Speaker 1 (00:08):
Dr. Gundry, can I take all my supplements at once? The answer is yes, you can. I tend to take my supplements twice a day, but my wife finds it much more convenient to take all of her supplements at once. And quite honestly, through the years, what I’ve learned is whatever way I can actually get you to take the supplements is the correct way for you. Some women don’t like to take a lot of supplements at once, particularly on an empty stomach. Others have absolutely no problem. So many times, I see my patients who take their supplements twice a day, forget their afternoon or evening dose. And I can see it on their blood work. Yes, I can see it on their blood work. Supplements do not make expensive urine. So however I can get them into you is the proper way to take them. And no, you don’t have to take them on an empty stomach.

(01:31):
No, you don’t have to take them with food. However it works for you is the correct way. Do supplements go bad? Shelf life for supplements is actually incredibly long. That’s the good news. The only bad news is if you’re using, for instance, high polyphenol olive oil as a supplement, and we should view it as a supplement, that will go bad once it’s exposed to air. So you always want to buy high polyphenol olive oil in smaller containers that you’ll use more rapidly. Otherwise, supplements have a very long shelf life. Can I take supplements with alcohol? Well, I hate to say this, but if that’ll get you to take your supplements and you’re gonna use red wine or champagne, sure. Do supplements break a fast? The good news is no. Supplements do not break a fast. Even fish oil will not break a fast. Can you take supplements before a blood test?

(02:33):
Well, I’m not sure why you take supplements before a blood test because you’re usually gonna get your blood drawn at eight or nine o’clock in the morning and you’re gonna be told not to eat anything and hydrate. On the other hand, we’re not gonna see the effect of that immediate taking of the supplements on a blood draw. Can I take my supplements with coffee? Again, it really doesn’t matter what you use to take your supplements, except of course, a glass of juice. However, I can get these things into you is the proper way to take them. Are vitamins considered supplements? Yes, vitamins are considered supplements. How do I know if a supplement is high quality? Whenever you’re buying supplements, it’s really, particularly if you’re going to buy them, for instance, on Amazon. It’s really buyer beware. There have been now many published studies. A lot of them have been done by a supplement manufacturer now, NOW, and up to two-thirds of the supplements that have been examined, purchased from the internet do not have the active ingredients that they say they do.

(03:55):
I’ll give you a recent example with a patient of mine who has very low levels of co-enzyme Q10, CoQ10. And we had eventually got them to a point where they needed 600 milligrams of CoQ10 every day to get adequate levels. Now, that’s actually quite a bit, but that’s what this person needed. And with the next blood draw, their CoQ10 levels plummeted. It was like they weren’t taking anything at all. And I said, “You’re not taking your CoQ10 anymore.” And they said, “Oh, yes. Yes, we are. ” And I said, “And you’re taking the same one that we were using.” And they said, “Oh, no. Found a better one on the internet. It has 600 milligrams of CoQ10 and it’s got 10 other great ingredients and it was cheaper.” And I go, “Oops, that’s a fraud. There’s nothing in it. See?” So I said, “Look, it’s a little bit more money.

(04:58):
Go back to the one that was working.” So the next time we tested her blood in three months, bingo, her co-enzyme Q10 levels were normal. And that goes back to what I always tell my patients. First of all, supplements do not make expensive urine. We can see the results on blood tests and people can feel the results. But number two, particularly on the internet, buyer beware. What seems like a miraculously great deal, you’re usually swallowing sawdust rather than the active ingredient. Do I actually need to take supplements? Can’t I get everything from my food? Well, it would be nice and naive to think that you could actually get everything you need from food. Sadly, our soil is so depleted of nutrients and vitamins that you could eat perfectly, organically, and still be very deficient in essential nutrients that your body needs. And I see this over and over again with some of my most compulsive patients, and I have a number of patients who wanna prove it to themselves.

(06:18):
So they’ll stop the supplements without telling me, “Get their blood drawn and see if they can catch me. ” And I’m betting 100% at knowing who surreptitiously stopped their supplements. I always catch it, and they’re always amazed that, “Oh my gosh, I thought I was doing great. I’m sorry. Our modern food is devoid of the things we need.” Sadly, we’re not hunter gatherers collecting our food in eight feet of loam soil. That’s the truth. That’s why supplements do not make expensive urine. So I hope that answers a lot of your questions. Let me know if you’ve got a question. Just put it down in the comment section and hopefully I’ll be able to answer it next go round.

Speaker 2 (07:19):
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Gundry Podcast. If you did, please share this with family and friends. You never know how one of these health tips can completely transform someone’s life when you take the time to share it with them. There’s also the Dr. Gundry Podcast YouTube channel, where we have tens of thousands of free health insights that can help you and your loved ones live a long, vital life. Let’s do this together.