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

Episode Date: April 5, 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 Winter 2024 Support Group, you can check out the full video here:https://www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodwinter2024Topics covered:Introducing Dr. Paul Hrkal (@drpaulhrkal, www.paulhrkalnd.com) and talking about getting started in the New YearChoose goals that you can sustain even through the tough times, and make them achievableIntroduction to Naturopathic medicine and integrating health systems How supplements can be very beneficial and help you get healthierThe significant differences between the quality of products  What if you can not take any supplements? Can you still be successfulVitamin D: What happens if you are deficient in it, and are you getting enough?How do you know if you need it? Where do you start?Seeking out good quality products and how do you know it's working for you?Fortified foods versus supplementationWhich supplements should be taken with food?When should you start incorporating supplements, and which ones should you begin with?Dr. Paul Supplement hierarchy, where to start, and what is typical for preventionHow it all comes together: diet, supplementsMagnesium is one of the most common mineral deficiencies; what does it do in your body?What are the different forms of magnesium, and when should they be taken?Omega 3: Where to get them and why they are important.Probiotics & Prebiotics: Gut health is so important to general healthPro and Prebiotics, what do they both do, and should you take them together?Collagen: a functional food; what role does it play in your body?What form to take your collagen in, powder, pills or liquidWhat are the broad-spectrum benefits of supplements?Are you getting any benefits from gummy vitamins?Apple cider vinegar and lemon water benefit balancing blood sugar and promote digestive functionDigestive Bitters promote your own digestive function. Should you be taking them?AG1: What are Dr. Paul's thoughts and the psychology of taking supplements and getting focused on your healthAG1: good functional food but may not offer therapeutic benefitTo 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,

and Amazon Music. You're going to have this ability to now reframe. Allow yourself time throughout the day to stress the fuck out. The thoughts and the feelings and the behavior cycle can start changing. My guest today, no stranger to the living method. We've had so many amazing conversations. I love us because we just like tell it how it is. And we just want to help people and we want to make sure they have the information that they need. I want to extend a huge welcome, even though you've been here so many times before, Dr. Paul Hercule joining us

today. Hello. Hi. Good morning, Gina. It's so nice to see you again. Hope you had a good start to the new year. I'm super excited to be back for the I'm not even gonna say it many times. You know, I just I we did have a plan. We just talked. We're like, okay, we've had this conversation before. What are we going to do this time, we're going to get right into those supplements. But I just something you mentioned about the new year, because you must see so many people who want to get healthy, they start regiments, and then they don't follow through and finish, especially in the new year to have any advice for people i mean of course we've started this this diet and this program in the new year but more than that there seems to be an extra amount of pressure is that a good thing

bad thing what do you think well i think that um it really depends on the long-term mindset a person has so like if you start something that is not going to be reasonable for you to continue, like a lot of people go to the gym and they're like, I swear I'm going to do it four times a week. And then within the first couple of weeks, the gyms are back to the December volumes.

I think one of the most important lessons that I learned in my own life and also what I've tried to share with my patients is whenever you're going to start making a change, make sure you also commit to being able to do it in the tough times when things are stressed. I've had so many people now that have come through my office as patients that have gone through the Libby Method. And that is a fresh start for a lot of people. People start that program and they find it very inspirational. They find it really motivating. And then something happens, something life happens. So a stressor, a loved one gets ill, they might get sick. And then it's almost like as if like that all that goodwill and all that good motivation just disappears really, really dramatically and rapidly.

And I have to say the people that are able to stick through that, that those are usually the veterans of the Livvy program that have done it a couple of times and they kind of been around the block and they know what to do. And that's how I know that they're evolving and progressing in their mindset. It really is a mindset program. And I keep reiterating this, that you're, you know, you have to put the basics in place. Absolutely. But then the other big part of the battle, the evolution to really get you to where you want to be on your health and weight goals is really up here and achievable consistency, getting yourself off the mat, as they proverbially

say, if you're in the ring, that is really what, you know, long term success, I find is the key measure for an aha moment, which is so great about our conversation is not only have you come on and spoken in the group so many times, but you have so many people who've done the program actually come and see you. So you have like hands on experience and having conversations with real people on real journeys. I love that. Okay. So let's talk about, I love the mindset part. Let's talk about the physical part then. Let you have, let's actually, let's talk about your experience with supplements and maybe do a quick introduction. I kind of got so excited

about our conversation off the top. I skipped over that. Especially for people that have not new program, they haven't heard of me before they you know, I come on and do three, three little combos like this. But it's important to kind of know where a person's coming from. So I am a naturopathic doctor, I've been practicing for over 12 years now. So I have a lot of the practical hands-on experience with people from all walks of life. I do have a focus now in people that have gone through the living program, but primarily in my practice, I do a lot of chronic pain. But as a naturopathic doctor, Gina, you really have to understand the whole body. How does everything work together? In naturopathic medicine, there really isn't officially recognized specialties or specialists.

And I think that's kind of almost by design because the nature of naturopathic medicine is that even if you come in with a digestive complaint, well, what if that has to do with an infectious issue? Or what if that has to do with a hormonal issue? Well, as an MD, I have to find a way to piece this all together. So it's important to understand that I come from a background of integrating health, integrating health systems. I also work a lot with other healthcare professionals, chiropractors, medical doctors, psychologists, I really believe in a big proponent of integrative multimodal medicine. I think that's huge. So trying to find a team of people to help you on your healthcare journey is something that I found to be most effective. And then finally, in terms of what's most pertinent to this combo, Gina, is that earlier on in my career for the

first decade or so, I was heavily involved in the nutraceutical world. And that basically is the world of how to make supplements based on the research in ways that's really beneficial for people. So I was on the supplement formulation side. I was on the education side, teaching people all over the world about how to use this from doctors and specialists to the public. So I have a lot of experience in the topic we're about to talk about. No, you've heard a lot about, you know, I mean, I'm old enough to have heard the whole,

oh, supplements are crap. You just pee them out. You know, they're not a benefit. They're not useful at all. And on top of that, so your doctor is amazing. We all need our doctors. Doctors are like, okay, you're sick, take this pill, or okay, you need to go get healthy, go lose some weight. Right. And then there is this whole other realm and this whole other space of products, supplements that can actually help you get healthier, help you address a variety of different health issues, no doubt, as well. I mean, this is where going to see a naturopathic doctor like yourself is really important. If you are looking to address lots of questions about what if I had PCOS,

what if I had thyroid issues? What if I have this? What if I have that? I mean, we're going to stick today to the basics, super basic ones that I feel can be a benefit when you're trying to lose weight. But just really quickly, the naysayers of supplements, and rightfully so, there's a lot of mixed messaging out there. What do you see to people who are like, I'm not sure about supplements? Yeah, well, first of all, I would say and recognize, I hope that that comes from a place of healthy skepticism. I think we should generally be, have a healthy curiosity, but also balanced with some skepticism. We don't want to be so open-minded that our brain falls out.

That's one of my favorite kind of lines. And so, I mean, if you look at any medical profession, not just natural medicine, you know, not just nutraceuticals, it's like you could look at pharmaceuticals and all you look at is the only the negative impact being like, look at all the opioid issues. And because of that, you know, I'm never taking a drug because it's useless. Well, I think you're going to hurt yourself by doing that because there is a lot of negativity and some of it rightly justified

in pharmaceuticals as well as even in nutraceuticals, because there's a large difference between the quality of products. There are people that are trying to make a quick buck, especially in the United States, where a lot of information comes out that's on social media and on the news. There's really very little regulation of supplements. The FDA just makes sure that you're not making egregious claims. But in Canada, for those people that are listening, because both of us are based in Canada, we actually have some of the highest supplement standards in the world, Gina. And that what that does is that Health Canada actually requires companies to have what's called a natural health

product number, or an NPN. And that means that they're they've checked it for the research behind the product, you can't put an ingredient in there that they haven't improved or approved and that there's safety. And then they're going to these companies periodically and asking them to say, hey, show me the actual testing that you do. So we have some safeguards in Canada, less so in the US. So people can feel confident that at least what they're getting in their supplements in most cases are going to be what's actually on the label. I think that's the first thing to really important that we lay that baseline. And then just a quick note to the people that are saying, well, you know what, even if that's the case, it's a waste of money because you peed out and there's no research behind it. The reality is, is that there is

thousands of different ingredients, hundreds of different formulations, and there's a large amount of research on many of them. Now, when we're talking about the same level of research that maybe a pharmaceutical medication is, it's different research because that is funded by a particular group, a company that's actually trying to make money off that. There's implied cognitive interest right there. In the nutraceutical world, there's no company saying, hey, I'm going to put all this money into research. What they're finding is these universities out of really just scientific integrity are saying, hey, I want to check out the impact of vitamin D on immunity or probiotics on immune function. And there's tons of research out there on that. So just saying there's no research, I think is a really lazy argument, because that just simply isn't true.

Okay. Now, I want to talk about these supplements specifically before I do. I promise you to get into them. You know, I'm always mindful of people who for whatever reason cannot take any of the supplements that we suggest. And so I just want to reiterate to people or to point out the obvious is that you are already doing so many things with this program. You know, not only just eating healthy, nutrient rich foods, trying to be hydrated, trying to move your body more, work on getting better sleep, manage your stress, work hand in hand with your doctor, these things are only a benefit and can only really help you lose weight if you are also doing all these other things. Like, I think you would agree that not not not one of these things on its own, or there's probably not one supplement out there

that maybe on its own is going to be like, take this and you'll lose weight, even if you just know, no, I'll say that right off the top there. Absolutely not. I think you hit the nail on the head here. If a person is doing the supplements and not doing the diet, then they're totally missing the gist of what you're trying to share with them. The diet is the foundation. The supplement is kind of, they're exactly what the name is. They're supposed to supplement you trying to follow a good and healthy diet and live an active lifestyle. And if the expectation and this is where again, some of this research that's published out there, they're saying, hey, take this multivitamin and your cognitive function is going to improve. I mean,

you're set up for failure. Obviously, that's not going to work. So the same thing applies, you know, when someone says, well, there's no research on vitamins and weight loss. Well, if you're looking at these like big, broad categories, yeah, I would agree that it just doesn't make sense. It's like saying antibiotics are going to prevent Alzheimer's. It just doesn't make sense. But if you look at it saying, hey, my sleep isn't as great, magnesium can be helpful for sleep. A lot of people are deficient in magnesium because it's not as high in foods anymore. There's so many layers to this, Gina. And again, we can have two hour long conversations on why going over each nutrient to say, hey, there's a need because you're under a lot of stress and the body's using more B vitamins. It's using more magnesium to kind of buffer itself for that stress. There's this whole way of thinking of saying, hey, I just want to make sure that I have enough building blocks in your cells to properly function. And our diet lifestyles, and unfortunately, some of the abuses

we did early in our lives, are depleting us at a more rapid rate. So that's important to understand is that it's meant to kind of top up, and also not just give you the bare minimum, but give you the optimal amount of building blocks for your body to function. And one of those things is weight loss, along with sleep, along with less pain, along with reducing things like headaches, improving blood flow. These are all very positive things. Okay, let's talk about vitamin D. I know you're a fan of magnesium, so am I. But let's talk about vitamin D first, just given the time of year with the winter program, um, supports metabolism, um, often found in people who have weight to lose. I mean, we are talking weight loss. We

are assuming people are coming in. They're not the healthiest. They do carry X excess weight. They are coming off of diets where they've starved and deprived themselves. So there can be those deficiencies there, but let's talk about what happens if you're're I want to take a different approach rather than talking about the benefit of vitamin D, which we will, what happens if you're deficient in it not getting enough? The simplest thing and probably the one that's everyone's kind of thinking about right this time of year is your immune system is not going to work as well. That is really one of the big takeaways that came out of COVID is that we need vitamin D for optimal immune function, as well as many other things. But vitamin D really became that hero for optimal immune function. I want to make

sure we understand about vitamin D. It's not just about immunity either, though. It's not just about bone health. As you said, it helps support metabolism. That's a really big word. But ultimately, what it's doing is on a cellular level, almost every cell in the body has a receptor for vitamin D. So it's actually almost more like a hormone than it actually is a vitamin D. It's made from cholesterol in a way that almost all the hormones in your body are also made. So a lot of the sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, adrenal hormones, they're made from cholesterol and also vitamin d is made

from cholesterol so we do get it from the sun most people in the northern hemisphere don't get enough sun exposure even gina if you live in a place that you get some sun most people are not exposed enough to make vitamin d there's research showing that people like surfers in Hawaii, they're obviously not, it's not a cold climate, they're exposing themselves to the sun, still are deficient. So really, I advocate testing to see if your bodies are levels are low. And if you're really low, by the way, that's when you can get things like pain and dysfunction on a muscular level, it really can massively negatively impact mood. So there's many, many negative implications of a low and also especially very low vitamin D. And hopefully, we can really find out those people

that are very low, because that's the ones that really need it. So, gosh, man, this is where we're going to go deep with this conversation and maybe not maybe maybe we have to revisit this but um to just take to go see your doctor to test not test i know here in canada we can go and ask for the test other places maybe not um i mean these are all super basic um supplements at the end of the day safe for most people to be able to add in and probably a benefit for most people, but where like, and a lot of people don't have access to just go and make an appointment with their doctor. So, or, or health or healthcare provider like yourself. So what is it? Can I just go to my pharmacy and pick up some vitamin D and talk to my pharmacist or

the health food store? Like where's the line between gina and dr paul said this is a benefit i probably need it so i'm gonna go get it or do i wait till i get an appointment like what you know what i'm trying to say you're right you're like there's this like kind of like mushy middle gray area where it's like you're talking about these benefit supplements and we're not the first ones that are talking about it you just look at open Instagram and you have tons of people talking about, oh, you got to do this, you got to do that. I think a very prudent approach in general is for things that you can test, try to test. However, I will say that I talked to a lot of medical doctors and a lot of patients tell me what their family doctor says, and most of them don't test for vitamin D, if not prompted by the patient, by you. And the reason is, is that the unfortunate, very short sighted assumption is that, well, everyone's deficient, so everyone should take it. So we can already tell by that response that medical doctors are already saying, just go ahead and take it. They have that approach.

So I think we can at least use that because that's what your family doctor most likely will say, where it's like, okay, go ahead and take the Health Canada recommended dose, which is anywhere around one to 2000 international units. Look for a fat soluble vitamin D.

I do recommend that. So I see you have some drops there. That's a really nice way of getting extra absorption. It's best absorbed with food. Some people will say, you know, it should be taken with vitamin K2, but you don't have to take them together. They're just synergistic in some of the mechanisms. So they are not mandatory to be taken together, Gina. Okay. But they, they work together in the body. However, the final thing I'll say about that approach of just saying everyone just take it is that that might work for half the people. But the other half actually are quite low.

And just doing the bare minimum is not enough to really get your levels quick enough back into range. I have patients come to me where we test almost every patient with vitamin D, with blood, and they're still low, even though they're taking it. So go figure, how's that the case? Well, the reality is that you're probably not getting good absorption of that vitamin D, even if you're taking it. So if you're suspicious of that, I do think at least once every couple years, you live in a Northern Hemisphere climate, go get it tested and pay that 30 bucks or whatever it is to do it. Okay. So then this brings me to the quality of supplements that people are choosing. And, you know, yes, I know it's more regulated here in Canada.

I don't know if it's, you get what you pay for. I know I always try to go in for something that's, you know, better quality and then look for it on sale because I don't like paying full price. So if you had, if you have more major health issues, definitely benefit seeking someone who has access to really good quality products, like, like yourself, um, how long, so I go and I'm like, okay, I hear vitamin D is good for me. I should probably take it. I go to the health food store or pharmacist. They say, this is a good one. And I take it. How do I know it's working for me? What's the timeframe? I'm taking the recommended dose too, which is a range is a range because I'm assuming that's because people come in different shapes and sizes and different

needs. So do I just start taking them the, like the recommended? How long do I take it for before I'm supposed to notice a difference? Yeah. So I think in this case, I'm going to give people the platinum option or the platinum response. And then like you said, the bronze response. And the bronze response is do it yourself. At least ask your pharmacist. Pharmacists actually are great resources to go and just have a quick conversation. It's within their scope to just have that kind of impromptu conversation. I can't give recommendations unless I'm in a patient visit. So I do talk in some generalities when I speak online or even here. But the platinum approach is, if you really want to

know what's right for you, then yes, go and work with a naturopathic doctor that's going to guide you there. Because there are so many factors, Gina, that influence even just vitamin D as an example. So using that one, if you're overweight, the research shows if you have more adipose tissue, you are actually going to be more deficient in vitamin D because it's a fat soluble vitamin, it gets sequestered in the adipose tissue, and it can't get into the cells that you actually need it in like your brain and your kidneys and your heart. And so that is another nuance. The bigger that you are, the more that you need. So like you said, there's a recommended range. And then finally,

you can be taking all this stuff, which is expensive. And then the worst case is that you are now starting to question, is this really even doing anything? And there are some things, Gina, like vitamin D, that unless you're really low and then raising levels, you actually won't fully feel the difference. B vitamins, magnesium, L-theanine, which is in the secondary supplements, these are supplements that people can take and they may notice a difference, especially if they're pretty low. And then after they're repleted, then they usually don't notice a big difference. So it's just a hard question to answer because it depends on the supplement. Is the real response like the dose and will you feel any difference?

Because there's a big variation between each particular supplement. And then even just to answer the question, people ask me this all the time, Dr. Paul, what's a good quality supplement? How do I know what's a good quality supplement? Is it just like the most expensive one on the shelf? I'm just going to go grab it. I mean, not necessarily. There's some B12s that are like vitamin D, it's cost effective at getting something for like 15 bucks. You don't have to get the $30 vitamin D. You can wait for it's on sale. But then there's some like more complicated ones like adrenal, which we'll talk about or B complex where you know, you kind of do get what you pay for. So it's hard to make that response in a non one on one setting because it's just so it's a lot of

variance. Okay, I noticed you mentioned that secondary supplements. So secondary supplements, if you're wondering, is yes, it's more supplements, but they are sort of now that you put that time kind of time and energy into helping your body be as healthy as possible with all the other things that you're doing, those things can be a benefit. These ones today are like so basic that if you're deficient in them, they can hinder your body's ability to function at more optimal levels and specifically focus on fat loss. So that's why we're talking about these ones today. So vitamin D, D2, D3, add the K, what are we, the drops, the pills, what are we looking for exactly? Good question. Because a lot of people might say, well, I get

my vitamin D in milk that I drink. You can see it on the label, right? So that's, I want to make sure people understand that's called fortification. And that's not the same as supplementation. Fortification came back in the 1950s and 60s when people were coming out of post-war era. And there was actually still real deficiencies in nutrients. And these, especially like commodity products, like cereals were fortified with folic acid. That folic acid is a crappy form of folic acid. I'll just be really honest.

The form of D2 that's in milk is a crappy form of milk, D2. It's not well absorbed. There are some general principles I can share that might make people make the right choice when selecting supplements. So for example, things like vitamin D, it's a fat soluble vitamin, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin E, these should be taken with food and they should be in some sort of soft gel or oil base. So that's a good first step to say, am I taking a good quality supplement? Minerals generally like magnesium or calcium, you want to take them away from food. They're tolerated quite well, except for zinc, which will make you nauseous. And they're well absorbed

on their own without food. Same with amino acids. So things like collagen, you don't have to take it with food. It's going to be absorbed. Collagen is just a string of amino acids. And then things like the water-soluble vitamins like B-complex, we'll talk about that in a second. Generally, those are taken with food. But if it says vitamin, it's essential and you don't get enough in your diet, especially if you're eating more extreme diets. So if you were vegan in the past, if you were vegetarian, you could be deficient in a lot of things. You mentioned iron at the top. I know it's not a mandatory supplement, but it's, it's one of the most common deficiencies I see all the time, Gina, especially, especially women that have heavy periods. I mean, we can go down a ton

of rabbit holes here because I know people that are listening to this are thinking, okay, so what's the right supplement for me? You know, I want, I want Gina and Paul to answer that. You're right. We could go down a ton of rabbit holes because everything, just when you start to think of this, then you think, well, what about if someone has that? And what if they're dealing with this again, covering the basis, what we're trying to do today is just cover the basis, right? And then we can kind of go into it more. Let me actually, what you said earlier really kind of like stuck with me and resonate. I just want to make a point here. We talked about right off the top that none of these supplements are essential to this program.

So if you're like, you know what, I just think I'm overwhelmed. And there are some patients, Gina, that I've worked with that are just like, I just, it was everything I could do just to like, get all the snacks in and get the water. And I said, Well, then do that, then absolutely do that. And then maybe, you know, in your next phase, that could be later in this program, that could be in the next program, if you choose to also join, that's when you start incorporating some of these other things after you have the diet. So don't beat yourself up. If you aren't doing all the things that you're reading online on Facebook, people are saying, asking all these questions, it's okay just to go

at your own pace. Also, you don't have to do all the supplements, you can take some of the top ones. And hopefully after this conversation, people are going to understand each supplement a little bit better. And then they might say, Okay, you know what, I'm just going to go with that the magnesium and vitamin D, I'm going to start with that foundation. I think those are two really key ones, omega threes and B's would be the next ones that are in terms of the hierarchy. So you know, please don't interpret what me and Gina are having a conversation about saying, you know what, if you're not doing these supplements, you're not doing all the things, especially if you're first time in the program, just be gracious to yourself, go through it and be comfortable because it's better to do one or two things consistently

than buy all those bottles and then just sit there and look at them and not actually take them. Yes. Oh, such great advice because we get this all the time. Well, I can't really afford all of them, but I do want to take some of them. And which one do you suggest? And I'm like, ah, it depends on so many things. And this is why we present them. So this information is posted in the group. It's in the book. It's in the app, the basics, when to take the dose, what to think about all of that. And this is where really Dr. Paul's coming on today to share his expertise, to help you make informed decisions. I'm presenting these are the ones that you know, I feel like could be could benefit given all the other things you're doing on the program. It really is for you to be like, Oh, maybe I could benefit from the vitamin D or you know,

the the the magnesium or, or any of the ones we're gonna talk about are the secondary supplements later on. So I love that. What do you want to so you said, what are your your, like, would you go vitamin D first? And then I don't even ever talked about this before. This is like, I know. Wow. I feel like I'm like letting a secret out. I have to be like, careful here. But I do want to talk about the order in the book. Yeah. Well, I mean that, let me just share what my, my approach is. And like you said, I think you just put them there as like the foundational. And there is some nuance. But in general, I would say based on the data on who's most efficient in most things, I would say vitamin D and magnesium are the top of the list. Also, it's important to point out all the supplements in the primary supplements, they are safe and they have very minimal side effects, if at all.

So, and, so, and, so, and, so I know a lot of people come into the program with all sorts of things. So that's a good thing to point out right off the bat is that most pharmacists will say that all these are totally fine. Of course, talk to your pharmacist, talk to your doctor if you have any concerns, especially if you're on like a whole whack of medications, because you never know. There are some particular examples of that. But magnesium, vitamin D number two, number one and two, I would put them in the top tier. The next tier is going to be omega-3s and B vitamins. Okay.

And then we have, you have some collagen there, right, Gina, and probiotics? Yeah. I would probably say, I would say probiotics and collagen would be next on the list for me. Because now what they're doing is that they're now starting to support your gut. Both collagen does have a lot of to support your gut. Collagen does have a lot of benefits for the gut. Think of just bone broth. Bone broth is rich in collagen and some of these peptides that are helpful in healing for the gut. Probiotics and prebiotics, a lot of people know about them. Lots of different variety there. So I mean, there's a lot of

individuality. I really prescribe specific ones, but the general prebiotic, it's like fertilizer for your gut microbiome, Gina. And that generally has a positive impact on many aspects of the body. So that would be the next thing on the list. And what am I missing there? I think there's CoQ10. What else do I have? Secondary supplement list, digestive bitters, I have on the thing too. Okay, digestive bitters. Can I just finish the digestive bitters? Like they're really, especially people that have some digestive issues, I think digestive bitters are wonderful. Think of them as like stimulating your body's own digestive enzymes.

But also remember, you're recommending apple cider vinegar or lemon water in the morning. So that's kind of already doing some of the things that the digestive bitters are going to do, but the bitters just do it to the next level. So that's kind of like a tier two. So that's, that's kind of like my hierarchy. I'm, you know, like S tier, A tier kind of go on from there. I don't know if that that's helpful at all. You think Gina? Well, you got me thinking about, about B vitamins. Should I, those are my secondary supplement list, do you think I should pull them from a secondary one and introduce them

in the beginning? You know, I think that I think that there's I can definitely make the case if you're saying Dr. Paul, what would be your opinion, I would say I definitely would make the case and I could maybe even argue, switching it with CoQ10. If there would a sub, if we were going to say trying to keep it minimal, that would be one of the things that I might say. But definitely B vitamins. Because remember, Gina, B vitamins are used in so many processes in the body, from neurotransmitter production to hormone production to energy production. So and secondly, that flips out of that coin is that it's the one of the most common

deficiencies. Like for example, birth control, the birth control pill has been known to deplete B vitamins, specifically B6. So there's a lot of things that people are doing and taking that need B vitamins to function, especially if you've ever gone on a plant-based vegan kick in the past, people are going to be low on B vitamins for sure. Many medications deplete B vitamins. A lot of diabetes medications will deplete B12, metformin, the most commonly prescribed medication.

So, I mean, I could go down the list on each one and say, yeah, you know, but magnesium, B vitamins, omega-3, vitamin D, Those are like the four that would say, you know, these are like your core foundations. And finally, I would say a lot of people might be saying, wow, Dr. Paul just ripped off six different supplements. That's a lot. Of course, if you've never taken supplements before, you might think that's a lot, but I'm here to tell you just to kind of give you perspective. I take four, five different supplements every single day as a prevention. And that's what I share with my patients. So just to kind of make sure we set our expectations,

taking two, three, four different supplements periodically throughout the week is I would say normal and what I recommend healthy. A lot of people have this perspective that it's like, well, I should be taking nothing. But the reason I say that is because I live in a stressful world. My kids wake me up in the middle of the night. I'm taking things in terms of medications periodically. There's lots of things that are kind of competing for the absorption of those things. My diet's not perfect. I'm a busy dad. I'll eat leftovers sometimes because

I come home late from work. So if you really reflect on your life, you realize it's not like this perfect picture postcard of health, that's where supplements really can be helpful for you. I love that you said four to five different ones a day. And that can seem like sometimes if you have to split them up, right? Take one in the morning, one in the afternoon. It can seem like you're popping pills all day long. So to a certain extent, that's okay. Especially if you're trying to do something new. You're trying to maintain motivation. You're starting a new workout program.

You're getting on this diet. There's a method to the madness here, Gina, that I've told you before. Is that it's not just about, hey, B-complex burns fat. No, that we've never said that. It's about how do we stick to what you're asking your body to do right now? Think about that. You're asking to be more focused and more motivated.

We're trying to get sleep happening because when you don't sleep, you're not going to be able to lose weight. This multi-layered and it's meant to build up your body's metabolism to be able to lose weight. I mean, this multi layered, and it's meant to build up your body's metabolism to be more efficient. And that's really the method to what the Libby plan is trying to do. Yeah, it's how it all works together. And a lot of these like vitamin D and omega three and magnesium, like they all work together, the D's and the K's is how they all kind of work together. And so this is why they all work together. Yes, I agree. Synergy, Gina, that's the word for today's conversation. We're talking about synergy in the way that the diet is made up with the way that supplements supplement the diet. You don't have to do all of it. And you can do some of it, get it personalized.

If you really want to go next level, go get a bunch of blood work to double check if you're low in vitamin D. If you really want to level up, if you're listening to this conversation and said, hey, I've listened to Dr. Paul before, Gina. I've taken some supplements, but I don't really know if this is right for me.

If you have that nagging question in the back of your mind, maybe this is the challenge I'm going to say to you to you is like, now it's time to level up. It's time to actually, you got the diet working for you. Now go make sure that you're doing all the right things from a nutrient perspective. One of the most common reasons people come and see me from the, from the program, Gina, is that they'll come in and say, you know what? I want to make sure my levels are topped up and I'm doing all the right things. It's kind of like if you're going to go and get some financial advice, you kind of want to go to someone that knows the stock market and knows what you're going to be kind of investing in instead of opening up your phone and being like,

let's pick that and try that. I mean, we would never dream of doing that with our money. What's more valuable, your money or your health? Yeah. Okay, so let's do a rundown because I have a couple of questions I want to ask you at the end. So we talked about vitamin D. Again, there's more in the book if you want to know more. Magnesium. So why magnesium? And there's, you know, I love the citrate. It's easy to absorb all of that.

But this glycinate's another good one too. People have a lot of questions about both. So why magnesium? Magnesium is just one of the most common minerals that's deficient, Gina. Some of the data shows over 50% of people and 90% of athletes. So if you're an athlete, the chances are that you use more magnesium. It's very important in muscle function. It helps relax muscles. It's very important in muscle function. It helps relax

muscles. It's a very important electrolyte. So it's constantly being pulled in and out of muscle cells to regulate their function. That's why athletes need more of it. People that are active need more of it. It's also really commonly deficient in our diet, unfortunately, because magnesium is naturally sourced in things like pumpkin seeds, things like the greens. And most people haven't been great with those in their diet. And even that, even those foods, over the years, the level of magnesium and nutrients has been going down because of just the type of farming. Fertilizer. It does not contain magnesium. Unfortunately it contains nitrogen. And so normally in like these kind of like more eco friendly farming, organic farming,

they're using fertilizer and ways of putting magnesium back in the soil, but commercial farming doesn't. So foods not as rich as magnesium as what the paper copy says. And then lastly, Gina, it's a super common medication, super common mineral depleted by medication. So the most common one is any sort of antacid. So if you're taking any acid blockers, think of like Nexium, think of Tums, you need acid to break magnesium out of its form in foods. And so if you are constantly suppressing that

because you've had reflux, because you've maybe been overweight, you've been eating foods that are not great, excess sugar, all those things can cause reflux, then you've been slowly depleting yourself with magnesium over these years. So right there, you can kind of see the picture of being like, this is a mineral

that does a lot of really important things in the body, as well as it, to, to, to help get magnesium in, you'd have to, it's not just like, Oh, I'll just get what I need from my food. Cause most people aren't eating nutrient rich foods. And even if you do, you'd have to curate to make sure you're having enough. Okay. Anything else you want to say about magnesium? Can't really test for it. So there's not great testing for magnesium. So if you're wondering about that, it's just one of those things that, you know, you're, we assume that you're low and you should, you should use it extremely well tolerated. Usually any excess comes out with loose stools. Anybody that's tried a couple extra scoops of MagCom will have

experienced that. There's really no side effects of that. Generally speaking, I do like dividing the doses throughout the day. A MagCom at night is a good way to get a good sleep. A lot of people will tell me one of the most common piece of feedbacks like after I started Mag Calm on the Libby plan, my sleep is much better. Amazing, wonderful. That's a good place to start. You can also get it in the morning and break up the doses if you find it's too much on your digestive system. And finally, there's many different forms of magnesium. What I'll say is just avoid the really crappy forms like magnesium oxide. You want to really focus on well-absorbed forms, magnesium citrate, magnesium glycinate. So the magnesium is attached to a glycine amino acid. And then finally, the MagCom basically at the end of the day gets converted to what's called bionic magnesium, which is magnesium in liquid.

That's why you mix it, fizzes, drink it. And that's a good form too. People are talking about it helps with sleep. It helps with bowel movements. It's not a sleep aid. It's not necessarily a poop aid. No, I can knock you out. For magnesium, you won't get dependent on it.

You will not get dependent on it. That's a great point. Again, very safe with medications. It does many, many things in the body. Helps with reduced pain, helps reduce headache incidents. I mean, that's one of my, why it's one of both of our favorites is because it just does so many things. It's the Swiss army knife of supplements. Which is why it's important. Omega-3. Yeah. Omega-3, I see you have a vegan one in the one hand there in the green bottle, and then you have capsules. Omega-3s are types of fat that we just, again, don't get a lot in our diets. And a really important thing to understand is that probably 50 years ago,

for every one omega-3, we were getting four omega-6s. And the body wants balance between the two. But over the years, that ratio has changed. And a lot of that's changed because of processed foods, a lot of processed foods like chips, corn chips, things like that, really high in omega sixes. So things like saffron oil, vegetable oil, these like commercial seed oils, not great for your metabolism. Now the ratio is not one to four, it's one to 20 or more. So you can see there's a huge change in the amount of omega threes, omega sixes. Why that's important is because that ratio regulates inflammation, it regulates cellular function. So the quality of your cell, the quality of the lining of the cell where all the action happens when it comes to inflammation and cell

signaling, it needs enough ample omega threes. And the really only way of getting omega-3s effectively is through fish. You can get it through supplements that have concentrated algae-based omega-3s, like what you have in your hand there, Gina, which is possible for people that are really following a plant-based diet. However, it, uh, they're still, it's difficult to get really the high levels. So that's why we say omega-3s, you can get a little bit in flax, you can get a little bit in hemp, you can get a little bit in chia, but really to, to replete your levels optimally, you're going to have to do some supplementation. And then finally, I'll say, because it's a fatty substance, take it with food. That makes the most sense. And there's a lot of difference.

Look at the label of the omega-3. A lot of difference between the potency of omega-3. So there's two things in it called EPA and DHA. Those are the active components. So you can get really cheap ones that are really low in those. So it's kind of like you're getting just a real kind of like basic one. Or you can get really therapeutic high doses that do a much better job at promoting mood balance and inflammation balance. So there's a big kind of spread between concentrations, Gina. Yeah, I mean, Dr. Paul's gonna be back,

he's gonna be talking specifically about four reasons why your weight might be slower to move and inflammation is a big one. We can't get into it. Now. We don't have enough time to do that. It's a big conversation. And it's a big reason why a lot of people really struggle even trying to lose weight in the healthiest of ways. And so that you know, the fact that omega three can help with inflammation. That's huge for some people. That's huge. Okay, probiotic and then collagen. Yeah. So again, like I mentioned, I alluded a little bit to- You want to do probiotic, prebiotic, or probiotic and collagen? Why don't we talk about that first? Because everyone kind of has an idea now that gut is really important to general health.

It's huge. We have more bacteria in our gut, Gina, than we have cells in our body. In fact, 10 times more bacteria. So that should give us a bit of a clue of how important gut and gut balance is. And there is millions and billions of trillions of bugs that are present in your gut. And that balance is what gives you the health benefits. So not only on gut in terms of gas and loading,

but also many things outside the gut too, like immunity, for example, and inflammation. Probiotics can help temporarily modify that gut balance. It's not like I take probiotics and it's going to all of a sudden take over my gut. I want to put that out of people's minds. That's not what happens. Prebiotics are like fertilizer. Probiotics are actually going to be like the bacteria that's going to change, like grass seed, for example, if you're using a lawn analogy. So I think I really like the idea of doing both. However, people that have gut issues may benefit more from doing the probiotics first

and prebiotics second, because sometimes those gut bacteria actually ferment the prebiotics. These are fibers that are going to help the growth of bacteria. But what if you have an imbalance down there? That's where prebiotics shine. So the reason I'm bringing that up, Gina, is that if you feel like you've taken a probiotic or you've taken a prebiotic before, especially a prebiotic, and you're like, you know what, that actually made me feel more bloated, made me feel more gassy. That's a sign that, you know, maybe you should stop that, pause that and go with just like a straight probiotic instead of doing a combination of both. You know, and then in general,

again, very specific strains. You're probably confused by all these like Latin names that are on the back of the strains. There's lots of different research between each particular strain. So if you have a particular health gut issue, that's where I seek some medical advice to say, is this probiotic actually doing anything for me? Because sometimes people take the probiotics and they're like, I don't know, is this really doing anything? Lots of good research, but on specific ones. So I do think personalizing the probiotic is helpful. Collagen. Yeah, collagen. Collagen is just like one of those like functional foods. And what that basically is, is that these are foods that are kind of straddling the line between supplements and food. And and because collagen is as if you were kind of it's kind of

like taking a protein supplement is protein, it's amino acids, but it's very specific. It's kind of like taking a protein supplement. It's protein, it's amino acids, but it's very specific. It's very clean and pure because it doesn't have all the other sugars and amino acids that a full protein complex would have. It's the main protein we have in our body, especially in our connective tissue. And what's that? That's our skin, any lining of our bodies. So skin, your gut, your hair is made up of collagen. And so taking collagen can be helpful to promote the growth and production of your own collagen, because it's like

pulling up and giving you building blocks to have your body use that. So I find, again, if you look at most of the research, like on marine collagen, a lot of that looks at the quality of skin, reduction in wrinkles, the vitality of skin. That's really where I think collagen will shine. But in general, you know, I think collagen has a whole bunch of other more, I would say, peripheral benefits that we don't fully see. And I think it's like a good functional food. So that's why I think it's a good foundational nutrient. Yeah, because there is more and more research behind collagen.

The ones both within us, True Marine and Deep Marine Collagen, we both go marine for both. You can also do powder. You can do liquids too. Any preferences? No, I think the powders are really effective. I think Gina, because it's easy to mix in your tea or coffee in the morning, if that's what you're drinking. And

just, it's just very convenient. I find as soon as you do go liquid, and this is a just general conversation, a lot of people are like, well, maybe those supplements and tablets don't work, they don't get absorbed. There's pros and cons to either like fish oil, you can get them in tablets, you can get them in in liquid, in liquid, there has to be something that's going to preserve its freshness. So every single liquid supplement has some sort of preservative in it. And so some people don't want that extra substance in it. With a powder, it's just really easy. It's clean. You do have to reconstitute it by mixing it with water. But collagen generally is tasteless, has no real change to the flavor. So it's very convenient.

Just I saw someone's comment about I'm regular, I don't I don't have any issues. I'm regular. So would probiotics still work good for me? I think we have to the conversation is so much bigger than just pooping with probiotics, prebiotics. I would say that's probably the biggest benefit of taking, you know, fiber and probiotics and prebiotics is that there could be benefits for your gut if you have gut issues, Gina. But I think the message that you're trying to say and what I've been trying to say in our conversation today is that there are specific things that each supplement will help with, like omega-3s with joint pain and inflammation, magnesium with muscle cramps, and sleep. These are things that you'll notice. Probiotics with regularity. However, there's a whole layer of benefits, Gina, that are well over and above that.

I want us to think about not just the immediate effect, but also what is the more broad spectrum benefit of doing the particular supplements we're talking about today. So again, if you haven't tried probiotics, then this would be a good place to start prebiotic as well. And even if you're regular, there could be other gut issues that you're not fully aware that's happening. Like for example, a lot of people are like bloated and gas and like, well, that's just normal. That's not normal. We need to we need we maybe need to look at why that's being why that's happening. And then also, there's many other big picture benefits of taking things that are going to help support gut function, especially so that it's more than just one particular regularity issue. Gosh, we could do we could have so many beneficial talks with you, we could just talk with you every

day. Okay, I got a couple things left. I got digestive bitters. Well, actually gummies, the benefit of gummies, digestive bitters, and I want to finish with AG one because everyone's been talking to me about AG one. Yeah, sure. Okay. I like that. Okay. So gummies, I get this question. I think every single time, you know, uh, you know, I, I get talking about vitamins. Can I take my gummies? And then I get this disappointed look when I tell them it's just really just a sugary way of getting a tiny minuscule dose of whatever it's in it. So awesome marketing, great flavor. Is it harmful? Well, Gina, I'll let you answer this question. Is eating something that has sugar or artificial sweeteners harmful?

I mean, I think people know the answer to that. It is a stumbling block for you to be compliant on the Gene Libby plan, in my opinion, because any little bit of sugar is going to continue to keep you on the sugar train wanting more. And so a lot of people use the gummies, not because they care what's in it, but because they're like, oh, I'm kind of doing something good and it tastes good. Generally speaking, you know, maybe for people that really struggle with capsules, I have some patients, not many, that they're like, Dr. Paul, I can't take any pills because they can't swallow it.

It's like a psychological bugaboo that I have. Okay, maybe there's some role there. But I will just tell you from a practical perspective, you physically can't load up a gummy on a manufacturing level with the right amount of most of the nutrients that you're looking for. So, you know, taking a gummy like apple cider, like just take it in the, take it in, it's much cheaper to get in a shot dilute it with water mix it with a tiny bit of something uh like lemon to change the flavor

there's many ways of of of working that so i'm not a fan of gummies okay um we're gonna add in digestive bitters but should we talk about the apple cider vinegar lemon water i mean it's not make or break for people it doesn't do the magical fat burning people think, but so many, so many naysayers out, out there. And there is actually a benefit to it. I think that the naysayers just had issue with the fact that so many people were claiming it would do all these miracle, magical things, but it is a benefit for people. I 100% think it's a benefit. I think what we can say very safely from an evidence-based perspective, Gina, is that consuming a little bit of vinegar, apple cider vinegar is a very healthy form of vinegar. It, before you eat helped regulate

blood sugar. There's a lot of research on that. I've seen that over and over again, and it decreases the blood sugar spike after your meal. So this is a very powerful thing that we're ultimately trying to do in general with eating the way that you're asking people and members to eat. So sugar, sorry, it opposes the effect of sugar. So this is, I think, the benefit of doing like an apple cider vinegar before each one of your meals. Digestive bitters, it's kind of like, like I said, you have all these now botanical molecules,

these bitter principles that promote your own digestive function, your own pancreatic enzyme secretion, your hydrochloric acid secretion. It makes your gut function more efficient. So I think it's like the next layer of apple cider vinegar. It, you could take apple cider and bitters, maybe not in the same thing. That's going to taste pretty nasty, but you, you could take apple cider and bitters, maybe not in the same thing that's going to taste pretty nasty, but you could take them both at the same time, Gina, and use the benefits of both of them. I think they're complementary in their action. And especially if you struggle with digestive upset and gas and loading and everybody has a system that is their kind of like weak point or, you know, I know gut for me is mine, then

digestive bitters is might be a great thing to really consider. And they may actually be very foundational and the one game changer. That's the one thing that you could really say, if I take it, I'll notice a difference, you should notice a difference within, you know, a week or so. Okay, what I love about our conversation today, if you, I highly suggest you watch it again, but along with the information in the book, because it talks about dose, it talks about food sources. It talks about who would benefit, who needs to be mindful of. So if you just want to listen to the conversation and kind of read through and flip through the book at the same time, I think that would be ideal. I got to talk about AG1. People just, AG1 is, I tried it with

my kids. I thought it was great. I didn't notice much of a difference. But it felt like I was doing something healthy, especially for my teens. But it's not something that I would recommend with the program or you know, for people looking to lose weight, but I haven't asked you. So what are your thoughts on AG1? Yeah. Well, thank you for asking me because I've also heard it many times people ask me about it. They've done a great job of marketing and they kind of they made it very slick. And it's almost like very kind of be more healthy, that motivates you to work out or if that motivates you to stick to a diet plan, then I think there's some psychological benefit of being like, if I, if I take this, it's important to understand a lot of people don't realize there's a lot of psychology to everything we just talked about. Like, for example, there's,

there's, you know, one particular book that I've quoted in the past that talks about these miraculous recoveries in, in advanced cancers. And they went through and looked at the research There's one particular book that I've quoted in the past that talks about these miraculous recoveries in advanced cancers. And they went through and looked at the research and they talked to people that have made these recoveries. And they basically distilled down, I think it's the top 10 things that all these spontaneous and miraculous recoveries made. And one of them was taking supplements.

And what that basically says is on a psychological level, it might actually, it's doing something physiologically, but psychologically, it's also keeping you engaged and motivated. Like you just said it best there. You're like, I felt like I was doing something good for my family. So if you have teenagers and they, and they're just do not want to eat anything healthy and they're really struggling we think okay you know what i think ag1 has some benefit there yeah now the second thing though to consider is that the flip side of that coin is well i'm taking ag1 i don't really

i can like now take some liberties with my diet i'm not like fall i don't need to follow the plan because i'm doing something healthy right it's It's kind of like the same, the gummy principle. Now, I don't think that you have the negative effects of the sugar, like in gummies. And in AG1, you know, they say they have some research behind it. It's unfortunately really poor because they just want to say they have something. It's just like, how do people feel after taking it? That's literally their research. I mean, okay, fine.

It's a start. It's a proprietary blend, which means we actually don't know what's fully in it. That's literally their research. I mean, okay, fine. It's a start. It's a proprietary blend, which means we actually don't know what it's what's fully in it. So that as a as a scientist in the new circle world, that's always a bit of a red flag for me. Again, not saying it's not good, not saying it's harmful or bad, not saying that at all. I'm just saying, you know, it might say it's good for cognition, it's good for it's a prebiotic, but I mean, they could put a dash of that in there and say, Oh, it has a, it has a probiotic in it. So I just want transparency. And so that's the one little thing. If I really want to be nitpickety that caught my eye. Um, but I would say overall, it's a net positive because of the reasons that I mentioned earlier, it tastes pretty good. It gets people focused on their health. It's not a bad way to

start, start your day. It has, it has definitely some greens in it, has some healthy nutrients in it. I think generally it's a net positive in my opinion. Athletic greens. It's a, it's like a, a powdery green mix. That's why I call it AG one with, like i don't know greens and food well they claim they have vitamins in it they claim they have probiotics they they claim that has has greens in it you know there's yeah it's just a really kitchen sink like 75 ingredients that are in it right so it's it's hard to uh it's hard to tell you how much of each thing but you know there's fruits and vegetables powdered in there for sure similar similar to uh like a multi-vitamin and or mineral maybe great cover the basis but not enough to actually make a difference with anything specific yeah and i

would even further on a comment on that is that you know at least with a vitamin or mineral you know that if you're like for example like a prenatal i know what i'm getting i'm getting. I know it would be amounts that I'm getting. I'm looking for folic acid. I'm looking for something. The problem with this is that you have no idea what you're getting. In fact, it could, it could vary batch to batch dramatically because it comes from plants, right? It's hard to regulate what that plant growing season. So what if they had like a, that's, that's my only, like on a scientific level, if someone came to me being like, Hey, you know, why don't you recommend AG1 to all your patients? I'm like, Oh, they can take it if they want. But I'm in the, in kind of the mindset of like, let's be therapeutic. And I kind of want to know what a person's taking and how much they're taking.

And is that actually going to have the impact that I'm looking for? So like collagen is kind of like a good functional food, but it's in this like category that I would put separate than supplements. Okay. Um, Dr. Paul, thank you. You have been so generous with your time today. Um, I know you're going to be back. He's going to be back everyone. We're going to continue these conversations. We need to have, we need to do like, I don't know, side conversations with you because there is literally so much to talk about. Um, I know people are going to want to find like, I don't know, side conversations with you because there is literally so much to talk about. I know people are going to want to find you, follow you. Where can they do that?

On the screen right now, you can check my website out. I have a clinic office in the Toronto area, just north of Toronto. My Instagram is a plethora of good information, even though I don't post super actively now. My kids can be blamed for that. But yeah, I mean, you can tell, hopefully, I love what I do. I have a passion in sharing and educating people on this idea. And these conversations are so fun. I love listening to your perspective and sharing a little bit of what my humble experiences with

the wonderful people in your, uh, in your group. Yeah. I'm excited to chat more about more about that. Okay. So, uh, website, Paul Herckel, H R K A L N D.com and Dr. Paul Herckel over on Instagram. Oh my gosh. I don't want the conversation to end, but, um, we must go, uh, until next time. Thank you so much thanks everyone for watching thanks everyone bye