Dosage: While the standard reference range for vitamin D levels falls between 50 to 60 ng/mL, in functional medicine we aim for an optimal range between 60 to 80 ng/mL. Depending on where your starting levels are, anywhere between 2,000 and 6,000 IU is an adequate amount per day. Make sure to test your vitamin D levels to find out your starting point, and retest to gauge how your vitamin D level optimization is going. How to incorporate: Since vitamin D is fat-soluble, take advantage of vitamin synergy by combining it with other fat-soluble vitamins, such as A and K2. This will help make it more bioavailable and balanced. It’s also a great idea to take them with fatty foods like avocado, olive oil, wild-caught fish, and coconut to increase their bioavailability. There are many different forms of magnesium, so let’s break down the best. Magnesium citrate is the most commonly found in supplement-form and is a good option. Magnesium glycinate is more easily absorbed by the body, and magnesium Threonate seems promising for more neurological support. Magnesium oil is another great way to boost this vital nutrient. Dosage: 350 mg per day. How to incorporate: Taking magnesium right before bed is often best as it promotes better sleep by relaxing muscles and helping the calming neurotransmitter, GABA, in your brain. Dosage: At least 10 billion CFU per day. How to incorporate: To really amp up the effects of your probiotics, make sure to include enough prebiotic foods, such as garlic, asparagus, and onions into your diet. These fibrous foods act as fuel for your probiotics by helping facilitate the growth of good gut bacteria. When choosing a probiotic, make sure to take one that includes strains of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria. These two specific strains are shown1 to reduce inflammation. I am also a fan of soil-based probiotics (SBO) to further support rich bacterial diversity. Dosage: 2250mg EPA / 750mg DHA per day. How to incorporate: If you’re eating more omega-6 fatty acids (like those found in certain oils like safflower oil)—which can increase inflammation throughout the body—try taking fish oil to reduce the inflammatory effects. Dosage: 3 grams per day. How to incorporate: Spirulina is most commonly available in powder form, which makes it perfect to just stir into your tea or add to your daily smoothie! Dosage: For those looking for inflammation maintenance, 2 grams per day is a good start, but as much as 10 grams per day may be needed2 to drive down higher levels of inflammation. How to incorporate: Unless you know that you are currently struggling with chronic high levels of inflammation, this is not necessarily something you need to be including in your routine every single day. For the average person eating a healthy diet, cooking with this spice is more than enough to reap the benefits. Piperine, the compound found in black pepper, increases the bioavailability of curcumin by 2,000 percent, so find a supplement that includes this compound. Dosage: 1,000 to 4,000 mg per day to boost your immune system and promote healthy skin. How to incorporate: Combining with zinc can increase its immune-boosting properties. You can easily find powdered supplements that you can mix with water to take with you for when you start to feel a little less than 100 percent. Dosage: 15 to 30 mg per day. Pregnant women should aim for 12 mg per day since it’s essential5 for normal fetal development. How to incorporate: If you’re eating a healthy well-rounded diet, you should be getting in the proper amount of zinc per day without needing a supplement. But if getting over a cold quickly is your goal, supplementing at least 75 mg per day has been shown to greatly reduce6 cold duration and symptoms so you can get back to optimal health. Dosage: 400 to 800 mcg methylfolate (B9), 1,000 mcg methylcobalamin (B12) per day. How to incorporate: The best B-vitamin supplement would be a B-complex vitamin containing methylated B vitamins, especially if you have methylation impairments like the MTHFR gene mutation. Look for activated B vitamins like B9 L-Methylfolate (L-5-MTHF), B6 Pyridoxyl-5-Phosphate (P5P), and B12 versions (such as Adenosyl B12, Cyano B12, Hydroxycobalamin B12, or Methyl B12). Plant beta-carotenes, a precursor to vitamin A, are found in sweet potatoes and carrots but the conversion rate to the usable retinol is very weak. In fact, research suggests that just 3 percent of beta-carotene gets converted in a healthy adult. Because of this, look for vitamin A sources from either whole-food sources like fish liver oil or retinyl palmitate. Dosage: 2,000 to 10,000 IU per day. Dosage: 100 to 200 mcg per day. How to incorporate: Taking these fat-soluble vitamins together with vitamin D will help keep your levels from going too high as well as making vitamin D more bioavailable to your body! Because these are fat-soluble, they are absorbed best by taking them with a fat-containing meal such as avocado, salmon, or just a bit of butter or coconut oil added to whatever you’re cooking. Dosage: 8 grams per day. How to incorporate: Powdered collagen peptides are fantastic because these are easy to add to smoothies or any other liquid. Look for brands that derive their collagen from grass-fed and pasture-raised protein sources or use marine collagen. In summary, you can take many of these nutrients in a multivitamin, and some you will need to separately get the dosage that you need. Remember, food is your best medicine. You can’t supplement your way out of a poor diet. Of course, not everyone needs to or should incorporate each of these vitamins and supplements into their wellness routine. It’s always important to take your individual needs and health case into consideration. Working with a functional medicine practitioner can help you determine what exactly you are lacking to determine what you should be supplementing with. A cutting-edge nutrition deep dive taught by 20+ top health & wellness experts
