Timing of supplements: empty stomach or food? Combinations?

[Lucy5]

I'll second that. I've been taking it in the am along with my new addition ALCAR. Am I wrong?!?

[Surfrank57]

Alysson

Sorry I do not have much time for a full explanation, story of my life.....ahhh. No by stack I mean vitamins or supplements that come in combination with each other. So you get two or three supps in one pill. Sandy takes ALA with acetyl L carnitine in one pill.

No it is not only for toxins, in fact that is an added benefit on top of the usual reasons people take these supplements. That is what I was talking about with the other stack as well, PepZin. Most people would not take it for cutting or reduction diets, but it has some major benefits that those who compete have come to realize.

As far as timing, unless you are a diabetic it does not matter when you take these two supps. There is a lot of talk and theories, but basically it comes down to n=1 and how your body responds with food or without food. No clear benefit either way; AGAIN unless you are a diabetic, then it should be taken with food. Athletes take it based on activity level, sport, and recovery. Alysson in almost all protocols it is taken to help with toxin clearing, along with L glutathione which is key. Hope that helps.
Frank

[Gilgamesh]

Hey friends,

1. Be careful with alpha-lipoic acid, esp. when combined with CR. At least one study showed some weird interactions with diet. Many in the CR Society (Michael Rae among them) quit alpha-lipoic for that reason.

2. Although ConsumerLab.com showed most brands passing, I've gotten a lot of bum batches. If your pee doesn't have a strong asparagus-like smell 20-30 mins. after taking a dose, you might have a bum batch. (I'm back on a bit of lipoic acid only because I'm off CR now.)

G

[Kattywomp]

Hi. I'm new here. I am 48 and recently took at 23andMe test just "for fun" and learned I have one ApoE4 allele. I don't know what the other is. I just finished Dr. Bredesen's book after it was recommended by my functional medicine M.D. I haven't taken all the recommended tests outlined in the book, but I had recently had extensive bloodwork so have those numbers, plus I tested high for several metals and have been contemplating chelation therapy. I also have bought most of the supplements outlined in the book. I'm probably jumping the gun, but I want to start doing the right things in advance of all the tests. Is there a cheat sheet for when to take all the supplements and which ones to take at the same time? I looked on this thread and didn't find it. I can follow Julie's protocol from the book, but ideally I'd love to have an "order of things" for a given day. I already practice intermittent fasting and now I'll make it a daily event. I have eaten keto for years, but probably too much saturated fat so I'll tweak that too. At any rate, I'm so glad to have learned this now and to have found this site. Thanks for pointing in the direction of any helpful tools with regard to supplementation.

[SusanJ]

...I'd love to have an "order of things" for a given day.

Welcome, and love the name BTW.

We don't have a collective how-to vitamin list. There are several sites you can check, like examine.com or the Linus Pauling group at Oregon State to help.

That said, I'll start. Hopefully others can pitch in with their experience, and I'll volunteer to collate this thread into a list for all to use.

B vitamins in the morning, because they can give you too much of a boost if taken later in the day.

MCT oil in the morning, because it can give you too much of a boost if taken later in the day.

Magnesium at night, because it has a calming effect.

[Kattywomp]

Thank you for your quick reply, Susan. Today was the first day of taking close to dozen recommended supplements and timing them throughout the day: a.m./midday/p.m./empty stomach/full stomach/with fat/without fat. It's a lot! I also felt a bit queasy midday. It's all new but I never do anything halfway. Supplementation may be one of those occasions when easing in is better than going full steam ahead. I've decided I will stick to this regimen for a week and see if the queasiness subsides and I am able to sleep and generally feel ok. If I do, I will create and post a cheat sheet of my own of what I'm doing, which is based on The End of Alzheimer's book, and perhaps that will keep the conversation going. Again, thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. I really appreciate it.

[SusanJ]

Yep, better if you ease in, so you can put your finger on which one might be causing the problems. Mid-day queasiness is most likely coming from a morning supplement (with food), so look at those first. If you check your list at examine.com or Linus Pauling sites, you might be able to figure out which one to pull out and try a couple days without to see if the upset goes away.

And if you get a list, consider starting a new thread under "Our Stories" so we can all chime in.

[Julie G]

Kattywomp, unless you're experiencing severe symptoms of cognitive decline, I'd definitely recommend easing into a supplement regimen. Consider adding one or two (at most) and carefully journaling benefits/side effects for a week until you add in more. Most importantly, educate yourself. Know why you are taking various supplements and be aware of their possible side effects. For instance, I take my fish oil and curcumin before my morning walk/run to specifically increase BDNF. I hold off on my Vitamin D & K until I break my fast. At which time, I'm careful to combine those two with beta carotene (sweet potatoes) and dietary fat to optimize absorption and bio-availability of all three. I've learned to take my resveratrol and NAD midday so as not to interfere with exercise benefits, but no too late as they give me an energy boost that can interfere with sleep. I always take my B vitamins early in the day for the same reason and my magnesium, aswaganda, bacopa, and progesterone at night as they have a relaxing effect that aids sleep. Don't get discouraged if you have a reaction to a specific supplement that you think could be helpful. I had an awful time with my first supplement- curcumin. I had to try several brands before I could find one that I tolerate. This is definitely N=1 trial and error. Most importantly, get a baseline on your Omega-3 index, homocysteine, Vitamins D, etc. so that you can gauge the effect your supplementation is having over time. Best of luck. Report your progress so we can all learn with you.

[chrissyr]

I like this advice. When starting out on Dr. Bredesen's protocol, I was given 25 supplements to start immediately even though I am 52 and symptom free, doing for preventative measures. It was a bit overwhelming, and if I had symptoms I would have no idea what was causing it. Also, as much as I tried to educate myself to each one, I wasn't able to do that. And perhaps with great potential of each one, also comes some reason for caution/responsibility. That being said, I am very thankful for all of his work and am feeling better physically in general!

[Plumster]

B12 is the only vitamin supplement that is best taken with caffeine, so I have it in the morning with tea.