The Livy Method Podcast - Let's Talk Supplements with Dr. Paul Hrkal, ND - Fall 2024

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

In this live segment, Gina chats about supplements with Dr. Paul Hrkal, ND. Gina and Dr. Paul discuss the supplements that can help support you in your weight loss journey and help level up your health.If you are in the Fall 2024 Support Group, you can check out the full video here:https://www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodfall2024Topics covered:Introducing Dr. Paul HrkalWhat exactly are supplements?What causes deficiencies?How do we know if we need to take supplements?Why it’s important to consult your doctor, naturopath or pharmacist before adding in supplementsHow a vitamin D deficiency could prevent you from losing weightWhy do we need magnesium?Do you get what you pay for when it comes to supplements? What is the recommended minimum dosing?Is there one most important supplement to take for weight loss?Different forms of supplements (capsules, liquid, powder, gummies) and which is bestHow digestive bitters can be viewed as “natural Ozempic”How supplements support detoxificationThe benefits of Omega 3How B vitamins are essential for detoxification and producing energyDr. Paul is working on a supplement literacy program - stay tuned for more info!Dr. Paul discusses the digestive system and the importance of a probiotic and prebioticWhy fibre is so importantWhy creatine is the new social media darlingWhat changes can we notice if we start taking creatine?Why we don’t recommend specific brands of supplementsThe basic supplements list are all foundational supplements. Where to start?Find Dr. Paul at www.paulhrkalnd.com or on Instagram @drpaulhrkalTo learn more about the Livy Method, visit www.ginalivy.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm Gina Livy and welcome to the Livy Method podcast. This is where you'll have access to all of the live streams from my 91 day weight loss program. With a combination of daily lives, guest expert interviews and member stories, there is something new almost every day. Miss the morning live? Want to re-listen to one of our amazing guest experts? Well, this is the place. This podcast is hosted on Acast, but it's available on all podcast platforms, including the one you're listening to right now, Spotify, Apple,

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This is an opportunity to become curious. To learn some things. How do we help you feel less overwhelmed so you can continue on your journey? Keep believing in yourself and keep trusting the process. Just be patient. Talk about trusting the process. Can supplements help you lose weight? Like actually, what is the story? We're bombarded with this, that, and everything. Today I have the perfect guest. Dr. Paul Herckel is joining me. We're going to talk about the supplements that I think may be a benefit. Also the supplements that he thinks may be a benefit. Are they actually a benefit at all? Hi, Dr. Paul. Hello. Good morning, Gina. So first of all, we should introduce you because I know we had an opportunity to meet you during the prep week

when we had our little panel. Just in case anyone missed it, maybe a quick introduction. Sure, yeah. So I've been working with Gene and Livy members since 2020. So we've been around, which has been really cool because as a naturopathic doctor, I really think that the program and its values and principles really align with what I was doing with my patients. And I don't have time to talk about all the things that you guys talk about. So this is just a great opportunity to have a conversation about supplements. And that's really my area of expertise is that I really, not only I've been in practice for over 12 years, I also was very heavily involved in the supplement industry in terms of formulations and diving into the research.

So I want to share a little bit about that today. And of course, as a clinician, I get to see patients and work with them and really put a lot of these things to the test. So it's not only looking at the evidence, but trying to put that into practice. And so that's really where I live day in and day out. Okay, so some of the supplements that I want to talk about today, vitamin D, omega three, magnesium, vitamin B, probiotics, prebiotics, digestive bitters, collagen, I also want to throw in fiber in there and creatine. So those that's a big list. But to your point, I think we should have a conversation what are supplements like when i i i talk about supplements they supplement they fill in the blanks for example

if you're deficient in some of these things until your body can get the nutrients it needs from your foods one of the things i've learned is that in order to get enough vitamin d magnesium these types of things in our food sources. And I love that concept. That's great. But you'd have to curate everything that you're eating throughout the day to make sure that you're getting enough. So it's a lot easier said than done just to say, well, I'm eating really healthy. I shouldn't need any supplements. So can we talk a bit about that? Sure. Yeah. I think it's a very reasonable question that anybody that's going through the program should be asking. It's that, okay, so I see a section in the program that talks at all about supplements.

And, you know, just before we go into what the supplements each are, let's just talk about supplements in general as you started with that question. It's that, you know, just as the word suggests, Gina, it's meant to augment or supplement your lifestyle and diet. Now there's other terms as well, like natural health products is like the official term that Health Canada uses, botanicals. So for example, herbal medicine, there are functional oils like omega threes and protein powders and collagen, which is a very specific type of protein. And so all these categories sometimes are just summarized as supplements. And I think that's more so a reflection of what they're meant to do rather than what they actually are. They're meant to supplement our diet.

So I think in a perfect world, as you said, your diet and lifestyle would take care of everything. But now just think about your own current walk and your life. You're probably in this program looking to level up and improve some of the things that you that you ought to be doing and that you have not. And so that's where I think these tools and I look at supplements as tools to help us get to the destination of better health faster. And they're meant to support the diets process. They're not meant to replace the gene. And I think we've been very clear about that. You're not going to supplement your way to weight loss.

If you just follow supplements, all of a sudden, you're just going to start the pounds are going to start melting off. They're meant to support what the diet ultimately is doing in terms of your metabolism. And sometimes I talk to patients as like, you know, it can kind of help get us out of a rut out of a health rut, or it can really help remove some symptoms that are really bothersome. Like for example, you mentioned probiotics. Probiotics for some people can be a really helpful tool to help reduce a lot of gas and bloating, symptoms of IBS. And when you're able to do that, then you're going to be able to digest your food better and you're not going to be in discomfort. And that obviously is a huge improvement, not just your quality of life,

but being able to like actually stick to the diet. So, I mean, as we go through each one of these, Jean, I want us to keep in mind that these are meant to support what you're currently doing, not to replace it. And in their own right, they're not going to, you know, each make you lose five extra pounds. That's not what it's meant to be. And I really appreciate that, actually, because here's the sneak peek. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet supplement. In fact, a lot of people have come from programs that they've been told, you know what, if you just take this injection, if you just take this protein powder, if you just take this pill, you're going to, you know, it's really the key thing that's going to help boost your metabolism. I've looked at all that stuff.

I've even tried it through patients that have told me all about their experiences. It doesn't work for very long if it works at all. So I think that's really an important thing to consider as we're trying to improve overall health, Gina, rather than just trying to help boost a couple pounds off you, for example. Yeah, because you need to be healthy in order for your body to function on the most optimal level and be able to focus on fat loss at the end of the day. Let's talk a lot of people, let's talk deficiencies. What creates a deficiency? Because a lot of people are coming off of 20 years of dieting, starving, depriving, obviously not getting the nutrients that their bodies needs, low fat, low cal, this, that, and whatever. But besides not getting the nutrients that your body needs, what else causes a deficiency? Yeah, it's a great

question. I think that really dovetails well with the conversation of where do supplements really fit in? Because I think in the back of people's mind, people are asking, you know, do I really need this? And ultimately, that question that you just asked me about deficiency, that's one of the major reasons that for some people, they actually do need it. And so let's talk about situations that people need more. So for example, if you are under a lot of chronic stress, your body's going to need more nutrients. It's going to burn through those

building blocks quicker. So for example, magnesium, B vitamins, which we are in part of the secondary supplement group. So these are two kind of the more stress supportive nutrients. Then there are certain medications that will decrease the absorption of certain nutrients. So if you've been ever on an acid blocking medication, there is a absolutely ironclad well known deficiency that happens when it comes to magnesium. That's why magnesium is so important. Because these acid blocking medications, they block the absorption of magnesium. And I could go down the list of every single medication, not saying those medications should be thrown away. I'm just saying that there are some unfortunate effects that happen because of taking these. Then there are certain ways of eating. For example, if anyone's ever tried kind of like a vegan approach, I'm not talking about, you know, the ethical reasons why people might choose that, but there is a lot of deficiencies that happen with that. Creatine is a huge one. B vitamins, iron, zinc, you know, there's a whole

host of nutrients that you just don't get as much through food sources. And then finally, the most obvious one is just like not eating great, not eating well, because a person is going to be snacking, eating processed foods, processed foods are devoid of nutrients. So we need to make sure we have optimal levels, Gina, of a lot of these key building blocks for our metabolism to function rather than just having bare minimum levels and i think that's an important thing to consider okay so how do we know in a sense that we need them so we can reflect on our history of eating we can talk about the medications that we are taking we can make all

this change that we're doing in the program and perhaps judge it by the scale i'm doing all these things and my scale doesn't seem to be moving um now what i like about the supplements we're going to talk about today is they are all super basic but if you are deficient in them that can be an issue because they are all just super basic they're they're foundational type of supplements so how do you know if you need them? Can you test for vitamin D, omega-3, magnesium, spes, how your microbiome is functioning? So in short, you can, Gina. So all the things you just mentioned, again, all the basic supplements, these are nutrients that a person may need more of. And I think it's important for us to define what's an actual deficiency. Like for example, I have

iron deficiency anemia, which is now going to be shown up in the blood work, versus something that I would maybe consider an insufficiency. So I work a lot with comprehensive lab testing, I interpret lab testing differently. And I and I what I've noticed over the years is that a lot of people are in this kind of gray area where there might be symptomatic, like, for example, they're, they're fatigued, they're not feeling great. And their B vitamins aren't massively deficient to the point that their lab will show, but they're on the low end of the normal range. And that tells us that they may need more. And then when we correct those levels, Gina, their cells can properly function. So there's a difference between like full on deficiency,

then there's an insufficiency. All this can be looked at through blood work. So there, there are definitely some objective data that we can look at. But there also is some just basic logic where, for example, somebody has symptoms of imbalance in their microbiome, as you mentioned. And so they're probably having an imbalance in their bacteria that's present in their gut. And therefore, there come in fiber, prebiotics and probiotics that have lots of evidence showing that they help rebalance the bacterial microflora in the gut. So that is another way that it's harder to test. But we can use symptoms, Gina, to help us determine if a person may need help correcting some levels. The final example I'll use is magnesium because it's one of my favorite minerals, favorite supplement in general. I know it's one of yours and it's one of the key kind of building blocks of the program using, for example, magnesium calm, which is a type of powder

magnesium. A lot of patients will say, I just sleep so much better after using this. They've never done it before until they start using it. They noticed that they get a deeper sleep. This is an example of maybe you are not deficient in magnesium to the point that you were getting symptoms like muscle spasms, and you're getting the textbook, super low levels of magnesium symptoms. However, you have systems like your sleep and your brain and your and your nervous systems that require ideal levels of magnesium. And when you give it in proper levels, you finally now have a more calm nervous system and you can get into a deeper sleep. It doesn't mean that you're sedated.

It just means you can get into an optimal. That's a perfect example of something that a lot of people I know listening to this have experienced themselves, that they are now getting a better, deeper sleep. And that is the difference between like getting away with a bare minimum. Your body just kind of like going on autopilot what's found in foods, which is not very much versus I now have enough to work with and I could finally get into a deeper level of sleep. Okay, love that.

So with the Libby Method, there's so many things that people are doing. We're talking about maximizing this week, right? These are all the things besides food, water, supplements that people are doing. We're talking about maximizing this week, right? These are all the things besides food, water, supplements that people can do, help to manage their stress, move their body, focus on getting a better night's sleep. It's all the things that you are doing in combination. We're going to talk a lot about non-scale victories, which is everything besides the scale in terms of you are being successful at making change. So people are following the program, they're starting to feel a little better. Maybe they're seeing the results on the scale that they want to see. Maybe they're not seeing the results on the scale that they want to see. And with

supplementing, and these supplements I'm about to talk today, we're going to go through the benefits of them. But at the end of the day, you want to walk away and talk to your doctor, your pharmacist. If you don't have access, book a session with a naturopathic doctor like yourself. Definitely worth having that conversation as opposed to just randomly running out and grabbing what's on the shelf. I know you're going to agree with that, but can we talk about why that's important? Yeah, I agree. So I think with nutrients and supplements and botanicals, they kind of fall into this gray area, Gina, where really there isn't an expert in this area in the conventional medical field.

When I say conventional, I mean that's the typical government-funded, at least here in Canada, medical approach. So we're talking like medical doctors, specialists, pharmacists. Now, they're usually quite aware of certain interactions, but those are very basic. And really the experts in supplements and botanicals are naturopathic doctors. There are other nutritionists and chiropractors that have also taken additional training. So if you're really having questions about this, if you're wondering, you know, is this safe with certain medications, if you have a particular condition or multiple conditions that you're like,

I don't know how this is going to all interact. It sounds good from what I'm reading in the book. Then I really am a big proponent of building out your healthcare team. And in this case, this is a great way to kind of double check to make sure that all the things that we're about to discuss are right for you. All that being said though, Gina, is one of the things that I really enjoy about the program is that you the supplements that are part of the primary first supplements that we're going to be talking about today,

they're really foundational nutrients. These are things that the body uses and needs all the time. And the beauty about them is that they are super well-studied and they're safe. And so a lot of people are taking it without access to, you know, talking about this with a, with an expert in the area or a naturopathic doctor and they can have, obviously we encourage them to have those conversations, but they can be assured that there's a very, very high level of safety. So we obviously want people to get that next level because there's always something that people can level up on. So we're working on the diet.

What else can we do? You know, I'm not sleeping as great. I have IBS or have some joint pain that, you know, doesn't seem to go away. I work extensively with people that are navigating the program and we try to remove obstacles so they can actually do the program to the best of their ability. And that is super fulfilling for me. Okay. Love that. Okay. So let's get into this. I want to talk about all of these supplements relevant to weight loss. So vitamin, let's start with vitamin D. How is vitamin D going to help me lose weight? Or if I'm deficient in it, how's it going to prevent me from losing weight? Yeah. So every single one of these supplements that we're going to talk about right now, including vitamin D,

Gina, there isn't like a study out there that's saying if you take 5,000 international units of vitamin D, it's going to cause 10 pounds of weight loss. That's not what we're talking about here. So I just want to make sure we understand. I'm a big, big fan of evidence-based medicine. And the first thing that we often hear about is that, well, there's no research behind supplements and that's just actually BS because there is a lot of evidence now behind supplements. Now it's maybe a little bit different than some of the pharmaceutical studies, but there's evidence that is, that is showing that people need this from a nutrient perspective. Vitamin D is one of those very common deficiencies. I have conversations with doctors all the time,

and they actually don't test for vitamin D anymore because their assumption, and this has even been published in some of the kind of guidelines very recently, saying that, you know what, everyone's deficient. So just everyone should be taking something. And my rebuttal to that always is, is, well, how deficient are you? And some people are not deficient. Some of you are totally adequate. So I like to be evidence informed in that sense of being like, what's your levels? Um, vitamin D Gina is actually, it is a vitamin, but it actually acts like a hormone in many ways. It has some powerful anti-inflammatory effects. We've all heard about it for its immune benefits.

So if you're low, especially very deficient, so people with darker skin, people that live in Northern climates, people that don't go outside very often, vitamin D is made when there's a reaction between the sun and cholesterol in our skin. And then there's a number of processes that occur finally culminating in vitamin D that our body can use. Unfortunately, we in Canada don't have access to a lot of sun, especially during the winter months. And now that it's getting a little cooler, we can't make our vitamin D and not to mention every single cream now, and maybe you can speak more to this, Gina, all has SPF in it, which is like the sun protection factor. And so that's blocking your ability to make vitamin D. So in my experience, a lot of people are deficient.

And if you're deficient, your immune system is not going to work well, you're not going to be able to resolve inflammation very well. At the highest, at the lowest levels of deficiency, people can become depressed people can have chronic pain and and obviously have issues with their bone health which is the most well known effect of vitamin d so that's the those are the main effects from the evidence i would say that the vitamin d has so we're you and i are actually going to have a conversation in the next couple weeks about four reasons why your weight might be slower to move. Not that it's not going to move, but you know, there are people who have a harder time. Inflammation, gut dysbiosis, so gut issues, hormones are one of those. What's the other one? Microbiome?

Food sensitivities was the other one. Food sensitivities. So, and the reason why i'm talking about this is because a lot of these foundational supplements will help address those issues on the most basic level so this we're going to get deeper into um the ins and outs of this conversation as we go um let's talk about magnesium because i i see people in the comments talking about magnesium so i i like citrate that's always been one that i have suggested just because it's easy to absorb in the body. It can help with bowel movements, especially if you're dealing with constipation from making changes in your diet. It helps facilitate sleep. Not that it's a sleep aid or necessarily a poop aid, but there are a lot of other types. Bisglycinate is a big one, especially women, perimenopause, menopause,

probably hearing a lot about that. Why do we need magnesium? And of course, people have lots of questions about what to look for, doses and whatnot. We do have a post in the group and in the app and in the book that outlines all these supplements, recommended, minimum recommended doses, when to take, food sources and all that. So because it's so individual, you can give us an idea, take this at night, take this in the morning. But really, this is a conversation for you to have with your healthcare provider due to when you take other medications or figure out what works best for you. So we're not going to get into that and give specific doses

in terms of how much someone might need or a time of day or any of those real particulars, because it is so individual. But let's talk about magnesium. It's such a huge conversation. It is. Yeah. So let's start talking about just piggybacking on the deficiency. Magnesium is found in some foods, Gina, but the reality is, is that it's not, it's not found in foods as readily as other minerals. Like for example, calcium is found in dairy products. These are very obvious sources of calcium. And, and magnesium is found in green plants. So like green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds is another great source of magnesium, but then it really falls off. There isn't a lot of great source of magnesium. So there's, there's data suggesting that it's one of the top three least consumed

minerals and most common insufficiencies that's present in our diet. That's been since the 1990s. We've known that. And so just to set the table, we're just not getting enough. Then unfortunately, as I mentioned with the acid blocking medications, there are many medications that will decrease magnesium absorption. So anything that will block stomach acid, absolutely certain types of antibiotics, and definitely some blood pressure medications, diuretics that help flush minerals out of your body. So there's another reason a person is not getting enough. So that's reason number two. And number three, it is so important for our ability to produce energy in our bodies, Gina. So magnesium is so helpful because it's a calming mineral. It helps the nervous system not get overstimulated.

So when you're deficient, you're going to get more aggravated. You're going to get more muscle spasms. You might notice that a person's in more pain. There's evidence to say that when your magnesium levels are low, then you have more headaches. And so magnesium is suggested now even by neurologists for things like migraines and headaches. So, I mean, we could talk for two hours about magnesium and all the research evidence-based benefits, but needless to say, just does so many things that are so complimentary to going through the program and being successful. Sleeping well, producing energy, helping with blood sugar control and insulin secretion,

pain, brain function, inflammation, so on and so forth. So we need this mineral, super important. Now, how do we get this mineral? We already talked about diet, not getting enough of it. So supplementation really becomes key here. There are a number of different types of magnesium, as you mentioned, citrate is one of the ones that is recommended in the program, primarily because it's just so easy to access. It's fairly inexpensive. A lot of people get really nice effects when they start having an evening ritual of like sipping it with some water. It fizzes up in bubbles. But you could also replace that with magnesium glycinate if you so choose and you have that on hand.

Generally, magnesium, Gina, is best absorbed in kind of divided doses throughout the day. And you can take it with or without food. It doesn't matter. So it really is really well tolerated that way. The real main side effect that people get are loose stools if they take too much. So there's a lot of laxative effects of magnesium if you take mega doses. And some people are a bit more sensitive, so they don't need to take as mega doses for that. So if you just get loose stools, you can reel that dose back. And of course, always make sure that you check with the healthcare provider so that there's no interactions. There are a couple of things

to consider with magnesium. There's not many, but for example, if somebody's on antibiotics, they shouldn't be taking magnesium at the exact same time as they're taking their antibiotics. So of course, that's a conversation that we are going to say is standard for every single one of the things that we're talking about today. So that's kind of like magnesium. Final thing I'll say about forms is that the one form you want to be very careful to avoid is magnesium oxide. So magnesium oxide is definitely in the laxative aisle and there's a, there's a role for it to play. It's very inexpensive. It can get, you can get a really big dose in a very small amount. And so it's helpful for moving your stools. However, most people in this program are

not taking it for its laxative effect in fact we want to get it into ourselves right yeah we don't want to just to rush our stools yes so if you're getting loose stools in the morning after taking magnesium calm maybe suggest that you know reduce that just a touch so your stools are still formed magnesium glycinate's another good form the real new one on the block is magnesium l-threonate so this is magnesium attached to the amino acid threonic acid or threonate you can attach it to glycinate or you can attach it to malate these are different types of formulations of what are called compounds of magnesium they're all good but mega oxide is the one that is just not as therapeutic absorptive is not great so look for those more amino acid well-absorbed forms compounds and magnesium they're all good but mega oxide is the one that is just not as therapeutic

absorptive is not great so look for those more amino acid well-absorbed forms okay can we talk about so you get what you would be fair to say you get what you pay for when it comes to supplements and then i also do want to talk about dosing what is minimum recommended dosing like is this i mean obviously this is where you want to seek out a health care practitioner like yourself who can help me figure out exactly how deficient i am how much i need everybody is individual but can we just buy whatever's on sale and just take whatever the minimum dose is thoughts there yeah so i mean we can you can i have no problem providing like evidence-based doses so like I always say 200 milligrams twice daily, maybe somewhere between three to 400 milligrams total is what a lot of the research

papers are suggesting. So I'm totally fine to talk about that from an educational perspective with the caveat of saying, make sure there's no interactions. And number two, that dose may have to change depending on a person's sensitivity. Every single supplement and magnesium is no excuse. There is 10% of the population that just has the opposite or bizarre effect to it. That is not the typical one. So magnesium, I've seen with patients that some people start taking it, and they'll notice that they actually feel more irritable.

They have more, there are more muscle spasms. This might be to do that they're either too high or too low. So just adjusting the dose sometimes makes a difference. Sometimes switching forms of magnesium makes a big difference. So from a magnesium citrate to a glycinate, that could be one option. And then finally, magnesium, like all these other key co-factor minerals and nutrients, they work better together, Gina. So magnesium and vitamin D, I'm so glad you talked about that initially. There's a ton of synergy between the two. We always hear about calcium and vitamin D, but magnesium and vitamin D play a key role in helping each other do their job better.

Specifically, if you don't have enough magnesium and you're taking huge amounts of vitamin D, because Dr. Mercola said it's a good thing to do, then you have to, you're going to be missing out on activating that vitamin D, you're not going to get the full benefits. So I think you need to consider that these nutrients like in food, they work better together. And that's where I think the whole primary supplements, I think are really good synergy together. Okay, let's let's talk about social media and people like hawking supplements and you know that was i mean obviously this was a huge dr oz every week had a different thing yeah health food stores would sell out of whatever he was selling that week um you

know vitamin d omega-3 magnesium vitamin b probiotics prebiotics digestive bitters collagen fiber creatine am i missing the one that is like the you have to have this like do you have is there one on this list that you if you could just take one thing that's going to help me lose weight what would it be there really isn't one and like sorry to sorry to kind of like burst people's bubble that they're looking for that magic raspberry ketones that dr said oh yeah this is the best best thing and then you look at the evidence and there's like one mouse study saying that it's somehow improves the metabolism. Yeah. All that stuff is all marketing. And I can tell you because I worked in the industry. And so there is a huge difference between some of the, you know, companies, especially in the U S the U S has very little

regulation people. It's important to understand that in the U.S., anybody in their barn can start a supplement brand and just start slinging something. If they have a good marketing technique, if they're paying for marketing, then it's going to be pushed. We keep running into these things periodically. There is these fads based on this you know, all this, this particular supplement, it was raspberry ketones. Then it was CLA. Uh, then it was, uh, Garcinia. Then it was, you know, uh, you can keep going down the list.

There's, there's so many I can tell you about, but, um, this supplement plan is like me on the dance floor doing a two-step. It's like, you know, you're in your sweet spot. This is the foundational thing to do. And you build off that. Because we've done the research for you. We've gone through all the trouble of testing this stuff out in terms of my patients. And the other flashy things don't really do anything.

They really are expensive. They could be harmful and they're not going to really lead to lasting weight loss. So the approach, which is why I'm even having this conversation in the first place, because I really liked this approach. The approach is help your body giving the main building blocks it needs to properly function and weight loss and all the stuff you're trying to do with diet and exercise, it will do the job better. That's the key thing. So there, Gina, there isn't one thing that I would say, you know, that you would do. Maybe if I was pressed and you said, Dr. Paul, I need you to say one thing. I would say, if you're on the fence saying, I don't want to try any supplements, I'm against supplements, maybe give magnesium a try. Magnesium might be the one that I would say you're probably going to be most able to experience

some sort of effect because I've always said, I've said this before many times with you, I really like supplements that a person is going to take something and they're going to notice a difference. Like if somebody takes a B vitamin and they're been taking for three years and they're like, I don't know what it's doing. My yellow, my P super bright yellow, but that's all I know. I really like doing stuff that works. So magnesium could really help people get into a deeper sleep that I've seen it a hundred, hundred times over and over again, saying people they have less tightness in their muscles. They're less muscle spasms. So there are certain things, Gina, that nutrients like magnesium will give you an immediate effect. If you're looking for flexible workouts, Peloton's got you covered. Summer runs

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Okay. I see a lot of questions. People are like, what's the dose of this? Can this go to that? Can that go with this? So we have all of this written down for you in the posts on supplements in the group, in the app, in the book as well. So if you want to go into a deep dive into what we're recommending, why we're recommending it, dose, food sources, all of that, it's all in the book. So I don't want to spend too much time on that today. I do want to talk about gummies, liquids, pills. So for example, vitamin D comes in drops or also comes in pills. Magnesium comes in citrate powder. It comes in pills. It comes in sprays.

Can we take magnesium gummies like what's what's the story there yeah so i like that we're addressing this straight up because there's a lot of um again marketing on certain things that are available for people to take that they're kind of trying to skirt the effect of like do i have to swallow this like nasty tasting bitters formula, which is one of the primary supplements. The short answer is that there are a number of different options a person can take, whether it's a powder or whether it's a liquid or whether it's a soft gel slash capsule. As long as you're getting the dose in any one of those three things that I mentioned, that is a therapeutic, like around, let's use

magnesium again, 200 to 400 milligrams a day, then you're going to be okay. Whether you're taking it in a powder or taking the capsule, there are pros and cons in terms of practicality with each. So like some people don't like the taste of fish, so they don't want to have omega-3, that's a liquid. But the capsules on the other hand, they're big and they are hard to swallow for some people. So they want to use the liquid. So it really comes down to personal preference. So those are a reminder, powders, capsules slash soft gels, and then also liquids. Liquids, generally speaking, you can take a higher amount because you can take a teaspoon that's like maybe three or four capsules worth, but then you want to keep them in the fridge because now a lot of liquids are going to have

to have some sort of preservative because they're not sealed from oxygen and sunlight and and oxidation that's damaging so now let's get into the kind of more tasty delivery mechanisms like gummies for example example now i just recently um uh got a sample from a company uh for omega-3s for kids gummies because kids are notoriously sometimes picky mine aren't because i train them but in general they of course they're like it tastes amazing because it's full of something sweet so there there's sugar in it, number one, or some sort of sugar alternative or artificial sweeteners. Generally, the natural product industry

will avoid those really synthetic things, but they replace them with things like xylitol, urethritol, stevia. And there's data coming out that these things aren't as great as we used to think that they were when they first came out as these like sugar replacements.

They still can impact the gut microbiome in a way that maybe is not advantageous. So I just had this conversation with a patient that asked me, you know, like, is it really that bad of taking the sugar alternatives? It's not ideal. And there are, there's a hierarchy. Now, if I was to have a little bit of that once in a while, that's not a problem. But if you're replacing pop with something like a stevia-based soft drink and you're drinking the same amount, now you're having the same issues because your brain is still getting the sugar hit. And finally, and this is where the doctor in me really starts getting, you know, pretty personal about this. The things with gummies and these kind of novel delivery mechanisms they just don't have a therapeutic amount they just they they physically

can't load up enough of the nutrient in there for it to actually be beneficial so for the omega-3s it's like 100 milligrams of the of the active ingredient where a soft gel is you can put a thousand milligrams in there for example there's like a huge difference you know so it's really more so it feels good to eat it and people think that they're doing something yeah i really believe that we sometimes need to just take it in the closest to nature form of it and that is going to be the way that the body's going to use it and finally bitters i mentioned bitters i'm a big fan of bitters uh i hope we talk about you know ozempic and things like that in the future and future conversations because it's a huge one yeah i'm doing presentations

on that now because it's a big thing for my patients bitters work on a lot of the same mechanisms as these glp-1 agonist medications. Now, much lower levels and much weaker in terms of its effect, but those same receptors are present in your gut, Gina. And so you need to taste the bitter to get the effect of it. Naturopathic doctors have been slinging the natural ozempic for hundreds of years when we have these bitter herbs that are working on these GLP-1 and many other receptors in the gut. But we now know, the research shows we have bitter receptors in our mouth and that needs to start the digestive process. And then we have bitter receptors throughout our whole intestinal tract. So that is going to be stimulating the body's own GLP-1

production, which is ultimately what these medications are trying to do. Okay, here's me running out to go get my bitters. Bitters are massive. There's supplement companies now coming out. I'm just in touch with one from Australia that they're touting natural GLP-1 action action. Now you're going to see a lot of this because everyone wants to ride the coattails. Medical system is absolutely in love with this class of medications because it does something really unique. But the bidders have been doing this in a less of a strong way, but they've been doing this for a long time. So I think that you need to take it in its natural form people for you to get the full benefits if

you start skirting it with you know uh gummies of apple cider vinegar or gummies of of magnesium you're getting a tiny amount with all sorts of extra stuff that you don't actually want that i think in the long run we're going to realize is not helping us at all. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm still stuck on that GLP-1 and the bitters and all that. I'm just like so excited about this conversation. So first of all, I totally sidetracked. We'll get on the supplements because I think this is more fun. GLP-1. So, you know, when people are taking Ozempic, we totally have to have a whole separate conversation on this because I'm all about it. I'm all about whatever people need to get a handle on their weight loss, but this is the work that you need to do.

Taking Ozempic or any of the others is not going to help you with any deficiencies. It's not going to help you work through issues and associations with foods, habits, beliefs, any of those things. But what that does is when you eat food, it's released in their body to make you feel satisfied and so a lot of people so when they take that it stays in their system and obviously that affects their appetite so it decreases their appetite decreases that kind of food noise um that they have there so i just want to preface that by by talking about how digestive bitters can help because that's all about digestion. And everything that we're doing in the program is about being in tune, being self-aware, even hunger cues.

You have people who go all day long on the other side of it who don't even get hungry. Then when you start paying attention and eating more often, all of a sudden you'll start to notice you actually are hungry. And then a lot of people don't notice when they're satisfied they don't notice when they when they're full because they just have been brought up to eat everything on their plate so it's there's this is sort of where this all works together oh my gosh i'm so excited we totally have to have um we totally have to have conversations on that okay but let's let's for the sake of time today okay i just want to go through people are like gina just let's talk about this jeez come on shut up with the probiotics we don't need that that's not sexy

we'll get there guys we'll get there first there's a method to the madness is that you have to there's a reason there's a primary supplement and then there's a secondary supplement because you want to have the building blocks necessary for your body to function. One thing I totally forgot, which I should mention here. One of the things that you're going to talk about a lot, if you haven't already, Gina, is detoxification. So there's a process the body goes through in its metabolism as they go through the program week by week. So you don't start downsizing the first week we start, we get to that. And so the body, we know that if you're overweight, there is a storage of certain compounds, chemicals, toxins that over the years

we've done depositing. A lot of them are fast soluble. So there are these detox reactions that a person might experience as they start losing weight and the body's metabolism starts eliminating these things. They have to process that. When you have these building blocks, Gina, you can detox better without with less side effects. We don't talk about that very often, but that's another indirect way that we're supporting weight loss. I think a better way of saying it, Gina, now that I'm kind of thinking about it, is that it's supporting your body's metabolism that's doing the weight loss. I don't want to say the supplements are supporting weight loss because that is not the most truthful statement. It's allowing your body to lose weight because it has the proper tools and resources to do it.

That's a key, very subtle, but very key difference. So it's almost supporting the program. It's a key, very subtle, but very key difference. So it's almost supporting the program there. It's supporting the method. It's supporting the process rather than supporting your body's elimination of fat. That's a very key thing. And so it's all about, you know, you've heard the term trust the process. It's all about helping the process be more efficient. And that process isn't driven by supplements. It's supported by supplements. It's all about helping the process be more efficient. And that process isn't driven by supplements. It's supported by supplements. It's driven by the mindset. It's driven by the food choices. It's driven by eliminating foods that are high in X, Y, and Z, things that we've

talked about that we want to eliminate. That's the key important thing. It's supporting hydration, just getting nutrients and hydration in yourselves. When you have enough minerals in your body, Gina, you're going to be able to hydrate yourselves. You just don't want to drink a whole bunch of water and then just pee it all out. If you chug this water, it's going to go straight out into your bladder and it's going to expand those tissues and boom, it's going to signal the elimination pathways. But if you're sipping it with adequate amount of minerals, you have the best chance to retain it. Anyways, I digress. I'm off my soapbox. No more, please. I mean, this goes to that conversation about going down that like this,

you know, the science behind weight loss, right? Like we can really dive into all this and let's totally do that. Um, let's talk about real quick let's do a rapid fire we have omega-3 vitamin b probiotics prebiotics we touched on digestive bitters although people want to know the difference between digestive bitters and enzymes i also want to talk about fiber and creatine and we only have like five minutes to do all of that so uh real quick omega-3 so let's do yeah let's do a rapid fire because each one of these would ideally require for a full minute conversation like you know an hour but let's just do kind of like a lightning around here. So omega-3s, very important for regulating inflammation, important for the function of your cells,

the lining of your cells, the outer wall is made up of omega-3s. The more omega-3s you have in it, the more balanced inflammation you have. Important to remember, omega-3s help you resolve inflammation. It helps your brain function. And it's important to balance all the crappy fats that we've been putting in through poor diet over the last decades of our lives. Omega-6s, which have an effect in the body that is beneficial, we just have too many of them. And we don't have enough omega-3s. So we have this teeter-totter that we have to bring back into balance. You will never

have more omega-3s than omega-6s. Omega-6s have a bit more of a pro-inflammatory effect. Omega-3s anti-inflammatory. And we will talk all about inflammation when it comes to the next couple of weeks. And omega-3s are really important at regulating that inflammation. Okay. Vitamin B. B vitamins, they are the key building blocks inside each one of your cells that are producing energy. There's these little power plants in our cells called mitochondria. B vitamins play a key role in supplying energy and fuel. It also helps the formation of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are the neurochemicals in your brain that help us think, help us feel happy, help us focus, help us sleep and be calm. These are things that are really important in terms of our everyday function, especially when

it comes to cravings and when it comes to the mood aspect. So if we have an imbalance in our neurotransmitters, we're going to feel sluggish. We're going to feel more cravy. We're going to feel poorly focused. ADHD, anxiety is a deficiency in certain neurotransmitters. B vitamins are key building blocks for those neurotransmitters. And then finally, they are absolutely essential for detoxification in the liver uses B vitamins along with magnesium and amino acids, which is another reason protein is so darn important, is that it helps all those pathways do their job better. And that's how we're able to get rid of the junk and metabolize good things back in our body. All of this is so exciting because, you know, in knowing how it all works together, I can really see the big picture of this conversation. It's hard for, I think, some of our new members to maybe grasp that when they don't, they haven't done the program. So it's easy once you've done it to reflect on it and see, oh, this is how it all comes together. I wish there was a way we can encompass that for our new members. Well, I'm actually working on like a supplement literacy program for us right now. So that's actually something that we can talk about in the future just for like more of a like a deeper dive to understand. It's like, it's like me talking what instead of an hour, we can chunk it out into things. Anyways, that's a separate thing. Sign me up. You should take this program because it's going to be really helpful for you to understand what the heck's going on in your body.

Answer all those key questions. We're going to take all the questions that people ask in the program. I'm going to make sure that they're answered in that little conversation. And then I'm able to answer some of those questions. So that's a little project we're working on for the near future. But that's a separate thing that we'll talk about later. Everyone's going to ask. So we will know.

As soon as we have more information, I will keep you you up we'll let you guys know i'll sprinkle that in we'll make it up everyone's like everyone in the comments is like sign up where's this thing okay we'll get there we got there we'll let you know okay i know one of the things you're going to talk about in an upcoming conversation is the microbiome. Yeah, huge. This is where probiotic, prebiotic comes in. I mean, even, I guess, digestive bitters as well. So what do we have to say about that?

Yeah. If your digestive system isn't working well, Gina, then it's hard for you to assimilate the nutrients you're taking in. You're not really getting the full benefits of foods. One of the most common reasons people come and see me from the program is that their digestive system is dysfunctional. So they're doing the program. A lot of times people go through the program, Gina, and their digestive systems that they've been suffering from for years, like reflux and gas and bloating and IBS, they get better. But then there's like the 20% of people that they're like, I did the program or I'm doing the program and I'm like, got still off. That is a key sign to say, hey, that is where inflammation starts. That's where

metabolism is driven. We now know that the microbiome is a key regulator of our metabolism. It's a key regulator of our cravings and our appetite. I was actually just in Europe lecturing on the gut microbiome axis. So I was in Spain and also Switzerland. I talked about this to a group of doctors. And when I did a deep dive into the research on this particular topic, what I quickly realized is that there were studies in animal models that they took the microbiome from mice that are thin and put them in obese mice, and then the obese mice got thin because there's a microbiome influence on all the things that are super important when it comes to weight loss. So we are just unpacking the tiny little top part of that. The microbiome is a place that there's a lot of research potential. We're just starting to scratch the surface,

but probiotics, Gina, and prebiotics have some emerging evidence that not only do they help regulate the gut lining and they regulate inflammation that's happening in the gut, they temporarily modify the gut microbiome, but they can now help reduce cravings. They can help reduce the effect of stress. So I'm starting to use more and more with patients, specific probiotics that have more of this emerging research. So I have to say doing this research and doing this presentation really gave me a new appreciation for how important probiotics and prebiotics are. And I think I can't emphasize enough how important both of these are, even though you may not have got issues, even though you may not feel like you've taken a probiotic and you feel the difference. It is hell. It's like a stress

insurance policy for your gut lining. That's one of the best evidence-based indications of probiotics is that the negative effects of stress, emotional stress is made, is, is dramatically reduced when they're, and you're taking a probiotic, your gut is basically protected from that stress. The effects of stress, sleep, your microbiome, this whole conversation, I hope the takeaway for people is this is why it's not calories in versus calories out. I mean, like no one's disputing. Yeah. You'll lose weight if you starve and deprive yourself. But it's it's so much more complex than that. I don't want people to walk away feeling overwhelmed this conversation. Like all of the conversations that we have in the first few weeks of the program, we are going to build on expand on this is really just an awareness.

This is a generalized conversation, highlighting some supplements. Again, we have that more extensive post that talks about, you know, recommended and doses and what to look for and why we're suggesting them and whatnot. Nobody needs to run out today and, you know, spend a ton of money on supplements. There's no rush. Listen to the conversations that we have coming up because Dr. Paul will be back. Two things I know, and I have like literally have maxed out my time with you. One of the things I think that we don't talk enough about is fiber. So if we can just touch on that. And the last one, creatine, because everyone's talking.

I mean, do we need to book a whole separate segment? Because that's the biggest thing now. Yeah, we'll talk about the prebiotics and probiotics a lot more when we talk about the gut microbiome so let's like so i want to make sure we will address that i don't want to i don't want to gloss over that the fiber also we'll talk about it because fiber is this category that is um probiotics fit under okay sorry prebiotics fit under so prebiotics yes special type of fiber and and and there also are other prebiotics that are not fiber-based that help the microbiome grow

so it's like fertilizer for your gut that's a prebiotic okay probiotics are actually bacteria live bacteria that are put into the digestive system that have a therapeutic effect and just to make things more confusing there's a new thing called postbiotics which actually are um loss of evidence being put on there are the what the product the products of probiotics they actually can be dead probiotics for example so they're not alive but the research is pretty cool because it can have the same, if not better effects than the live bacteria. So there's, if you're confused, we're going to lay this all out for you in the next conversation because there's a lot of things to understand about this. But fiber is important because it's found in foods, but we often are deficient in fiber because it's not found in a lot of highly refined and highly processed foods. So now as we're adding in things like, you know, eating greens with every single meal, that is going to increase the amount of fiber that's present.

Some of the fiber just helps scrape the lining of the digestive system, Gina. It gives it bulk. It helps with stool formation. And for some people, for most people, that is really helpful. But there is, again, a small percentage of people, I just had a conversation with a doctor's colleague, one of their sons, one of her sons gave her this acacia fiber. And ever since then, her gut's been totally messed up. Now that can happen when a person has this dysbiosis. So this is a little teaser for our next conversation is I'm going to, I'm going to unpack this term called dysbiosis for you. And you're going to understand

why some people don't do well with probiotics and prebiotics and fiber, because there are certain situations that it may not agree with you. So if you're one of those people that have tried in the past, maybe wait for that conversation. And I'm going to try to make that a lot more clear. Okay. Do you want to talk about creatine or not to make that a lot more clear. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, you do. Okay. So creatine is like the social media darling right now. Everyone's talking about creatine. Uh, and I don't know why all of a sudden some influencer high up there must've like just mentioned how important creatine is because creatine has been around for like 30 years and the research has been all around for that same amount of time i remember learning about it at mcmaster university when i was studying kinesiology and at that time it really was just relegated to the people that were just hardcore gym nuts and

they were like exercising and working out creatine is a building block for your immediate muscle energy and and tissue energy production so we we have the, when you and I are sitting here, Gina, we're using oxygen to produce energy. It's the most efficient, but unfortunately we, it only happens when we have enough oxygen. As soon as I go out for a run, now I'm switching over to what's called anaerobic exercise. And now I'm not, I'm starting to use an inefficient way of using and producing energy. Creatine is as if I started sprinting or started lifting weight really hard. That is the building block for that immediate energy production. So think of it as like quick start for your brain

and muscles instead of gasoline. Gasoline is the thing that you're going to run your car on, but quick start will get your lawnmower going right away immediately. People are deficient in this quick start because you need it for some quick, rapid action. So if you're exercising, your body's going to need more of it. If you're deficient because of diet, for example, people that have tried being plant-based, they're deficient in creatine. Red meat is the best source of creatine you can get in your diet. But there is some evidence now coming up that people are not getting enough of it. And that is where I think a lot of the rage is coming on social media saying, hey, can we improve this so we can improve our energy? Not just our muscle exercise and working out, but there's evidence on brain energy as well on certain tissues. So

that's why I think it's starting to permeate all facets is that people are starting to talk about it, not just for exercise, but also for brain function and general energy production. If you're eating lots of good animal meats, you're probably, you're definitely not deficient, but maybe you need a little bit more of it. So I, I commonly use it with my concussion patients where research shows that if you get a concussion levels dramatically go down and meaning your need for it goes up. Okay. If I take creatine, how am I going to feel like I go out, I buy it. Is it going to notice any difference if your levels are adequate? If you have, um, if your levels are suboptimal, then you might

notice that like you're a little bit more focused. Your exercise is more efficient. Creatine generally really well tolerated, but it is going to attract water to it when you put it in your body. And so some people will notice that they get a little bit puffier and this is a normal effect. And so just so you know that that may throw some people off because there might be a plus or minus weight thing that happens there. So if you gain a couple pounds on creatine,

that is the normal effect. As soon as you start, stop taking it, that will go away because the water will just flow out of the body that the creatine holds onto. Okay. Now no one's buying it now because they're all like, what? Like I said before, Gina, I'm a big fan of some of these nutrients, but I'm going to tell people honestly about stuff. I am not going to sugarcoat it. You and I are not out there selling a product, trying to push it. You notice that everything we talked about, why we don't talk about brands specifically, is because there's a lot of good brands out there. And a lot of people ask me, Dr. Paul, how do I know what's good? Well, maybe in the future, we'll come up with some way of marking which one would be our preferred option. But at this point

in time, there are a lot of good professional brands. You said it before, you get what you pay for. So if you're buying the lowest price, maybe you have a great deal on sale. Maybe you have the health food store that has the best blowout prices. Amazing. Do that. But on things like omega-3s, on things like B vitamins, you might be getting a type that has lower levels of certain nutrients. And then you might not be getting the full therapeutic effects. So you definitely get what you pay for. And if you're wondering, am I getting enough?

Double check with some of the resources that the living method has put online for you. Double check the app, double check the Facebook group. And in the future, I will start helping people try to navigate some of the dosing aspects too and talking about some of the evidence-based doses. Because you're right, it's hard to kind of determine what's the best form and without actually coming out and saying this is the one and we're not ready to do that yet yeah and listen you know access to health care providers is you know a tricky subject for a lot of people they just don't have the access so something like that would be amazing um okay i love. Um, we know that there's a lot to it. Yeah, we're going to,

but we're going to expand on it. I, you know, I, I think it's an exciting conversation. I do want to speak to, before we go the money that people are spending on supplements, because we don't want you wasting your money. We don't want, like, we don't really benefit from you going out and buying supplements from wherever you are buying them from. But what we benefit from is you being successful at not just losing your weight, but being able to maintain your weight and doing it in a way that feels good. And you know, you walk away healthier than when you started. And so this is where you know, you go you buy the creatine, but what you really need is magnesium. You know, you go buy like the fancy whatever's being, you know, hawked in social media, but what you really need is vitamin D at the end of the day. And so these

two, to Dr. Paul's point are really foundational. These are on the most basic level, the things that your body needs to function on the most optimal level. And when you are healthy, your body can better focus on fat loss and losing weight at the end of the day. Um, let me just say this, Gina, in my practice with most of my patients that I see very complex cases, the supplements that we just talked about are 80% of what I prescribe and I prescribe them in the right doses at the right forms and right times. So what I'm trying to say is that all the things that are most foundational, they're the things that are going to have the most effect on the broadest number of health conditions and concerns. So whether a person has complex health issues or they just need to level up and they want to feel better in general, you start with

a foundational plan. If you're wondering, okay, Gina, Paul, where do I start today? You know, maybe start with some of the things we talked about first, because we kind of put it in an order that I think makes sense to make sure that we have the building blocks if you're gonna go out and buy creatine first i think you might be disappointed because you don't have the building blocks for creatine to be properly used and if you have questions in any way shape or form and you have concerns or hesitations and you might even beics, which are my favorite people to talk to and work with, then definitely talk to somebody that's going to help guide you. And that is where I'm a strong believer of if you have back pain and neck pain, make sure you have an amazing physio car that you work with you. If you have questions about all the medication you're taking, you try

to work with a pharmacist to navigate those things, and so on and so forth. Yeah. I'm a huge fan of psychology. I can't tell you. Psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy, I think, are massively important. And yes, naturopathic medicine has a role to play on navigating some of these health issues that a lot of people just don't get good answers from their conventional medical doctors. Yeah. And they take the time, naturopaths take the time to walk people through

some of their concerns and really get to the root cause. We talk about root cause in the past a lot. And I really think that these supplements are closer to the root cause of ultimately a person's health than just saying, take all these fancy things that are going to bump your metabolism, and then you're going to be gaining all that weight back as soon as the program's over that's not what we're interested in at all well you know we talk about things you can do to be proactive when it comes to getting and keeping that scale moving these are also things that you can do to be proactive when it comes to your health and wellness bigger picture i mean you know going to your doctor if i hurt myself if i am sick that's who i'm running to but there's so much you can do to be proactive in your own health and wellness.

I can't thank you enough for the time that you take with us and the conversations that we have had, we have, and we are going to have in the weeks and months to come. I'm already looking forward to our next conversation. Hurry up and get on that course so we can all sign up and go down rabbit hole of information um thank you so much i know people are going to ask real quickly where to find you you are over on instagram at dr paul herkel you also have a website

yep it's on the screen here paulherkelnd.com okay and you can find that through my instagram you can find me online just search my name if you want uh and engage there okay thank you so much thanks everyone who joined us live um share with your friends share with your family it'll also be available as a podcast later today dr paul herkel as always um thank you so much. Have a great day, everyone. Bye, everyone.