The Basic Components of
Your Personal Supplement Strategy

I believe that you can, by taking some simple and inexpensive measures, extend your life and your years of well-being. My most important recommendation is that you take vitamins every day in optimum amounts, to supplement the vitamins you receive in your food.

--Linus Pauling, Ph.D. (1901-94), two-time Nobel Prize laureate

After a quarter-century of practicing alternative medicine and Chinese traditional medicine, I'm more in awe than ever of the human body's remarkable ability to heal itself. Injured cells are repaired and dead cells are replaced with astonishing efficiency in a body that is primed for Renewal.

A combination of sound diet, daily supplementation, and regular exercise creates an internal environment that supports the Renewal process. Occasionally--especially if illness has already set in--Renewal may require some extra assistance in the form of acupuncture, herbal therapy, homeopathy, massage, and other holistic (whole-body) therapies.

Of all of the "ingredients" in the Renewal process, perhaps none is as important as supplementation. Supplements guarantee your body uninterrupted access to optimum amounts of all of the nutrients it needs. In doing so, supplements help to prevent disease, create vibrant health, and slow aging.

The Anti-Aging Supplement Program, which I outline in the following chapters, supplies all of the necessary nutrients in the right dosages. Some of the supplements are recommended for everyone, while others are discretionary--dependent upon individual health, diet, and lifestyle factors. As you decide which of these supplements to take, bear this in mind: The extent to which you follow the Renewal Anti-Aging Supplement Program determines the extent to which you'll benefit from it.

When the Program Began

To understand why I feel so strongly about the value of supplementation, perhaps you should know a bit more about my background. I was a medical student in the late 1960s, a tumultuous time when my generation questioned and challenged anything that we considered to represent the "establishment." Consistent with the climate of the time, I developed a profound skepticism of conventional medicine and its emphasis on treating only the symptoms of disease.

So in the early 1970s, after completing medical school and my internship, I began exploring nontraditional healing disciplines that offered natural alternatives to powerful drugs and invasive surgical techniques. I studied the principles of Chinese traditional medicine, homeopathy, herbal therapy, and orthomolecular medicine, which teaches that disease can be cured by correcting deficiencies of substances normally present in the body. I found inspiration in classic Chinese medical texts as well as in the works of Linus Pauling, Ph.D., Adelle Davis, Abraham Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., Roger Williams, Ph.D., Robert Atkins, M.D., and other pioneers of the nutritional medicine movement.

Slowly, I began integrating all that I had learned into my private practice. For each patient, I'd identify and prescribe appropriate vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other natural remedies. Invariably, these healing agents performed better than prescription drugs, with patients showing often dramatic improvement. And because the natural remedies contained no "foreign" molecules unfamiliar to the body, they produced none of the adverse reactions or toxicities so often associated with prescription drugs.

My patients' success stories persuaded me to delve even more deeply into the available literature about alternative disciplines, especially nutritional medicine. As I absorbed the new information and applied it in my practice, I realized that the same nutrients used to treat disease could also stop it from developing in the first place. In other words, supplements were not only therapeutic but preventive, too.

Broad-spectrum supplementation became standard advice for all of my patients, both to speed healing and to safeguard health. At first, my prescriptions included primarily vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and herbs. Later on, as scientific research substantiated the potent medicinal powers of other nutrients--essential fatty acids, coenzyme Q₁₀, glutathione, phytochemicals, brain nutrients, natural hormones, internal cleansers--my list of remedies grew.

Then came the most exciting revelation of all--the one that inspired me to write this book. The broad-spectrum supplementation that I was recommending to my patients not only fought disease but also slowed the aging process. Through my patients, I had my first glimpse of the Renewal process at work.

So which supplements gave my patients a jump start on maximum life span? They fall into seven general categories.

* Essential nutrients

* Antioxidants (including essential nutrients and phytochemicals)

* Phytochemicals

* Anti-aging herbs

* Anti-aging hormones

* Brain nutrients

* Internal cleansers

Each of these categories is summarized below. You'll learn a lot more about them in the next several chapters.

Essential Nutrients: You Can't Live without 'Em

The essential nutrients include vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and amino acids. They are called essential because they're absolutely necessary for human survival. Without them, your body would not be able to manufacture the multitude of chemicals required to sustain life: DNA, RNA, neurotransmitters, enzymes, hormones, antibodies, and more.

Diet alone--even the Anti-Aging Diet--cannot deliver optimum amounts of all the essential nutrients, with the exception of amino acids, all the time. (Remember, if you want to achieve maximum life span, you must aim for nutrient intakes at Optimum Daily Allowance levels.) A temporary deficit of just one of the essential nutrients taxes your body. A prolonged low-grade deficiency causes cells to malfunction or die, precipitates chronic degenerative disease, and thwarts Renewal. In the United States, at least, essential nutrient deficiencies have reached epidemic proportions.

Because the essential nutrients are so vital to human health, they form the cornerstone of the Anti-Aging Supplement Program. As part of the program, I recommend the following.

Vitamins and minerals. Of the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals have the most direct involvement in cellular protection, repair, and replacement--the very essence of Renewal. A high-quality multivitamin/mineral supplement should cover all of your vitamin and mineral needs. I strongly suggest that you take a multivitamin, even if you choose to take nothing else.

Essential fatty acids. These "good fats," which I discussed at length in chapter 8, also qualify as essential nutrients. They are the raw materials from which the body manufactures cell membranes, the highly selective barriers that determine what gets into your cells and what must stay out. They also support the synthesis of hormonelike chemical messengers called prostaglandins, which influence the activity of the immune, nervous, circulatory, endocrine (hormone), excretory, and reproductive systems.

Optimum amounts of the essential fatty acids must be present in the body for Renewal to occur. But as with vitamins and minerals, you cannot obtain optimum amounts from diet alone. In fact, if you follow the standard American diet--which emphasizes processed, preserved foods over fresh, whole foods--you almost certainly have an essential fatty acid deficiency. Such deficiencies affect more than 80 percent of the American population, especially people over age 40. Uncorrected, essential fatty acid deficiencies accelerate the development of chronic degenerative disease and ultimately shorten life.

Optimum intake of the essential fatty acids is so important to Renewal that I consider supplementation absolutely necessary. Accordingly, the Anti-Aging Supplement Program recommends flaxseed oil capsules for alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid) and borage oil capsules for gamma-linolenic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid).

Coenzyme Q₁₀. Technically, coenzyme Q₁₀ fits into none of the above categories. Yet it's vital not only to the Renewal process but to your very survival, which is why I've classified it as an essential nutrient.

A potent antioxidant, coenzyme Q₁₀ neutralizes free radicals, especially those generated as cells burn food in oxygen for energy. Your body can make its own coenzyme Q₁₀, but production slumps markedly around age 30 and continues to slow with advancing age. Once you reach your forties, your body makes so little that the nutrient becomes essential. Supplementation of coenzyme Q₁₀ is crucial if you want to keep the Renewal process functioning efficiently and minimize the effects of aging.

Amino acids. Amino acids are considered essential because they are the building blocks of protein. A good diet usually provides adequate amounts of aminos. For this reason, I usually don't recommend supplements unless testing reveals a specific deficiency.

Antioxidants: Free Radical Raiders

Coenzyme Q₁₀ is just one example of an antioxidant. Many other nutrients have similar free radical-fighting properties. By protecting cells against free radical damage, antioxidants help to prevent disease and slow the aging process.

The antioxidant segment of the Anti-Aging Supplement Program includes the following.

Essential nutrients. Some essential nutrients--such as the vitamins A, C, and E, the minerals copper, selenium, and zinc, and coenzyme Q₁₀--double as antioxidants.

Phytochemicals. Found only in plant-derived foods, phytochemicals prevent disease and support the body's healing systems. As with the essential nutrients, many--but not all--phytochemicals act as antioxidants. This rather recently discovered group of "supernutrients" includes the carotenoids in carrots, the sulforaphane in broccoli, the proanthocyanidins in red grapes, and the protease inhibitors and phytoestrogens in soy.

Anti-Aging Herbs: Protection from Plants

Practitioners of Chinese traditional medicine have long recognized the medicinal value of herbs. Scientific research now shows that these plants draw their potent therapeutic powers from the healing phytochemicals they contain.

From thousands of worthy candidates, I've selected three herbs--ginseng, ginkgo, and garlic--for inclusion in the Anti-Aging Supplement Program. This trio offers the most potent array of anti-aging benefits.

Ginseng. For more than 5,000 years, the Chinese have prized ginseng for its rejuvenating properties. For them, the venerable herb has come to symbolize health, strength, and long life. Now Western scientific research is proving that ginseng can indeed fight aging. Among its many benefits, the herb strengthens the immune system, stimulates the hormone-producing endocrine system, enhances mental function, and staves off the effects of stress.

Ginkgo. By boosting blood flow to all organs and systems within the body, ginkgo puts the brakes on the aging process. Though it offers natural protection against heart attack and stroke, the herb's most remarkable restorative and protective effects are reserved for the brain: Ginkgo sharpens cognitive function, enhances memory, and prevents senile dementia and stroke. In fact, ginkgo may turn out to be one of our most effective weapons against age-related brain disorders.

Garlic. Science has proven folklore right: Garlic does indeed have the power to ward off disease. In studies, the so-called stinking rose has displayed an astonishing array of age-reversing effects on the cardiovascular and immune systems. It helps to prevent atherosclerosis (hardening and clogging of the arteries) and cancer, two chronic degenerative diseases that together shorten the lives of more than 90 percent of all Americans.

Anti-Aging Hormones: Restoring Youth

As we get older, our bodies begin to slow their production of certain hormones. This decline makes us age even faster.

Through supplementation, we can maintain hormones at optimum levels and so stop the aging process from shifting into overdrive. Here are the hormone supplements that I recommend.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). This superstar hormone promotes health and longevity by fighting degenerative disease and slowing aging. In studies, people who took DHEA supplements to restore the hormone to levels found in young adults experienced improvements in several biomarkers of aging, including enhanced immunity, increased resistance to stress, and reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. They also reported improvements in their physical and psychological well-being.

Pregnenolone. The biochemical precursor of DHEA and a rising hormonal superstar in its own right, pregnenolone has formidable anti-aging effects of its own. Beyond slowing degenerative disease, the hormone is the most powerful intelligence- and memory-enhancing agent discovered to date. It also improves mood, boosts energy, and increases alertness and awareness. People who take pregnenolone report a heightened sense of overall well-being.

Melatonin. It may be best known as a remedy for insomnia and jet lag, but melatonin also has impressive anti-aging properties. In fact, the hormone is believed to control your body's aging clock, located within the brain's pineal gland. The most potent known natural antioxidant, melatonin combats the effects of stress and fights disease.

Estrogen. Estrogen replacement is the only type of anti-aging hormone therapy that has been embraced by mainstream medicine. Unfortunately, mainstream doctors prescribe synthetic estrogen rather than the real thing. The biochemical mismatch between fake and real estrogen molecules is almost certainly responsible for the increased cancer risk and other adverse effects associated with estrogen replacement therapy. I advise my female patients who are going through or who are past menopause to take only natural estrogen, which exactly matches the hormone produced by the body.

Progesterone. Like estrogen, progesterone sharply declines in women who are at or past menopause. Replacing progesterone--with natural supplements, of course--keeps levels of both hormones in balance. Progesterone also eases menopausal symptoms, reverses osteoporosis, and retards aging.

Testosterone. Since production of this hormone declines with age, testosterone replacement therapy makes as much sense for men as estrogen replacement therapy does for women. Testosterone protects against heart disease, fights osteoporosis (men get it, too), increases lean muscle mass, reverses age-related accumulation of fat, and energizes the entire body. The hormone also enhances libido for both men and women.

Thyroid hormone. Tens of millions of Americans suffer from undiagnosed subclinical hypothyroidism, or impaired function of the thyroid gland. Symptoms of this condition can vary greatly, from low energy and difficulty losing weight to low immunity, anemia, and heart disease. Fortunately, hypothyroidism is easily corrected with natural thyroid hormone replacement.

Brain Nutrients: Preserving Mental Agility

Halting and reversing mental decline is the highest priority of anti-aging medicine. The fact is, you can be no younger than your brain. Brain nutrients--or neuronutrients, as I sometimes call them--reverse age-related mental changes. In doing so, they improve your memory, raise your IQ, and age-proof your brain.

Two of the most potent brain nutrients, the herb ginkgo and the hormone pregnenolone, were discussed earlier in this chapter. Here are two more that you should be aware of.

Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC). This compound prevents the loss of nerve cells and maximizes the production of neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that enable nerve cells to communicate with one another. By enhancing the brain's composition, ALC sharpens memory, alertness, and learning ability. Replenishing depleted supplies of ALC slows--and actually reverses--brain aging.

Phosphatidylserine (PS). Derived from soy, PS supports the renewal of brain cells and improves mental performance. It also assists in the regeneration of damaged nerve cells, ensuring clear and uninterrupted transmission of messages between cells. PS plays important roles in memory, alertness, and brain energy.

Internal Cleansers: Good for Your Entire Body

The internal cleansers keep your digestive system in good working order. This ensures that nutrients--from the foods that you eat as well as the supplements that you take--are efficiently absorbed into the bloodstream.

The following internal cleansers are included in the Anti-Aging Supplement Program.

fiber. fiber is not an essential nutrient, because it passes through the body virtually unchanged. Still, it is crucial to efficient gastrointestinal function as well as optimum overall health. Unfortunately, most Americans don't get nearly enough fiber in their diets. Scientific research has linked a low-fiber diet to an array of common and life-shortening health problems, including heart disease and cancer.

Probiotics. About a quadrillion (that's one thousand trillion) microorganisms peacefully coexist in your gastrointestinal tract. Your cells are outnumbered, one thousand to one. If this delicate internal ecosystem is somehow disrupted, disease-causing bacteria and fungi gain the upper hand--and they're just itching to wreak havoc on your body's healing system. Probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, keep the gastrointestinal flora balanced and the bacterial and fungal bad guys in check. You can increase the population of "good bugs" with the help of acidophilus supplements.

Where Do You Go from Here?

The table lists all of the nutrients, herbs, hormones, and internal cleansers in the Anti-Aging Supplement Program, along with their respective Daily Recommended Intakes. Taking every single one of these supplements would be impractical, if not impossible. It also is unnecessary.

To sort through the possibilities and make informed decisions, read through the profiles of the supplements in the following chapters. By the time you conclude part 5 of this book, you should have a good idea of which supplements are most appropriate for you. Chapter 38 offers some strategies for customizing the Anti-Aging Supplement Program to meet your specific needs.

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Now that you know a bit about the Anti-Aging Supplement Program, let's take a closer look at each of its components. We'll start with the antioxidants.