All Videos for Supplements

Optimal Phytosterol Source

Whole food sources of phytosterols, such as seeds and nuts, are likely superior to supplements, or phytosterol-fortified spreads and beverages.



The Wrong Way to Boost Serotonin

Tryptophan is the precursor to the “happiness hormone” serotonin, so why not take tryptophan supplements to improve mood and relieve symptoms of depression?



Mineral of the Year—Magnesium

Despite promising autopsy and population data suggesting that inadequate magnesium intake is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, it wasn’t until recently that this was demonstrated in prospective studies.



Risk Associated with Iron Supplements

Iron is a double-edged sword. If we don’t absorb enough, we risk anemia; but if absorb too much, we may increase our risk of cancer, heart disease, and a number of inflammatory conditions. Because the human body has no mechanism to rid itself of excess iron, one should choose plant-based (non-heme) sources, over which our body has some control.



Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death

Death in America is largely a foodborne illness. Focusing on studies published just over the last year in peer-reviewed scientific medical journals, Dr. Greger offers practical advice on how best to feed ourselves and our families to prevent, treat, and even reverse many of the top 15 killers in the United States.



The Benefits of Caloric Restriction Without the Actual Restricting

One mechanism by which caloric restriction may extend one’s lifespan is by upregulating dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), the most abundant steroid hormone in the human body. DHEA supplements are discouraged, but there may be a natural way to conserve levels as we age.



Some Dietary Supplements May Be More Than a Waste of Money

People taking dietary supplements may, in some cases, be paying to make themselves sick. This video covers folic acid, beta carotene, and green tea supplements.



Heavy Metals in Protein Powder Supplements

A Consumer Reports investigation into the safety of protein supplements found that more than half exceed the California Prop 65 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act action levels.



Dietary Supplement Snake Oil

Supplement industry representative attempts to rebut a mea culpa editorial in an alternative medicine journal decrying the predatory nature of dietary supplement marketing.



Pharmacists vs. Health Food Store Employees: Who Gives Better Advice?

The accuracy of medical advice given by staff at natural food stores is compared to that given by staff at community pharmacies, based on the balance of available scientific evidence.



Dangerous Advice from Health Food Store Employees

Employees in natural food stores have been caught giving advice that is not only scientifically baseless, but also risky and downright dangerous.



Bad Advice from Health Food Store Employees

Most health food store supplement aisle employees have little or no training and make wildly dissimilar recommendations. Even when they’re consistent, the levels of active ingredients in supplements may not be. We should not assume the multibillion dollar supplement industry has our best interests any closer to heart than the pharmaceutical industry.



Health Food Store Supplement Advice

Studies in the U.S. and Canada focus on what advice and supplements natural food store employees would offer a woman suffering from breast cancer.



Garden Variety Anti-Inflammation

The variety of fruit and vegetable consumption may decrease disease risk, independent of quantity.



Creatine Brain Fuel Supplementation

Vegetarians appear to get more of a cognitive boost than meat-eaters from creatine supplementation.



When Meat Can Be a Lifesaver

There are rare birth defects in which the inability to produce certain compounds requires an exogenous source. Presented here is a case report of a boy with a mutation in his carnitine transport system.



Watermelon as Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction

Watermelon is a rich source of citrulline, which has been found to improve erection hardness in men with mild erectile dysfunction (impotence).



Breast Cancer Survival and Soy

All three human studies on soy and breast cancer survival suggest that soy in sufficient amounts may improve survival in women diagnosed with breast cancer.



New Vitamin B12 Test

Who should get tested for vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency, and which is the best test to use: serum B12, methylmalonic acid (MMA), or holotranscobalamin levels?



Daily Source of Vitamin B12

Fortified foods, such as some breakfast cereals and types of nutritional yeast, can provide another cholesterol-free source of vitamin B12.



Cheapest Source of Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) supplementation can cost as little as $2 a year.



Safest Source of B12

Since foods are effectively a package deal, what’s the best way to get vitamin B12 (cobalamin)?



Vitamin B12 Recommendation Change

Based on two biomarkers of functional vitamin B12 (cobalamin) status, B12 recommendations formulated more than a half century ago may need to be updated.



Amla & Triphala Tested for Metals

Both U.S.-made and imported Ayurvedic dietary supplements have high contamination rates of toxic metals such as mercury—though only a small fraction of the levels found in canned tuna.



Some Ayurvedic Medicine Worse than Lead Paint Exposure

Triphala, a combination of three fruits—amla, bibhitaki, and haritaki—is the most commonly used herbal formulation in Ayurvedic medicine, and may have powerful anticancer properties. Unfortunately, one in five Ayurvedic herbal dietary supplements were found contaminated with lead, mercury, and/or arsenic.



Power Plants

Many of the most powerful drugs in modern medicine’s arsenal came from natural products, from penicillin to the chemotherapy agents Taxol® and vincristine.



Take Vitamin D Supplements with Meals

Taking vitamin D supplements with food may be a cost-effective strategy to achieve optimum levels.



Resolving the Vitamin D-Bate

Why the current vitamin D recommendations may be too low, other expert recommendations may be too high, and 2000 international units a day may be just right.



The Difficulty of Arriving at a Vitamin D Recommendation

People respond differently to the same level of vitamin D supplementation, making it difficult to formulate one-size-fits-all guidelines.



Vitamin D Supplements May Be Necessary

To reach the circulating (25-hydroxy) vitamin D levels associated with the lowest overall mortality, one may need to take supplements, given data suggesting suboptimal production from sun—even under optimal circumstances.



Vitamin D and Mortality May Be a U-Shaped Curve

Vitamin D deficiency may shorten one’s lifespan, but getting too much vitamin D may also adversely affect longevity.



Is Vitamin D the New Vitamin E?

The Institute of Medicine’s conservative position on vitamin D is understandable, given the history of hyped vitamin supplements (vitamin A, beta carotene, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E) that turned out worthless—or worse.



Evolutionary Argument for Optimal Vitamin D Level

Should the vitamin D levels found in lifeguards be considered the norm for our species, given the fact that we evolved running around naked all day in equatorial Africa?



Fish Oil in Troubled Waters

Major fish oil manufacturers and drug stores are being sued for failing to disclose the PCB pollutants in fish oil supplements.



Multivitamin Supplements & Breast Cancer

New research suggests that multivitamin use may significantly increase the risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer.



Produce, Not Pills, to Increase Physical Attractiveness

Kale works better at boosting antioxidant levels in the skin than synthetic beta carotene, lutein, and mixed carotenoid supplements.



Too Much Iodine Can Be as Bad as Too Little

Excessive intake of kelp (kombu) or thyroid-containing sausages can lead to iodine toxicity.



Pregnant Vegans at Risk for Iodine Deficiency

Disinfectants used to sanitize cow udders may provide a source of iodine for dairy consumers, but can also increase the concentration of pus in milk from cows with staph infection mastitis.



Vegan Epidemic

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common among those eating vegetarian and particularly vegan diets because of failure to take B12 supplements or eat B12-fortifed foods.



American Vegans Placing Babies at Risk

Vitamin B12 is an imperative for those eating vegetarian and vegan diets, especially during pregnancy and infancy.