, 37.5 mg	Antioxidant protection against heart disease and cancer, prolong life span of vitamin C and E, protection from atherogenesis (development of hardened arteries), hair loss prevention, possible nigh vision aid and prevention of macular degeneration.	GrapeSeed Details (UofM),Proanthocyanidin Power
Multivitamin	Strong Centrum Type multivitamin w/lutein	RDA of most required vitamins and minerals
Omega 3	fish 1000mg (EPA 300mg, DHA 200mg)	Reduced all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, Reduction of silent inflammation, lowering of triglyceride levels (coronary disease risk factor), lowering of blood pressure, prevention of inflammatory and auto-immune diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, osteoporosis, gum disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s).	When "Fatty" is Good: Omega-3 Oils and Fatty Acids, Effects on Cardiovascular Disease, Effects on Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Selenium	50 mcg	Trace mineral required in small amounts. Antioxidant, lowered risk of lung/colorectal/prostate cancers, heart disease and rhumatoid arthritis prevention, induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells, possible link between HIV/AIDS and selenium depletion (e.g. "CD4 tailspin").	Selenium - what it does, Selenium fact sheet (NIH), Selenium May Reduce Colon Cancer Risk, Selenium’s Value to Prostate Health

Organizing everything

In order to manage all these pills, I began by sticking the schedule above inside of the cupboard containing the vitamins and other supplements. Playing musical chairs with bottles quickly became annoying, as there are numerous supplements that are to be taken two or three times a day. In addition, eating out meant foregoing the supplements or having a pocket full of pills.

In order to simplify things and allow for quick getaways without forgetting any supplements, I purchased two weekly pill organizers. Merging the two sets provides up to eight separate compartments per day:

By using this system, I need only retrieve all the various vitamin and supplement bottles once a week and prefill all the compartments in a very mechanical manner by referring to the schedule above. For 8 minutes of effort, I get to spend the week carefree and secure in the knowledge that I’m following the schedule I’ve set out exactly. It makes traveling or going to the restaurant a lot easier as well.

Enjoy.